Questions and Answers
Ugh, do not like this place. Yelped about it.
enjoyed our food, but waited 90 minutes after our reservations for a table. Very tight seating.
this place rocks.
fresh food ,good flavor and texture
2 for $30 got me in the door
but the quality is why i love this joint~!
ill be a customer for years to come.
I bought this Groupon last time it was offered. Waited over 2 hours, and kept getting “bumped” as people called and made reservations after we had put our name in! We were “next” about 4 times! Hostess “extended” my Groupon expiration, but we haven’t used it yet. She did the same for several other Groupon customers who also were waiting. I hope they’ve “fixed” their reservation system. They didn’t seem to grasp the concept of their own capacity limits. TINY place, but must be good.
I can’t speak to the Boston location, but I love the food at the Billerica one. I won’t be buying the Groupon because it’s only valid in Boston, but to anyone who lives closer or goes into the North End, I do recommend it!
This restaurant is great. Food is wonderful. Walking around the North End is a blast!
Not the best italian restaurant in the north end. Their 2 entrees+1 bottle of wine for $30 is a much better deal than this groupon. Their ‘regular’ menu food is way over-priced when compared to the other restaurants in north end. If you really want to go, I would suggest skip the groupon and take the 2 for $29.99 deal. My 2 cents.
Made a reservation for 8 pm. Got seated at 9:15 pm. Glad I didn’t have tickets to the Improv Asylum or we never would have made it. NOT buying this Groupon.
I bought this groupon last time it was offered. Although the food was ok, I too had a big problem with the reservations. My reservation was for 7pm and we didn’t get seated until 8:30. Very frustrating. I would only recommend getting this deal if you don’t mind waiting around on the sidewalk for 1 1/2 hours before you sit to eat, even with a reservation. Might as well go to Giacomo’s,
I bought the Groupon last time and didnt have a problem getting in. Food was good, and the restaurant is popular, so they might have a wait list – imagine that.
The food is mediocre and continuously lying about a waiting time is inexcusable. With a reservation you’re told to wait 15 minutes but that easily turns into an hour and a half. This Groupon is for fall/winter weather, too, so people planning on going should stake out another place to wait so they’re not freezing. You think you can brave the cold if it will only be a short wait, but don’t believe them. Then once you get in you’re elbow to elbow with others because the place is so obscenely tiny. The hostess also keeps walking back and forth to see how far along you are in your meal because she has a line of people she promised “only 15 more minutes” to. Be prepared to feel rushed. Totally not worth it in my book, and the lying definitely gets under my skin. There are better Italian places that won’t be such a hassle. The reason they’re so “popular” is because they are always running these group-buying deals on many other sites. I wonder why they have to keep attracting new customers…
I first tried this restaurant during a Restaurant Week special. The person who took the reservation mistakenly told me the special would still be good after it had in actually expired. So, she made a mistake — the good thing is, when we explained to the server what had happened, she checked with the manager, and they made a special Restaurant Week meal for us at the appropriate cost, even though the special was no longer on the menu. That, to me, is good customer service. I have returned twice and been happy both times with food and service.
@Nitesh- where can i find the 2 for $29.99 deal?
I will corroborate that the wait times for reservations — especially during winter weather — are ridiculous. We, too, waited an hour and a half for our table in freezing weather. The food was great, our server was great, but we won’t return unless the restaurant is more realistic about making and taking reservations.
Groupon did not mention that you can’t use the coupon on the day of the groupon purchase
Shaliedra, if you had bothered to read the “rules that apply to all deals,” you would see that they do say you can’t use the Groupon until after the day of purchase. It’s good to read all about the deal before making assumptions.
Shailendra,
You may want to check with the establishment. My store allowed it, even though it isn’t technically allowed. Give them a ring and ask.
I also previously bought a deal from this place and waited almost 2 hours beyond our 7 pm reservationto be seated, luckily it was warm out. Can’t imagine it in december. Thought the food was really mediocre and overpriced and it gets really old when you’re told only 15 min more, 8 times. If our groupon hadn’t been expiring we would have gone elsewhere for sure. Not getting suckered in again.
$29.95 two for~
prince st. boston north end around the corner from modern pastry or across from mikes pastry.
greast deal.
wine and two entrees.
we shared pasta, chicken cutlets meatballs and soup.
ordered a antipasto $12.99.
all excellent. seated quickly at 4:45pm. by 6 they were full.
Hi – I see that this is “not valid with other offers” and am wondering if that includes their $29.95 deal. By “other offers” do they mean just other Groupon-esque coupons, or do they mean their in-restaurant specials as well? I’d love to use it with the $29.95 deal. Thanks!
We got the Groupon last time & can attest to the wait. But we made reservations for an earlier time (5:30-6ish). We got in pretty quick, and it was worth the wait! Mid week or early weekend would be the best time to go, I’d think.
And no, you can’t use it with the $30 deal. The couple next to us tried & were kindly told no, but they did extend the Groupon deadline to accommodate anyone.
@Pamela- The Billerica one closed. Good thing I used my groupon before it closed too.
Overall, the food was good and I didn’t have a wait (I was also at the Billerica location). But they have a deals section that looked like a better better deal than using a groupon.
This is the only Italian place I will eat at in the North End! Yes, there is always a wait to be seated, because the food is DELICIOUS! I’ve been to many places in the North end to eat, and by far this is my favorite. Having a groupon definitely makes it worth the wait, because you get to save money :) Let’s be honest people, it doesn’t matter where you go in the North End, you have to wait a long time to be seated!!
My lack of enthusiasm is NOT about the food (I haven’t gotten a chance to eat here yet). As a matter of fact, based on the popularity of the place, my “guess” is that they DO serve good food.
I do agree with Amarley on this… a wait must be expected in many places in the North End IF YOU DON’T HAVE A RESERVATION on a “busy” night. It’s even acceptable to have a SHORT wait even WITH a reservation.
BUT, on the night I decided (after more than 2 hours of being told “15 minutes more”) to go elsewhere, we were able to get seated immediately We chose Cantina Italiana, but there were seats visibly available at every restaurant we passed as we walked around. And even then, when the booth they first seated us at was cramped, we were able to switch to another immediately.
The ISSUE here is not the food,,, it’s the restaurant’s willingness to overbook reservations without respect to their customers’ time.
Now, as you put it, Amarley, Let’s REALLY be honest (and realistic). If this was an airline or hotel, and time after time, they overbooked to the extent that you had to hope for an available seat or room elsewhere, would you be so eager to claim they were your EXCLUSIVE choices?
Your comment sounds as though you have a reason for your loyalty that is NOT relevent to most of the rest of us.
I made reservations to use this coupon. When we got there, it took us 20 minutes to find parking a half a mile away. Also, they made people who had reservations wait outside. They way over booked They told me my 730 reservation was atleast a half hour behind. Seemed very tight in there. So in other words, i lost my $50.00 coupon because they over booked the resturant!
Paid $25 for $50 groupon = net + $25cost; went Friday … overbooked; went to another place … $200 for dinner and wine and drinks $50, $15 for parking, toll $3.50 $15 for gas. Went back next night and now way overbooked … 7:00PM reservation, showed up at 6:45PM … told to go next door to have a drink and wait out of cold – drinks $32 … seated at 8:30PM. $100 for dinner entree (no app) and wine … $50 off with groupon, tip on $100 next bill $95 Toll, parking, gas same as night before …Overall group on experience … $444 … My $50 groupon cost me $444 … PRICELESS
awesome place in the northend with reasonable prices and right next too Mike;s pastries!!!