Gondola Restaurant

lunch recently… we have not been here for 20 years… and it looks the same, i think they may even been playing the same sinatra music,…lunch specials are reasonably priced and were pretty good, limited beer wine selection, service was pleasant and kept our water filled… sadly they had just lost one of their founders… decent food but the place need a fix up…

I just had the best shrimp scampi. Wife and kids enjoying desert. I highly recommend you stop by the food is great.

With many Italian restaurants to choose from we finally broke down and tried this place. When you walk in memories of my Nonna basement filled the air. Outdated and smelling like mothballs I immediately wanted to leave but we were hungry and decided to stay. Food was bland and over priced, won’t be going back.

Overpriced food. Poor service as there was only waitress for the entire dining room. The food was all processed food. Even the garlic bread was a store bought spread. I notified them of my food allergy and we could hear the chef raising his voice in the kitchen when our waitress was conveying the allergy concerns to him. I still was given food that I could not eat and charged for it. Lunch for two with soda was $ 49. On a positive note the salad was great with their house dressing.

Had the eggplant parm and it was delicious! It came out piping hot and the portions were very generous, I could only eat half! Atmosphere and decorations are pretty outdated but that doesn’t really matter because the eggplant was so good. And the pasta sauce too!

My fiancé and I decided to give the Gondola a shot since we have lived in the area for a while and have never been. Honestly, it was a horrible mistake. The dining room is outdated and smells musty. The place was not busy at all. We placed our order at 7:10. It consisted of the Gnocchi and Cheese Ravioli. We ended up leaving at 7:45. I’ll never even think about coming here again.

I loved the gnocchi and it was not mushy, it was just right. I loved the house salad. Ya the décor is a little out dated but its cozy and warm. I had a lemon cake and I enjoyed it. I never been to gondola during lunch but I will have to try out there lunch specials sometime.

This place was horrible! The inside could use a make over it is very dated and not overly clean (the beams above our table are wrapped with plastic grape vines covered with dust and the heater unit near out table was also covered with dust) The bread was cold and stale, the salad way over dressed (even though the house dressing was tasty), and the gnocchi were gummy and unimpressive. To make matters worse 3 – 4 hours later I was violently ill and was so for half the night. Not sure what the food protection procedures were in that kitchen, but clearly they were not followed that evening. Our waitress was nice, but too distracted by the regulars (i.e. sitting in there booths with them, hanging at the kiosk to pay chatting, etc.). We were not asked how items were or for refills on our beverages until we were done eating.
With all the other options of Italian in the area, I don’t know how this place is still in business. As an Italian who grew up in and Italian household, If you are under the impression this place is authentic, you have been duped.

Was acceptable when we last went 20 years ago. Will not be returning after this visit.
The french fries were dripping, readily absorbed by paper napkins and were promptly and politely exchanged for pasta which was just o.k.
The veal cacciatore sauce was very thick with neither the amount nor the variety of vegetables I am accustomed to in Italian restaurants. We had been informed it was the last serving available at around 7:00 PM on a Saturday evening.
Fortunately for the restaurant, others have had more positive experiences.

Three of us chose to try this place based on the reviews on Unilocal.We were impressed. Our waitress has worked there for 28 years and she couldn’t stop beaming and enjoying her job to the max. Everyone received timely and super personal attention. We felt we were eating with family. The food was great. Prices were extremely reasonable and we left a very large tip. We will certainly return again. If you are near Leominster, don’t miss this place!!!

Great home-​cooked food, the salad dressing is amazing. i got chicken parm with meat raviolis and it was delish. definitely try this place if you want some ice italian home cooked food. fair prices. i feel bad that it was not busy at all when we went, but if more people tried this place you will love it!

One word… ew.

I brought my parents here on a Tuesday night. The waitress was exasperated with us. My mother ordered an iced tea, didn’t like the taste, and wanted a diet coke instead. The waitress challenged her on it!
The food was okay… my roasted chicken was good. My dad’s shrimp scampi had a chlorine taste to it. My mom said that her cheese ravioli was just okay.
We won’t be going back.

We’ve gone here twice, and it was just ok. The sauce is kind of plain, and they don’t have a kids menu. I ordered ravioli & meatballs for myself and my son enjoyed them more than I did. It seems that the sauce/​meatballs/​raviolis are all prepackaged… not sure if anything is freshly made. The waitstaff is friendly and helpful.

We don’t live close enough to come here often, but I guess that’s a good thing. Because we would be here ALL THE TIME.
Very good authentic Italian food. I’ve had probably half the menu, all very good but usually stick to chicken or veal parmigiana, my favorites! The roasted chicken is very, very yummy.
Instead of cooking for Christmas Eve this past year, we had Gondola take-​out. I think it’s the start of a tradition for us.
When I know we’re going to be in the vicinity of this place, I casually mention it to my husband. It’ll take him a little while, but he eventually comes up with, «Hey, lets go to the Gondola for dinner.» Let’s let him keep thinking it’s his idea…
The staff are always friendly and efficient. Price? Super.

My family and I decided to try Gondola about 15 years ago. However, when we got there, the hostess refused to seat us because we didn’t meet the «formal dress code.» We could clearly see other patrons entering and eating in the restaurant who were dressed the same as we were. There is no dress code here, nor has there ever been one. My family is Indian. I think this is why we were denied service. We have never returned since.
UPDATE: Since posting this review, Gondola’s management contacted me and stated that this sort of behavior would never be tolerated from any of the staff members.

We were visiting the area and used Unilocal to find this restaurant. Wow, I’m so glad we did. If this was in Arizona, we’d be there all the time. The wait staff were great. You felt like you were dining at someone’s home with their great personalities. The food was really good. The only complaint I have is that the bread is just basic — airy white stuff. The desserts and most of the pasta are homemade.

The Gondola is a small and red sauce italian restaurant. The food is good and served very hot. This place could use a a remodeling but that may just raise the prices.
Sauce and homemade egg noodles are excellent as is the house salad dressing.

I have been going to this restaruant for over 40 years. It is always 5 star.
They have been making creamy italian dressing before we ever even heard of such a thing. You just want to lick the bowl. The italian food is the best. Recently I had a party of 40 people and ordered gnocchis and salad. Delicious! The food was ready on time. They sent extra sauce and included their wonderful bread. The price for platters was very reasonable. A special thanks to the chef for getting our food for my party on time.

**You can also now buy their salad dressing!!** YIPEEE
I love this place! I have been going here since I was little. It is family owned and everyting is always fresh. The salads that come with dinner are made to order and they have this awesome home made dressing! They have mainly italian food with some steak and seafood as well. I always get the raviolis which are HUGE and the filling is fresh and delicious! The chicken and veal parm are also very, very good. I havent tried the deserts yet, im usually too full!