La Stanza Ristorante – Prosecco and Jazz Brunch with DIY Donut Bar

On Sunday, we visited La Stanza Ristorante for the Prosecco & Jazz Brunch. Served from 8am to 4pm every Sunday, La Stanza offers a perfectly sized menu of brunch items with luxurious twists such as Lobster Benedict and Ricotta Lemon Pancakes. The Italian restaurant has not lost its roots, however, also offering classic pastas and hand-tossed pizzas.

Exclusive to La Stanza, their brunch menu includes a DIY donut bar by Stan’s Donuts of Chicago. Guests can pick out a fresh donut and decorate it with glaze, sprinkles, chocolate and caramel sauces, chocolate chips, candy and cereal. Let your inner child flourish!

Labriola of Chicago is an innovative micro food hall featuring a café, bakery, bar and La Stanza Ristorante. Just off of bustling Michigan Avenue, through the busy café seating in Labriola, you can be escorted to the cozy La Stanza dining hall. Intimate lighting and dark red upholstery gives a very VIP type feel, which is only intensified with simplified art-deco architecture and lit bar.

As the name suggests, the Prosecco and Jazz Brunch features Prosecco Mimosas as well as a live jazz band that plays as you dine. La Stanza Ristorante has expertly combined a classic Italian atmosphere with unique and personable touches. We felt comfortable and pampered throughout our brunch.

Since the menu is large and varied, we tasted several dishes to give you a wide understanding of La Stanza’s Prosecco & Jazz Brunch. Of course, we cheered to our brunch with Prosecco Mimosas first, as any good brunch should begin.

We started with the Toast Bar, which includes Pretzel Bread with Beer Mustard, Sourdough with Apple Butter, Rustic Italian Bread with Ricotta and Berries, and Baguette with Fig Jam and Nut Butter. All of the bread tasted very fresh. We had a lot of fun sampling all the spreads and mixing and matching our toast pairings, however, the Apple Butter was absolutely a crowd favorite.

Our next sampling was the House Bacon & Potato Salad with a Fried Egg. The House-Made Potato Salad had thickly cut Potato Pieces, mixed with equally thick-cut House Cured Bacon that was perfectly soft and juicy. We broke open the Fried Egg over our plate to add a fantastic richness to the flavors. This dish was a table favorite and highly recommended.

Time for a second mimosa!

Next in our sampling was the Breakfast Pizza, which was a Thin-Crust Dough covered in Prosciutto, Buffalo Mozzarella, Truffles and Arugula. A Poached Egg rested in the center.

We had the Croque Madame- Brioche Bread filled with Rosemary Ham, Taleggio Fonduta and a Fried Egg. The Rosemary Ham was the star of this dish.

 

 

The Chicken and Biscuits began with classic Fried Chicken and Buttermilk Biscuits, but the chefs at La Stanza had expertly added Honey Butter and a Maple-Balsamic Glaze, bringing new heights to this brunch staple. The presentation was a crowd pleaser; we felt as if we were cutting into an ice cream sundae!

Que next mimosa!

We were offered two pasta samplings: Papardelle with Ragu Bolognese and Bucatini with Braised Pork Cheek and Aged Pecorino Toscana. Both were excellent examples of La Stanza’s classic fare and tasted better than “Mama’s cooking”.

Our Shrimp Polenta (also with a Poached Egg) arrived with the creamiest Cheese Polenta, Pancetta, Creamed Spinach and Red Eye Gravy. The gravy certainly added an interesting twist with the shrimp.

 

Another star of our meal was the Banana Almond French Toast: Brioche oozing with Maple Syrup and Whipped Cream and stuffed with Caramelized Bananas. No sweet tooth can be left unsatisfied by this monster of a French toast, really.

Our final dish was a classic Lox and Bagels platter served with Cream Cheese, Arugula, Red Onions, Capers and Cherry Tomatoes. Bite-sized pieces of bagel allowed us to mix and match toppings, similar to our toast platter.

 

Properly filled with mimosas and an extraordinary amount of brunch munchies, we were invited to partake in the unique DIY Donut Bar, provided by Stan’s Donuts! This one-of-a-kind brunch option is offered only at La Stanza Ristorante of Labriola. We can happily say that all of our sprinkle-dreams came true that day. Perhaps just as therapeutic as an adult coloring book, DIY donuts left us feeling perfectly satisfied with our brunch.

The staff was incredibly inviting and attentive. The classy atmosphere and VIP feel was still welcoming and family-friendly. If you’d like an intimate brunch with not-so-average options, we highly recommend visiting La Stanza Ristorante of Labriola in Chicago.

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