Parking: none Decor: very clean with old school mob movies playing on multiple screens Staff: very attentive and on point Food: tasty but extremely hot Price: very reasonable for Boston's North End Overall: will 100% be going back to try the other dishes I saw coming out of the kitchen! read more

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I will never return here. The waitress secretly added to her tip! I just disputed with Amex! The service alone makes this place not worth it. Came here on a Wednesday night and was able to sit right in the window for 2. This place is smaller than I expected (i.e. the door to the men's room actually hits the toilet when you open it) Service was HORRIBLE.. we were not offered anything to drink by the waitress, we actually had to flag her down to tell her we wanted to order food after waiting for 15 minutes. The food was pretty decent as we had the fettuccini strega and the pollo parmigiana. The guy who carried the food out gave us water, utensils, and bread when he noticed we had nothing. The RED FLAG here is that our bill was $71 and the service was not worth a 20% tip. So I only tipped $10.. I checked my Amex statement and the waitress bumped it up to 20%. I don't recommend this place unless you like terrible service, with mid food, and potentially money stolen from you. Please keep your customer copy when leaving this place. read more

Their club music was so loud at 11am today. We were looking forward to having brunch there but left because it was just intolerable. I can't even hear what the waiter was asking us. That's too bad because we have been to Strega before and we know they serve good food. read more

Walked in on a Wednesday night without any reservations, and we were seated immediately. The restaurant decor was very retro. There was a good number of people in the restaurant. However, it was also a smaller location, and tables were put closely together. Our waiter didn't seem to care too much about us and just did what felt like was forced. The food took a while to arrive at the table. Between each course, it took a while to arrive at the table, too. There were only two of us and it took awhile for both of us to have our plates. The food was flavorful but room temperature by them both plates arrived at the table read more

We were finally seated 45 minutes after our reserved time. The staff lied several times about tables being available in minutes; there were none. The manager/owner also took in a group that did not have a reservation ahead of us (we overheard the conversation). There were about 20 people waiting for tables when we were finally seated; I have no idea why they all waited... At the end of all that my entree was terrible; the pasta was overcooked (seemed reheated) and lacked all flavor. Finally, the noise level made it impossible to have any sort of conversation. I would not go back even if their prices were discounted by 50%. The single worst restaurant experience I have ever had in Boston. I would recommend everyone stay away. read more

Taste was phenomenal in its simplicity. From the moment we walked into the restaurant, the staff was warm and welcoming. The lighting was soft but adequate- perfect for a relaxing evening meal. read more

Strega - Salmon alla Griglia - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Owner treats You as Family and always Homemade Greatness. New Foods Daily Clean Italian Food with Twist. Always My Go Too on My No Cook Days. read more

Traveled from Connecticut in search of good Italian food. Four of us dined at Strega North End. Two of us had Risotto Di Mare, one Ravioli and one Fettuccine Strega. The food did not disappoint, every plate was wiped clean. Every dish was delicious. The staff is solid, the atmosphere a little loud. If you are headed to Boston do yourself a favor and get a reservation at Strega North End, The food will not disappoint you. read more

Not going back. The reservation wasn't honored for 45 minutes. We were there on time a 6:00 pm but 2 of our party were 4 minute s late and they canceled the reservation. My (chicken limoncello) was dry overcooked and cold. The lamb chops were fatty and tough to eat. My wife had Fettuccine Strega, 3 scallops and 2 shrimp in butter, cream and fettuccine. Overall a waste of trying to eat a a restaurant that has an old good name. read more

The food was mid- to bad, the atmosphere was loud DJ music, then two singers decided to karaoke for tips? Loud and in microphones... They were talented but I came to talk with my dining companions and eat food that's at least decent. The gnocchi was small, dense, and chewy - tomato sauce with pellets is how my friend described it. Another friend said her ravioli tasted like Papa Gino's. "When you're here, you're family" well I hated every minute so I guess that's true. read more

Busy, loud and poor quality food were the highlights of this North end eatery. I'm beginning to think Boston doesn't have any decent Italian food. Service was shaky at best. read more

My friend ordered a delicious pasta dish that came with two scallops and two big shrimp. I ordered octopus that was really tender, so tender it kinda weirded me out because usually it's pretty chewy. read more

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Strega brunch has been on my to-try list forever. My friend and I had 1:30 pm reservations but were 20 minutes late because we didn't know that there was a Christmas parade going on in the North End. The hostess was really nice and honored our reservation no problem. The vibe inside is so fun, with awesome photos on the wall and mob movies playing. It felt like we were in a club because there was amazing music playing, even though it was crazy loud at times and hard to talk over it. We started with some pineapple mimosas and french toast bites. The french toast bites were really good and perfect for a shared starter. After a couple of mimosas, I moved to the espresso martinis. I had several drinks over the course of the meal and never really got much of a buzz going so I think they could have been a bit stronger for the price. I had the Apulia Mortadella Croisant for my main dish. It was a big croissant that was meant to have Mortadella, basil pesto, stracciatella cheese, and crushed pistachios inside. This combination sounded so incredible to me but the dish fell really short. The croissant was stale, there was only one or two super thin slices of mortadella inside, and there was no basil pesto. It definitely had a lot of potential but seemed like there wasnt much effort put into it. I definitely enjoyed my time catching up with my good friend, and I will say Alexa provided 10/10 service and made the experience great, but I probably wouldn't do another brunch at Strega. read more

Strega - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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The worst service ever! I went with my family and waited an hour and a half with a reservation and they sat at least five parties the same size that showed up after us. Jt ruined our first night in Boston. We finally sat down, they forgot to bring bread to the table and we had to raise our hands multiple times to get someone to serve us. For such a small restaurant, their terrible service is inexcusable read more

Had a reservation on a Saturday night at 6:15, called ahead to let them know we were running a few minutes late and the woman said they will hold the table for 15 minutes after the reservation time. We showed up at 6:27 to about 30 people waiting outside and went to check in at the hostess stand, where she told us we were all set and checked in. We waited outside until 7:30 and when checking on why we were not seated yet, the woman said that since we were late we got put to the bottom of the list. That would have been great information to learn when we first checked in so that we did not waste an hour and a half of my daughter and I's night out in Boston. We had a show to get to that we missed the beginning of and ultimately never got seated so we left. I wish I could leave zero stars, please do not go here unless you are fine with waiting an hour+ even with a reservation. read more

Pasta was served cut, so you can not roll, in my case linguinni,.make a roll of it. Service was unheard as far as tardy sorry for the waitress read more

Italian restaurants, coffeehouses, pastry shops and old-school delis absolutely pack the maze of narrow streets of The North End Boston. Strega is one of them and very well known for being a venerable, glitzy old-world Italian spot known for gangster-inspired decor & celebrity sightings. Having booked a birthday reservation for brunch, decided to look at their menu online. Unfortunately, their website is not up to date and the link for their Brunch menu takes you their Antipasti & Specialty Cocktail menu. Whilst the food was extraordinary and exceptional (more to come), alas the service was far from such! While there appeared to have been no shortage in staff, we did not know who our server was, not one staff member introduced themselves to us as our server and hardly any attention was paid to our table outside of our order being taken which was much later after we were seated. While there & observing how the staff operated, it became somewhat apparent that majority of the attention and focus was allocated towards the restaurant regulars. The staff & who I can only assume was the manager would very warmly greet the regulars and accommodate them accordingly. Unfortunately we felt particularly neglected. And while other customers celebrating birthdays received the "Birthday" treatment, we were left with none even though they were told we were also celebrating a birthday. And then came the bill and oh boy they could not wait to get us the hell out of there! Of course I understand they had other reservations to accommodate and tables to flip, the bill was snatched out of our hands with haste to be processed like their lives depended on it. And come to find out later on, the manager at Strega apparently has somewhat of a reputation for being rather rude. Such a shame because the food was indeed spectacular. Not entirely certain yet if we will be making a return visit. Sad rant over...!!! However, my foremost compliments to the chief and I'd like to give credit where it is very much indeed deserved...!! Rocco's French Toast They had me at Nutella-stuffed. It had been a while since I enjoyed a great stuffed French Toast dish, and this glorious dish delivered a wonderful & exceptionally flavorful brunch experience. Served with fresh strawberries, Godiva whipped Ricotta & pure maple syrup, the presentation was also on point in addition to the wonderful flavors. The bread had a light coat of batter cooked perfectly and stuffed with just the right amount of Nutella that kept the outside nice & crispy while delivering just the right amount of moisture from the Nutella on the inside. A must try for you French Toast & Nutella lovers out there. Sinatra's Specials Having a dish named after the "Chairman of the Board" himself, you'd think to yourself this dish would have to be worthy of the name. 8oz perfectly cooked twin Filets for Brunch, they've done Sinatra proud, and he would have been very pleased to have his name tied to this dish. The Filet's temperature was simply exquisite and seasoned perfectly served with two also perfectly prepared sunny side up eggs & a side of homefries. This dish was both beautiful and delicious. Prosciutto Benedetto Absolutely love a very well made & perfectly executed Eggs Benedict. And this dish was exactly that. Two perfectly poached eggs sitting on a nice layer of delicious prosciutto over lightly toasted English muffins. Of course the secret to a great Eggs Benedict is the hollandaise and Strega's truffle hollandaise completed this dish and delivered an exceptional combination of flavors that you want from a benedict dish. Highly recommended. read more

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Stopped in here for brunch and got there just before the madness. Seems like it's popular for big groups - they have drink towers, celebratory sparklers and shots and loud music so we felt like we were in Miami. They have a small bar so we sat there and got some bloodys made with cucumber vodka, which were really good. The avocado toast comes with a hard boiled egg that they shave tableside, which was a nice touch and tasted great. Then we got the french toast and waffle skewers, which turned out to be a tall tower they pour maple syrup over with potatoes at the base. Everything was surprisingly delicious! Just know when to come if you don't want the party vibe - I think it's more calm and quiet at dinner. read more

Strega - avocado toast - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Strega seems to be very hyped up for a new, trendy vibes, and seems to get club-like for brunch so not the classic old North End vibes like some others. But they do have cool drink towers with fun cocktail options! Our waiter was nice but not the most attentive. I loved the oil and balsamic the bread comes with it. The chicken parm was average for the North End but the bolognese was amazing! It's a small place and can get cramped and loud when full. Went for a date night for our anniversary - added that in the reservation description and got nothing special which is whatever but I appreciate it when restaurants do a little something for celebrations - makes them stick out. read more

Strega - chicken parm and bolognese - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Small place and very noisy. The food was. Acceptable and very overpriced for the quality. We had octopus for an appetizer and this dish was good. The gnocchi was awful . The linguine ala vangale was awful and salty. The waiter was great and friendly. read more

We made a reservation for 8:30 and showed up 10 minutes early. We got seated at our table 10 minutes before 10pm. We tried to leave 15 minutes after our reservation time and were told again and again our table was almost ready. It was a miserable experience that ruined our whole night. read more

Don't order the chicken parm. It came out in record time and it had definitely been prepared ahead of time and reheated. I cannot attest to anything else on the menu, since all four of us order the same dish. I hate paying high prices for mediocre food. The staff was pleasant, so I gave this place 3 stars. I'm sure that I'm going to get a mafia hit for writing this review. read more

Phenomenal. Everything. Absolutely everything. Food, service, ambience. Love this experience! read more

Strega - Their signature lasagna. - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Horrible service cold food The waiter was extremely rude to my daughter and her friends trying to push alcoholic drinks on them when they didn't want to drink and then when her friend ordered an espresso, he said they don't serve espresso alone unless it's a espresso martini and he refused to give her an espresso This man was beyond rude. His behavior was horrific. read more

Behind the tasteless food, obnoxious atmosphere, and mediocre customer service of Strega, there might be a person who once had a dream of getting into the restaurant business. If this is the case, I feel bad for that person. If Strega is operated by some restaurant company conglomerate--as it appears to be, I laugh at the money you wasted on an inept marketing team. This was one horrible dinner for the books! STREGA IS A TOURIST TRAP. It has all the trappings of bad Hollywood Italian culture: a dozen tv screens with Mob movies on continuous repeat, obnoxiously loud live singing (thankfully only two songs), ridiculously overpriced food that tasted bad, and a foul-mouthed waiter. We had the eggplant appetizer, bolognese, and sea bass. Everything was really gross! The fish lacked flavor; the 4 gnocchi were just hard, dense globs of potato and flour; the bolognese tasted EXACTLY like Chef Boyardee (in fact the first remake my wife said upon tasting it!); and the oil and vinegar to dip the cold bread was not even tasty. On top of the poor-tasting food, you're paying an absurd amount for each dish. The tables are foolishly small, you're crammed next to a neighboring table, the music is obnoxiously loud. It's gaudy, obnoxious, tasteless, loud, expensive, and just a waste of space, money, and a meal! They Panza across the street for larger portions, infinitely better tasting food, fairer prices, and a more elegant atmosphere. Strega is HORRIBLE! I would give it zero stars but am forced to leave one. read more

Small space, old school mob movies playing and VERY LOUD CLUB LIKE MUSIC PLAYING! This was a very big distraction while enjoying dinner and conversation. Couldn't hear the waitstaff or each other. Vibe was fun and the cheese wheel man would often break out in dance to an up the crowd. Food was exceptional! I enjoyed the homemade gnocchi and this was decadent. Pillowy soft, cooked to perfection accompanied by fresh mozzarella. Piping HOT, which we love when eating out. Way too much sauce but absolutely delicious. My partner had the Tagliatelle Bolognese which was perfection. Tender pasta, creamy and meaty sauce and peas. Just the right amount of sauce too like traditional dishes. This portion was too much to finish. Bread was very good with olive oil and balsamic. Service was prompt and food came out in 10 minutes piping hot! Would love to revisit but the music was so LOUD, concert level loud-thus the 4 star. read more

*OVERALL 3.5/5* Food: (3/5) 1) Calamari (4/5) 2) Arugula Salad (4/5) 3) Cheese Ravioli w/ white garlic wine sauce *made To order* (4.5/5) 4) Chicken Parm over fusilli w/ vodka sauce (2/5) Service: (4/5) -The wait service was all good, the owner, big Italian guy, was great. we didn't have to think about flagging down our waiter at any point. BUT "Strega Dave" the bald waiter is a big p*rvert And makes it his goal to harass every girl at the restaurant... you will see! Ambiance: (4.5/5) -They had "cute" Valentine's Day decorations, and the music wasn't too loud. Interesting people, this is where Strega Dave actually adds value.... Because you can watch him try and wheel every girl and famous guy at the restaurant for free! read more

The aesthetics of this experience were great but beyond that I would not return. The hangover hash was as advertised - a great hangover food! But not worth its price in my opinion. The cocktail trees are lovely, however the drinks are not. The watermelon slush looked very sad (it filled 1/4-1/3 of a cup upon arrival, and was not topped with any fruit) and did not taste great. The mimosas were served at room temperature but our server was nice enough to replace them with chilled ones, when we were finally able to get her attention. Service was extremely inattentive. read more

Strega - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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The food was phenomenal, quick service, great wine and cocktails as well. Highly recommend the burrata appetizer and the tenderloin pizza to start. All the pasta dishes were amazing, and even a gluten free pasta was fabulous (which is usually hard to do). Don't forget an espresso martini to end the night, this was the best one I've had in north end to date! read more

4 of us on weekend getaway made reservations here as we always try different restaurants in the north end. Service was prompt... maybe a little too prompt as we did feel rushed as we sat down didn't even have time to look menu and was asking for a drinks (our server was very intuitive ) Food was good and the apps but the atmosphere was loud like a club we were sat by the bathroom off the dining area so it wasn't as noisey. read more

My girlfriends and I had reservations for 6:30pm last night and we were not sat until 7:15pm. Had to stand outside in the cold the whole time. When we were sat our server told us we couldn't order just an appetizer, we had to order our meals at the same time. That felt weird but whatever. We got the antipasto, which was very good with a nice variety of cheeses, meats, and pickled veggies. A server took the appetizer and then immediately dropped our dinners. Everything was delicious: the pollo limoncello, ravioli, cavatelli, and bucatini. Very happy with the food. However, 3 of us were done eating while the last was still eating. While she was chewing, the server grabbed her plate and said "you're done right" not really giving her a choice. We felt extremely rushed. Not our fault that they were behind with reservations but we decided that we didn't want to give them any more money by ordering dessert or a second drink. Maybe think about the amount of reservations you accept before making parties wait nearly an hour and then basically pushing them out the door. read more

I went here on a work trip with a group of about 8 people. The reservations ensured we were seated quickly. The space was pretty crowded and loud. There was a lot of good cheer and a guy whose only job appeared to be a cheerful and good host who was also very Italian. They had televisions playing Mob themed movies and a good selection of beverages. I enjoyed the sweet "Strega's Passion" which was a sort of melon liquor that I enjoyed while others mostly ordered an fashioned which they said was very good. I also had some of their red wine but it was not particularly memorable. Strega's offered a solid round of appetizers including all the usual suspects from calamari to stuffed zucchini and garlic bread but the stand out were there huge, Momma's meatballs with a side of some sort of cheese/cream that was absolutely waste expanding goodness. These meatballs were the size of Wreck it Ralph's fists. My entree was the wild mushroom risotto which I really enjoyed. It was just the right level of firmness in the rice and while you could tell there were mushrooms in the dish, they were not over powering. The feel of the dish in my mouth was as pleasant as the creamy rich flavor. At the end of the day, this place offers good Italian food. It has a good host who has been there a long time. It has a good wine selection and if you like tvs showing mob movies, you'll dig that too. My only real issue with the place was it was too small and loud. If I wanted to use the restroom, five people to my left had to slide out of the booth against the wall I was sitting at. This isn't the venues fault, but it just made things a little claustrophobic for me personally. I'd go back to try some of their other entrees and perhaps dessert next time (but honestly Mike's Pastry is down the street and 100% worth a visit after a main course at Strega's imho). Good Italian food is the key word here. I didn't have what I would say was excellent Italian food here. Yet anyway. read more

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Incredible food, incredible atmosphere. Me & my wife will definitely be back. Pleased to say the least

The Pasta Amore was so damn good. So good that it almost, and I am stressing, almost erased my memory of the one hour wait time we had WITH a reservation. But it didn't and for this reason I will never go back. This is not the chefs fault it's the managers. We made an 8:45pm dinner reservation only to be sat well past the next hour! We didn't sit until almost 10pm! Terrible door managing with hardly an apology for how long we had to wait or an explanation. The only explanation we received was 'we have lots of celebrities that dine here'. It would have been nice to have someone say hey I'm sorry you have been waiting so long or maybe 'we took a drink off your bill for the inconvenience'. The food was good but sadly not good enough to wait an hour after a reservation time or to ever return. read more

We pulled up in front of Strega, were warmly greeted by the valet and made our way onto the restaurant where we were immediately seated without reservations. Food was absolutely delicious and the service was perfection. Highly recommend! read more

Fun, delicious and incredible service! If you're in Boston, you have to go to the North End! It will not disappoint! Strega had a great vibe and the service was better than I've had in a long time. Nicest server! The food and cocktails was good also! We did the table side penne a lavodka and it was a fun experience. read more

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Party of 4 ! First of all I would gave this place at least a 4 - 5 but ! The food was AWESOME the atmosphere was a little loud , the music was about a 10 maybe 8 would be better that's just me whatever not a deal breaker. But the reason you got a 3 star was because of your server Lucinda A. We received our bill, the wife says the bill is $170 OK! As I wait for the bill with cash tip in hand which was a good 20% , the check comes now it's $200 with auto gratuity! If Lucinda said hey there is auto grad. on your check we would have been ok with it but she never said one word. Did Lucinda A. assume we were not going to tip her and if I didn't know the bill was $ 170 I would have left her the 20% tip also which then she would be getting double tipped . Your restaurant would have gotten at least a 4.5 stars cause everything was good until your low end waitress pulled a stunt like that, not cool read more

Strega - party of 4 auto grad. WTF thankx for telling me - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

We always enjoyed our visits to this restaurant. My husband and I live in the area and come here often for drinks. Yesterday we dined in and had a lovely experience. There were live tenor singers, service was excellent, and food was delicious. read more

Incredible customer service start to finish!!! There aren't enough kind words to express the welcoming ambiance and genuine care from Gianni and Carlo. read more

First time trying Strega had heard great things about the food and terrible reviews on the waitstaff! But that changed when I got there from the start the host was super nice and inviting once we sat almost immediately, our waiter approached us and give us our menus even noticed when we needed a bit more time to decide what we wanted. Started with the Prosciutto & Burrata. It was actually good! Very light and flavorful! I wouldn't get it if you wanted something heavy to fill you but something nice to start your meal I recommend it! Then I got the Fettuccine Strega! It was good!!! Fresh pasta and perfectly cooked scallops and shrimp! Overall a great experience!!! read more

Strega - Prosciutto & Burrata - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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