I dunno if it was an off day or what, but I was excited to try this place from the reviews and was kind of disappointed in the food. Both our pasta dishes were too soft and not very flavorful. I almost came here for my fiancé’s birthday and am glad I didn’t.Ambience is very nice though and service was quick and good. Also, huge portions for the money which makes it worth it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
CHRISTOPHER ADAMS
BEWARE OF THE SECRET RESERVATION LIST!!It is very well advertised that this is a “no reservations taken” restaurant. We learned the hard way that you actually CAN make reservations (by emailing the owner directly).So, when we put our name in for a group of 4 at 6:30 pm and the hostess told us there were only 3 tables ahead of us, we were more than happy to wait as we had been wanting to try this spot for a long time. 2 hours after patiently waiting outdoors (you can’t wait indoors here), and after watching many groups stroll in to their RESERVED tables, we decided to check in with the hostess. Her advice was that we should have made a reservation by contacting the owner directly.So, if you find yourself waiting for a table here, just know that the empty table you see through the window may just remain empty until a limo full of people with a secret reservation arrives for their 8:15 reservation.Easy fix: instead of leading on to your customers that they are the third ones in line for a table, tell them the truth (we have some large parties tonight, special event or request, etc). If we knew the truth, we would have simply returned another night. Alas, our patience did not prevail and we gave up at the 2 hour mark.
Service: 1
Vladimir
Great place and food, though we were able to finish only half of main dishes - too huge. ATM is one block away.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Octopus
Simone Schettino
Best Italian food in East
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Camila dasilva
What a delicious, intimate spot. We are in love with this place. Our new favorite restaurant, with the best lobster ravioli I've ever had.
Listen..... Take The Time... Just Go and Try this INSANE FOOD....YOU WON'T BE
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lobster Ravioli - Matriciana, Pasta Al Forno
Jim McFarland
We were expecting one of the highlights of our week long Boston trip to be Rino’s. Arrived 6:11pm yesterday evening anticipating a beautiful meal and maybe an hour, 1 1/2 hour wait.After we had been checking back 3-4 times over the next 3 hours, heard nothing back from Rino’s. We were told that everyone on the list “gets served” at some point. They called us at 8:50pm - (10 minutes before close)- 2 hours and 40 minutes after we put our name in that small spiral notebook at 6:11. We had already decided to leave at 8:30 after walking back 3x, and sitting in our car for a couple hours (We figured we’re going to get the “dregs” of what Rino’s could ever offer at closing time).Respectfully, Rino’s has to move into the 21st Century, and the front end needs to be run differently. I’m in the restaurant business and this was abysmal. The women at the front appeared as stressed, stymied and dismayed (as well as embarrassed) as we guests were. For its fame and draw, time to upgrade the system guys. Names are scribbled at a small station in a small spiral notebook.It would be easy to do a couple things: first, upfront, let your guests know that their wait could be far more than 1 1/2 hours. Next use Opentable or similar program like Longhorn and other restaurants to update and keep guests informed, and keep them from constantly bothering and stressing your front end. Here’s a great way to greet your guests: “Hi Welcome to Rino’s! We are delighted to have you here. How many in your party? Great! We’ll enter you in the system. So one of the things we always like to tell our guests upfront is that our wait times can be as long as 2 or even 3 hours. This is because we are very small and only have 20 tables, and each dish is lovingly cooked to order, with each table having an expected 1 1/2 hour turnover. We don’t rush our guests and want them to have a relaxing time. We do have a dry, tented wait area next to our sidewalk with heaters to help accommodate you during your wait if you wish to stay [there wasn’t one there but this would be easy to do] , but we recommend that we enter your name in our system, and we will call when your table is within 15-20 minutes of clearing. Again this can be 2-3 hours. In the meantime, we’ll text you a link and directions to some entertaining spots and sights nearby in Chelsea, and places where you might catch a cocktail or a glass of wine before dinner while you wait. A small $50 deposit is required up front to hold your place in our system; this will be applied to your check- Our system will update you on the 1/2 hour with your place on the list, and as you move up, this way you can be sure you’re moving up the list and your seat time is drawing closer. Would you like your name on the list?- Great- the link will be texted to you, then just follow the directions. We’ll update you. Thanks so much!”Then, folks are texted the info, deposit screen, directions for drinks and so on. And you capture their data to keep them coming back.Communication is key, Rino’s. People want to know here they stand, what can be expected, and that they haven’t been forgotten about.Change your guests’ front-end experience, and you become a shining star of Boston.
Service: 1
Stacey the Scientist
Best Italian in the city!
Cheryl Davies
We had a fantastic dinner here! The portion sizes are huge, service is incredible, and it was delicious. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Marsala
Kevin Mabey
Very homey atmosphere in a small dining room. CASH ONLY policy. Food is legit homemade italian with massive portions. Everyone, I mean everyone gets a to-go-box for take home. I ordered the house-made tortellini with prosciutto and peas in a cream sauce and did not have to eat again for a day. Parking is hard as its in a residential neighborhood and they will NOT seat you until everyone in the party is there. There is NO room to wait inside, so plan accordingly. But...all that is a minor inconvenience to get authentic homemade italian food. Wine is very affordable and service is attentive. Just GO!
Update - we were back in Boston a couple weeks ago and went straight back to Rino's. The food still exceeded our high expectations that we anticipated! Can't beat the food and great staff there!It's been a few years since we've been there but still think of that meal often! The lobster ravioli is absolutely the best; be warned - once you have it nowhere else will compare. Wife had the pork and it was delicious too. Can't wait to return to Boston for a follow up
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kevin DeLucia
Cozy Atmosphere, a little cramped inside, good food, a bit pricey though.All that aside I’ll never go to this place again due to the way they treat certain people, that’s just my views.Defending your actions with words doesn’t matter. Human decency & integrity are, & should always be the higher standard. Especially in a hospitality and/or service oriented business.But try this place for yourself, every experience is different… some more than others.Ate our food, paid our bill, left a good tip. Never going back!!!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Maya Leggat
Rino’s gets a lot of hype but tbh the only real thing is their portion sizes - they are indeed huge. They do have a lot of history in the neighborhood. However, taste-wise the food is rather bland and uninspired. If you like a lot of mediocrity in your italian food with a low amount of seasoning and a lot of carbs, then this place is for you. Also, I live nearby and the staff have been rude to me and my friend when walking on the sidewalk next to their outdoor street seating, because we were walking a dog on the public sidewalk on the way home and apparently that made us the rude and unsanitary ones. Yikes. Additionally, I wasn’t a fan of the restaurant telling their waiting guests to wait in the restaurant across the street. You’ll see on the neighboring restaurant’s door now that folks are not allowed to use their restaurant as a lobby. The interior is cute, but I always see people parking illegally and waiting on long lines to get in. There are much better places to go in eastie that’s better worth your time and a potential parking ticket.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
lori hogan
My Boyfriend took me out to this Restaurant for my Birthday and we were waited on by the owner Anna who was so nice! The food was the best I have ever had and we love Italian food.. Anna brought me a tiramisu with a candle in it for my birthday on the house. She is awesome and we will definitely be going back! ❤️❤️
Chicken Alfredo was good enough & waitstaff was pleasant & accommodating. Not worth waiting in line for but overall a fine experience... but if you want to save time just go to Olive Garden.
I dunno if it was an off day or what, but I was excited to try this place from the reviews and was kind of disappointed in the food. Both our pasta dishes were too soft and not very flavorful. I almost came here for my fiancé’s birthday and am glad I didn’t.Ambience is very nice though and service was quick and good. Also, huge portions for the money which makes it worth it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
BEWARE OF THE SECRET RESERVATION LIST!!It is very well advertised that this is a “no reservations taken” restaurant. We learned the hard way that you actually CAN make reservations (by emailing the owner directly).So, when we put our name in for a group of 4 at 6:30 pm and the hostess told us there were only 3 tables ahead of us, we were more than happy to wait as we had been wanting to try this spot for a long time. 2 hours after patiently waiting outdoors (you can’t wait indoors here), and after watching many groups stroll in to their RESERVED tables, we decided to check in with the hostess. Her advice was that we should have made a reservation by contacting the owner directly.So, if you find yourself waiting for a table here, just know that the empty table you see through the window may just remain empty until a limo full of people with a secret reservation arrives for their 8:15 reservation.Easy fix: instead of leading on to your customers that they are the third ones in line for a table, tell them the truth (we have some large parties tonight, special event or request, etc). If we knew the truth, we would have simply returned another night. Alas, our patience did not prevail and we gave up at the 2 hour mark.
Service: 1
Great place and food, though we were able to finish only half of main dishes - too huge. ATM is one block away.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Octopus
Best Italian food in East
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
What a delicious, intimate spot. We are in love with this place. Our new favorite restaurant, with the best lobster ravioli I've ever had.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lobster Ravioli - Matriciana, Fried Calamari, Fritto Misto
Listen..... Take The Time... Just Go and Try this INSANE FOOD....YOU WON'T BE
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lobster Ravioli - Matriciana, Pasta Al Forno
We were expecting one of the highlights of our week long Boston trip to be Rino’s. Arrived 6:11pm yesterday evening anticipating a beautiful meal and maybe an hour, 1 1/2 hour wait.After we had been checking back 3-4 times over the next 3 hours, heard nothing back from Rino’s. We were told that everyone on the list “gets served” at some point. They called us at 8:50pm - (10 minutes before close)- 2 hours and 40 minutes after we put our name in that small spiral notebook at 6:11. We had already decided to leave at 8:30 after walking back 3x, and sitting in our car for a couple hours (We figured we’re going to get the “dregs” of what Rino’s could ever offer at closing time).Respectfully, Rino’s has to move into the 21st Century, and the front end needs to be run differently. I’m in the restaurant business and this was abysmal. The women at the front appeared as stressed, stymied and dismayed (as well as embarrassed) as we guests were. For its fame and draw, time to upgrade the system guys. Names are scribbled at a small station in a small spiral notebook.It would be easy to do a couple things: first, upfront, let your guests know that their wait could be far more than 1 1/2 hours. Next use Opentable or similar program like Longhorn and other restaurants to update and keep guests informed, and keep them from constantly bothering and stressing your front end. Here’s a great way to greet your guests: “Hi Welcome to Rino’s! We are delighted to have you here. How many in your party? Great! We’ll enter you in the system. So one of the things we always like to tell our guests upfront is that our wait times can be as long as 2 or even 3 hours. This is because we are very small and only have 20 tables, and each dish is lovingly cooked to order, with each table having an expected 1 1/2 hour turnover. We don’t rush our guests and want them to have a relaxing time. We do have a dry, tented wait area next to our sidewalk with heaters to help accommodate you during your wait if you wish to stay [there wasn’t one there but this would be easy to do] , but we recommend that we enter your name in our system, and we will call when your table is within 15-20 minutes of clearing. Again this can be 2-3 hours. In the meantime, we’ll text you a link and directions to some entertaining spots and sights nearby in Chelsea, and places where you might catch a cocktail or a glass of wine before dinner while you wait. A small $50 deposit is required up front to hold your place in our system; this will be applied to your check- Our system will update you on the 1/2 hour with your place on the list, and as you move up, this way you can be sure you’re moving up the list and your seat time is drawing closer. Would you like your name on the list?- Great- the link will be texted to you, then just follow the directions. We’ll update you. Thanks so much!”Then, folks are texted the info, deposit screen, directions for drinks and so on. And you capture their data to keep them coming back.Communication is key, Rino’s. People want to know here they stand, what can be expected, and that they haven’t been forgotten about.Change your guests’ front-end experience, and you become a shining star of Boston.
Service: 1
Best Italian in the city!
We had a fantastic dinner here! The portion sizes are huge, service is incredible, and it was delicious. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Marsala
Very homey atmosphere in a small dining room. CASH ONLY policy. Food is legit homemade italian with massive portions. Everyone, I mean everyone gets a to-go-box for take home. I ordered the house-made tortellini with prosciutto and peas in a cream sauce and did not have to eat again for a day. Parking is hard as its in a residential neighborhood and they will NOT seat you until everyone in the party is there. There is NO room to wait inside, so plan accordingly. But...all that is a minor inconvenience to get authentic homemade italian food. Wine is very affordable and service is attentive. Just GO!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Update - we were back in Boston a couple weeks ago and went straight back to Rino's. The food still exceeded our high expectations that we anticipated! Can't beat the food and great staff there!It's been a few years since we've been there but still think of that meal often! The lobster ravioli is absolutely the best; be warned - once you have it nowhere else will compare. Wife had the pork and it was delicious too. Can't wait to return to Boston for a follow up
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cozy Atmosphere, a little cramped inside, good food, a bit pricey though.All that aside I’ll never go to this place again due to the way they treat certain people, that’s just my views.Defending your actions with words doesn’t matter. Human decency & integrity are, & should always be the higher standard. Especially in a hospitality and/or service oriented business.But try this place for yourself, every experience is different… some more than others.Ate our food, paid our bill, left a good tip. Never going back!!!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Rino’s gets a lot of hype but tbh the only real thing is their portion sizes - they are indeed huge. They do have a lot of history in the neighborhood. However, taste-wise the food is rather bland and uninspired. If you like a lot of mediocrity in your italian food with a low amount of seasoning and a lot of carbs, then this place is for you. Also, I live nearby and the staff have been rude to me and my friend when walking on the sidewalk next to their outdoor street seating, because we were walking a dog on the public sidewalk on the way home and apparently that made us the rude and unsanitary ones. Yikes. Additionally, I wasn’t a fan of the restaurant telling their waiting guests to wait in the restaurant across the street. You’ll see on the neighboring restaurant’s door now that folks are not allowed to use their restaurant as a lobby. The interior is cute, but I always see people parking illegally and waiting on long lines to get in. There are much better places to go in eastie that’s better worth your time and a potential parking ticket.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
My Boyfriend took me out to this Restaurant for my Birthday and we were waited on by the owner Anna who was so nice! The food was the best I have ever had and we love Italian food.. Anna brought me a tiramisu with a candle in it for my birthday on the house. She is awesome and we will definitely be going back! ❤️❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lobster Ravioli - Matriciana, Stuffed Mushrooms
Chicken Alfredo was good enough & waitstaff was pleasant & accommodating. Not worth waiting in line for but overall a fine experience... but if you want to save time just go to Olive Garden.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5