Appetizer special Spinach Crepes is delightfully good with spinach ricotta stuffing, butter pecorino romano cheese, served with cream parmesan sauce and topped with toasted almonds! Main course Al Dente special homemade pasta is delicately flavored with sautéed scallopini of veal, chicken, shrimp, broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, artichoke hearts in white wine garlic butter sauce. Full-size rich flavored cheese lasagna comes with homemade meatball. Generous portions with plenty for take home. Parking is best at Parcel 7 Parking Garage, located at Sudbury and Congress Streets. $1.00 (2 hour), $3.00 (up to 3 hour), Validation void over 3 hours. Have server validate ticket. read more

First time here, definitely not the last. So this may sound snobby but I don't eat Italian food unless I make it. I studied abroad, in Italy for culinary, and cannot stand most Italian restaurants...until now. Al Dente took me back to Italy. Literally the best Italian food since being there. (Not exaggerating I got emotional) Annette our server was phenomenal. So kind and patient. She recommended the appetizer side of the seasonal Pumpkin Ravioli (came with 4 pieces) and I'm so glad she did! The house made ravioli was tender and the pumpkin was creamy and balanced. It was served in browned butter sage and honey sauce that we wiped clean with bread. We also ordered bruschetta which was fresh and perfectly seasoned. Main dishes: we ordered tortellini promodoro, tortellini vodka sauce, carbonara, and chicken Marsala. Everything was exceptional. Not one bad thing to say about this place. We ended our meal with some house made limoncello **the portions are huge! We went for lunch and we're told that the dinner portions are double the size** read more

See all

Yum yum yum! Great food, great service! Our go-to when we visit Boston. Our granddaughter said it's the best spaghetti she's ever had. She's only 6 y/o but we concur! read more

Al Dente is a classic Italian-American eatery. If you want home style Italian meals, friendly Italian service, and massive portions, Al Dente in North End is a great option. Their ambiance is cozy and inviting, making this a great option for cold winter months. They offer outdoor seating, making it a great summer option as well! They have gluten free pasta so even those with an intolerance can have a hearty pasta meal! Capellini Carbonara (5/5): This is some of the best pasta I have ever had. Thin capellini (angel hair) pasta with a thick carbonara sauce is hard to beat. Their chicken was so tender and they certainly give you plenty of it with your pasta. This entree was expensive, but for the price you are getting plenty of food! If you are in Boston and craving Italian, Al Dente offers traditional fair that will please anyone. Be ready for a casual ambiance, fun waiters, and big portions! read more

Al Dente Restaurant - Capellini Carbonara with Chicken - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

Generous portions and good service. We sat down and immediately were served bread. Good wine selection and made to order pasta. Ambiance is okay! Friendly service. read more

Al Dente Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Our clear favorite in the North End after so many years Some of the best mussels I have ever had in my life. read more

Amazing food and service. Their pesto is always my favorite sauce on the menu. I always come here when I visit Boston. Their food is always great, and service is very fast. read more

Huge portions, easily shared. Food and service was Excellent. Small casual space. We started with fried calamari, but the sautéed calamari looked amazing also. Our group of 4 had Lobster ravioli, puttanesca, sausage cacciatore, and linguine & clam sauce - everyone enjoyed their meals. Food came out fast too! read more

food excellent, spinach crepes to die for! SO good. Veal parmesan and sausage cacciatore also excellent. Enough to take home for another dinner tomorrow. Rather noisy as a large birthday party. Servers pleasant and helpful read more

Very, very good Italian food. I wouldn't say it's a popular joint, or that it's a swanky date night type of place. It's just down to Earth and simply delicious. read more

This seems to be a very traditional Italian restaurant with a nice man at the door taking you to your seat. Service was impeccable. It's quaint and perfect for a romantic meal. Bruschetta was amazing, penne vodka outstanding. And they have Peroni draft which definitely makes you feel like you are back in Italy. read more

What can I say? I was in the mood for some Italian food, particularly pasta. One of the go to dishes for me was fettuccine alfredo. It took 35 minutes to get seated for one at a table so it was worth it. I ordered the pasta and it took 10 minutes for the meal to be prepared. It was a big-ass portion. The pasta was al dente and the sauce was delicious with the shaved parmesan on top. And the dish was a good size portion for $19. Definitely come by for a visit. read more

Al Dente Restaurant - Fettuccine Alfredo Pasta - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

Was here on Wednesday night April 10, First, the calamari was horrible, the eggplant was stale, the bread was hard. Second, the cooks in the kitchen where so loud and obnoxious. Third, the 2 waitress one looked like she was sleeping and the other one on the phone. Final, hopefully if I come back I will not have to write another bad review. read more

Service was great, ambiance was very nice. Crowed and noisy, just as expected in the North End. My wife had a fantastic, delicious sea bass.. I always get and judge an Italian joint on their frutti de mare.. It was like soup and the seafood was overcooked.. I ate it anyway because I was hungry and I wanted to eat with my wife. I did tell the waitress my complaints when we paid the bill. She asked me why I didn't send it back. She said we would have gladly made you another one. And she did take half the cost off of it. read more

Causal Friday night me and my girl friend went on looking for a nice casual Italian meal started off really good! The Lobster ravioli was very good! With the sauce having a nice kick to it and you could really taste the fresh pasta. Then the meal arrived and it was terrible! The veal was over cooked almost burnt! In an attempt to hide the bad veal and mushroom taste/ texture it was smothered in sauce that tasted like they just poured it out of a can. Sad to think they killed a calve to ruin the meat! It was an ok place. But please don't get the veal! read more

Al Dente Restaurant - Veal and Eggplant Parmigiana - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

Do not eat here. The food is terrible and so is the service. We got charged an extra $5 for "fresh pasta" & it was the soggiest, grossest pasta I've ever had. We had the bruschetta, bolognese & broccoli appetizer and all dishes were bland, Ill prepared Save your time and money. Go literally anywhere else. Not an ounce of love in their food. Tourist trap. read more

Cozy restaurant with great food! I did not take pictures of my food because it looked so yummy I just ate it right away!

Consistently delicious and fresh Italian food. The pumpkin ravioli is always stand out for me. Great salads, great pasta, great seafood. I had the lobster ravioli last time and was amazed by how much lobster they packed into those are ravioli. Really delicious. Great staff read more

See all

This is very homey Italian restaurant. It feels very intimate and personal inside and the food is as if it's straight from Italy. The service here is very friendly and they give out free bread to each table. They were fairly quick about taking our food orders and getting our food out. The food portion sizes here are HUGE!!! For appetizers, we got the the Calamari and the Shrimp Scampi which is cooked in olive oil and garlic and topped with a white wine garlic butter sauce. The Scampi is out of this world! It was very creamy, buttery, and soft. It was definitely the best item that we ordered. The sauce was so amazing that we even dipped our bread into it and finished all the sauce. The calamari appetizer seemed more like an entrée as they gave a very generous serving. It came with a lot of the usual calamari rings plus whole pieces of calamari. For entrees, we shared the Lobster Ravioli and Chicken Pasta. The lobster ravioli comes in 6 pieces, but they're huge truck size portions! Yes, they as good as everyone says. Order it! It came topped with a lot of cheese and marinara sauce and was really filling. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant if you're hungry for Authentic Italian Food! read more

See all

This place is awesome - one of my go-to spots in the North End. The service is friendly, and the food is delicious! The last time I went, I got the bruschetta, and it was hands down the best bruschetta I've ever had in my life. The pasta is awesome as well - I got linguini with pesto last time I went, and it was soooooo good! I will be back again and again. read more

Wow, what a great find! We had lobster ravioli and veal, all delicious. Very friendly staff, fast service, constant attention, a great small restaurant tucked away in a neat neighborhood. read more

Delicious gnocchi! Can be a bit loud and I would recommend a reservation. Wait staff and front of the house gentleman were lovely humans :) read more

Quaint little spot in North End. The service was excellent and her recommendations were spot on. Our table of four shared the Ceaser Salad, because it was so large. We each had a pasta dish and I would definitely go back read more

In short: Casual restaurant (mixed crowd) with authentic italian food plus large portion sizes. The place looked understated from the outside but the menu is quite diverse - has a lot of different dishes ( you can also choose your own pasta). Tried this place with friends on a Friday night - stumbled in without any particular expectations. Had a great experience and would recommend to others. The calamari app was memorable! read more

The food and service were great! We both really enjoyed our entrees and would recommend Al Dente.

BEST IN NORTH END! I've been coming here for 5 years! Their homemade pasta, large portions, but small restaurant front make it such a hidden little gem in North End. I highly highly recommend trying their homemade pasta -- gnocchi, fusilli, etc. you can customize each dish with what pasta you want. Delicious! My go-to are the Frutti Di Mare, Shrimp Scampi, and Vodka Sauce. Service is also very friendly. Keep in mind the place is very small so on crowded hours, plan accordingly. Atmosphere wise, strong dark mood lighting! Very homely for family or date nights out!! read more

See all

Great food. Great service. This place is small but nice place to get good meal. We tried 4 different meals and they were all good.

Great service and huge portions. We had a reservation we accidentally cancelled and we're still able to sit down. The owner was super friendly. You get complimentary bread and our drinks came out quickly. read more

Al Dente Restaurant - Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

One of my favorite North End spots, I've been coming here over the last 10 years and always have a great experience with the delicious food and great staff. My most recent visit was on a Tuesday night last week with a party of 7. Make a reservation in advance, especially if you have a larger party or are coming on the weekend. Love the pumpkin ravioli especially. And they bring you a shot of limoncello at the end of your meal! read more

I don't quite understand the high reviews here. Maybe it was an off night. We were greeted warmly and sat promptly. Orders were taken quickly and our food and drinks also arrived quickly. The waitress was fun and personable. But... Once our food arrived, she disappeared. She went and sat with a friend to chat, and didn't come back at all until we were finished and our plates had been cleared by someone else. A while after. The food was okay. Supermarket Italian bread with stale ends and little packets of butter. My lobster ravioli were really ravioli with some chunks of lobster in the somewhat watery sauce. It was okay, not great. Didn't taste like fresh ravioli nor did I detect lobster in the ravs. It wasn't terrible. But it was generic. read more

Still love this place, the food is still 10/10 and the service is even better. I've tried many different Italian restaurants in Boston but nothing beats this place. I saw in a recent review that somebody said, "If you're a person of color, think twice about eating here." Seriously? I don't think that's fair for somebody to assume. That is such a broad statement to make about a restaurant you spent "5 minutes" inside before leaving.... I am a person of color and I've been treated like family here every single visit, and I only come here probably twice per year. read more

Al Dente Restaurant - Chicken Marsala - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Great food and great service! Very tiny restaurant that you can tell has been there for decades (25 years to be exact). It's not the fanciest place but boy is the food good! Joann was our server and she was the sweetest and made sure we were taken care of throughout our dinner. read more

See all

If you care about quality food, and you want real homemade Italian... eat at Al Dente. Do not be fooled by the nearby restaurants, with their bougie atmospheres and fancy signs. They are over-compensating. Al Dente doesn't have to compensate for anything, because it is the real deal and the food speaks for itself. The plum tomato sauce is to die for, and the homemade pasta is delicious. They also have great gluten free options (penne and gnocchi), and the wait staff are well informed about allergens: I am allergic to dairy, gluten, AND soy... and my waitress immediately knew what to watch for. Shout out to Mary; I felt very confident eating here. I had the chicken cacciatore and it was phenomenal #grateful read more

We went there for late lunch on Monday, so it was quiet. We all loved what we ordered. I had the clam Vongole, white sauce. You can choose from Red or White sauce. It was delicious. My only request was de-sand the clams a little better. Other than that, we enjoyed their dishes. Their red sauce was a bit sweet and very good. We will definitely be back for different dishes. read more

See all

Nice place with alfresco dining. Food and service were good. I ordered the Eggplant and Veal Parmesan with homemade Rigatoni and my wife got the Frutti Di Mare. Both were good but service could have been better. read more

See all

My friends and I came for dinner last night. We had lots of bread and butter, fried calamari, and so much pasta. The pasta was fresh, the sauces were tasty, and we left very full. I had the sangria which was fruity, and not too sweet. The only downfall is that they don't have a cocktail bar, so they have to run next door to grab drinks. Our waitress busted her buns to run over and grab my friend's sorrow spritz. The waitress was the star of the show, she was so nice. The restaurant made me feel at home, and the staff felt like family. read more

Got us good on Thanksgiving. I researched multiple places and made a reservation through Yelp for this restaurant on Thanksgiving two weeks ago. Walked to the restaurant only to find out it is dark inside. No signs saying they were closed on Thanksgiving. There was no email sent saying the reservation was cancelled. Not sure if this is Yelp or the restaurant's fault, or both. I only knew the reservation was cancelled when I yelped this restaurant and clicked on my reservation. Super disappointed as we were anticipating trying this Italian restaurant and avoided eating Italian food to enjoy it on Thanksgiving. Being from out of state (with no friends or family in the area), this is not acceptable. Luckily we were able to find a restaurant to enjoy Thanksgiving. Never going to make a reservation for a restaurant that only uses Yelp. The lack of communication can really screw a person's plan. Please consider using OpenTable for reservations. read more

My son and I went before he heads out to UMass Amherst for his freshman year. We are from CA and had no idea how good the Italian food is in Northend Boston. This place came highly recommended and didn't disappoint at all. Had fantastic appetizers with Calamari and Bruschetta. Had the gnocchi al Dente special and son had a pasta with the vodka sauce and the food was so good. Portions are great and the servers are the nicest ever. Feel like your part of the family for a Sunday feast. Highly recommend this wonder read more

Was looking for a really good Italian restaurant and came across this on Yelp!!! ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE! From the moment we were waiting for a table, the doorman/host was so welcoming, sharing food suggestions, making jokes and just making us feel welcomed into the restaurant. Our server was also great, we had no idea what we wanted and she brought out a sample of the homemade fresh rigatoni with marinara and it was delicious! There were 3 of us and we started with the Shrimp Grand Mariner (no pic) and Grilled Fig Salad! Both were delicious! Then we had the Pumpkin Ravioli, Amatriciana, and Quattro Formaggio with Diavolo sauce. The pasta was cooked to perfection, large portions so definitely could share but we took home for later, and the sauce was immaculate. Definitely the small quaint Italian restaurant I was looking for with great service. Also, not too expensive, 3 of us ate, getting two appetizers and 3 entrees for $120! Definitely affordable and would recommend to anyone!! read more

See all

The reviews looked good but overall it was just ok. My husband had the eggplant parm which was the best thing we ordered. I got shrimp scampi and the shrimp was over cooked. I got the Caesar salad, it was big and the dressing was ok. My husband ordered the garlic bread, pretty good. read more

Al Dente Restaurant - Eggplant Parmigiana, Shrimp Scampi, garlic bread - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts