Awesome! Atmosphere, excellent dinner, the hostess, was so accommodating and friendly, as was our waiter on Friday night, May 2nd. It's always crowded, but what can you expect when everyone wants to dine at Strega. Continued success! Ciao AC read more

The hostess at Strega kept us waiting for 25 minutes past our 7:00 reservation time despite there being four empty tables that would accommodate us. The most maddening part was her curt attitude and complete indifference about our unnecessarily long wait. Her snotty behavior spoiled our visit to this restaurant and we won't return. The waiter was cheerful and competent. My dinner (Veal Cacciatore) was good- not great. The red sauce lacked flavor and complexity. The meatball appetizer was excellent. With many fine Italian restaurants in the north end of Boston I recommend choosing one where the staff has a more pleasant and appreciative attitude and the food is better. read more

Terrific dinner. Attentive waiter who made helpful recommendations. We ordered all specials--one appetizer and two entrees--and were happy with everything. Only disappointment was the lack of cappuccino or coffee as an option after dinner--espresso only. Also, tables are small and close together and when the room fills, it got very warm (on a mild, rainy evening. read more

I will not be returning to the restaurant. If you are looking for the "North End," "Little Italy," Italian family feel that little Italy is known for do not go here. The service was incredibly rude and unwelcoming. They rush you in and rush you out. My family and I were catching up and chatting at the end of our meal, while my dad enjoyed the last of his wine and the staff, the server, the bus boy, the hostess kept coming over and standing by our table. They were motioning for us to hurry up behind our back. The bust boy slowing removed everything from our table, including taking the napkin off of my Friends lap!!! When confronted and ask if they needed the table, the bus boy replied "yes, that would be nice." Again, I do not recommend this place if you are In search of the family Italian restaurants little Italy is known for. read more

Great food and service. The owner even came over, bought us a drink and walked us down to his sister restaurant for cocktails.

Valet $20. Very kind welcome by the host! Veal Sorrentino was just ok I expected it to be better. Kinda a small place. I'll go back, but I had high expectations so my first visit was just a-ok. read more

The waitstaff is one of the best in the city! Getting a table is hard sometimes during busy nights, but it's worth the wait. It's on the pricier side, but you get quite the experience dining here. The place is full of energy when it's busy. read more

Walked in at 4:00 pm trying to get a couple bottles of wine to start off our vacation and we were turned away from a nearly empty restaurant due to it only being for dinner guests. I'm shocked that they would turn away business for alcohol as much or restaurants business is alcohol. Oh well. Won't go back there. read more

Not a super friendly hostess. We had a reservation, there were 4 open tables and it took us 25 min to get seated. I'm typically very patient but my wife is pregnant. The hostess would not let us take one of those seats. Meatball was great but other food was not North End caliber. read more

Really underwhelming Restaurant Week dinner. We've been here in the past and it was incredible. This year the food was very very generic. It looked like an airline tray in coach. The cannoli was delicious but that was about it. read more

The linguine with clams was gritty. Didn't wash the clams well enough. If you like loud and tight spaces, this is the place for you.

DISAPPOINTING! Won't be returning. Tasteless over cooked food. This is NOT Italian good.

Made reservations for dinner with friends on a Saturday night. We had to wait for over an hour, despite our reservation. The host was slightly apologetic, but it wasn't very sincere - we got the impression that they overbook on purpose, and that this was not by any means a rare occasion. The host had a bit of an attitude, like "What do you expect? This is Strega". Food was good, but nothing particularly memorable. Bottom line, you can get good food at a lot of places in the North End, and you can get it without the attitude or the hour long wait. I won't go back to Strega, and I suggest they start focusing more on pleasing the customer than on making commercials and hyping up celebs. read more

Strega is a lot more trouble than it's worth. I've been a dozen or so times over the past few years and I think its gotten progressively worse. The staff has become increasingly rude and less competent. There is always a wait, and when you gets seated it's cramped and loud, in the tradition of over-hyped North End tourist traps. It's pretty ridiculous to sit through dinner and have 4 or 5 flat panel TVs playing different gangster movies covering an entire wall(simultaneously plays Bronx Tale, Goodfellas, casino, etc). The food is actually pretty good. In particular, the eggplant rollatini app and the fettuccine Strega are outstanding. The reason that I will never go back is because I was over charged $20 on my credit card. There was simply an additional $20 on top of the bill and 20% tip that I left charged to my card. I don't know if it was a mistake or a robbery or what happened, but I never got any answers and will never go back. read more

Food was good but atmosphere was tough to feel comfortable in.. There was no room to move and wait staff were rude.. Especially the hostess.. She was a blonde snooki with an attifude... To sum it up, food was good but over priced... Atmosphere wasn't to great.. Hostess/waitstaff rude... read more

Definitely a mixed bag here. We stopped in with a friend and our two young sons for lunch today. We were the only customers there and the staff seemed friendly. As we settled in and started to sip our wine/beer and nibble some bread I noticed that my son was glued to the bank of TVs on the wall, which I realized were all playing mob movies. No kidding, 6 screens filled with charred bodies, severed body parts, gun shots to the head, etc... A steady stream. My son (who experienced trauma pre-adoption) was both mesmerized and mortified by the imagery and couldn't pull himself away. We had to rearrange the table to make a seat that made it difficult for him to view the screens, then we asked the waiter if they could change the channels. He explained that the owner wanted those movies on - it's part of the 'ambience'. Thank you, but I'll have lunch without bloody horse heads. We considered leaving at this point, but we were able to keep him fairly distracted. No kidding, not 10 minutes later the same waiter comes over laughing to share with us a story that he just saw on the news - that the Italian mob had just been found to have fed someone they offed to some pigs. Hey buddy, do you not get it! Even without kids at the table, that's not the conversation I want my waiter to bring up while I'm eating. Okay, on to the food. One son had the ravioli with meatball and devoured it - said it was great. I had the Risotto di Mare which was excellent - a tad too salty, but lots of great quality, wonderfully flavored, perfectly cooked seafood, with a perfect, moderate amount of rice. My husband and our friend both had the Gnocchi. Our friend liked it, but my husband found it to be chalky and overcooked and the sauce to be quite flavorless. The waiter suggested a wine that was wonderful and told us which neighborhood liquor store carried it (we found out they no longer carry it, unfortunately). read more

Another Italian restaurant tucked away on Hanover Street... unfortunately I left pretty unimpressed. The bar was nice but very small. The restaurant seems more trendy than intimate/romantic. I do love the constant Italian gangster movies playing on one of the walls. Drinks weren't cheap and the staff wasn't very nice. With so much going on in the North End, I'm not sure I'd come back. read more

All good except no toilet paper and I told the hostess who was in line for the bathroom and she CHOSE to not get toilet paper. Ewwwwww!

Zero stars. Made reservations for 8:30 and by 9 we still were given the same update of "we are clearing off a table now". Hostess had no idea what was going on. Needless to say we left and had a great dinner down the street at Bencottos! Now that place is 5 Star. read more

Tragic how this place has gone so far downhill in terms of food quality and service. The cocky, overbearing waitstaff brought the wrong meals to 3 out of 5 of the people in our party. One person sent their meal back 3 times due to steak being overlooked, undercooked and not fresh. The name Strega in Boston's restaurant scene used to equal consistently good food, however, it seems that the owner has become too greedy and big for his britches, focused on expanding his restaurant name into a statewide (and beyond) chain. He has ventured too far from home and the original restaurant has indeed suffered. Constantly looped stereotypical Italian mafia movies played on tvs throughout the restaurant ensure that tourists will still fall into this tragic trap of a place that used to represent the epitome of quality and service in the North End. It's a shame really. We will not return ever again despite formerly being regular visitors. read more

Dined here with three friends before attending a concert at TD Garden. We were there during the height of tourist season, before a concert and in the same night as the St Aggripina Festival on a Friday night and this place STILL ran like a well-oiled machine. We made reservations and were seated promptly upon our arrival at s table near the open windows facing the street. The waitstaff operate as a team making sure that you always have water and bread and that your dishes are promptly cleared away. The menu had a nice variety of seafood, meat and vegetarian offerings. We started off with a fabulously fruity sangria and an appetizer of stuffed zucchini blossoms which were pillows of ricotta perfection. For our main meal, we each ordered one of their specials stuffed sole. The fish was cooked perfectly and filled with s wondrous mixture of shrimp and scallops finished off with a lemon butter sauce. It was accompanied by a creamy and flavorful risotto. As a bonus, they overheard us saying someone was celebrating a birthday and they brought a complimentary dessert for us to split. We left feeling satisfied and well cared for. read more

I don't know why this place doesn't have at least 4 stars. I came here Friday night with 8 of my girlfriends from school after our plans to go elsewhere failed - and we are SO thankful we did! Let me start by saying that the service we received here is the difference between 4 and 5 stars for me. The friendliest, most attentive service I've had in Boston. We each had a different pasta dish and sampled each others - all were delicious. I had the bolognese type one, which was great but if I went again I would likely get the gnocchi or carbonara! I also had a pomegranate martini that was to die for and the North End Sparkler which was also delicious. The North End is full of a different type of energy than the rest of Boston that has made every experience I've had there more than enjoyable. It's like being welcomed into a family's home when you go into the businesses over there. I love it and if you haven't been, please go! read more

We made a reservation months in advance and then when we showed up nothing was ready so we had to stand outside for 20-25 minutes while the hostess gave the usual excuses: 1. we had a big party of 20 tonight, the guests at your table are paying their bill soon, etc. etc. Finally we went across the street to Locale which was great for less $$$$ The hostess refused to sit us at a three-top table that was empty, and from across the street we saw it sit empty throughout our dinner so don't no why she wouldn't sit us? read more

Since writing this review, Joe, a VP at the restaurant group, reached out to me and apologized for our experience. He took the time to listen and was very responsive! read more

Place was empty and stayed empty until we left and the only place they would seat us was at the table by the bathroom. Despite our request to have a better table. I'm not exagerating, only two other tables were filled the entire time I was there. The staff rushed us too. The food was okay but for feeling not wanted, I would go to any of the other italian eats on the same street and feel better about spending my money. read more

I couldn't have been more disappointed to have made reservations two weeks in advance to only be left to stand on the sidewalk for a HOUR past our reserved time. I planned to host a table of 8 guests from out of town. This was the restaurant I thought would give them a great North End experience. I was called twice in the day by the restaurant to confirm my reservations. When we arrived we were told to wait. Don't let me book a table, call me twice to confirm and then have me stand with my guests on the sidewalk for a hour. There are many places I could have hosted my guests, but I chose Strega. By the way, we walked away after a hour with no apology. Very disappointing. read more

I read so many great reviews on Yelp.com for Strega I thought it would be a great place to take company from out of town. It was a mediocre meal at best, food was overly salty and not very inviting looking (presentation is everything), the waiter had such a heavy Italian accent I could not understand what he was saying and all the specials sort of ran together in one sentance. It was a fun atmosphere, there were 5 or 6 Mafia movies running on the wall and the waitstaff was attentative, mainly because they wanted to get you in and out as quickly as possible.....I would not eat there again. read more

This is one of my best Italian digs in town. The food especially the gnoichi is exceptional. Also, the specials for dinner have unbelievable. Must place for fantastic Italian food. read more

Mediocre Italian food at best. I have been to many restaurants in the North End. Its not the worst, but is certainly not the best. The food is WAY over priced for what it is- truly just an average meal. I will definitely not being go back to Strega. If they charged half the price, or even 3/4 the price of what they charge I would consider it. I dont mind spending money on a meal, if its going to be worth it. Strega is not. I know some reviewers have mentioned the TVs playing the movies. I did not particularly appreciate this. My two people in my party who were facing the TV's couldnt keep their eyes off of them...Guessing which movies were playing, and talking about the actors and what was going on. Nice conversation point....if everyone could see the TVs. My father and I had out backs to the TV and found ourselves having to turn around to look every time something was mentioned about one of the movies....not really how I want to be spending my dinner. I say skip Strega, its just another tourist trap in the North End. read more

Not as good as it used to be. I'm not sure if the chef changed or they just don't care anymore but the last two times I went to Strega I was very disappointed. The shrimps in my pasta sauce were defiantly frozen, tough and tasteless. The tomato sauce was canned .... Blend and acidic. They also billed us incorrectly, twice. And by the way, some of us understand and speak Italian so the staff should really keep their voices down and comments to themselves. read more

My husband accompanied me to a business event in Boston. In the process we did some sightseeing and decided to get some of the famed Italian food of the North End. We stopped at Strega because it was the first place we saw after discussing how hungry we were. It was early (I remember noticing that it was close to 4:30) and the place looked mostly empty. We were "greeted" (I use this word loosely because the girl at the door never said hello, gave us blank looks, and made zero eye contact while talking with us) at the door and asked if we had reservations. No, we didn't but I asked if it was possible to wait. We were told that there were no reservations until 8pm, but we could eat at a bar table. That was fine with us...However, I was less fine with it when over the course of our stay we proceeded to watch anther couple walk in without reservations and then a group of 3 walk in without reservations and be seated at tables in the dining area (our bar seats had the advantage of seeing and hearing every conversation of the hostess with people coming in the door so I know they had no reservations). The table staff was marginally better. In general, the service ranged from bad to meh. It gets two stars for the good food. Unfortunately, the food wasn't good enough to overwhelm the feeling of being totally unwelcome. Maybe the experience is different for locals. But, I'll make sure me and my colleagues steer clear of this place on future trips. read more

Strega has a great location, atmosphere and architecture....exactly what one looks for in a night out in Boston. The food is very good, prices somewhat high but OK...giving three stars as they really want to flip your table. We were pushed to select the wine, food, desert and felt the old "here is your hat, what's your hurry". Perhaps with a different server, but overall they need to chill. read more

Some friends and I went to Strega after a long wait at our original choice forced us to change up the plan. Strega was good, just not great. Our server was an older Italian guy, and he was excellent. We had a couple classic fruite de mar, bolognese, and sorrentina (chik instead of the veal). Like I said, it was good, just not great. We were happy to be able to walk in and be seated on a recently made reservation on a Sat night at 630 when every place in the North End was jammed. read more

I went in here with my husband with high expectations in regards to the food and the ambiance. I was also expecting that they would have a full bar, but they had very limited types of alcohol although they did have a large wine menu. We started with the mixed seafood appetizer which was just served in a bowl like something that you would make at home; nothing fancy for the $20 price tag. My husband ordered the veal marsala and it was tasty with a good plating. I ordered the lobster ravioli with crabmeat in a pink sauce which was filled with chunks of lobster and was delicious. Again, the plating was very basic with ravioli and sauce on it with no type of garnish (shredded cheese or parsley) which would be a good idea. Overall, the plating lacked class. We also did not like that they have 5 T.V. screens with Godfather movies and mobster movies on each of them. That took away from the intimate feel that a small restaurant should have. We will not return because it's way overhyped and there is nothing special about it. read more

Food is yummy, servers are always attentive. I have always had a great experience here and I like that mafia movies are always running in the background. The only thing I am not thrilled with is that the place is rather small and can seem a bit too tight. However, it can be easily overlooked because the food is quite good. I am typically a fan of a local restaurant less for tourists, however, with the prices here only being slightly higher the quality also does show in the price so it's worth it. read more

Great experience at Strega. Came early (5:45p) so avoided the crowds. Had heard some comments about it being a touristy place and a "cheesy" decor, but we didn't think so at all! Our terrific server, Gianni, had some fabulous wine and food recommendations that turned out to be spot on. Perhaps the best thing we had was the salad with arugula, grapefruit, walnuts and shaved parmigiani. Would definitely go back! read more

This is an awesome little place that I definitely recommend. If possible, try to make a reservation because it might be hard to just get a table. The service was great and the staff is friendly. The only bad thing is that they do not have a full bar. Ordered the mushroom pappardelle and the bolognese. The mushroom pappardelle was one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had and the bolognese was amazing too. It is a little on the expensive side but I definitely recommend coming here if you get the chance! read more

I will never go back to Strega again! We made a reservation for 8pm to take our friends who were visiting from out of town. We arrived 5 minutes early and were told that they were 30-45 minutes behind. Why did we make a reservation if they aren't going to honor it? We miserably stood for an hour waiting for our table, commiserating with other waiting patrons and becoming extremely hangry. When we finally got a table, we immediately ordered appetizers that were just so-so. We then received our mediocre dinner and with the first bite our friend found an extremely long hair buried in her food. The waitress apologized and seemed embarrassed and they brought our friend another entree, but unfortunately none of us could eat our meals after that. The waitress then brought us a dessert sampler that we didn't ask for and some really awful Limoncello - why would we want dessert when we were too grossed out to eat our food? While we appreciate that they comped our entire bill, I have never had a worse dining experience. I have had good experiences at Strega in the past, so I was very surprised. And I am absolutely mortified that I chose this place when our friends had traveled so far to experience Boston - this is in no way the impression I wanted to leave them with. I just can't believe Strega treated their patrons so poorly, and I felt especially bad for the other couples who were out to celebrate Valentine's Day and had to pay even more for the additional hours that they needed their babysitters for. I will absolutely be spreading the word that no one should be wasting their time by going to Strega. read more

The food, service, atmosphere here is AMAZING! We started with the calamari, burrata and also the beet salad. All were so delicious! My cousin and I split the carbonara, my daughter had the mushroom ravioli and nephew had the seafood stew. We could not get over how delicious it all was! Great wine and espresso martini. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! read more

First time in Boston and friends recommended this place. I love Italian food and this is my first experience in an Italian type district. I was super excited when we got there. We were greeted immediately as we entered for a late lunch. The hostess was very nice and seated us by the giant yellow lit wall. At the top were a number of flat screens playing mobster movies. Our waiter came and offered water and ran down the specialties. We ordered a version of mozzarella and tomatoes that used pancetta as the base layer. Delicious. I ordered from the two page menu and my wife ordered one of the specials of the day. They both came out just as we finished our app. Steaming hot, fresh seafood, sauce that was outstanding. My dish had a sauce that had a nice kick-not too much, but just right. We were both drinking water. The staff had a difficult time keeping my water full. Kind of a pet peeve of mine. It was a little pricey, ($92 before tip for 2 entrees and an appetizer) but we're on vacation. The order was right, food came out fast and hot. And was really delicious so, overall 4 stars! I would recommend as it was recommended to me. read more