Food: I UberEats'd the Tagliatelle Bolognese and it was SO good!! The pasta was delicious, tasted so fresh, and the sauce was yum!! Service: It was fast. Ambiance: I would go/order again! read more

We discovered Ciao Amici one day on our quest to find an Italian restaurant that wasn't in the North End. We have two little picky eaters and needed convenience, access to parking, and spacious and friendly for toddlers. We thoroughly enjoy Ciao Amici and have been going pretty regularly for the last 2 years. Our usual are the meatballs and carbonara for the kids. For awhile, it was the only way I could get my youngest to eat any protein. It is tender and has the right amount of spices for my youngest to gobble up. The two of them always share the carbonara and slurp it right up. Lastly, my oldest has recently become obsessed with their sauteed mussels and I literally have to negotiate with her to let me eat one. I love the saffron garlic white wine sauce, it is very garlicy and goes so well with the warm bread that they give you. My husband and I have tried a lot of their pasta and seafood with risotto dishes. Recently he has also ventured into their main dishes and still enjoyed it. Overall, great flavors, pasta is al dente, and the perfect portion where you don't feel overly stuffed by the end of the meal. We've tried a few of the places in the North End, and I would say Ciao Amici definitely is on par if not better than some of the places in the North End, plus they have a small parking lot that we've always had access to. My personal favorites are the Spaghetti Shrimp Scampi and Haddock e Risotto. The servers are always attentive and considerate. The -1 star comes from the pace of service. We usually go on the early side and don't have trouble but the few times we've gone when it was a bit busier, we noticed that the food can take awhile to come out and although I am confident everyone is working hard, they may not always be staffed appropriately when t's busy. Lastly, we did order a salad once and it was definitely no frills, but that was exactly how it was stated on the menu. I would not go there for the salad. read more

Another visit, another special experience! We visited with a friend and had a truly lovely experience. The entrees were spectacular! The salmone e risotto is awesome. It's a mushroom risotto that is perfectly prepared-thick enough to eat with a fork and not too sticky, topped with fresh salmon and a light cream sauce. Service was prompt, courteous, professional, and bussing service was readily available to keep water glasses filled, table cleaned, and conversation flowing (along with good wine). This is a good neighborhood spot for intimate gatherings or a business meeting where good food is a must. Highly recommended! read more

See all

First time here and kind of a mixed experience for us. I suggested our group eat here based on the good Yelp reviews. SEATING: They wrote the wrong name down for our reservation and I thought we were out of luck, but they figured we were the ones with the reservation at that time, so they seated us. DRINKS: They were out of the wine I wanted and another person in our party couldn't get the kind of martini they wanted. The other drinks were fine. FOOD: The portions were pretty small. The carbonara did not look or taste like carbonara. It tasted ok, but was not what was expected. I had the chicken piccata and it was fine. The veal saltimbocca was ok but was served with overcooked potatoes. AMBIANCE: The place is small and was CROWDED and NOISY, which really impacted our evening. We could hold a conversation, but it was unpleasant. Also, we were seated next to their exterior sign, which was blinking and distracting throughout our time there. SERVICE: The servers were very pleasant and tried to be as helpful as possible, bringing us water regularly. All in all, I don't think we'll be back. read more

Service was is not good unless your a regular. Food and drinks were good. We will try one more time

Great food. Cozy atmosphere. Very friendly staff. The spaghetti frutti di mare is amazing.

Best chicken parm around!! Great price and atmosphere!!! Lobster ravioli is delicious and generous portion!!! read more

See all

My wife and I discovered Ciao Amici only recently. We headed out for dinner and decided to give them a try. We absolutely loved it! The food was fantastic, the service was perfectly attentive, and the atmosphere was lovely. Even the drinks were great! High recommendation. We will be back regularly! read more

See all

I wanted to check out the hype of this Restaurant as per the reviews.After being seated we had to ask for the music to be lowered as the speaker was 2 ft away for my wifes head and was too loud in which they did.All the workers were very friendly,but young and a little lax on asking if the food was ok.The Calamari app was beyond rubber,im retired from a Seafood co and have had lots of Calamari but is the Chef tasting any of his product ?Dinner was good on both dishes but room temperature,not hot at all and no one checking to tell.I asked for another dinner roll and had to ask again to get it.Like i said its a young crowd working there so a little lax but friendly.Nice little place could be awesome but management needs to step up to make it successful.If the food is great people will come and even wait to get in and if its its marginal no one will come. read more

This is a hidden gem tucked away in Wakefield. We discovered this restaurant and can't stop coming back. Pictured is the bolognese and carbonara! These are our go to dishes here. Small and quiet restaurant that deserves tables booked in advanced. Service is great and we always see the same friendly faces. Eat here next time before going to the popular choices in the area! I promise it's great with amazing prices read more

Ciao Amici Restaurant - Bolognese and carbonara - Italian Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

I would give this a solid 3.5 stars. I went for dinner on a Sunday night. The restaurant had a small, narrow parking lot, which is even more narrow due to snow piles. However there is street parking (and a public lot) nearby. The restaurant isn't anything too fancy and was quite chilly. Our server was very nice and helpful. We started with the complimentary baked bread- which was warm and delicious. Honestly it was the highlight of my meal! I got the eggplant parm. It was good but nothing special. I would go back, but u would order something else. read more

I had lunch at the restaurant in December and was impressed. Went back last night for dinner. There were four of us and we all enjoyed our meals. I would definitely eat there again and will recommend it to friends. read more

Went for Valentine's Day early .. I have not been here since they changed hands and names . The staff were absolutely fantastic . All The wait staff was ! Very well dressed and polite and attentive. We ordered 2 bottles of sparkling water and appetizers. Bread rolls warm were also served. The capri salad was delicious. Very fresh cheese. Romantic was also good. The homemade meatballs delicious. The chicken picatta and gnocchi were also delicious. We had no room for Desert . Definitely a place we will come Back to. Great Italian food and great service ! read more

Food is excellent! Bring back the fusili matriciana! Love the meatballs, carbonara, tagliatelle bolognase and the chicken parm is excellent! I generally dine here a few times a month. read more

We were very happy with the people who waited on us as they were so nice. Food was good Mussels were as we like them the smaller ones. Veal and chicken were both good Only thing we saw was they served soft bread instead of Italian bread. Otherwise we enjoyed ourselves and there was four of us and we were not rushed read more

The warm bread was delicious. I ordered the meatball appetizer. I got what I consider to be two small meatballs. One of them was excellent. The other one was not very good. Very inconsistent. The bolognese was okay. A little too salty. I am in the restaurant business so I will they again. Do better. read more

Great spot! Plenty of seating, varieties of food. Food came out fresh and was very happy with the experience! read more

See all

There were four adults and one child today . Everyone enjoyed their dish. Everything from the mussels appetizer to the pistachio cake was just about perfect. read more

Great first experience at this small/family-run place, just off Main St center in Wakefield. Greeted right as we entered, and sat at the front. Waitress stopped by quickly, as we were ready to order, she grabbed that and brought our beverages right over, then some tasty warm rolls. I ordered the chicken picatta; pasta was incredibly fresh, I wish there was a bit more of it, and a tad more sauce, but I was pretty hungry to start. Another person got the fried eggplant, and another ordered the gnocchi but with marinara. Everyone enjoyed their dish, the food was super fresh. We ordered on tiramisu to split, and they gave it to us gratis as it was our first time there. Service was very quick, all the pasta dishes were fresh, and the price was very good. Would highly recommend giving them a try! read more

What a pleasant surprise! We noticed Ciao Amici and thought we would try it out. It is in the old Massimo's location right off Main Street in Wakefield. Only been open for about 3 months. Staff greeted us with open arms. If you are looking for entrees cooked to order by the owner/chef, this IS the place for you. If you are looking for ho hum line cook food...this place isn't for you. We are picky, picky, picky. We drive a distance to try new restaurants. Honestly, most are a disappointment. We've been to Massimo's (the restaurant that was previously here). It had disgusting carpets, drib drab coloring on the walls and very unhappy wait staff and hostess. Ciao Amici has fully redone the inside. Carpets...gone. New wood floors. New paint color, beautiful pictures on the walls. Really nice ambiance in a cozy atmosphere. When you walk in a friendly host/hostess greets you. Servers are are also friendly and apparently love what they do. Very attentive and very pleasant. Rolls were brought to the table that were fresh out of the oven...crispy outside and soft and tender inside. There are very few mixed drinks on the menu. I think that is because they do not have a bar and have limited space. I chose the Limoncello Martini and it was delicious. It was rather late so we just ordered our entrees. I opted for Chicken Piccata which came with fresh Fusilli. I am usually not a fan of fresh pasta as it can be gummy, but this pasta was delicious. Delicious thick lemony, buttery sauce just the way it should be. Not that watery, tasteless, bowl of broth stuff you get elsewhere. Very delicious. My husband got Chicken Parmesan and couldn't believe the size of the chicken! Chicken was pan fried, not deep fried. Delicious coating which did not fall off the chicken. Very tender chicken. Sauce was delicious also. He could not stop raving about it. Ate it all! One of the owners Umberto, came out of the kitchen and we ended up talking food with him. He has a ton of experience in cooking and has worked in restaurants on Hanover Street including Artu. His energy for food shows in the quality of his dishes. If you love authentic Italian food, you gotta check out Ciao Amici! I know we will be back! https://www.ciaoamicirestaurant.com/ 781-587-1241 read more

See all

I order an eggplant melanzane and i got a chicken one. Called the manager and he told me he couldn't do anything. VERY disappointing and overpriced. Wouldn't recommend to anyone. read more

Went with a group of people last night 3/1/25. Although the food was great, the service was subpar. Our poor waiter worked his butt off. He was not only our waiter, but bartender, dishwasher, front desk staff, take out food coordination, for the full restaurant. It took over 45 minutes for some of us to get our drinks at our table, and over an hour for the rest of our table to get their drinks, with one drink being a soda. When our meal was served, two of the seven received the meal and it took 10 more minutes for the next 4 people to get their meal and an additional 5 minutes for the last person to receive their plate. The dessert was a frozen slice of pie We all were upset but how could you be upset when the poor waiter worked so hard. Good food but we won't be back. read more

Everything was amazing! Service was fast, all 4 of us finished all of our meals and left nothing on the plate! I had the Haddock Risotto and loved it. The server I believe her name was Alondra was very nice and made us a delicious tiramisu dessert! I would highly recommend visiting and asking for her as your server! 5 stars! read more

Ciao Amici Restaurant - Haddock e Risotto - Italian Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

See all

The service top rate. Staff making sure water glasses were full. The food is some of the best I have tasted in a long time. The atmosphere is dated but that would not stop me from returning read more

A delicious meal. There is a youth and energy about the staff and the chef and enthusiasm about cooking, and making their way- that is reflected in both the service on the food. It's delicious and a pleasure to be here. He had the Marsala I had the saltanbocca. Both delicious. His risotto was unbelievable . read more

Ciao Amici Restaurant - All that's left on my husbands plate. A struggle to save some for lunch. The chicken Marcella. - Italian Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

Awesome little hole-in-the-wall restaurant with surprisingly good food! Came here with my wife recently for a birthday lunch and we were not disappointed. Got the meatball app and they had tons of flavor. My wife got their pasta bolognese dish and she loved it. Large enough portion to have another meal. My chicken parm was some of the best I've ever had. Giant piece of pounded out chicken breast with awesome homemade breadcrumbs. I hope this place gets tons of business because it's definitely worth the visit. Excited to come back! read more

Food is fabulous! Waitstaff, attentive and pleasant. Relaxing atmosphere! Love it here!

The food here was absolutely terrible. Chicken Parm and Piccata both very rubbery with little to no taste. I would rec one d Sonny Notos down the street for much better food and much less money. This was a complete waste of $80 where the dinner roll was the best part of the meal. This is our second and last visit. Hoped it was better than the first time but no... read more

Went to Ciao Amici with Mom on 11/4/23 SATURDAY I had a Caesar Salad with Veal Cutlet Parmigiana with Penne Macaroni mom had the Eggplant Parmigiana with Spaghetti Everything was Awesome I recommend this place Located at 19 Centre St WAKEFIELD MA read more

Ciao Amici Restaurant - Veal Cutlet Pollo Alla Parmigiana with Pasta - Italian Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

Ciao Amici is delicious! The drinks were delicious - aperol spritz, limoncello spritz and white sangria. For apps we got shrimp scampi bruschetta. The sauce was light and delicious and the shrimp were big and tasted awesome! We also shared a Cesar salad that was delicious as well. For entrees I got chicken parm with vodka sauce which isn't on the menu but I asked and they said yes. The chicken cutlet was cooked perfectly and so thin. The sauce was awesome. Other entrees were lobster raviolis and chicken picatta. Both came out amazing and cooked to perfection. Homemade tiramisu for dessert was delicious. It was quiet and cozy inside the restaurant and our waitress was very attentive and kind! Will definitely be back. read more

My family have been enjoying this restaurant since last summer , we even periodically call in take out. Unfortunately the last couple call in experience has been so discouraging. the young girl made a mistake on our order . Not once , but twice. And she had the nerve to argue with us that we were wrong. We spent a lot of money at that establishment and spoke highly of it , and that's how they treat valued customer? WILD. a bit of advice train your staff to make sure they are taking and imputting orders correctly as well as speaking to good paying customers with respect . Simple. Will not be dining there any longer . read more

The food and service were outstanding! We were celebrating my husband's birthday...the entire family-grandkids included-loved their meal! We all plan to return. read more

The best carbonara I've had in a long time. Thank you for not using bacon!!!! Why are people putting bacon in carbonara? Anyway, they used pancetta (guanicale would've also been good.) The dish was light, not heavy at all like other carbonaras. Well done. read more

The food is excellent! The service is excellent! The ambience is great! The portions are spot on. When we were done the chef came out to speak with us. read more

I had a wonderful experience at Ciao Amici. The grilled Octopus was nice and tender, the Veal Marsala is to die for served with mushroom risotto. I most recommend this restaurant. read more

Ciao Amici Restaurant - Veal Marsala - Italian Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

My wife and I just discovered this hidden gem. We usually go to the North End for good Italian food but now have an option closer to home. Food was good authentic Italian just like my grandmother used to make, and nice portions. Will definitely return! read more

Quaint little place. It's about 6 months old. Food was great. Very reasonably priced.

Ciao Amici is Italian food for cugines made by cugines. When you order spaghetti with marinara sauce you aren't getting egg noodles and ketchup; their pasta has the springy texture of a well-toned teenage derrière. I haven't had food this good since we put Nonna in a nursing home. read more

I really wanted to like Ciao Amici, but we went there this past summer and had a really forgettable (and very expensive) meal that overall delivered poor value. We were regulars at Massimo's and honestly devastated when Max and Nancy decided to retire and sold the place. But we were hoping the new restaurant/owners would fill the void. They didn't come close. The food was not very good. We had the shrimp scampi bruschetta appetizer. It was probably the best part of the meal overall for both of us, but it seemed like a modest portion for the high price. But from a taste perspective, it was genuinely enjoyable. And it was all downhill from there. Our caesar salads were not particularly good and not remotely worth the price. For entrees, my companion ordered the bolognese and said it was not very good (and the proof is he ate half and didn't want to take the rest home). I had the veal parmagiana and it was also not particularly good, and incredibly salty at that (although I took the rest of mine home). The tomato sauce in my veal parmagiana was average at best and I genuinely wondered if it was canned or came from Sysco rather than created in the restaurant. After the very underwhelming meal, we skipped dessert. With tax and tip, it came to about $115 - which was ridiculous for what we got. The one positive thing I can say is that the new owners did a nice job sprucing up the interior. No one went to Massimo's for the inside of the restaurant - charitably, it was a dump even if the food was as spectacular as the interior was awful. Ciao Amici's is no longer a dump, but below average food can't compensate for a nice interior. This restaurant is likely not going to make it - nor should it. I'll be very surprised if it is still in business in the summer of 2024. I work in the area and the other night (a Wednesday) we drove by at 6:30pm and there was only one car in the parking lot. At other times I've seen it similarly sparsely visited. And as for anyone wondering about the other reviews that rave about this place (and sound obvious, if you know what I mean), well, there is a plural word for them: It begins and ends with the letter S, and there's a hill in between them. :) My advice to the owners: Ditch this failed concept, and open a Mexican restaurant instead (there's none in the area). While a Mexican takeout recently opened where the BBQ place used to be at the intersection of Water St. and Vernon St., a first-rate Mexican restaurant would likely do well in the area if it delivers on the food - which Ciao Amici's doesn't. But a third-rate Italian restaurant where within a 5 square mile radius there are probably another 10 Italian restaurants (all of which are better) is likely not long for this world. read more

A fantastic meal at a fantastic price. Real homemade Italian food with exquisite flavors!