Ristorante Pavarotti

They lacked hospitality and the waitress was extremely mean and the food sucked! I think she was a racist. I had heard people mention that but now I experienced this!! Colored people should avoid this place like plague!

A great restaurant. My friend and I had a delicious meal. I had the veal piccata and she had the fruitti de mare (seafood melody). Both dishes were absolutely great. I eat out a lot and this place offers some of the best food around.
I talked to some of the staff who said there were some recent changes. The waitresses were excellent and often asked if they could address anything.
I read past reviews and things have apparently changed. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for traditional Italian food.
The place was backed when we entered (a Friday night) but we had reservations so we immediately got a table. A very good experience.
PAul

loved it!
great service and food. the waitress over head we were celebrating a special occasion and she gave use free lemoncello.
i had an excellent rich plate of lobster/​crab stuff ravoli.
my wife had gnocchi.
the wine was really nice too.
i’m looking forward to going back!

Tried special braised lamb. Bland. Had to add salt and pepper.

Our experience last night was so bad that I can’t even spend the time to make this into am entertaining story. Just gonna lay out the facts. Not making any of this shit up.
I went yesterday with my gf and her roommate. There were 26 people in the joint including us. Plus 1 waitress, 1 bartender, and 1 busgirl. We were seated, no one came over for 5 minutes. Busgirl brought water and disappeared.
10 minutes later busgirl refilled water, dropped off bread. I asked her if we could order drinks, she went to get the waitress. Bread was hard, dry, burnt. Olive oil was bland, flavorless. No garlic or spices or anything.
Waitress came over, took our order: couple martinis, caprese, veal parm, mussels fra diavolo.
After 10 minutes our caprese came, but not our drinks. Caprese was pretty bad. Tomatoes were not ripe — green in the center and pink on the edges. Mozzarella had no taste; there was no significant dressing/​sauce on the salad, no balsamic or anything, just a bit of tasteless olive oil.
Oh right, we ordered drinks! I had to walk to the back and find the busgirl, who found the waitress (in the back chatting with the chef), who found the bartender (dunno where she was) who found our drinks and brought them over. Turns out that they had been made 10 minutes prior and abandoned on the bar, which had been abandoned by the bartender. They were watery, no one offered to make us fresh ones.
Fre minutes later, asked the busgirl to find the waitress (who was chatting in the back again), ordered a Miller Lite and a martini.
10 minutes later, the entrees came.
5 minutes later: Girlfriend: «Remember that time, that I ordered a drink 15 minutes ago, and its a beer and all she has to do it open the bottle cap, and the drink never came?» Ohhh right. The drinks never came. I walked to the back, the bartender was chatting it up with the chef. I asked where our drinks were and she said «What drinks?» — turns out she never received the order.
We started eating. Gf’s mussels smelled like shit and she couldn’t eat them. Her roommate couldn’t either. I thought they smelled like fresh mussels, like, as in, taken right out of the ocean and thrown on a plate without cleaning or anything. I tried a couple and they were fine, but, I agree that the scent was vile and would frighten away all but the most steadfast seafood lovers. The sauce was not spicy, didn’t taste like fra diavalo to me… more like marinara.
My veal looked like frozen patties with Kraft Singles microwaved on top. Linguine was soft and overcooked, it had the same sauce as the «fra diavolo» mussels. I ate it, it was ok. Bland, no spice, no flavor in the sauce.
Ordered another round of drinks, which arrived in a normal timeframe, and as I handed her my empty martini and she left the table, I realized that the waitress had not been clearing the table. There were 3 empty martini glasses, an empty beer, and two empty plates, just sitting at the table, dirty and saucy and nasty and begging to be removed.
My guests mentioned that usually this place was very good, and that the owner Massimo was very friendly, usually sat at the front and chatted with people and gave everybody Limoncello. So I asked my gf if I should tell him about our experience and she said yes. I found him, told him the first few things I mentioned in this review. He was friendly and apologized, said they were short one girl who had to go home sick, asked where I was sitting, said he’d send something over. He told me tomatoes were supposed to be green in the center, that’s the Italian way. He seemed like a nice guy, and I wasn’t looking to make trouble, I just wanted to express my disappointment and make sure the owner knew about our shitty experience. So I felt okay at this point and went back to my table, where I told my gf what just happened.
She and her roommate laid into me. Reminded me that the waitress wasn’t exactly bustling from table to table trying to cover for the other girl. She had spent most of the time we were there in the back hallway chatting it up with her co-​workers. I’d had to get up 2 or 3 times just to get things like water or beer. They’d left dirty dishes and glasses at the table for over an hour. Her mussels «smelled like deep human asshole interior» (her words). They were both pissed at me for not telling Massimo the full shittiness of our experience.
Massimo’s offer to ‘send something over’ turned out to be the limoncello he gives to EVERY F’ING customer anyhow. The check took 11 minutes (we timed it) to arrive after we asked for it. They took nothing off the check. I tipped 10% which I haven’t done in 20 years.

This is our «go to» place for consistently great and unique Italian meals. Yes, the place is small and can be a bit loud due to the acoustics of the place, but you have to go in anticipating this. While some in this forum have complained about the rude waitresses and owner, I have always found them friendly. The place is ALWAYS hopping with customers because of the restaurant’s wonderful food. Perhaps customers are equating the hustle and bustle of this place with rudeness, but the staff is just very busy making sure that the meals are served piping hot. Given the popularity of this small restaurant, be sure to make reservations… even on weeknights when you might expect a slower crowd. Also, check out Groupon and Living Social for deals, as the restaurant often posts them. My favorite: Homemade fusilli with jumbo shrimp and scallops in a Fra Diavolo sauce! Yum!

Really excellent food. I had the Frutti de Marre with fra diavollo, which was served over homemade fusilli. Lots of seafood, the pasta was really excellent, and the sauce was tremendous. My girlfriend had chicken Marsala, a classic that quite really well made. Other people have complained about the service, but ours was fine (albeit on a pretty slow Tuesday night). I could have done without the $ 6 bottles of Sam Adams, but that’s my only knock on this nice little local restaurant.

OMG… this place was so awful we walked out and never had a meal. The waitress was appalling. She needs a course in diversity training ASAP. It is sad to even say that in 2015 3 people of color can walk into a restaurant in the North and more so in MA a blue state and receive the treatment we did from this women.
We arrive because I had read many good things about the food and friends have said with me running restaurants I have to try this food. So me and a good friend who is a food critic and my sister went to go try this place. We didn’t have a reservation and the place is small. We went on a Saturday July 18^th about 6pm after a show. We drove 40 min from Boston to get there. We were standing in the waiting area by the door to be seated and the waitress ignored us for about 5 mins. Finally I asked if there was a hostess. She said just wait a minute… rudely I might add. I said okay. Then 3 minutes later after she kept serving tables and pouring water and clearing dishes she says do you have a reservation? I said no but there were 7 empty table. I asked if this was an issue and she said maybe. Waited another 5 minutes. Then another couple that just happen to be Caucasian walks in and she ran over. Said can I help you do you have a reservation. They said yes but they were an hour early and was wondering if they could be seated. She checked them off and said no problem and sat them. Then finally came back over and sate us at a 4 tops table next to the other couple she just sat. The young water and bus lady was so kind but that was it for kindness at this place. we look at the menu and so many things I wanted to have. She finally comes over with no welcome at all and with an attitude says you know what you want. The 3 of us looked at each other with faces of what is this woman’s issue. So we tried to ignore it and my friend the food critic said he wanted the calamari as his entrée cause he was not very hungry but wanted to try the food. My sister said she wanted Mussels and the waitress in a rude and snipped tone said red or white. didn’t explain that was a choice of two type of sauces or what was in them. My sister said white. I asked about the shrimp app and how many piece cause I wanted to share it for the table and she rolled her eyes and said 3. So I was going to order an entrée to share as a starter and was going to get the Lobster ravioli and then looking at something else and she barked out. Do you have some kind of coupon or something. I said excuse me. She said do you have some kind of online coupon. I said yes I do. She then went on to say very loudly in this very small dining room. It’s not good on apps and you have to order at least two entrees. My guest were ready to leave right then. I said about I didn’t see that but that is not an issue. Then she says for everyone to hear oh and you can’t split the check. No one had mentioned anything about the check we had not even finished ordering and she barks out that. That was the last straw for my sister and friend and they got up and walked out. I know my sister left because she was about to let her have it. I stayed seat waiting for the manager or owner to come over and no one ever did I waited 5 more minutes before I walked out. I then called 10 minutes later to speak to the owner or manager and she answered the phone and said she would not be in today. This was clearly racist women and I don’t recommend that any person of color ever go to support this place. I left 2 other messages for the owner to contact me since I run a restaurant and thought they should be made aware of this bad service and to see if they were going to do anything to correct this and never a return call. I hope this saves any blacks or Spanish people the trips for from buying any groupon, gilt city or living social voucher to this place. It’s said cause the food smelled and looked great but I will never ever know now.
Totally Disappointed,
G.M.

Amazing food, good service. It’s a very small place, and they rarely take reservations for the same day. Cozy atmosphere and everything my husband and I have tried has been delicious!

Food was good. Service, not so much…
I got the Risotto which was excellent. Nice sauce that wasn’t too heavy. My girlfriend got the Gnocchi which she liked. Good sized portions.
The waitress was not that great. She came to get drink orders, then food orders and wasn’t seen till the very end. The quiet little woman refilling water and clearing tables helped us more than the waitress. We had to ask her for extra sauce, more bread, cheese, and she kept on top of drinks.
Probably won’t go back unless we get a good coupon.

My wife and I just moved to Reading and really wanted to love this place. We’d heard good things. We did leave full, but we left a bit disappointed, too.
The place is cute inside and the food is really quite good. My wife got the gnocchi, which was tender and tasty, and I got the shrimp and scallops with homemade pasta. The pasta was wonderful, but the scallops were a bit salty. And the rest of the experience left something to be desired:
— The prices are reasonable, but a few dollars higher than they needed to be.
— The beer list is horrendous. Coors Light? Really?
— The staff wasn’t all that friendly, which is what you’d expect from a quaint neighborhood joint.
Will we go back? Probably, because the menu is quite extensive. Does it need to get better? Yep, it does.

I went here for a birthday dinner. The restaurant is tiny, but cute. We were a party of 8, so it was a little of a tight fit, but I’m used to North End, so this wasn’t much of a shock. Due to the size of the restaurant, you should really make reservations as there aren’t too many tables.
For appetizers we ordered the mussels, eggplant and stuffed mushrooms. I didn’t really care for the stuffed mushrooms but really liked the other 2. If I had to choose, I’d say the eggplant was the best of the 3. For my entrée I got the Homemade Fusilli alla Barese (sausage, mushrooms, peppers, onions in a red sauce over fusili) which was very good. I tried a friends gnocchi and I thought it was just ok, but she liked it.
For dessert we got the lemon cake, chocolate mouse cake and a cannoli. The lemon was the best of the 3. When I went to Rome they used to bring over the bottle of lemoncello at the end of the night and let us have drinks for free. So any time an Italian restaurant does this, it reminds me of Rome. The waitress came out with shots of lemoncello which was a nice treat. So, overall I thought the service was good and I had no problems with my meal. I think if you live in this area then it is probably a good option for you.

Anyone who gives this place a bad review is a straight up moron. Make reservations. Small North End vibe restaurant. Food is amazing. gravy is delicious. 3x here. Got Veal Marsala this time. Terrific. Thank you from a fellow Italiano.

Massimo, Have you changed your ridiculous policy not letting your customers use groupons and gift certificates on the same evening…

Short and sweet. A bit over priced menu when compared to local eateries. My girlfriend ordered the haddock/​capers with green beans and potatoes. Very tasty. I ordered the Frutti di Mare. Never again. The obviously previous frozen shrimp were over-​cooked and dry. The calamari was rubbery and the shellfish tasted aweful. The only positive point of this meal was the pasta with Fra Diavolo sauce. Limited beer selection. Service was attentive.

The food is above average. I usually get the shrimp and scallops with red sauce. The menu has plenty of options. The prices are slightly higher than the quality.
The atmosphere is small and noisy. The owners tend to rush you in and out. If you’re late (even a couple minutes) you will be spoken to.
Overall it’s average but we prefer Artichoke’s in Wakefield.

My cousin tells me that I shouldn’t leave such a negative reviews. Regretfully this review is negative. I am just looking for a good meal it’s not my fault that America has accepted mediocrity.
The first time my family and I arrived early and they would not let us get a table and said they had fully sold out the restaurant. What made that horrible was how rude the hostess was. Like we didn’t belong there…
We should’ve taken that as an omen because when we finally had reservations my wife and I thought it was the worst Italian meal we’ve ever had. Maybe where are just spoiled by New York & Boston’s North End.
On a positive note the wine wasn’t bad and the food was hot… let’s just say that will be it’s one star. The employees looked like they were working hard including the chefs outback. My guess is the owner has taken the liberty of removing any quality ingredients of any quantity whatsoever.
The appetizers:
The clams in the clam casino were tiny with no bacon a bit of breadcrumbs and butter… they were about a C. The other appetizer we had to antipasto had domestic prosciutto but only one piece. Very scary that they can’t spend a dollar. And a bunch of marinated garbage on it. The cheese was bad so that was a D.
The meal:
My wife chose the lobster and crab ravioli which was frozen and horrible that was an F. Considering I almost barfed in my mouth after the meal I would recommend investing in Alka-​Seltzer prior to eating here. I chose the chicken something — and that was horrible too. I left the restaurant hungry… the chicken was boiled the eggplant wasn’t peeled or breaded.
Dessert:
Too scared to try since everything else was so horrible and overpriced. Save your money for god sake. It was sad to see everybody working so hard but not having any idea that their food was bad. I think the other patrons here were delusional or the first time eating here. The owners need to go to good Italian restaurant and learn something from it.

Went here on first date with wife in several months. We were pleasantly surprised when we were seated immediately to a table instead of the bar where I thought we’d end up based on reservation with maître d. Wine suggestions were solid– a nice house chianti and wife had sauv blanc. The caprese was really good, especially since mid-​Fall yet very tasty tomatoes. Entrees were predictably ‘big Italian’, and not very memorable. Service was both pleasant and attentive.

Food is delicious. I always order the food to go because a reservation seems to be needed on any given night. I can pick up my order at 5:50 pm and the dining room can be empty. 10 minutes later, every table is filled with a 6pm reservation. The restaurant has about 12 tables and a tiny make shift bar that holds 3 or 4 seats. The tables for 2 are so close together that the tiny female servers can barely squeeze in between them to take your order. I’ve seen the servers actually serve from behind the table. Those customers look really surprised and uncomfortable to be sitting that close to the next table. The tables for parties of 4 are better and the customers look more comfortable.
Service is fine, but the servers aren’t all that smiley. They are not short handed – but they do look stressed and it gives off a weird vibe.
No parking lot, but I’ve always managed to find parking on the street. It’s far better than dealing with the North End’s parking situation. In my opinion, the food is just as good. The chicken parm is outstanding. Their sauce is perfection. Good bread, too.
I’m sure they serve dessert and coffee, but if you might also want to stop in at D’Amici’s bakery across the street.

I have to say I was very disappointed with your Restaurant. My Wife and I had been wanting to try this place for a while and we finally had a night to try it. We called and confirmed a reservation for 8PM on Saturday. When we got to the restaurant the Owner/​Manager greeted as a preceded to show us the clock and basically said to us why are we here 15 minutes early for a 8PM reservation.
After waiting for a while with a check in everyone in a while we finally a table open up and assume that after waiting 20 Minutes past our reservation time that we would get seated but no they gave the table to someone else. When I asked about I was given a rude response that they had a 7:30 reservation which was clearly a lie because you could see from the book that all the 7:30’s had been seated and crossed off the reservation. If what they said was true they would of crossed out our reservation when we arrived.
At this point we had enough and left to have dinner somewhere else. This is not how you should treat customers who have been told good things about your restaurant.
My recommendation is if your not regular there don’t bother going.