An absolutely fantastic experience to cap off Boston's restaurant week 2024!First off, the atmosphere was the perfect backdrop for a cozy date-night like experience, encouraging intimate conversation with enough separation from other tables that you feel some level of privacy.The food was flawless. Amazingly rich depth of flavor combined with the abundance of the portion sizes. Getting a 3-course meal of this caliber for under $50 was a great value for money. Every course was timed perfectly, presented well, and tasted phenomenal.Lastly, the service was well rehearsed and attentive at the start of the meal which after dessert was served trailed off a bit. We ran out of water and no one noticed, we weren't asked it we'd like a 2nd cocktail, but was provided the check promptly. We didn't feel rushed, but they're probably interested in turning over tables quickly given their small size and high demand, so it was understandable.I 100% plan to go back to Grotto. It rivals the North End as having the best Italian food in Boston.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi, Banana Budino, Soup, Bolognese, Three Course
Neha K.
Lovely Dine-out week meal at Grotto! My friend and I split the beet and goat cheese spinach salad and the sweet potato ravioli (sans bacon), both of which were phenomal! I almost got too full eating both of these. For my main, I had the mushroom risotto, which was also good and came with a sizable portion, so I ended up taking some home. We paired our meals with glasses of house Chianti ($12). To finish, we split the tiramisu and chocolate cake, both of which were delicious. Can't wait to come back!
Daniel Berger-Jones
Such a slam dunk of a restaurant. Better than the North End for Italian! Amazing staff, great food, and just a surprising delight of a place
Jeff Chang
Went with my family right before dinner time so there wasn't many diners. The atmosphere and decor were still very nice, and I had the best duck in my life!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ninoska Hall
Service was great, drinks were good, the meatballs were the highlight of the dining experience (make sure you get some bread with that delicious sauce)Hands down one of the best meatballs I’ve ever had (and I have been to Italy).We got two pasta dishes, chicken parmesan (not a fan of the presentation and taste) and the shrimp one; a bit disappointed after starting with those fantastic meatballs but still a pleasant evening.
Zach LeBlanc
We absolutely love the Grotto! We make it a point to make a reservation when we go to Boston. The chicken parmesan is one of my favorite dishes of the many Italian restaurants we have been to. The tomato sauce is incredible, so I imagine that the spaghetti and meatballs would be great as well. My wife is obsessed with the carne dish and made sure to order it again this time arouund. Unfortunately, the risotto had some issues with taste and consistency this most recent visit, but Grotto deserves five stars because all of the food is delicious and the wait staff was receptive to our feedback about the risotto. We also got the sweet potato ravioli as a starter, which was very good, but does have a strong bacon-y or salty, fatty flavor to it if you have an aversion to that. The staff has always been very friendly and we expect to keep coming back on future trips to Boston!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sweet Potato Ravioli
Fredrick Lazar (Fred)
The restaurant space itself was nice, a cozy dining room. Our waiter was a jerk and the food was mediocre.?
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Ro Z
Arrived and the place was cozy. I was greeted promptly and seated immediately. My server was awesome. I ordered a Manhattan. It was mediocre. Turns out they don’t have a full liquor license so it was a pre-mixed cocktail. Wish I had known that. I ordered the Caesar salad. It was fine - lettuce was fresh; dressing was good. It had a little bit of anchovy taste which I enjoyed. The chicken parmigiana may have been the worst chicken parmesan I’ve ever had. It was a weird overall crusty roll of chicken, cut and in Spoon half and then sprinkled with Parmesan. Sauce was good and ziti was well prepared. I live nearby and wanted to love this place. It was OK
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
Alex L.
Went here for a date night and was a great setting for it! Got the duck confit (tasty and relatively cheap as an appetizer), the cozze mussels (whatever they put in the sauce was DIVINE, I wish I knew how to make it like that), the bolognese, and the spaghetti and meatballs (similar dishes in a sense, both flavorful with the spaghetti being more herby and light tasting while the bolognese was a richer and very tasty entree). Both pastas were much larger portions than we had expected, and we happily packed up any leftovers for another meal. Overall a great experience and would go there again! Also, they have 5$ off any appetizer, entree, and dessert combo as a bonus.
Bob H.
Really nice date night dinner spot. My wife booked it for my birthday and in short, the food was fantastic and the service spot on. Like a lot of restaurants in Boston, it's in the basement of a brownstone (so it felt) but the atmosphere inside is cozy enough and we were comfortable. We started with the cavatelle which was awesome (recommended by our waiter). Then we split the salmon and chicken parm. Salmon was very good but the chicken parm was very different.. it sat in a sweeter sauce and was smothered in parmesan. Was amazing and I would order again.
It is always great to. Grotto is tucked into our neighborhood, and in my opinion one of the best Italian restaurants in the city.
Andrea Westlie
Lovely experience! Very cozy and romantic spot and the food was delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eric Wasson
Saw a fat roach on the
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Fonduta
Rongan C.
This place is such a hidden gem with warm and cozy vibes all around. Glad the cavatelle is a primi dish, if it were an entree...things would get out of hand because the only thing wrong with it, is that it's too good. Moved onto the bolognese (some of the finest in the city) and short rib gnocchi. Everything was well prepared and we appreciated the thoughtful touch of having heated plates for warm dishes, and cold plates for the dessert.
Jackie L.
Hidden gem of Boston. The mood is sexy, mature and elegant. The food is absolutely delicious and perfect every single time. And the staff is very knowledgeable and considerate. This is one of my go to places since I live close by and it's better than any north end restaurant I've been to.
An absolutely fantastic experience to cap off Boston's restaurant week 2024!First off, the atmosphere was the perfect backdrop for a cozy date-night like experience, encouraging intimate conversation with enough separation from other tables that you feel some level of privacy.The food was flawless. Amazingly rich depth of flavor combined with the abundance of the portion sizes. Getting a 3-course meal of this caliber for under $50 was a great value for money. Every course was timed perfectly, presented well, and tasted phenomenal.Lastly, the service was well rehearsed and attentive at the start of the meal which after dessert was served trailed off a bit. We ran out of water and no one noticed, we weren't asked it we'd like a 2nd cocktail, but was provided the check promptly. We didn't feel rushed, but they're probably interested in turning over tables quickly given their small size and high demand, so it was understandable.I 100% plan to go back to Grotto. It rivals the North End as having the best Italian food in Boston.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi, Banana Budino, Soup, Bolognese, Three Course
Lovely Dine-out week meal at Grotto! My friend and I split the beet and goat cheese spinach salad and the sweet potato ravioli (sans bacon), both of which were phenomal! I almost got too full eating both of these. For my main, I had the mushroom risotto, which was also good and came with a sizable portion, so I ended up taking some home. We paired our meals with glasses of house Chianti ($12). To finish, we split the tiramisu and chocolate cake, both of which were delicious. Can't wait to come back!
Such a slam dunk of a restaurant. Better than the North End for Italian! Amazing staff, great food, and just a surprising delight of a place
Went with my family right before dinner time so there wasn't many diners. The atmosphere and decor were still very nice, and I had the best duck in my life!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Service was great, drinks were good, the meatballs were the highlight of the dining experience (make sure you get some bread with that delicious sauce)Hands down one of the best meatballs I’ve ever had (and I have been to Italy).We got two pasta dishes, chicken parmesan (not a fan of the presentation and taste) and the shrimp one; a bit disappointed after starting with those fantastic meatballs but still a pleasant evening.
We absolutely love the Grotto! We make it a point to make a reservation when we go to Boston. The chicken parmesan is one of my favorite dishes of the many Italian restaurants we have been to. The tomato sauce is incredible, so I imagine that the spaghetti and meatballs would be great as well. My wife is obsessed with the carne dish and made sure to order it again this time arouund. Unfortunately, the risotto had some issues with taste and consistency this most recent visit, but Grotto deserves five stars because all of the food is delicious and the wait staff was receptive to our feedback about the risotto. We also got the sweet potato ravioli as a starter, which was very good, but does have a strong bacon-y or salty, fatty flavor to it if you have an aversion to that. The staff has always been very friendly and we expect to keep coming back on future trips to Boston!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sweet Potato Ravioli
The restaurant space itself was nice, a cozy dining room. Our waiter was a jerk and the food was mediocre.?
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Arrived and the place was cozy. I was greeted promptly and seated immediately. My server was awesome. I ordered a Manhattan. It was mediocre. Turns out they don’t have a full liquor license so it was a pre-mixed cocktail. Wish I had known that. I ordered the Caesar salad. It was fine - lettuce was fresh; dressing was good. It had a little bit of anchovy taste which I enjoyed. The chicken parmigiana may have been the worst chicken parmesan I’ve ever had. It was a weird overall crusty roll of chicken, cut and in Spoon half and then sprinkled with Parmesan. Sauce was good and ziti was well prepared. I live nearby and wanted to love this place. It was OK
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
Went here for a date night and was a great setting for it! Got the duck confit (tasty and relatively cheap as an appetizer), the cozze mussels (whatever they put in the sauce was DIVINE, I wish I knew how to make it like that), the bolognese, and the spaghetti and meatballs (similar dishes in a sense, both flavorful with the spaghetti being more herby and light tasting while the bolognese was a richer and very tasty entree). Both pastas were much larger portions than we had expected, and we happily packed up any leftovers for another meal. Overall a great experience and would go there again! Also, they have 5$ off any appetizer, entree, and dessert combo as a bonus.
Really nice date night dinner spot. My wife booked it for my birthday and in short, the food was fantastic and the service spot on. Like a lot of restaurants in Boston, it's in the basement of a brownstone (so it felt) but the atmosphere inside is cozy enough and we were comfortable. We started with the cavatelle which was awesome (recommended by our waiter). Then we split the salmon and chicken parm. Salmon was very good but the chicken parm was very different.. it sat in a sweeter sauce and was smothered in parmesan. Was amazing and I would order again.
Restaurantji Recommends
It is always great to. Grotto is tucked into our neighborhood, and in my opinion one of the best Italian restaurants in the city.
Lovely experience! Very cozy and romantic spot and the food was delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Saw a fat roach on the
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Fonduta
This place is such a hidden gem with warm and cozy vibes all around. Glad the cavatelle is a primi dish, if it were an entree...things would get out of hand because the only thing wrong with it, is that it's too good. Moved onto the bolognese (some of the finest in the city) and short rib gnocchi. Everything was well prepared and we appreciated the thoughtful touch of having heated plates for warm dishes, and cold plates for the dessert.
Hidden gem of Boston. The mood is sexy, mature and elegant. The food is absolutely delicious and perfect every single time. And the staff is very knowledgeable and considerate. This is one of my go to places since I live close by and it's better than any north end restaurant I've been to.