Panza

This review is long overdue and I’m writing it as I sit in my office dreaming about Chicken Panza.
I’m obsessed with this place for several reasons:
1.) Panza is more reasonably priced than most North End Restaurants without for a second sacrificing the quality of the food.
2.) Service is top notch. I’ve never had a bad or inattentive waitress or waiter.
3.) I know I mentioned the food, but it deserves its own number. God the food. Chicken panza is absolutely delicious. My boyfriend gets chicken parm every time we go and he compares all chicken parm he eats afterwards to the holy grail that is panza. Also eat the bread. All of the bread. Dip the bread in your sauce. Ladies wear your pants with room or leggings and gents… wear whatever it is you do that lets you accommodate a food baby. Follow these orders and you should do just fine
I highly recommend reservations as this place is no secret (with such good prices and food it’s obvious as to why that is) and if you don’t have a reservation the wait can get pretty long.

Decent food. What you’d expect from North End. Comfortable, good, but nothing great. Fried calamari is definitely recommended. Order small though since the portions are big. Both our pastas (butternut squash tortelloni and tarragon fettuccine) were good on their own but the amount of sauce on each was way too much to taste any ingredient. They don’t offer coffee or desserts. Also come here way before your reservation since it takes a long time to get seated.

I’d say the food deserved 4 stars, its not the best in north end but it’s not bad either.
The service was pretty bad — bordering on rude and that lost a star. I don’t really care about attentive service but i think asking for water without ice isn’t asking them to go out of their way.
The server didn’t take the request very well and when he served the water finally, did it so forcefully spilling water on the table and my hair.
The server taking our order wasn’t very nice either. .
I don’t really care about service usually but here it got on my nerves
We had a nice time though!

This place is always consistently EXCELLENT. You can’t go wrong with anything on this menu. The mussels in fra diavolo appetizer are to die for. The tomato sauce is rich, flavorful and just the right amount of spicy. I’ve never had a fra this good and I keep coming back for more. I also had the chicken broccoli ziti in the cream sauce and it was just right. The sauce was not too rich, but almost silly, creamy and light, with just the right amount of butter and cheese. The chicken was hearty and cooked to perfection and the broccoli was ample and crispy to the bite.
I’ve also had the chicken piccata and the carbonara at this place and both are to die for. I highly recommend!

I went to dinner with my boyfriend here a few weeks ago. He had been there before and recommended it. We decided to make a reservation for a Friday evening the day before, so it was not surprising that we couldn’t get one before 9pm. This place is popular, and for good reason.
We were seated right away. The waitress was polite and attentive. We ordered the chopped salad, which was excellent and quite large for the price ($ 11? 12?). The muscles appetizer was also delicious. For dinner we ordered veal marsala and gnocchi bolognese. I definitely preferred the gnocchi, although veal is not necessarily my thing.
An excellent place to eat in the North End. Prices are very reasonable and the food was delicious. I will look forward to going back.

Decent food. Real ingredients. Attentive server. Will go back!
review to short to send?
Alright… The trick is to go on a gloomy Sunday afternoon befor MLK. Walked right in and didn’t have to wait.
Personally I always find the north end very stressful. But this gloomy Sunday afternoon adventure has been my fav so far! Showed the neighborhood as a place where people actually live instead of a busy touristy place when you pay premium for good food and Terrible service.

Fantastic place for a nice dinner!
Lots of tables (unlike some places around), service (John Arriano? — maybe the owner) was exceptional, great food and wine. Clean all around.
Coming to the food… Complimentary bread was just right for dipping in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Got some mushroom and goat cheese springrolls with honey dip (yum!) and free form lasagna (John made a veggie version just for us). Lasagna could easily be shared by two — huge portions.
Overall great dining experience. Thank you, John!

The Food
We ordered Beef & Veal Tortelloni and Tarragon Fettuccini & Grilled Lobster Tails.
The Beef & Veal Tortelloni taste good, but the pasta is not as good as I had imagined. The pasta were pre-​made I assumed, I wish the tortelloni taste more not like those frozen pasta or maybe it should taste like those frozen pasta. Im not an expert on pasta but was expecting something different given it’s rating. However, the sauce is a good and i am a mushroom lover.
The Tarragon fettuccini is their most famous dish, according to the waiter that served us. The fettuccini is made, so it is a bit thick than the usual pasta. The fettucini was too thick for me though. The pasta sauce itself is something different, good different. The sauce was creamy with a light spice in it. I am surprised the amount of lobster in the dish were not little, they were generous with the amount. That is a PLUS! However, once you almost finished with the dish; you felt that it was too creamy for me.
Atmosphere
The place is small and you can make a reservation. We were waiting for half an hour and I would suggest to make a reservation.
Service
The restaurant layout could be improved, it was a bit confusing when I entered the restaurant because no one was nearby the door. Given we came after the new year, I understand it will be busy, but a waiter should signalled customer at the door. I was standing by the door for 10 mins before a waiter signalled me. However, the waiter who served us was nice and knowledgeable about the food.
Overall Experience
I don’t know if i am a fan yet, but I was not impressed at the beginning of the experience.

Living in the neighborhood Panza has always been one of my favorites. However I think some things have declined.
We made reservations for 6:30 on a Sunday. They didnt even check to see if we had a reservation but none the less sat us quickly.
We were greated with water and bread. Then a waitress came over after a while and took our order like a robot. Standard bread with olive oil. We ordered a bottle of Decoy Cab. Great deal on this wine.
A plus… The Italian chopped salad is great. They give you a lot of salad for the price. Many kinds of cheese chopped up and a healthy portion of meats.
My fiancé ordered the special: Pasta with lobster, tomatoes, spinach in a lemon tomato broth. It wasnt exactly how it was described on the board and was a little more fishy than expected.
I had the chicken piccata. There were so many artichokes on the dish I could barely find the chicken! Sauce was great but barely any chicken. Why artichokes? So weird. Mushrooms would have been better.
I feel like the food has declined and the service was cold and rushed. We were in and out in less than 45 minutes. Not cool. I am saddened by this as I recommend Panza to a lot of people when they ask. We won’t be back for a while! Sorry Panza.

While the food is acceptable, their reservation system is a sham. Why bother offering someone a table at 1.30pm and not have it ready for them then? We have a toddler and having to wait for a table for 20mins is not an ideal situation.
As we waited, we had the joy of seeing a server wipe a table off by pushing food onto the floor. Hygiene might not be a thing here.

Good food, great prices.
My wife and I decided to get a late lunch in the North End and were strolling down Hanover when we stumbled across Panza. It was pretty full when we showed up at around 2pm but we got a table pretty quickly.
Panza has a nice compact menu – no flipping 8 pages back and forth until you «settle» on one of the thousands of options. And for the price, this place is pretty great.
I had their Ravioli special that had rabe, sausage, chicken, and tomatoes – it was pretty good. My wife had the chicken parm, which was ok but the Ravioli was definitely the winner for the afternoon. The service was pretty fast too.
This place is small though — the seating is pretty limited. Most of the people there were in parties of four or more, but we were able to scoot in with a small table for two right next to the kitchen.
In the end, the chicken parm, ravioli special and a glass of wine came out to only about $ 39. Not bad for the North End right?
This place has good food done right and is really affordable. Don’t expect modern gastronomy, but it’s a decent meal that you won’t regret.

I came here back in September for my boyfriends birthday dinner. I chose here because of the reviews I had seen on another site. Let me just say the reviews definitely did not disappoint! The food was beyond amazing! Real authentic Italian food. My son (12yrs), is very picky but even her enjoyed the food! The portions were large so there was extra to take home. (I didn’t mind this, as that meant I got to have a tasty treat waiting for my «late night snack»)…My boyfriend stayed with the traditional baked ziti with meatballs and savored every single bite. And the meatballs were gigantic.
The atmosphere was small, cozy and «family like». Although the restaurant is small, no one stepped on anyones toes. The lighting was set dim but not too dim. Everyone seemed to be not only enjoying the food but each others company. We made reservations and were seated upon arrival. There was a long line out the door, which is the norm for most of the restaurants in the north end, but it didn’t stop the staff from making sure we were priority based on our reservation.
Pricing was amazing. I have been to several places in the area with horrible food but «fancier» pricing. And if it comes down to recommending a good dinner spot, Panza will definitely be my option every time. The only reason that I couldn’t bring myself to give 5 stars is because of the drink selection. To me it seemed quite minimal. Wine or select beer. I was hoping for a tad more selection but that could just be me being somewhat selfish and spoiled. I did end up going for the homemade sangria which was delicious however.
The service was phenomenal. The staff seemed to really appreciate the customers. They engaged in conversation but not so much to the point that their other tables had to wait on them to wrap it up. Our waitress offered to take pictures for us and also gave the perfect suggestions for our plates.

After reading some of the other reviews, I think my boyfriend and I had a very lucky experience with Panza. We found the restaurant by accident. We had planned to check out Giacomo’s a few blocks down but the line was ridiculous and we were HANGRY. We wandered a bit and stopped at Panza because the interior looked very cozy and there was a decent amount of people in there. A nice couple outside reassured us that the food was amazing. That was enough reason for us to go in (isn’t that how people picked restaurants in the olden days without Unilocal?).
We had no reservation but were seated immediately. Service was smooth and efficient and the owner himself waited on us. We had a feeling that the restaurant was used to having lots of people however because they asked us immediately when we walked in if he had a reservation and every course came out in record time. We basically chose all the specials that night — red sangria, mussels in spicy sauce, braised short rib ravioli with broccoli rabe and a lemon pappardelle with lobster meat and a garlic wine sauce. All the food was PHENOMENAL. The owner himself also waited on us and was very cordial and kept asking us how things were and how we were liking everything.
We apparently went at the right time because not 15 minutes later a huge rush of people came and the restaurant was filled.
So although we had an fantastic experience, I’ll admit it may have been pure luck. It was a rainy day as well so maybe that’s why it wasn’t packed when we first went.
That being said, the food is worth it so I highly suggest making a reservation.

I think the charm of this place is the fact that it’s nestled in the popular, ever touristy neighborhood of the North End. Put anywhere else, it would seem like an ordinary hold in wall joint. That said, we were happy to get a table within 15 minutes or so without a reservation on a weekend evening. Lucked out, as it was a very busy place and small. The servers are friendly but definitely get you in and out in a no nonsense/​no frills manner to keep up with all of the diner traffic. We enjoyed the bread they give you at the beginning of the meal, the burrata, mussels, meatball side, butternut squash tortellini, gnocchi bolognese, and chicken parmesan. The wine list is average and very reasonably priced. Overall, we enjoyed a very pleasant meal at a very reasonable price point in a busy part of Boston.

This moral of the story comes at the beginning: MAKE RESERVATIONS.
Saw that Panza had some decent reviews so we decided to try them out. My bf and I came here only 30 minutes after Panza opened for dinner at 5:00 PM, there were 2 small parties in front of us. Not bad. So we decided to wait. The line behind us grew until we were about a dozen or so parties deep
— After 20 minutes of waiting I have my bf take a walk around the neighborhood to see if there is somewhere else we can go without a wait. He returned after checking with 4 or so nearby places, saying there is a wait everywhere
— 45 minutes in, the party of 3 at the head of the line leaves and there is only 1 couple ahead of us in line, so we are very hopeful. But I get worried as I see people coming directly to the front to check in with their reservations
— 1+ hr waiting, the hostess at the front rudely tells the first few parties that without a reservation we will not be seated until 9 PM or so
Seriously? We had to wait over an hour just for you to tell us that you’re basically not accepting walk-​in customers? There is an obvious and long line of patrons lined up at your door and you could not be bothered to tell them that any available seating will be given to reservations only?! SIGH. I was excited to try this place, but the way they handled that dinner line was totally unacceptable. Although the food may be tasty here, I would not expect good service from their workers. All the waiters/​waitresses and even our lovely hostess looked absolutely flustered and miserable.

The fact that this Italian eatery in the historic North End of Boston takes reservations is enough to give it four stars on that merit alone.
Comparatively small in dining room size, we needed a shoe horn to fit all seven of us, plus a high chair. Still, the atmosphere was warm, inviting, family-​ish. We were attended immediately, and we ordered a few bottles of wine. Then we ordered appetizers to share, and our main courses. The fried calamari was exceptionally fresh, and the bruschetta was the best I’ve had, anywhere, hands-down…freshly grilled bread bottoms with fresh tomatoes and goat cheese on top.
Entrees ranged from gnocchi marinara to eggplant parmigiana, to buternut tortellini, and mine was chopped lobster tail in a tarragon fettucini alfredo sauce. Needless to say all were prepared to order, all exceedingly fresh, and plenty to eat.
We were presented with our check, paid, and left to free the table for the growing line outside. When we checked the time, we realized we were in and out in one hour. No lingering here at Panza. I would have liked a few minutes to enjoy the afterglow, but despite the cramped quarters, the friendly service and amazing food made it a worthwhile excursion.

Buena comida. Lugar pequeño y no muy bonito pero muy buena comida. Rissoto y linguinis muy buenos. Precios super razonables.

Was recommended from a friend who used to live here — and was a great lunch!
HUGE portions — hubby and I split a pasta dish and could barely finish. We had the rigatoni with sausage and goat cheese. Generous serving of delicious goat cheese which made the pasta nice and creamy! Great bread, great homemade Caesar dressing! now — time for a nap! :-)

My husband and I were walking down the north in of Boston looking for a great Italian restaurant.
Not only did we find a great one but we also found a reasonable one!!!
My husband had the Potato Gnocchi Bolognese, we shared a Italian chop salad. I had the Free Form Lasagne. Everything was delicious.
It was quite comfortable inside we were there when they just opened up. There were people waiting at the door for it to open up and more came as we got seated.

Read the reviews and decided this would be my North End stop.
Stopped in for a late lunch today and found a single table near the window. The small restaurant only seats around 30 people or so, I think that makes it extra special. Nothing fancy, it didn’t need to be
I ordered Linguine Alla Pescatore with the spicy red sauce. Full of flavor and I could even use the fresh bread to dip in the sauce! Enjoyed a glass of Chardonnay as well.
This is exactly what I was looking for during my North End trip. Thanks Panza!

I had such a great experience here last night! It was surprisingly packed for a Wednesday night, and I was worried that my party of 7 would be unable to get a table. However, the servers were very accommodating and put a couple tables together to seat us immediately. The exceptional service continued all night, and was definitely a highlight of my experience at Panza.
The menu is the perfect size — it offers a well-​rounded selection of appetizers, pasta dishes and entrées, without being too overwhelming. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing worse than a menu the size of an encyclopedia!
I ordered the Linguini Carbonara, but also got the opportunity to try some of my friend’s dishes. The Carbonara was massive, and pretty good overall. Although it wasn’t the best one I’ve ever had (I have very high-​standards for Carbonara), it was a steal at only $ 16, and I would recommend it to anyone. The other dishes that I tried were the Maple Glazed Salmon with Butternut Squash Risotto, and the Butternut Squash Ravioli. The salmon was great, and the risotto was even better! The risotto was very simple, but had a very strong maple taste, which paired nicely with the perfectly cooked cubes of butternut squash. The Butternut Squash Ravioli was my favourite dish, and had such a sweet sauce that it tasted like a dessert!
With the fantastic service, great menu selection, cheap prices and delicious food, you cannot visit the North End without grabbing dinner at Panza!