Rabia's

Recommends

slunardi

Joined 7 years ago

Wont be recommending based on first experience. A friend got this place recommended and we made a reservation the same evening. Our party was 6 people and definitely not appropriate for this place. We wanted for quite a while despite our reservation. We were placed at the very back of the restaurant. It was quite loud and uncomfortable.

The specials' menu for the evening was quite inviting, much more than the traditional menu. But no price on the specials menu...

The table shared the day's appetizers. While quite good, they show up in our main courses' sauces.

Like it was mentioned by another review here, the gnocchi showed up hard and only warm, in other words: undercooked. We ordered the seafood Extravaganza pasta and were disappointed by it. It was dry and lacked flavor.

Recommends

xenocide4

Joined 7 years ago

Outstanding. I have eaten here twice. The first time, after an excellent sauteed portabella appetizer, I ordered the Risotto. It was exquisite; the shellfish heaped on top of it was the freshest I have had in a long time. Flavors mingled perfectly. The second time, I ordered on of their seafood specials (half a lobster and a pile of shellfish on top of linguini). It was not _quite_ as fantastic, but was nonetheless excellent.

Doesn't Recommend

birthday_girl

Joined 7 years ago

not for a special occasion, there's better elsewhere. My boyfriend made reservations for a romantic birthday dinner, but when we arrived 10 minutes early to check-in, we found that the hostess had given our reservations away. Apparently she would ask each person to point to their name on her clipboard, so many people's reservations were taken by other people who wanted to be seated fast. The hostess did not apologize and we were seated over half an hour later.

The food was not bad, but nothing special. The only romantic seat is in the window, otherwise people's seatbacks are up against yours and the loud techno/house music makes conversation difficult. Even though the waitress knew we were there for my birthday, we were informed with the delivery of our meals that they would not be serving dessert because they needed the tables. In other words, "here's your dinner, get out". I was very disappointed. The food was not great, my gnocchi was hard and barely warm, the bread and olive tapenade was dry and not very good either. I found the staff to be more interested in turning tables than anything else, which made them inattentive and rude. We were never offered a second glass of wine and no one checked in to ask how our meal was after it was put on the table. Most of the rave reviews I have read are several years old, so maybe Rabia's has gone downhill from what it once was. I say stay away. There is better.

Recommends

big_brother

Joined 8 years ago

Very nice spot for two. Rabia's is a small, warm Italian restaurant well off the beaten path of Hanover St. in the North End. My wife and I visited here for a recent anniversary dinner, and were very lucky to get the window table-for-two at the very front. This table probably afforded us more privacy than any other in the restaurant, however, we did need to ask to have the music turned down due to the front-of-restaurant speaker located overhead. The service here was very prompt, pleasant and courteous, and we never felt rushed. Seating at Rabia's may be a bit too cozy to suit some people's preferences, and the nearby bustling back and forth of waitstaff and other guests may be annoying to some. The food choices and preparation were simply outstanding. We decided to stay for desert and were well-rewarded.

Recommends

areiner

Joined 9 years ago

Excellent standards. from outside this place looked like a dozen others in the north end but the food certainly stood out. The dishes are somewhat standard but all outstanding. One member of our party was skeptical about ordering veal because of so many bad experiences but ended up being very impressed with preperation. Service was also good.

Recommends

jeannaj

Joined 8 years ago

The Best of THE BEST. On a first date, and i was very afraid. We approached the place slowly, the music clapped our ears, and the smell took our breath away, and we knew at this point, we were on to something good. At that time i smiled, it was smooth sailing from the begining, the experience was memorable, and the food was to die for, we fell in love because of it, and now we are engaged, and we send a card expressing our deepest love to the staff and everyone who works there.

Thank You Rabia's

Recommends

dela7

Joined 8 years ago

Best night out!. Sensational dining amtosphere, food, ambience, music, and exceptionaly great service!

I was out in the North End with a few of my girlfriends, after recieving a few tips from other friends that had been there before, we sampled most of the menu, pasta, seafoods, and specials of the night, from which i highly reccomend the seafood extravaganza, delicious fresh seafood with many other items like shrimp, scallops, mussels, crab, salmon and lobster. Cooked tender, fresh, and light. We enjoyed every single bite of it. And then we tried a few different desserts which were well presented, fresh, and delicious.

I would highly reccomend it for dates, very romantic setting, and for gathering with family and/or friends!

Recommends

scogs

Joined 9 years ago

Recommended... BUT...... I had the angel hair pasta with corn, etc in a saffron sauce and it was very good and very light. HOWEVER, my sister got the gnocci, and my boyfriend got the chicken parm, both of which had their marinara sauce. The marinara, in my opinion, was AWFUL. It was thick and worst of all, SWEET. I don't know if I would go there again just because of that sauce

Recommends

jbucher24

Joined 10 years ago

Unbelievable. Prompt service, great atmosphere, good wine, excellent food, and tiramisu to die for. My only complaint is that the prices listed on the menu outside were lower than the ones on the menus they gave you once you had been seated...probably just an oversight, but it seemed a little sneaky to me. Dinner well made up for it though.

Doesn't Recommend

jisola

Joined 10 years ago

Rushed at Rabia's. This resturant was very disappointing. The service was rushed(they removed the appetizer plates before we were done!) The food was average and the resturant was way too cramped. On top of all that joy was a overpriced check. There are many

north end resturants better than this place.