Very good italian / seafood in North End. Nice and quaint atmosphere - with excellent service. I've only been the one visit, but it was great. Would go back for sure! read more

Panza - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I went on an italian kick and made Panza a restaurant of choice. I made an open table reservation. Like all the other reviews say they didn't seat us on time but it was a Saturday night and i didn't have anything to do so i didn't care. Cesar Salad- 4 stars. Creamy and delicious Goat Cheese and wild mushroom spring rolls- 5 stars. very different, interesting dish. I wasn't expecting such a sweet sauce to go with it. Lobster Ravioli and Linguine Carbonara - 5 stars- I could eat both these dishes every day for the rest of my life...too bad it isnt healthy to weigh 300 pounds Service- 5 stars. excellent recommendations. she was always attentive without being overbearing. Price- 5 stars. 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and a bottle of wine for 80$. I'll take that in the north end any day. read more

Consistently above average food at a lower price than any of the pretenders nearby. As a resident in the North End, I've tried quite a few of the restaurants in the neighborhood and Panza is always the winner. I keep getting suckered into wanting to try to fancier more expensive places but always leave feeling underwhelmed. That is never the case at Panza and the many people I have taken to Panza always walk away satisfied and impressed. I like the linguine pescatore and Stephanie B. says the butternut squash tortellini may be the best thing she has ever eaten. I also highly recommend splitting the chopped salad for two. It is a terrific salad with light dressing and lots of little goodies like mozzarella cheese, salami, and crispy little pieces of pancetta throughout. All of the portions are large but not at the expense of taste. You will leave Panza full, satisfied and (rare in the north end) not feeling ripped off. read more

Room, small and bright. Piccata,watery. Marsala, watery and sweet (I know. I never thought I'd use the word "watery" to describe these dishes either!). Seafood risotto, inedible, bland, and with scallops and shrimp that showed signs of knowing the freezer (this dish sent back and traded for afore mentioned watery Marsala). On top of all this, the side of penne marinara would have been better executed by Chef Boyardee. We both left hungry, but so dissatisfied we just wanted to drink. Luckily, that was easy enough in this area. An extra star because our waitress was very attentive, even though it took 10 mins to be seated with a reservation. read more

We went here because it had good reviews and could take 11 people at 10 pm, the time we needed, let's day the food was the only good thing. Our service was HORRIBLE from the start, the servers were rude, dropped water on us, didn't give us ANYTHING for 15 minutes as we sat at the table, no menu, water, bread, nothing. We ordered our food, ate and where then told we could get dessert across the street. We paid or attempted to pay and at that time they told us their credit card machine was not working and the very same time, a bus boy said "get the f--- out" At this point I was over this place and nicely let them know we were trying to leave however they closed their credit card machine down . All in all a horrible place, don't go there even close to the time the kitchen closes, even if they say they can & will be happy to help you, they won't and you will feel rushed out . Out of the 11 people all but one are from Boston and every one of them will NOT go back, regardless of the food due to the horrible staff. read more

I was really disappointed in my recent dining trip here. I read such good reviews that I was hoping to have a great night, but the service kind of ruined the experience . That being said the food was good, but I wouldn't go back. The waiter didn't give us much of a greeting or come by to ask if everything was good. And we had to flag him down when we wanted to order. Just not feeling the love! Bummer because the spring rolls and calamari were delicious! And the butternut squash rav was a great dish. My gf and I both agree that good service is more important to us than the food itself because a huge part of the experience is feeling that the server cares enough to give you a reason to come back. read more

As far as Italian restaurants go, the North End is definitely the place to eat, HOWEVER, they can be pretty pricey and certainly not "casual" events. Panza is exactly that though- a GREAT Italian restaurant, has all the ambiance of a local "little Italy" restaurant, w/out the high prices. I've been here several times and always order a bottle of Chianti, and a different entree. All have been amazing, and all of my dining partners have been equally pleased with their food. My absolute favorite, though, is the baby rigatoni with sausage- AMAZING! The goat cheese spring rolls as an app is a must-have also. One warning is that this place is pretty tiny. Make a reservation, or you'll be outside waiting in the cold (or annoyingly, in the doorway). All-in-all, Panza is a hidden, affordable gem way down on Hanover that everyone should try! Love it. read more

Our server was SO RUDE. After paying and gathering our things, she came back to literally yell at us about not tipping her what she thought she deserved for her service. I am shocked at how unprofessional and rude she was, trying to guilt us into giving her more while we were trying to leave and demanding us to "think about it". We tipped her 10% for service we were definitely not impressed with - she mixed up table orders, took forever to get us the bill or run our card, forgot about things we asked for, and we were made to wait outside in the blizzard for 20 minutes past our reservation time. Food is pretty good but expect to wait outside in the cold for 10-20 minutes after your reservation time in a confused crowd of people because there's no hostess or place to wait. read more

My friends brought me to Panza while they were visiting Boston. They had found it the night before and thought it was so good that they needed to come back a second time! The restaurant is small and crowded (even on a Monday night), and while we waited for our table, we had to constantly move to get out of someone's way. Luckily, we had a reservation, and it was ready on time. Our plates were warm, and we were immediately brought bread and olive oil. To start, we had the goat cheese and mushroom spring rolls and the grilled italian greens, which were both outstanding. The spring rolls were particularly delicious! For a main course I got the Penne Amatriciana, which has a tomato sauce with eggplant and pancetta, and it was delightful. It tasted fresh and was perfectly seasoned. I also got to try my friend's butternut squash tortelloni, which was amazing with a cinnamon butter sauce. It was almost like a dessert, it was so rich and sweet. The staff was very friendly, although a little bit rushed, and my experience was nothing but wonderful. I will be coming back to Panza soon! read more

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Great home cooked simple food! Calamari light batter fresh peppers onions aioli mmmmmmm. Linguini pescatore with white sauce wine/clam/Gallic/butter delicious! Huge portions friendly fast service light open air decor stone tables Fantastic!!! $$ 53 lunch 2 apps, glasses wine, entrees Will come again for sure read more

Came here for Mother's Day on a spontaneous decision to visit the north end and we were lucky enough for them to seat us! It was an amazing experience with incredible food. My whole family was head over heels! read more

Coming from New York I expected North End Italian restaurants to be -expensive -food that was either common Italian or overly rich and oily -servers that are rude or feel they are doing you a favor -cramped tables -rushed through the meal so waiting customers may be seated Not So At Panza! Calamari was lightly breaded and tender with a hint of spicy sauce, The salmon portion was huge and perfectly cooked, my veal special was unique and delicious. Service was professional yet the friendly to an extreme. Don't miss this one. read more

tl;dr: Panza canceled my Valentine's Day reservation and lied about it. Said they would look into it, but never bothered to get back to me. OpenTable's customer service is terrific and cleaned up Panza's mess. Won't be giving Panza my business again. -- On 12/31/14, I made a reservation via OpenTable for Panza for Valentine's Day. At the time I made my reservation, all dining times were available, so I selected 7:30PM. On February 7th, a week before Valentine's Day, I received an email from OpenTable that Panza had canceled my reservation. It was our plan to dine in the North End, but with only a week to go before 2/14, our options were now to dine at either 5PM or 9:30PM, which was far from appealing. I immediately called the restaurant, but the phone just rang and rang without an answer. This continued for the next few days, and I assumed the restaurant was closed because of the snow. I checked their website and various social media and there was no mention of the restaurant being closed. Finally on February 11th, I got through to the restaurant and asked them what happened. The man I spoke with (whose name I mistakenly did not get) explained to me that there was no way I would cancel the reservation and that *I* was the one that canceled it. He told me that the restaurant was now fully booked and that he could not reinstate my reservation. I read to him, verbatim, the email I received from OpenTable and he still continued to tell me that I was mistaken and that the restaurant would not have canceled my reservation. I was beginning to lose my patience, at which point, he told me that he would call OpenTable personally and get back to me. I hung up the phone knowing full well that there was no way he was going to call OpenTable, and there was no way I was ever going to hear from him again. And this is exactly what happened. I never received a return phone call and never receiving anything so much as a "we're sorry" during my original conversation. I decided to reach out to OpenTable via Twitter to see if I could get an explanation. Soon after, I received a reply and was asked to email them directly. I explained the situation and they told me they would look into it. A few days later, they got back to me and told me, explicitly, that the restaurant canceled my reservation. OpenTable, being the good folks that they are, offered me a dining gift certificate for my trouble, which I greatly appreciated. Long story short, Panza doesn't give a rat's ass about customer service, and as such, will no longer be considered when I dine in the North End. OpenTable's customer service is top notch and did their best to rectify a crappy situation. We ended up dining at Posto in Davis Square and had a great meal with fantastic service. If you're ever in the mood for italian and don't feel like dealing with the North End, I highly recommend the likes of Posto. They actually give a shit about their clientele. read more

Honestly, some of the best Italian food I've had in awhile and I eat a lot of Italian food. I've traveled throughout Italy and this is the closet thing to authentic I've had in the states. I highly recommend this place! read more

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The worst Italian food I've ever eaten. The calamari was so greasy it was inedible, the seafood risotto almost melted my fork, (obviously way too long in the microwave) and the shrimp and sea scallops tasted like they were boiled in plain water, no flavor whatsoever. The only saving grace is that the prices are very reasonable. Do yourself a favor and steer clear. read more

We wandered in at 4pm on a Sunday after the restaurant my sister had chosen for our mom's birthday was closed. (You gotta call ahead baby sister!) We were seated immediately. Service was friendly and attentive. Our waiter very thoughtfully brought out extra plates so we could share apps and entrees. Mom ordered a salad which was enough for all 5 of us to have a bit of, and it was tasty-- baby spinach with goat's cheese and candied walnuts. We had the chicken piccata, chicken saltimboca, chicken marsala, maple glazed salmon with butternut squash risotto, and a sweet potato gnocchi special with duck confit and dried cherries. The food was delicious... no complaints. The traditional entrees came with a side of pasta. Prices are very reasonable for the quality of the food and the neighborhood. Our chicken entrees were $14 each, salmon was $18, and the special was $19. Portions were good, and not too huge. I know lots of people want to leave the North End with a week's worth of lunches left over from one entree, but I am not that kind of gal. We had enough to share, we left full, and there was enough left over for mom and sis to have lunch the next day. Panza does not serve dessert, but that shouldn't be a shock-- Mike's is about a block away and I'm sure everyone just goes there. read more

This place was a gem to discover. I just recently moved to Boston and my friend and I wanted to explore the North End. We came upon this place using Yelp and it was a great choice. We shared a bottle of wine and had two meals for $65. The penne pasta with eggplant was so good. You could tell the pasta was homemade. I would definitely go back here. read more

Charming little place , excellent service, and delicious food. What more can you ask for? We stopped by for lunch. My husband and son both had the ziti fettuccine, I had the cheese ravioli. Service was quick, but not rushed. read more

Tiniest restaurant I've ever been to its the size of a corner store I was fooled by pictures on yelp thinking it was bigger. Very uncomfortable place to eat with lots of chaos. Waited 30 minutes to be seated after having called 2 weeks ahead to reserve a table. Close to no parking at all around the area and they don't offer valet. Food wasn't the quality I expected for the price paid and service wasn't all too great neither. read more

Panza - Chicken parm was OK - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

there were a few things i LOVED about Panza and a few things i could do without. Lets start with the positives... 1. Small! I love small Italian restaurants. Seem cozy and warm usually. 2. The wall of plates - love it! i'm totally gonna steal the idea when I've got my own house 3. Food - yum yum yum! I ordered the Chicken Panza and was very very pleased. Now i've gotta figure out how to make Panza myself! lol. Things I wasn't so thrilled about 1. Won't seat you until your entire party is there - i get it, seriously i do, i understand the reasoning behind why restaurants do this but i don't have to to like it. 2. Only accept 2 credit cards - come on guys! It's a digital world, figure out how to split a check more than twice please. lame. 3. Although my dish was awesome, a few others were a little under the weather...cobb salad eh for example. i'd go back someday - but i'd make sure i ordered the panza. read more

Incredible food! Just what we were looking for! Great Italian! Goat cheese & wild mushroom spring rolls were amazing! So was our main meals- Veal Saltimbocca & Potato Gnocchi Bolognese! Highly recommend read more

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A winner. We just wandered in here by chance. Our only criteria was north end, italian, and we didn't want to be disappointed. After we walked up and down the street a bit, we spied this place, the menu looked solid, the dining are looked inviting and unpretentious, and there were a few - but not too many - tables open. Everything we ordered was excellent. My favorite was the sauteed bitter greens appetizer (served over polenta with a balsamic sauce). But everything worked. No issues with service. And prices were very reasonable - just about all the entrees under $20, and most more like $14. Didn't try anything from the wine list, but it looked serviceable. read more

Appetizer: mussels in red sauce and the gnocchi. Just get it. Omg! I had seafood risotto, it was good but not as heavenly as gnocchi. And the white sangria was perfect with it. read more

For sometime, I lived in the North End and never tried Panza on Hanover Street. Panza is located across from Giacomo's and next to the St. Leonard's Church. Perhaps I neglected the restaurant because it is on Hanover Street, notorious for restaurants being over priced. My friend raved about the restaurant recently and invited me to meet her there and I was thrilled. At 6pm the restaurant was open and spacious and by 7pm every seat in the house was filled and a few couples were waiting for a seat at the door. I had the grilled Italian greens which consisted of escarole, radicchio, baby arugula, crispy polenta, gorgonzola sauce and a reduced balsamic sauce. This is a must have at the restaurant and I will be back again just for this starter. The warm greens taste luscious with the cheese sauce. The polenta was perfectly made, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside and flavor was enhanced by the sweetness of the balsamic. Grilled vegetables with olive oil We will be back for many more high quality meals. I want to try the butternut squash and spinach and ricotta ravioli. Panza is fantastic and is not as overpriced as most of Hanover! read more

Best I've had in the North End! Went here for Valentine's day and of course it was crazy busy. However, the service was still VERY good. We were seated 15 minutes before our reservation, and our server was knowledgeable and thorough when we asked about the menu. I expected them to rush us out of the place, but we stayed for 2 hours! We got the Bruchetta appetizer and we LOVED it. The perfect amount of goat cheese and Balsamic. A generous serving for two people. I had the Eggplant parm and was honestly blown away. It was HUGE! I got a long, large plate, filled with sliced eggplant, covered in a delicious red sauce, topped with TONS of cheese. It was amazing. Since there was so much eggplant on the plate, they had to give me a side a pasta. I was in heaven. My boyfriend got the gnocchi bolognese. Again, a large portion, and very tasty. Amazing food, amazing service, love this place. read more

Great atmosphere! Loved the service as well as the food. Very quaint. A little crowded for the Covid era but it was very good food!

Great Italian in an Boston's North End. It is a small place so after reading reviews of ppl who had reservations and still waited an hour we reserved a table for a Tue night. When we arrived 3/4 of the tables were full and we could sit where we wanted. There is no bar. The food is awesome and the prices are right, especially compared to other places in this area. Another plus is that they take cc's which is a rarity in this area. As suggested by another reviewer we got the mushroom / goat cheese spring rolls and they were amazing. The bread was ok, I wished it had been warm and I wish they had brought the parm cheese much earlier, none the less we ate the entire basket. The butternut squash ravioli with brown butter was spot on, my friend had the veal and enjoyed it. Everyone was pleased with their meal. The wine list wasn't too fancy, but has good choices and lower prices. We also learned that many restaurants in this part of town do not serve coffee or dessert because there are many awesome bakeries that are open late into the night. Enjoy! read more

YUM! I had my birthday dinner here this past Saturday with my friends, and it did not disappoint! I wanted to try something different, and I never head into the North End. I had a dinner reservation set up for 5 people at 5 pm Saturday through OpenTable. Traffic was horrendous so it took a lot longer to get out there than we had hoped, so we had called Panza to let them know we would be running late. They were kind enough to let us know that they would try to hold our table for as long as possible! My second option would have been Giacomo's but the line was out the door and down the street! We got there at about 6pm, but they wouldn't seat us until our whole party was there, which makes sense. As soon as our whole party was present, we were seated right away. Panza, like most North End restaurants, is very small inside. The tables are very close together, back to back, and very tight. But what do you expect? You're in the North End. The hostess that sat us down, was also our waitress. She was wicked nice throughout the night, always asking us if we needed anything and making sure that everything tasted good. I got the Tarragon Fettuccine & Grilled Lobster Tails, my friends got the Linguine & Littleneck Clams, Linguine Ala Pescatore, and my other friend got the special they had that night, i forget what it was called but it had sausages haha. We also got the calamari and it was sooooo good! Everything was delicious! I definitely plan on going back for the lobster raviolis! read more

Panza - calamari! - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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The North End totally underwhelms me. Every time I expect both my taste buds and mind to be BLOWN away with DELICIOUSNESS... and every time they remain firmly in tact. They don't sit you unless your entire party is there. Even if you have a reservation. Even if there are 3 out of 4 of you there. They give you bread. You can pour some olive oil or eat it dry. Most main courses range about $14-16 which is a good value for North End. We got: egg parm (very average), potato gnocchi bolognese (gnocchi were awesome but the bolognese was bland and boring), and seafood fra diavolo (enjoyed). Our server wasn't very personable. I tried calling to expand our reservation; someone answered, put me on hold and I remained there for 10 minutes until I just hung up. Kind of a frustrating evening but not the worst. Honestly? Posto is much better. read more

Panza is the best Italian in the North End that I've had so far. Been to at least 6 or 7 different places (all highly rated on Yelp), and this is the winner. It's the place I take visitors and it's the place I treat myself to when I'm feeling a North End night is in the works. Cheaper than many places and average for the rest. Food: get the Linguine Alla Pescatore. It's a couple bucks more than most of the entrees, but it's well worth it. There's almost three meals worth of food in there! Be cool and get it with the fra diavolo sauce. The Chicken Panza is also a stand out. Excellent balsamic marsala wine sauce. Ultra flavorful. I mean good grief, charlie brown! read more

Good food, great prices. My wife and I decided to get a late lunch in the North End and were strolling down Hanover when we stumbled across Panza. It was pretty full when we showed up at around 2pm but we got a table pretty quickly. Panza has a nice compact menu--no flipping 8 pages back and forth until you "settle" on one of the thousands of options. And for the price, this place is pretty great. I had their Ravioli special that had rabe, sausage, chicken, and tomatoes--it was pretty good. My wife had the chicken parm, which was ok but the Ravioli was definitely the winner for the afternoon. The service was pretty fast too. This place is small though - the seating is pretty limited. Most of the people there were in parties of four or more, but we were able to scoot in with a small table for two right next to the kitchen. In the end, the chicken parm, ravioli special and a glass of wine came out to only about $39. Not bad for the North End right? This place has good food done right and is really affordable. Don't expect modern gastronomy, but it's a decent meal that you won't regret. read more

So good! Italian is never my go-to cuisine, but in the North End, you don't really have many choices other than Italian. We figured, when in Rome... and dove in. Thanks to a recommendation we ended up here at Panza. Friday night, 7pm, table for two without a reservation, we had about a 20-30 minute wait... not bad!. When we were seated, we already knew what we wanted because we had looked at the menu. The ambience was really nice. Open windows, dim lighting, it was very noisy but overall I just loved its vibe. Food: They bring you kind of hard bread, and there is olive oil on the table; Tip: Ask for balsamic vinegar. The bread and oil alone are pretty plain, but the balsamic mixed in really takes it up a notch. I was torn between the Lobster Ravioli and the Tarragon Fettucinne, I went with the Tarragon and then experienced heaven. Again, this is from someone who doesn't love Italian food. This dish was WONDERFUL. I highly recommend this restaurant. They are reasonably priced, great ambiance and high quality food. Also, they move pretty quick so it seemed tables opened pretty frequently and thus the wait went quick. I did notice a table sitting just slowly drinking wine and chatting after their meal, and it seems as though this isn't really the place for that. You could tell the wait staff wanted to get them out so a new table could be seated, but then again, I am just visiting so perhaps this is completely acceptable. read more

This place is pretty great. The food is good, they take online reservations, and the size of the restaurant is perfect and quaint. I got their spinach ravioli special ($16 bucks or so) which was pretty fantastic. It came in a creamy plum tomato sauce which was minorly sweet and pretty much perfect. I think I would have liked it even more if it was just plum tomato sauce without the cream. My guest and I shared a chop salad for two which was really fantastic. Mixed with the chopped greens were cheeses, meats, veggies, possibly some nuts, and a very good vinaigrette. I'd go just for the chop salad quite honestly. As for seating, it's a pretty tight fit. I wouldn't try to get in here without a reservation. We made reservations and they sat us right away. When we got there, there were people standing at the door waiting. The prices here were pretty surprisingly cheap. I got a special, which is why mine was $16 but you could have found plenty of other things for cheaper that would have been $10 more on another menu. Speaking of menus, the Panza menu does have a lot of meat and fish, but not all that much pasta. My guest wasn't particularly impressed with the variety, but I could have picked several things off the menu. Overall, good spot that I'd recommend. Tab came to about $75 with two meals, salad for two, and three glasses of wine. read more

Probably my best choice on eats here on vacation. I got the seafood pasta and the bf got the beef shank/short ribs looking dish. We got the calamari as an appetizer. Get the calamari! ! Beautifully breaded and the pickled peppers were a nice touch. The bread here is so wonderful I had to ask our server where they got it from. It's from a place called Izzys? Near Cambridge. I wanted to stop by but it was too far from where we were. If you have a car.. go there! I'm glad we made reservations because by the time we got there at 6 there was a 2 hour wait. Stop by! read more

Panza is my go-to North end restaurant whether I'm taking some visiting friends/family out to dinner or want a special night out with the bf. I've been about 5 times for dinner over the past few months since we moved to Boston last fall, and enjoyed every meal! Sometimes they are very busy, but other nights they are fairly empty. Since they are a rather small restaurant (like most North end places) I'd recommend reservations just to be safe! The atmosphere is nice and I've always had exceptional service. I've dined at a few other restaurants in the area (including Giacomo's) but I just can't help but want to come back to Panza every time. I LOVE the linguine alla pescatore with the fra diavolo sauce... YUM. The dish is $18, but the generous portions mean the leftovers usually give me another 2 delicious meals at home! I've also tried the lobster ravioli ($15) - yummy as well, but the cream is a bit heavy, the chicken picatta - sooo good!, and the seafood risotto ($16) - good, but my least favorite of the things I've ordered. Other dishes that my friends have tried and raved about are the chicken panza and the butternut squash ravioli.... plus many more that I can't think of at the moment :) They have a nice wine selection, but no dessert menu since they said most people end up going to one of the nearby pastry shops anyway. Smart and true, but every now and then I would like to follow up a fancy dinner with a nice in-house dessert for those special occasions... oh well, I still love you, Panza. read more

Best italian in the North End. Probably the best calamari I have ever had. Perfect service from beginning to end. Make sure you ask for carmin. read more

Panza - Carmen and my buddy Tony - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I went to dinner with my boyfriend here a few weeks ago. He had been there before and recommended it. We decided to make a reservation for a Friday evening the day before, so it was not surprising that we couldn't get one before 9pm. This place is popular, and for good reason. We were seated right away. The waitress was polite and attentive. We ordered the chopped salad, which was excellent and quite large for the price ($11? 12?). The muscles appetizer was also delicious. For dinner we ordered veal marsala and gnocchi bolognese. I definitely preferred the gnocchi, although veal is not necessarily my thing. An excellent place to eat in the North End. Prices are very reasonable and the food was delicious. I will look forward to going back. read more

I arrived at Giacomo's fairly early and there was only a short line. As we waited, I browsed my beloved yelp app to see what was good to order.... only to stumble upon a tip that said the restaurant was cash only. So, we looked across the street and saw Panza. There was barely a wait and we were seated almost immediately. Our start here was really rocky. It took a long time for the waiter to stop by, even though we were one of the first ones seated. At some point, everyone else in the restaurant was served their drinks and we were still waiting for service. We almost got up and left. Luckily, our waiter appeared and took our order. The bread that came out had a crust that was really hard to chew, so we only picked at the soft inners. However, their parmesan and olive oil was good. I ordered the white sangeria special and it was very gross (warm and tasted like bad perfume). We were really regretting coming here at this point, but already placed orders for our food. I ordered the beef and veal tortelloni and my fiance ordered the linguine carbonara. We also ordered the caprese salad as an appetizer. I switched out my horrible sangeria for a glass of cabernet, which was way better. When the caprese arrived, things really took a turn towards the positive. I loved the warm fried tomatoes with the pesto sauce and mozzarella (on a small bed of greens). I almost wished they offered that as a dinner option, because it was that good. My tortellini looked and tasted like freshly made pasta; it was very delicate and delicious! The carbonara didn't look like anything special (actually looked really plain and lacking) but was fantastic as well. Again, fresh pasta and a well-balanced carbonara sauce, not heavy or salty at all. We ended up ordering a bottle of cabernet with our meal and everything turned out to be great. Service upfront was bad, but the food redeemed everything! read more

Panza - Beef and Veal Tortelloni - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Intimate and Different One can't review a restaurant after just one dish and a single visit so I won't pretend to here. I would like to share my thoughts on why I would visit again. Concise menu. Just because you can make 40 dishes with a handful of ingredients doesn't mean you should. Panza had ten pasta and ten entrees give or take. They all sound delicious. Simple Dishes. I was considering the chicken or veal piccata. One of my favorites but opted for little neck clams with linguine and there spicy red gravy. It was good and the calms in the shells where perfect. The calms added directly in the sauce where tough. If I went again I would get the piccata or gnocchi. Different. The caprese salad included breaded slices of tomato. I saw different versions in the dining room. I wondered if we missed ordered. This place looks consistent. Give it a try. read more

I'll admit this wasn't my first choice. We tried to go to giacomo's ristorante across the street but it was too crowded. So we decided to hit this spot up. It was a little confusing at first because the host counter was on the opposite of the entrance, but we were eventually seated. For appetizers we tried the ribs. I didn't expect it to be so delicious. Fall off the bone, minimal yet perfectly seasoned. You could tell they let the seasoning sit overnight. We both got the lobster ravioli. I've got to say of all other appealing dishes they offer, I'm glad I stuck with this one. Their sauce was unique from what I've had before, but it was so in a good way! I'd recommend coming here if you're looking for a good eat. read more