Toscano Harvard Square

---update March 2024--- I've warmed to this place quite a bit! A friend and I eat lunch at Toscano somewhat regularly, and my experiences have been quite pleasant. My friend has some dietary restrictions to put it mildly, and we have been lucky enough to have the same delightful young lady take our orders as of late. She is pleasant, offers substitutions (even though my mate has to decline them all), and always seems to be in a good mood. I wish I knew her name, for a shout-out, but hopefully management knows who I'm talking about, as she definitely deserves praise. The food is good - I've enjoyed just about everything I've eaten here... Favorites are the various gnocchi dishes, risotto, bruschetta, Caesar salad, meatballs, and the steaks are quite good! They make a very nice bourbon old fashioned also! We'll definitely return, in fact, I believe we'll visit later this week. Would recommend. ---original review below--- We'd heard good things about Toscano from friends, so made a reservation a couple weeks ahead so that we could check it out ourselves. Located right in Harvard Square, just a block up Brattle Street from Brattle Square, it's central yet has a cozy feel to it. The interior is similarly warm, with beautiful light fixtures and dark wood finishes. We were "greeted" by a short(ish)/stout man who asked, "what can we do for you?" - which, admittedly, took me by surprise for just a moment. Told him we had a reservation and were shown to our table. We ended up with a great spot, not against the windows, but close to them. To drink we had: old fashioned, Moscow mule, shared a bottle of white wine. The whiskey old fashioned was delicious and strong - an orange peel might've made it a bit tastier, but I can't complain as it was made very well. Wife said her mule was great as well. Shared a mid-tier bottle of white - can't remember what we ended up with, but we both enjoyed it. For food we had: bruschetta, beet salad, caesar salad, gnocchi, and seafood ravioli. Everything was really good. I'm not sure if anything stood out in terms of must-return-for, but everything was very good. Beet salad was delicious, especially with the supplied lemon wedge. Gnocchi was airy and light. Wife enjoyed her ravioli quite a bit as well. Good time here. We'll return when we get a craving for pasta.

Excelente todo

She had the salmon which was tasteless and unseasoned. She gave it a 1. She also has an original margarita that she couldn't drink because it was bitter I had the lamb chops that were well seasoned, plenty, al beit al bit fatty but not a problem due to the quantity. I also had a neat rum so my drink was fine Mixed review here.

Very generous portion of food but the service was less than impressive and it felt like the server was rushing us to leave at the end.

Pretty good food, but abominable service. Wait staff was rude, and the check was thrown on the table without a word before we were even done eating. Servers were curt and disrespectful. For a restaurant in its location, it was entirely unwelcoming, unacceptable, and I will not be returning.

Great atmosphere and service but food isn’t up to the expectations. A bit over priced

A great spot before an ART performance (one block away). The food is excellent, fairly priced. The service is attentive. They are glad you came to Toscano. Both tourists and locals alike will enjoy a lunch or dinner here.