Grotto

Such a slam dunk of a restaurant. Better than the North End for Italian! Amazing staff, great food, and just a surprising delight of a place

We absolutely love the Grotto! We make it a point to make a reservation when we go to Boston. The chicken parmesan is one of my favorite dishes of the many Italian restaurants we have been to. The tomato sauce is incredible, so I imagine that the spaghetti and meatballs would be great as well. My wife is obsessed with the carne dish and made sure to order it again this time arouund. Unfortunately, the risotto had some issues with taste and consistency this most recent visit, but Grotto deserves five stars because all of the food is delicious and the wait staff was receptive to our feedback about the risotto. We also got the sweet potato ravioli as a starter, which was very good, but does have a strong bacon-y or salty, fatty flavor to it if you have an aversion to that. The staff has always been very friendly and we expect to keep coming back on future trips to Boston!

Service was great, drinks were good, the meatballs were the highlight of the dining experience (make sure you get some bread with that delicious sauce) Hands down one of the best meatballs I’ve ever had (and I have been to Italy). We got two pasta dishes, chicken parmesan (not a fan of the presentation and taste) and the shrimp one; a bit disappointed after starting with those fantastic meatballs but still a pleasant evening.

Went with my family right before dinner time so there wasn't many diners. The atmosphere and decor were still very nice, and I had the best duck in my life!

The restaurant space itself was nice, a cozy dining room. Our waiter was a jerk and the food was mediocre.

Lovely experience! Very cozy and romantic spot and the food was delicious!

Saw a fat roach on the wall

Arrived and the place was cozy. I was greeted promptly and seated immediately. My server was awesome. I ordered a Manhattan. It was mediocre. Turns out they don’t have a full liquor license so it was a pre-mixed cocktail. Wish I had known that. I ordered the Caesar salad. It was fine - lettuce was fresh; dressing was good. It had a little bit of anchovy taste which I enjoyed. The chicken parmigiana may have been the worst chicken parmesan I’ve ever had. It was a weird overall crusty roll of chicken, cut and in Spoon half and then sprinkled with Parmesan. Sauce was good and ziti was well prepared. I live nearby and wanted to love this place. It was OK