More than just the North End: The very best Italian restaurants around Boston

Boston Globe

4 days ago

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Carlo's Cucina Italiana
Carlo's Cucina Italiana
Jim Davis/Globe staff/File
Why hassle with the North End when there's Carlo's Cucina Italiana in Allston? This beloved and reasonably priced restaurant has you covered, with all the arancini, frutti di mare, and chicken parm your heart desires. Inhale lusty house specialties such as vitello Carlo (veal stuffed with artichoke hearts, fontina cheese, and prosciutto in tomato sauce) and ravioli Antonio (lobster ravioli with salmon in lemon vodka sauce) beside seaside murals, underneath a ceiling painted to look like the sky.
Address:
131 Brighton Avenue, Allston
Phone:
617-254-9759
Find online:
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Coppa
Coppa
Brooke Elmore
A meat-lover's Italian paradiso, wedged into a quietish corner of the South End: Ken Oringer oversees a lavish, mainly-meaty menu offering salumi (the beef-heart pastrami is essential), pizza, and redolent, rich pork tagliatelle. The ideal second-date destination, complete with a mellow trattoria vibe.
Address:
253 Shawmut Avenue, South End
Phone:
Find online:
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Delfino
Delfino
In Roslindale Square, look for the purple storefront with the gold stars: This is Delfino, a perfect neighborhood restaurant, always packed with regulars who know the longtime staffers by name. They swear by linguine loaded with seafood, Bolognese, and open-faced lobster ravioli, along with charmingly old-school dishes such as the Figgy Piggy, pork tenderloin with fig demi-glace, prosciutto, and garlic mashed potatoes. Bring the family, take a date, celebrate a birthday. It works for every occasion.
Address:
754 South Street, Roslindale
Phone:
617-327 8359
Find online:
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Giulia
Giulia
Erik Jacobs
Consistency, excellence, and the pasta table: These are just a few of the reasons to love chef Michael Pagliarini's soulful, seasonal Italian restaurant near Porter Square. It's hard to come here and not get the pappardelle with braised wild boar, but everything on the menu is worth ordering … and then there are the specials. Whatever else happens, do not fail to order one of the wonderful desserts. And if you have a larger group, reserve the pasta table. By day, it's a surface upon which to make tagliatelle and agnolotti; by night, it's a place to eat it, as part of Pagliarini's carefully constructed tasting menus.
Address:
1682 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Phone:
617-441-2800
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La Padrona
La Padrona
Brian Samuels
A triumphant splurge in the new Raffles Boston hotel, La Padrona comes courtesy of Rialto legend Jody Adams. Ascend a striking staircase to a room that conjures a Fellini-era steakhouse, with secluded banquettes and muted lighting — lending everyone an air of mystery. Not muted is the food: tart charred cabbage drizzled with anchovy butter; pristine tuna crudo ringed in crispy chili peppers; and creamy, cheesy strands of tagliatelle with a zag of balsamic, properly poured tableside. This is Boston's newest big night out.
Address:
38 Trinity Place, Back Bay
Phone:
617-898-0010
Find online:
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MIDA
MIDA
Erin Clark/Globe staff/File
Get yourself a chef who worked at Radius and Corton, find a sweet little room with a wraparound bar and an open kitchen, and craft a menu filled with handmade pasta: You've got a neighborhood winner. It's no wonder Douglass Williams' MIDA has expanded from its original South End location to Newton, Fenway, and East Boston. Even simple things like the mixed greens salad are done well. Don't miss Mangia Mondays, when $80 gets you five dishes of pasta (gluten-free options available), salad, and bread for two.
Address:
782 Tremont Street, South End, and other locations
Phone:
Find online:
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Pammy's
Pammy's
Natasha Moustache
On the drinks menu: homemade limoncello and $5 Miller High Life. Such is Pammy's. Always classy, never pretentious. The staff cook and serve up the best Bolognese you've ever had, as well as cuts of meat and fish typically reserved for Michelin-starred spots, while also wearing jeans and cracking jokes like old friends. Come in and sit at the bar and order à la carte. Or make an evening of it with the prix-fixe, 'choose your own adventure' menu and sit with the fancy reservation folk in the back.
Address:
928 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Phone:
Find online:
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SRV
SRV
Dina Rudick/Globe staff/File
This stylish wine bar pays tribute to the Serene Republic of Venice with pre-meal aperitivi and cicchetti (small plates), pasta made with hand-milled flour, and other Italian delights. With a spritz in hand, enjoy artichoke arancini, tonnarelli pasta tangled with asparagus and truffles, duck with chickpea pancakes, and gelati and sorbetto in an array of enticing flavors. The food, from chef Michael Lombardi (Del Posto, Si Cara) and team, is elegant but relaxed; the atmosphere at this restaurant from the Coda Group (Baleia, Gufo, The Salty Pig) is welcoming. Bonus: the beautiful back patio.
Address:
569 Columbus Avenue, South End
Phone:
Find online:
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Tonino
Tonino
Gabby Riggieri
The Italian restaurant Jamaica Plain had been waiting for, Tonino is tiny, busy, and delicious. Reserve in advance to eat all the carbs from chef Luke Fetbroth (Giulia, Sarma): pasta dishes such as Taleggio cappelletti, bucatini with anchovy-chile butter, and cavatelli with sausage and broccoli rabe, but especially the excellent, focaccia-adjacent pan pizza. Add a salad to lighten things up, sip Lambrusco, and put a cap on the evening with some ricotta cheesecake.
Address:
669A Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
Phone:
617-524-9217
Find online:
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