10/03/09

Great food!

by loftladycheryl

Fantastic food, well-prepared. I went for restaurant week, and everything was delicious! Good location.

• Pros: Go for restaurant week!
• Cons: none

05/18/09

Great experience

by laupic

My friends and I had a wonderful experience at Dante for my recent Birthday dinner. The manager, Seth was very accommodating and the staff was very knowledgeable and friendly.

I have been to Dante several times and have had a great experience every time. The food is great, the ambiance is nice and I can't wait for the patio to open.

Oh, and the gnocci are delicious!

Stylish hotel restaurant serves creative fare (andouille sausage corn dogs, homemade "potato stix") on one of city's largest riverfront patios.

by Eric Grossman

Dante de Magistris, formerly of the The Sports Club/LA's blu, opened his first restaurant in the Royal Sonesta (in the former Cambridge Davio's), serving all three meals with flair. More than 200 seats are spread throughout eight different seating areas, including two lounges and a large outdoor patio that sports views of the Charles and Boston's skyline. Dante's lengthy menu consists of creative, Mediterranean-tinged dishes like escargot with truffle whipped potato spuma and andouille sausage corn dogs.

05/27/08

Great food, amazing patio

by wonderwallofsound

I'm a frequent diner at "Dante". Our meals have been consistently awesome. I enjoy the ambiance and dining experience provided by "Dante". The waiters tend to be very kind and know the menu in detail. And the patio is fantastic come summer time.

3 things: 1. About the previous review: my family had brunch on Mother's day, and it was very busy at the restaurant. I understand the previous reviewer may have been unhappy with her service, but sometimes when you go to a restaurant on such a busy holiday, things can happen due to the high traffic flowing in the restaurant. To judge "Dante" just on a mothers day brunch experience is ridiculous. Try going on a weekend or weeknight to really see what's it's like. 2. They don't have a kids menu. I brought my little bro once and the servers offer choices for kids. I don't know why this past reviewer was mentioning having to ask for a kids menu, when they don't have one. 3. Their patio is "first come, first serve". You can't make reservations for it, you can only request it when you call to make a reservation, and if you show up without a reservation on a busy night, good luck, because you will be forced to wait. I learned the hard way, so just call in advance!

• Pros: ambience, patio, creativity in dishes, services, food
• Cons: pricey, portions for certain dishes dissapointing, random location

05/12/08

Hellish time at Dante's

by Sadlydisappointingplace

I went to Dante's with my son and friend to have an early dinner on Mother's Day. We expected a good meal & enjoyable evening, but the staff made it absolutely horrible. We never even made it to dinner and ended up walking out due to poor treatment and repeated mistakes. We were willing to pay the $ 55.00 for their fixed price menu, but couldn't bear the abuse ! We got there before the restaurant was open so we sat in the bar area. We were ignored by staff behind the bar and on the floor, so I ended up ordering after maybe 15 minutes of sitting there. The bartender brought our drinks over, but not the bill. Once we were informed by the hostess that we could go to out table, it took me close to 10 minutes to pay by credit card. (We were informed that my $15.00 glass of champagne could not be added to our table bill ) We were brought to our table and the hostess brought a highchair but did not remove the place setting in front of it. We had to ask for a children's menu. We were trying to decide on our meals and put the unpleasantness

behind us, but it got worse ! The waitress tried to pour the rest of my individual-sized champagne bottle into my glass when I had scarcely drank any, so the champagne overflowed and spilled over the table...so much that the waitress said " I'll get another napkin " and walked off with the bottle. I called after her " is it Empty now ??? " It was clearly time to leave. The manager Phillipo spoke with us outside the restaurant, but did not seem to care or offer any explanation or compensation. It is a shame that the place seems so poorly run. Maybe 2 x $55.00 meals plus any drinks and meal for my son is not significant revenue to them, although you would think that every customer is important. Even someone saying " sorry " or " I'll be right with you " would have helped. We had a hellish time at Dante's, and won't be going back while it is under that management.

08/07/07

Try it before it is too busy to get in!

by cfs78

We've been twice to this upscale Italian restaurant in the Royal Sonesta. Each time the food has been outstanding. The original draw was that were able to get a reservation on a weekend night. If word gets out on how good the food is that shouldn't be true for long. We dined with our two children. Each of us loved every course of our meal. To start we were treated to an amuse bouche of risotto cakes, which made my children swoon. The waiter could see how much we enjoyed them and promptly brought us another plate of them. My son declared his steak frite the best meal he had ever had anywhere. The service was excellent. I highly recommend Dante.

02/04/07

Delicious and creative menu. Lovely atmosphere

by jackkelly8

Our family was looking for a special restaurant in Cambridge to celebrate a birthday and enjoy Sunday brunch. We thought of Dante after having many delicious dinners there. We really enjoyed the brunch service and want to highly recommend it.

Our group was seated at a comfortable banquette overlooking the Charles River on a beautifully sunny morning. We all agreed the atmosphere was perfect. Our waiter was a familiar face to us and, as always, could not have been friendlier. His stories and knowledge of the kitchen gave the meal a more personal touch.

Some of us began the birthday celebration by ordering Dante's Inferno, the house version bloody Mary. Although the name might sound intimidating, we agreed it was an excellent Bloody Mary with just the right combination of spices. Others at our table enjoyed the Bellinis with peach nectar.

When the entrees arrived, we made sure to sample each other?s choices. All the food was delicious, however, the big cut brioche French toast got our vote for the favorite breakfast entree. It was served with spiced butter and fresh Vermont maple syrup -- from the chef?s family farm -- and it just melted in your mouth! I made a mental note to order that on our next visit. My entree was the classic eggs benedict on whole-wheat English muffins, with honey roasted ham and grilled lemon hollandaise. The presentation was lovely and the dish perfectly cooked. Other guests had the olive oil & rosemary basted organic eggs, with sauteed spinach, Parmigiano Reggiano, roasted potatoes and toast. Scrumptious. Everyone cleaned his or her plates.

In addition to the great cuisine, we love the convenience of the Sonesta Hotel. It?s a scenic, easy drive along the river and the restaurant validates parking. Enjoy a weekend morning at Dante. You won?t be disappointed.

• Pros: Accomplished Chef, Ambience, Best view of the Charles River.

01/27/07

Great Place for an Event

by jschum9008

I recently discovered this new gem... perfect for a rehearsal dinner, shower, or brunch! It was recommended for my engagement party...and the food and service were exceptional! I thought it was going to be price-prohibitive, but it wasn't at all. The space is beautiful and because they have many different areas, dante can accomodate a party of any size. The best part was their gorgeous patio over-looking the charles river and boston skyline. I plan to coordinate my friend's baby shower on it this summer.

Check them out...it's SO worth it. Very impressive, friendly, and reasonable!

08/09/06

A sophisticated New England 21st century version of the great Italian classics my Nonna in Rome used to make.

by mvic

I recently had the great pleasure of dinning at Dante de Magistriss new restaurant at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge (across from the galleria). I am a native Italian who can count on one hand the number of Italian restaurants I have been to in 20 years in the US that have not disappointed, at the top of my short list is San Domenico in New York. After having tried the fare at Dantes I now have another addition to that short list.

After a crisp dry prosecco we opened the meal by sampling the Oysters, and the raw calamari, peppers over brioche, salad. The oysters were fresh and came with a very well balanced sea salt based seasoning mix, and the calamari were exquisite and oh so delicate (may have been med calamari as they tasted too delicate and sweet to be north Atlantic). The pairing of the calamari with a nice Trebbiano worked very well.

After a lovely little amuse bouche ( some type of fish sashimi drizzled with olive oil and topped by a very light cream based spuma, or foam) we moved on to a selection of cooked appetizers. Here too Dante hiit all the high notes and avoided the pitfalls of other chefs who fall prey to sensory dissonance when trying to play fusion with traditional Italian dishes. The New England clam bake take on traditional Italian zuppa di pesce worked very well indeed with the andouille mini corn dog adding a very flavorful accent to the dish. The other dishes we tried all showcased the refined sense of balance that Dante has in pairing foods and flavors, not over loading on any one particular flavor and in this way allowing the organic synergies to play out to perfection. This clever pairing of flavors was showcased again with the sweetness of the caramelized onion tart paired with the slightly tart goats cheese and the mildly acidic aged balsamic.

Search dante on the Boston Board at chowhound dot com for the whole review. Enjoy!

• Pros: Innovative and delicious food
• Cons: none

08/02/06

Horrible service.

by rlee72

I will never go back to this restaurant! Besides the nice views of the river and city, dante's is HELL!

Servers are rude and extremely slow. It took over 45 minutes after being seated that our waitress asked for our drink orders - and then another 20 minutes for them to actually arrive. Food was bland, and thoughtlessly prepared. Later, when we stupidly decided on an after dinner drink - we were chased down by the bar-tender when he thought we were trying skip out on the bill, (when we were only trying to get a better view of river by sitting closer to the rail). It would have been an acceptable mistake, had he not made a scene and tried to portray us as being cheapskates. Unbelievable. Do NOT go to this restaurant!

• Pros: View.
• Cons: Terrible service. Rude. Bland food. Poor value.