Boston's 10 Best Italian Restaurants

With such a rich Italian culture and heritage, it’s no wonder that Boston Massachusetts is home to so many exquisite Italian restaurants. From diner style restaurants to fine Italio-French establishments, this city has every type of Italian restaurant imaginable. Here’s our guide to the top 10 Italian restaurants in Boston.

1. Da Vinci

Da Vinci

For fine-dining Italian style, dinner at Da Vinci is the order of the day. Featuring both cozy, sophisticated indoor seating and a delightful outdoor dining area, Da Vinci is an idyllic venue. The Chef takes great pride in making all of his pastas, breads and desserts from scratch daily, ensuring that guests are only ever given the highest quality plates to enjoy. The menu changes throughout the year and diners are always given ample choices for antipasti, first and second courses. A Chef’s tasting menu is also available for those looking to really indulge in these magnificently rich flavors. Vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan dishes are available too.
Da Vinci, 162 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA, USA, +1 617 350 0007

Coppa

An enoteca serving beautifully presented and delicious tasting dishes, Coppa is a Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette restaurant. Open for dinner daily and brunch on Sundays, Coppa features a varied and vibrant menu. Enjoy wood-fired pizzas, hearty pasta dishes and a feast of seven fishes. The menu for Sunday brunch is much the same as the rest of the week, with the addition of more breakfast-themed dishes such as scrambled eggs with crab and grilled cheese with fried eggs.
Coppa, 253 Shawmut Avenue, Boston, MA, USA, +1 617 391 0902

2. Erbaluce

Restaurant, Italian

An award-winning Italian eatery, Erbaluce features two private dining rooms alongside the communal eating area, making it a great venue for celebratory dinners and business events as well as more casual family meals. A truly distinctive restaurant, the menu here changes nightly, but is always made up of the freshest, subtlest of flavors. An all-Italian wine menu complements the food and the wait staff are always on hand to make a suggestion to diners unsure of which red or white tipple will best suit their dinner choice. A series of dinners hosted by Italian winemakers takes place at the restaurant throughout the year and there are special Italian wine courses too.

3. Giacamo’s

Restaurant, Italian

Giacamo’s is a hugely popular and wonderfully ambient Italian restaurant with two locations across Boston – one in Northend and one in Southend. The menu is full of the usual dishes expected of an Italian restaurant (ravioli, parmigiana, calamari) but with a few fancier plates such as swordfish in a pesto cream sauce, seafood soup and veal with prosciutto and mushrooms.

4. Giulia

Restaurant, Italian

Serving deliciously dressed handmade pastas, beautiful antipasti plates and gorgeous Italian wines, Giulia is rustic yet sophisticated, welcoming and stylish. The staff here are true patrons of excellent service as well as top quality dishes and the most tempting flavor combinations. For a four course meal that certainly won’t disappoint, start with a plate of oysters on the half shell with pickled gooseberry mignonette before tucking into a tasty homemade pasta course of roasted veal breast and sweetbread ravioli. For main course opt for the grilled bone-in beef rib eye with lemon, sea salt and salsa verde then for dessert, choose the almond and cherry biscotti.

5. Mamma Maria

Restaurant, Italian

With a four diamond AA rating, Mamma Maria is one of the best loved Italian eateries in the area. The restaurant is located in a 19th century house oozing character and boasts five private dining rooms ideal for hosting celebratory dinners in style. Serving authentic Italian cuisine, the menu at Mamma Maria’s changes daily so there is always a new dish to try. Expect to dine on exquisitely presented and tasting dishes such as terrine of braised suckling pig, pan-seared black bass and truffle-scented veal porterhouse.

6. Menton

Restaurant, French, Italian

Blending French cooking techniques with gorgeous Italian flavors, the chefs at Menton have created the perfect fusion of two of the world’s most favorite cuisines. An award-winning restaurant, Menton not only offers its diners the chance to indulge in beautiful foods, but it also features an unparalleled fine wine list as an added bonus.

7. Prezza

Prezza

A fine-dining venue in Boston’s coolest corner, Prezza is a local favorite. Having taken inspiration from the cooking methods of his Grandmother’s birth village, the chef here takes great pride in creating exciting twists on tried and tested classic dishes using only the freshest seasonal produce available. There are over 8000 bottles of wine to choose from and the choice of dishes – although much more concise – is just as impressive. Think wood grilled quail with bacon and red wine lentils, crispy shrimp with Italian slaw, chestnut raviolini with pulled duck and halibut with parsnip puree. Top this with a Prezza dessert sampler board and a glass of dessert wine followed by a tipple of amaro and you’re sure to leave feeling completely satisfied.
Prezza, 24 Fleet Street, Boston, MA, USA, +1 617 227 1577

8. Quattro

Restaurant, Italian

A restaurant that is sure to please the whole family, Quattro is not only a pizzeria but it is both a contemporary grill and a rotisserie as well. Enjoy homemade soup, a roast lamb panini, an artichoke pizza or a plate of stuffed grilled calamari. At dinner diners can feast on tasty homemade pasta dishes such as spitroast chicken ravioli with a wild mushroom ragu, seafood tagliatelle with saffron and taglioni with beef meatballs.

9. Sportello

Restaurant, Wine Bar, Italian

A modern-day diner like no other, the only thing Sportello seems to have in common with a stereotypical American diner is the at-counter stools. The staff at Sportello have really captured the Italians’ passion for food; enjoy entrees such as polenta with a lamb ragu, pan seared hake with kale, lamb shank with risotto and gnocchi with a mushroom ragu.

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