Artichokes has been our favorite favorite restaurant for years. The food is delicious and reasonably priced. The serving size is large and I always enjoy eating the leftovers the next day. read more

So it has been over 2 years since I have been here and not because of the quality of food or the service. Just busy I guess. Because my last experience was amazing I decided to bring my mom and cousins here for a birthday celebration. We had dinner during the week so it was extremely easy to get a table and it was not crowded. Everyone was so warm and friendly and our waitress Linda was extremely helpful and made our dinner a true pleasure. We ordered most of the meal from the specials and we were not disappointed. The food was incredible and everyone at the table could not get enough or the mushroom ravioli and fresh Fuselli pasta. It's sad to hear that so many have not had the best experience here but I have yet to experience anything but stellar food and service. We sat for 2 hours and took our time to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere and wonderful food. I will not wait another 2 years before coming back read more

ARTICHOKES, WAKEFIELD,MA. Not a complete Zing but some negatives..... I'd read about this restaurant for months and finally had the opportunity to dine. Well it's just OK. Nothing special. They've created the illusion that it's outstanding but it really isn't. For beginners......hubby ordered the warm salad WITHOUT tomatoes....he dispises them. The salad arrived with DOUBLE the amount of tomatoes!! Sent back, it arrived without tomatoes. The dressing was unremarkable. #1 negative. Bread on table with oil was AWFUL! It's light and fluffy. No character at all. #2 negative. Good bread is good indicator of things to come.....trust me! Hubby order a diet coke. When it arrived he commented that it was very sweet. Yup.....NOT diet. #3 negative. Ok, not a biggie but if he was diabetic it would have been. I had the Artichoke Margarita which was fine but it was loaded with hard artichoke leaves which I had to pull out of my mouth so I wouldn't choke. Not a pleasant experience to be doing in public. #4 negative. Our entrees were good. Hubby had the Pork Chop w/vinegar peppers/potatoes which he enjoyed. I had the Chicken Fungi w/tomato cream sauce which was good and plentiful. Ok, so this worked in their favor. Then dessert. Hubby ordered the Orange Sorbet....got Lemon Sorbet. Again, no biggie but #5 negative. I had an Espresso Martini which was very good! Then when we got the check I noticed we were charged for the 2nd diet coke he ordered but didn't receive. Again, not a biggie but #6 negative. The service wasn't great either. She seemed to disappear quite often. My knife fell on the floor and she never returned with a clean one. Never refilled our water glasses, either. While this may not be important to most we're talking nearly $100.00 for dinner with 6 negatives. For that amount we really shouldn't have had any negatives. It wasn't a horrible experience but not the most positive we've had in ages. Give me Cafe Jags in Wakefield for 1/2 the price and double the quality or L'Andana Grill in Burlington, same price triple the quality anytime. The hostess, Kathleen, and I had a long chat while we were waiting. She's a great representive of the restaurant. She was very professional and informative. Also, I heard they're opening downstairs as a bar in the not too distant future. Good for them because the bar is crowded and waiting is uncomfortable. Contessa read more

All I have to say is, for my family, NOTHING compares to this restaurant. Every time we have a birthday, graduation, Mother's Day, Father's Day or any other special occasion, we always end up at Artichoke's by unanimous vote! Even my granddaughter for her 11th birthday chose going to Artichoke's with us and her parents over a kid's birthday pool party at my house. The food here is absolutely, mouthwatering delicious and served with homemade fresh pasta, and my granddaughter and I always get our favorite, Chicken Con Fungi. We usually have plenty of leftovers to take home so we can all fight over the leftovers the next day, and whoever wakes up earlier usually gobbles it down. The atmosphere and decor is very nice and service is always outstanding, but we come here for their amazing food and hope to continue making Artichokes our family tradition for many more years. This place is perfect, a real gem!!! read more

The food is excellent but the servers seem so unhappy and uninterested. Also, this is the first restaurant I have been to that will not substitute a vegetable for the pasta. I cannot eat pasta.... give me broccoli, salad, I would take anything. The waitress was so put out that I asked if I could substitute something for the pasta. Shut me right down. This is a first for me. I left not feeling very warm and fuzzy for the price. read more

Lobster ravs were out of this world! Great dining experience. Parking was not ideal but the food was great anyways

My family has been going to artichokes for 20 years now, since they were in Malden. They always get the chicken con fungi and I would get the veal bellaboca. We went back this week and they took both of them out of the menu. The chicken al cristal (or something like that) replaced the chicken con fungi which is still a very delicious dish, but I hope they put them both back on the menu. read more

All I can say is OMG! This meal was delicious from start to finish! My friend and I sat in the bar and the ambiance was perfect. It was not too crowded but definitely not empty. We started with the warm salad and the shrimp scampi. Both were amazing and so flavorful! The warm tomatoes with the buffalo mozzarella was to die for. I then got a chicken dish with mushrooms, fresh fusilli, in a tomato cream sauce. Everything tasted so fresh! Unfortunately I was too full from the yummy appetizers to eat very much of it but the leftovers the next night were just as good. We didn't try and desserts but I cant imagine that they are anything other then amazing! I think the one downfall of this place is that it is a little tight in the main dining room but that wasn't a problem for us since we sat at a hightop at the bar. If you want super fresh and scrumptious Italian food then this is the place for you! read more

Came here on a Friday night for dinner at 7:30pm. We sat at a small bar table in the small bar area upstairs. (though later discovered a much cozier lounge/bar downstairs that I think I would prefer to sit at!) Ordered a Jumbier Martini (rum jumbier, watermelon, lime) .. it was good but very very sweet-- like a very sweet version of a watermelon italian ice. But okay to sip and start with. We ordered our meals and the bread came out- decent white italian bread that was at least warm and soft, with a good olive oil dipping sauce- with garlic and black pepper and other spices... very flavorful and spicy. We had way more bread than oil and we were never offered additional oil and people kept asking if we were done with the bread- kind of annoying. After my martini I ordered a glass of pinot grigio which was decent. All of their red wine selection was disappointing, no really good bold italian red wines. And then we waited and waited and waited... and finally over an hour after we ordered, we finally got our meals! I had been warned about this from other yelp reviews... but it still shocked me that it was such a crazy long wait! Thankfully, the food was fabulous. Originally I worried about the caliber of food because their menu selections seems lacking, but boy was I in a for a treat. I ordered the chicken con fungi, which was literally enough for three servings. It had three huge pieces of chicken breast, tons of housemade fusilli, lots of delicious mushrooms, and an absolutely amazing pink creamy sauce- no idea what was in it but it was one of the very best pasta sauces I have EVER had! Even though this place is WAY out of my way, I could actually see myself coming back here just for that dish. Maybe for take out to avoid the insane wait and the not so good cocktail/wine menu! At least because it's in a suburb, there is plenty of easy street parking, and the prices were pretty decent, though a tad on the high side for the location. I just wish they would offer reservations (it's the 21st century- join opentable!!) and offer way better and faster service. read more

We have lived in Wakefield for 4 years but just recently tried Artichokes and have been back twice since then! The night we went was a Friday and there was only about a half an hour wait. We were surprisingly sat quicker than that. But that's when the wait began....Unfortunately it was almost 2 hours for our meal, which is the only reason why this rating isn't 5 stars. We ordered the white mussels as an appetizer and they were the best I've ever had. The sauce was good enough to drink. We both ordered a chicken dish and both were delicious. We split the lobster tail for dessert and that was equally as good. To top it off, we went downstairs afterwards and they had a guy - Joey Canzano singing in a one man show type of performance. He was funny, charming and had a great voice. Overall was a great night, but would have been much more enjoyable if the service wasn't so incredibly slow. We will definitely be back though, the food was worth it. read more

I'd gone to the Malden location several times before and really enjoyed it. But I've tried the new Wakefield location twice and have been greatly disappointed. NEVER go on a Saturday night! We waited 2 hours and 25 minutes for a party of 4...never again. And when I say waited, we stood in the cold entry way as there is no waiting area or seating. When my husband tried to get me a drink at the bar, the bartender ignored him. When we were finally seated (at 9pm), we waited 7 minutes to be greeted by our server. She took our drink order which took another 20 minutes to arrive!! Our waitress was SLOW. At one point, she asked me to speak up because "it's really loud in here". The food is good...really love the Lobster Ravioli. But honestly, the prices are pretty high and if you have any cooking skills at all, you can make this stuff at home (which we have). It's pretty simple stuff. We lived in Italy for a bit, and our friends there would be horrified at the amount of fat served in these dishes...if you put enough cream or cheese in something it's gonna taste good. If you're determined to try this place, go on a week night and get there right when they open. Otherwise you're just asking for trouble. read more

we went a month ago. impeccable decor/atmosphere...one step above mediocre Italian food, I expected more...maybe it was an off night, will try again and post update read more

So I walk into Artichokes restaurant for the first time.... A very nice entrance.... The hostess takes my name and I ask how long... "for 2 not long ... go get a drink downstairs ".... Translation go to our over crowed bar and get an $11 glass of over priced house wine that you will have to wait 15 minutes for "..... after the barback went to get glasses , the bar ran out, we drank our horrible Pinot noir.... I then went up stairs to check on the table and was told I was next... I don't know if that meant the next 2 or next to be called.... After watching people getting paraded to the tables and getting passed by after an hour and ten minutes. "Not long " I was told mind you...., I'm out of here....... read more

On my second trip to this establishment we were once again given a wait of 20 minutes which turned into 90 minutes. We got a major attitude from the hostess and the "manager" who instead of apologizing or comping us an appetizer she literally reprimanded us for not understanding the wait time can increase....BULL, seeing as local townies walked in from outside and sat ahead of us, where they take no reservations I was out of patience. Of course wait times can shift, but 20 versus 90 minutes is inexcusable and deserves at least apologetic words...not a huge attitude where we were told "well if you wanted to use your certificate u should have used it at the bar" ?...exact words....RUDE and never will return. read more

This is a real a rare treat. After reading the reviews i was thinking twice. I don't think people understand the wait for the food is because its prepared to order. The staff was extremely helpful in helping make decisions from dinner to drinks. The staff is very friendly and honestly can not do enough for you. I had the pleasure of meeting the owners Maria and Ralph. They were very friendly I feel like I have known them my whole life. The female singer Sharon Difronzo had performed there last nite. I also want to say hats off to Maria and Ralph for bringing such a great place to the area. The place was tastefully decorated with a real feeling of home. Thanks again for such a great experience. read more

Excellent 'dining'. Food excellent. Prepared when ordered. Served only when ready. Go early! Be prepared to relax and enjoy. If you are 'on the clock' go somewhere else. Specials are special. Chef welcomes changes and input. Debby our server a credit to establishment. Be prepared to drop $100 - bit worth it to dine not just eat and run read more

I have been here a few times since it relocated to Wakefield and have always found it to be mediocre. Went on Saturday night with friends and everyone loved it. Food was terrific. It was relaxing. We had a great table. Raves all around. I've talked to neighbors who'd been and also had less than stellar praise. Dunno whether it was the night or planetary alignment, but we all vowed to return. Still hate no door on the kitchen, but didn't take away from the rest of our experience. read more

This used to be my favorite restaurant in Wakefield. I made a reservation for Monday night and when I pulled up to the restaurant it was closed and all the lights were off. Their voicemail says they are open on Mondays. I understand that there may have been a good reason for this closure but I never received a phone call telling me this. I was extremely disappointed, but not surprised as the service there has never been impressive. Big let down. read more

We had reservations on New Year's Eve. We had a drink at the beautiful bar and were seated exactly at the time of our reservation. The food was AMAZING and the service too. Reasonably priced and huge portions of fresh seafood and pasta! We can't wait to go back! read more

Having moved away from the Reading/Wakefield area, I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the quality of food, service, and dining experience I recently had at Artichokes. This area has needed more places like this for years. What a beautiful bar to enjoy a drink at...and to be able to enjoy North End quality food in the suburbs was such a treat. I have read the negative comments and all I can say is that I did not experience any of them. It was a crowded wed night and we waited exactly 1 hour- but enjoyed a drink in the pleasant bar area. It was a true pleasure to sit in the bar area surrounded by all ages- including a father and young daughter enjoying a pasta meal at one of the tables! The more upscale restaurants in the area have turned into such pick-up joints that Artichokes to me was a breath of fresh air. The food portions were generous, great selection of wine, appetizers, etc..and our waiter could not have been more attentive. I have nothing but great things to say for this welcome addition to the Wakefield area. read more

Just returned from my first trip to Artichokes and I was pleasantly surprised - esp. seeing so many negative reviews. I don't discount them but we had a great experience. Great service (we were there right after it opened), cozy atmosphere (sat next to a fabulous couple - I can see how it could be painful if they weren't), great food and tons of it. Bruschetta, Mozarella & tomatoes, chicken parm, fussilli a la Maria - all super tasty and didn't feel like an identical dish from ___ (insert name of one of hundreds of Italian restaurants in the area). My husband and I came home with a lot of leftovers. It is on the pricier end of things but I don't feel ripped off because there was so much of it. Not somewhere we'd go every day but perfect for a special occasion. (Our anniversary.) Give it a try. Hopefully, you'll have a great experience like we did. read more

I have been to this establishment about six times and though the food tends to be quite good the service is always terrible. In the main dining area the servers have been slow, disorganized and always tending to something more important such as standing on the side of the dining room gossiping about other employees and schedules. I finally wrote a review because the last experience was over the top bad service when the server took the credit card slip from the table before while we were still finishing our wine and looked at the tip amount. I would understand if the server said "My section is closed do you mind if I close out your check and so and so will tend to anything else you need" This was not the case. She had tables that were just sat in her section and appeared to be the closer. The bar is a bit better. Not amazing but better than the dining room service. High Tops in the bar seem to be the best choice however make sure you are on the left hand side at the high tables. The high tops behind the bar are awful when it gets busy servers and bar patrons alike are literally leaning on your table and in your food and drinks because of lack of space. I wish this place had take out because it would be idea to enjoy their food without having to deal with the wait staff. For a nice evening out with consistently good food AND service I'd go to the Molise or Cafe Italia. Both are much more enjoyable experiences than Artichokes. If you want good food, have all the time in the world and don't care about service then definately go to Artichokes, inside their kitchen is where they hide all their talent. read more

Went there with my cousin on a Sat. night, since she had been dying to try for a while. I was early, sat at the bar to wait. 15 minutes until 1 of the 2 bartenders even looked at me --- she was more interested in "catch-up" with some regulars. Martini was just "ok". Dinner partner arrived and we were shuttled into a PACKED dining area ..... not because of the amount of diners, but because of the fact the tables were small and on top of each other. I ordered the warm salad, mediocre, at best. Bruschetta was a pile of unripe tomatoes on that untoasted, nasty bread. Had shrimp, scallops and beef over pasta with a bourbon cream sauce that whiffed of Philly cream cheese. The lemon sorbet was a block of yellow ice in a frozen 1/2of a lemon -- very difficult to eat. To top it off, our pompous, arrogant waiter with the fake accent was downright RUDE. No tip for him ..... read more

I have been to Artichokes a few times and always had a good time. The food is great, drinks are better and the owners did a great job on the decor. Very warm, friendly environment. Nice bar. We had our company holiday party there and it was a success. I will return soon! read more

Oh how I wanted to love this place. I have been there twice, and for the prices, I thought the food was just OK. I will say both times I had very good service and thought it had a nice atmosphere. I'd consider going back for drinks. The fresh pasta dishes we good, but if you are Italian and are (know) a good cook it's a little disappointing. Not horrible, but nothing I couldn't do myself. read more

veal is tough,,,,,second time............ chicken margarita ,,,,,,,,chicken was great........the lemon sauce was so bitter from cooking the lemons in it tooooooooooooo long......so bitter, I couldn't even eat any of the pasta ...... waited over an hour for dinner, with nothing but a sorry.....too bad....... when we got there it had to be at least 60 degrees in the dining room. home made tiramasu was horrible, marscapone cheese with confectionary sugar......no rum flavor at all.........and to top it off the coffee was old, burnt taste............ Never again............sad to say, people are in there eating what they "think" is good food. Too bad they know now what they do!!!!! Going across the street next time and try Sabatino's.... read more

Went to Artichokes for dinner tonight - ambiance was nice but the food not so nice. The warm salad was awful, my husband ordered a veal dish with procsiutto and motz and the veal was rancid. He had one bite, had me try it (ugh!) and sent it back. They still charged us for half the price of the meal since alittle was eaten. My dish was good - chicken with mushroom in a pink cream sauce - and plentiful, so he helped me finish it. Very disappointed in the policy not to refund in full a rancid dish. Would not go back! read more

Went there this past Friday. The only good thing I have to say is that the decor was beautiful! Horrible service, they had us downstairs to eat had to go back up stairs only to wait for our talbe another 10 minutes. Finally get to our table order cocktails(nothing complicated) Wait 35 minutes to come back with drinks!! Never got bread or even an explatnation why it took so long for drinks. Was charged extra for desserts we didn't order? $18.00. There were so many staff working I don't know why we had to wait so long for everything! Never will go back!! Never Never Never!! Horrible Service. Food was ok! read more

I've always wanted to try Artichokes so my husband and I finally made it. We will not be back. About three hours after getting home, I was sick as can be. Pretty sure related to the food. I had pasta with cream sauce, broccoli on the side and a glass of merlot. The service was good and the atmosphere was nice. The food even tasted good while we were there, but clearly spoiled or not clean. read more

Have been to this restaurant many times and have always been treated great, and have always enjoyed the food. Everyone is pleasant, friendly, and makes you feel welcome. Will be returning soon!! read more

Love trying new places and I had heard good things about this place, we live close and were excited for a change. Walked in wanted drinks and apps the hosts had no direction acted like we were insulting them by saying this, and sent us to the basement for drinks and said they possibly will be serving food but it depends. Ok ? Fine whatever let's see how it goes. Sat down, nice seats cool atmosphere, live music seemed ok. The waitress came over and said "ummmm I'm going to need to see Id's" no hello, no how are you doing, no welcome can I check your Id's please. Just very rude... First off I'm 24 and everyone with me was well over the age of 21. They had our Id's for about 5 minutes and I could hear them arguing over the year we were born and if we were old enough. Very awkward, long sorry short she came back asked for our drink orders about 5 times ( we got wine very simple to remember) and was very cold toward us. Then later as we were done with our wine said oh they are going to let us serve food if you want. We were done. Horrible first experience. And very awkward. Artichokes not only has a horrid name but a pretty bad first experience and the front steps ?!?? The caution tape is un inviting. We went to the venetian moon instead which was an excellent choice. read more

Incredible fig martini and mushroom ravioli. Great service and atmosphere. A plus you can work off a bit of your big meal afterwards around Lake Q. Highly recommend. read more

I see so many bad reviews about artichokes but i had a great time there i was at the high top table at the bar last nigth and my waitress was wonder full she is a beautifully tall Latin look lady she knew the menu and the wines very well she recommended i great wine called hitching post that was perfect with the meal, the food was Delicious, i recommend that place and that waitress.... read more

Place is outstanding, great food , great service. Love going here with my girlfriends on our Friday night getaways.

very disappointed! This was a great place when it was in Malden.I was there with 2 other people it was a mess had to ask for water, bread, the waitress was not pleasant at all dinner fair! crab cakes terrible and honestly the price is outrages! you should not have to ask to be waited on when you are at a resturant. The manager knew we were unhappy with the service and said she would speak to us after we ate- she was no where to be found!!! Not going back and will tell others!!! read more

Had the worst customer service experience ever at Artichokes restaurant in Wakefield... don't waste your time or money there! They overcharged my credit card by $50 last week and refused to give me my money back. I was there for an hour today explaining it to them and they were yelling at me calling me "uneducated" because I can't read my bank statement... finally their bank told them I was right and they were WRONG. I've never been so happy to be right in my life. What an awful experience for both me and my kids, who were there for the whole thing. Even worse, the waitress there told me they overcharge all the time. Don't ever go there if you value customer service or your own money- they are rude, ignorant, thieves. read more

This place is very good. The prices might seem high but the portions are very big. Everybody leaves this place with doggy bags.

Not sure where to begin here, but I guess the rude staff would be a good place to start. My friend and I felt as if we were intruding and then we received a fake smile when we made a comment about it. We waited at the bar for what seemed forever for a table, listening to some nasty gossip among seemingly superficial "barflys" but the icing on the cake was the loud, overbearing male bartender who seems to be completely full of himself. We were so turned off by him that we almost walked out. The vibes at this bar were horrible and they need to open the window, air all of this out and hit the "refresh" button, if these are the regulars which it seemed they are. After we were finally seated, the food took forever, and was mediocre at best. The server was at best a victim of her surroundings, so the shortcomings there were of no surprise. We chose this place because we didn't feel like going to a noisy bar or a pub, but seriously, next time, we will. read more

Extremely disappointing experience all around. The space is beautiful, but the service and food don't do it justice. I expected better of both for that price point. The Caesar salad, which had way too much dressing, pre-grated cheese and croutons out of a box was only the beginning. Veal cutlet dish (bellabucca I think) was soggy and unappetizing, drowning in marinara. Mushroom ravioli tasted mysteriously fishy, shrimp fra diavolo was so spicy that it was inedible, and to add insult to injury, the server never came back to ask how the food was, so we had to flag down another server to get parmesan (at an Italian restaurant?). To top it off, when he finally came back to clear plates (no dessert offered), he saw that my husband had not touched his dish and asked if he wanted to take it home. My husband didn't hide his disgust in saying no, yet the server completely ignored it, instead of asking what was wrong. We will never be back and recommend staying far away. They obviously don't care enough to do a decent job, as if they think that having a nice space will hide their mediocrity. read more

My husband and I visited Artichokes for the first time. We ordered our meals and everything was off to a great start - I ordered a chicken and mushroom dish served in a pink cream sauce over penne. When it came, instead of penne, it was served over linguini. I alerted our server and offered for her to bring a side of penne as I thought this would be the easiest and fastest resolution. She advised that would be fine, but that would be an extra charge. I explained that did not make sense since it was not my error. She said she would be happy to resolve this for me by bringing my meal back to the kitchen and getting a new meal made correctly. I explained I was not going to pay an EXTRA charge for pasta when it was not my error, nor could I wait for them to make my meal properly as we had tickets to a show afterwards. Waiting would have meant eating separately from my husband (just like being home since we have 2 young children) and delayed us getting on to our other anniversary plans. At no point did the server offer any sort of apology (this would have gone a long way instead of making it seem like it was my fault). We will not be returning to Artichokes. read more