Massimino's

03/01/09

Below par service & food

by zadnor at Citysearch

Massimino's proved mediocre last night.

We started with a drink downstairs while waiting for a table. The wine cellar is cozy and charming but, like most North End restaurants, space is at a premium so we had to stand at one end. No matter, the wait was only about 30 minutes.

We ordered a glasses of chardonnay and Chianti. The former was delivered promptly but, then, another employee pulled the bartender aside, and whisked him away. Another man took his place and filled the order for which I paid. Before he gave me change he was replaced by yet another man who gave me incorrect change--at least according to the price we were quoted. When I pointed out the error, he condescendingly sneered the price?which had risen $1.00.

We were seated upstairs in a corner beneath a speaker blaring dance music. A woman behind us sat so far from her table--her knees were about even with the table's edge--that no one could pass to reach us. Three different servers, rather than politely ask her to scoot up decided instead to serve us over the diners and dinners at the table beside us. We had to reach out for our plates and glasses and place them on our table while the waitrons either leaned over the couple's table passed Chianti our neighbor's reeling face. Rather than deal with this inconvenience too often, the employees chose to check on our needs infrequently.

The meal itself--sausage w/ vinegared peppers & potatoes and chicken saltimbocca--was so-so. The vinegared peppers were good--tender and tangy--and the roasted potatoes, excellent but the sausage was overcooked so that it was dry and chewy. Tthe sausage may have been good but I can't say because they cooked the flavor out of it. The chicken was fine but I am pretty sure the ham with it was not prosciutto and the herbs and spices were all but nonexistent. The side of pasta was all right with good tomato sauce.

To be fair, others I've spoken to have had good experiences at Massimino's. Would that I had joined their ranks.

• Pros: Downstairs room is charming
• Cons: Indiffferent service, mediocre food

02/04/08

Great Food

by megker22 at Citysearch

We had lunch here and it was so good. The waitstaff was a lot of fun we had great food and a great time.The prices were very reasonable.

• Pros: priced right
• Cons: out of the way

01/24/08

HUGE dissapointment; a regret

by LRPCCC at Citysearch

My boyfriend and I decided to order our food from here based on all of the wonderful recommendations that we have had (as well as the award from Zagat and a few others). This was our last dinner together as I am moving tomorrow and we wanted something really delicious and I have to say that I have never been so disappointed in a meal and I have never complained. I honestly didn't even eat my entree. My boyfriend ordered the veal saltimbocca which is supposed to be stuffed with prosciutto and served with penne. The pasta was dry and the veal was not only bad, but instead of being stuffed with prosciutto, it had chunks of ham all over the pasta and not even stuffed in the veal. I ordered the shrimp scampi, which is my favorite dish of all time and I have NEVER been dissatisfied with at any other restaurant... the pasta was dry and chewy, the shrimp was not fresh and extremely over cooked and there was no sauce on it either. The lobster ravioli was nothing special either. The food was terrible quality and I feel terrible that my boyfriend had to spend so much money on such poor quality food.

• Cons: The food was terrible.

05/21/07

Best Italian food in Boston!!

by fromboston at Citysearch

I am an expert in Italian food and this is by far the best I ever had.

We had the antipasta for appetizer and it was yummy.

i had the cheese tortollini with red sauce and i just loved it. the best sauce i ever had!

my fiance had one of the specials which was a seafood/pasta dish and he loved it! even after over 2 months from eating it he still talks about it.

we defintely will be going back in the future!

• Pros: good food, good service

03/16/07

Good food, don't count on your reservation

by dlmn at Citysearch

My boyfriend made reservations here for my birthday. He had called ahead and asked that we be seated downstairs in the wine cellar, and told them it was my birthday and they said they would provide pieces of cake and a candle. (He didn't tell me this ahead of time of course)

Well, I got there and they had our reservation down for an hour and a half later than the actual time he'd made the reservation for, but they said it wouldn't be a problem getting a table. We were seated shortly after everyone arrived, so it wasn't a problem though they did seat us upstairs, which was louder and crowded. I agree with what other people posted about the specials, they don't tell you the prices of the specials. I ordered one of the specials but they were out of it. I ordered another one of the specials, and one of the appetizer specials, but I don't know how much they cost. the food was very good, the service was good except they forgot the birthday cake. he asked the waiter about it on the way out and the server said he forgot as they were busy.

I'd say the food was good and we had a good time, but don't count on your reservation.

02/23/07

Great food, bad attitude

by boston217 at Citysearch

Booked a birthday dinner for small group and when I made a reservation they didn't say anything about it being a problem, just said "see you tonight!" When I got there, the place was crowded and hostess claimed we'd have to wait another 1-1.5 hours! When asked about having a reservation, she got "too bad - we're busy tonight!"

Totally recommend the food (delicious& not too expensive) but don't consider your reservations to be solid at all!

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Attitude

06/28/06

Amazing bartender, great service, the best food in the northend.

by kevinmichels at Citysearch

This place is amazing. First off it's easy to find and when i called to get directions the host was more then happy to give them to me. When i got there i didnt have a reservation, and there were two of us, waiting for three so we were sent to the bar downstairs. The bar is small. unbelieveably small. no chairs nothing, but by far they have one of the best bartenders in the city. Not only did we not have to wait for a drink, but the drinks were unbelieveable. This girl made an italian espresso martini, which i've since tried to order at several other places, but is no where near as good and she made my wife a drink from where she was from in canada called a "Quebec Bissou" that is now my wifes favorite drink, but no one else in the city know how to make. When we sat down at the table and were served bread and water right away, greeted by our waitress who was more then happy in the middle of a rush to help us order. She reccomended the veal chop, which was beyond phenomional! She also took the time to help us chose a wine, and dessert. The food was amazing, huge portions, by far the best meal i've had in boston, and the staff will bend over backwards to make sure you leave happy. Only in a family owned Italian Bistro will you get such personal service. I would higly reccomend a vist!

• Pros: Bartender, food, staff
• Cons: Croweded, small waiting area

06/11/06

I had a blast!

by lekohawk at Citysearch

I visited Massimino's on a bit of a whim (we just started walking the North End, and went in to the first relaxed attire Italian place we came across) with a friend on a recent trip to Boston. I have to say, I had an excellent time! It was a Friday night and there were only a few clusters of people sitting in the restaurant. The hostess gave us our choice of sitting upstairs or downstairs ("We'll go look downstairs, and if you don't like it we'll get you a table upstairs.")

The waitress quickly took our wine and antipasti order, and upon discovering that they were out of our wine selection, she exclaimed - in true east coast Italian style - "I'm gonna take care a ya!" and went off in search of a different wine for us. She quickly came back with a very good red, the name of which escapes me at the moment.

After a few minutes with the bread (which was, I'll admit, a little dry) and antipasti, she took our food order - again with all the flair and fire one expects from a waitress at an Italian bistro. Within 20 minutes, I was eating my meal. We dined at a fairly leisurly pace, and were never rushed. As a matter of fact, the waitress encouraged us to eat slowly, and even sat down near us, briefly, to discuss the finer points of finding good Italian on the North End.

The bill came, and we discovered that though the bottle of wine she'd brought us was $25 more expensive than the wine we ordered, we were only charged for the cost of the bottle we'd ordered. Take care of us, indeed! Probably the best waitress I've had in a long time.

In all, I'd highly recommend Massimino's to anyone looking for good Italian, and fun and friendly service. I'll be back in Boston next summer, and you can bet I'll be back at Massimino's then, too.

• Pros: Ambience, Friendly Staff
• Cons:  bread was a little dry

05/12/06

DISAPPOINTMENT

by miamurphy at Citysearch

There's a reason that there are so many poor reviews of Massimino's. It claims to be sort of down-home, rustic italian food. And the food's OK. But, my boyfriend's is way better. And prices are outrageous, which makes for a downer of an evening. They are pretty deceptive about the specials, ie. they cost three times as much as the rest of the menu.

• Cons: prices

02/11/06

I'm confused...

by aink at Citysearch

I've been going to Massimino's for 5-6 years now, and I and have always enjoyed myself. I recommend it to everyone. The other reviews that complain about stand-offish service simply don't get it. I don't want someone bothering me while I'm having dinner with friends and certainly not when I have a mouthful of their exquisite wine selection. In that same vein, when I do attract their attention for another basket of bread or another bottle of wine they are all over it!

If you want a stuffy atmosphere with no character, go somewhere else. If you want the feel of an Italian kitchen, attitude and all, then go to Massimino's.

I like standing in the bar area and speaking to the wait staff and bartender about the specials and my favorites on the menu. That's also a good time to ask them about any new wines that they have.