My Journey in the Restaurant Industry My name is Gursharan S. Gill, also known as Mr. Gill. Working in the hotel and restaurant industry has been one of the greatest joys of my life. In 1982, I began my career as a server and bartender at the original Paparazzi restaurant on Dartmouth Street in Boston, Massachusetts, with the Back Bay Restaurant Group, Inc. During my years with the Back Bay Restaurant Group, I had the privilege of working at several outstanding restaurants, including Paparazzi, Charlie's, Joe's American Bar & Grill, Atlantic Fish Company, and J.C. Hilary's. Each restaurant helped me grow professionally and gave me invaluable experience in hospitality, customer service, and teamwork. In 2010, I joined Newport Restaurant Group, Inc., a company with a variety of outstanding restaurants throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts. There, I was given another wonderful opportunity--not only to continue my career but also to become an employee-owner. That opportunity truly changed my life. Newport Restaurant Group is an exceptional company that genuinely cares about its employees. Since joining the company, I have spent most of my time working at Paparazzi in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where it has been an honor and a privilege to serve our guests. The food at Paparazzi is exceptional. Many guests return time and again to enjoy favorites such as Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Piccata, Chicken Scaloppini, Pasta Bolognese, Penne Arrabbiata, Penne con Pollo, and many other outstanding Italian specialties. These are some of my personal favorites as well. Every dish is prepared with great care and attention to detail by Executive Chef Carlos Medeiros and Regional Chef Guilherme Andrade, whose passion, creativity, and dedication are reflected in every meal they prepare. Our General Manager, Christeen Coogan, works tirelessly to ensure that every guest has an exceptional dining experience. Her leadership, commitment, and attention to detail help make Paparazzi a warm, welcoming, and successful restaurant. After more than four decades in the restaurant industry, I can truly say that hospitality is not just my profession--it is my passion. Meeting people from all walks of life, building lasting relationships with our guests, and making every dining experience memorable have been among the greatest rewards of my career. If you truly appreciate authentic Italian cuisine, I warmly invite you to visit Paparazzi in Wellesley. I am confident that you will enjoy the delicious food, outstanding service, and welcoming atmosphere. I look forward to welcoming you personally. Highly recommended! With warm regards, Gursharan S. Gill Mr. Gill read more

We've eaten at and ordered from this papa razzi for more than 20 years. It's usually phenomenal. This time, something went wrong. Maybe they changed their recipes? Their chefs? The sauce tasted different and the pizza dough was a bit tough. Everything seemed over spiced, and the wrong spices. We also ordered milk with the kids meals and got apple juice. Very bizarre. read more

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We went for Dine Out Boston. The food was fine The waiter was not attentive. We had to chase him to get a empty plate for empty shells, one round of water refills, and bread with which to sop up broth. Although I gave the waiter my credit card on my side of the table, he assumed that the man was paying. He returned my card to my husband on the other side of the table. Disappo inting! read more

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Dropped in here for a quick bite. Very glad we did! Our waiter was a young lad and was very nice and super attentive. The food was outstanding. Carbonara and chicken parmigiana is what we got. Pasta cooked just right. Bathroom was super clean too. Always a great sign management is looking at the small things. read more

Great meal at Papa Razzi. I had been to a location in Boston years ago, but hadn't checked out the Wellesley spot yet. The restaurant was packed on a Friday night - would definitely recommend making a reservation if going on a weekend. The bar area did have a few seats left though. The bar is a decent size with comfy seats and a few TVs. The food was delicious and wine, beer, and cocktail list had a lot of good options. The chicken parm and fusilli alla vodka were both delicious - and while we didn't order any appetizers this time I definitely will in the future. Overall it was a nice festive atmosphere and I'm looking forward to returning. read more

Papa Razzi Wellesley - Fusilli Alla Vodka - Italian Near Me - Wellesley, Massachusetts

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One day, my coworkers and I ordered lunch from Papa Razzi located in Wellesley. The online system was a little tricky to use since it wasn't recognizing our office address at Newton-Wellesley Hospital - Main Campus. After a while, we got it to work. The food was set to arrive about 12:30pm. Around 12:15pm, my manager received a call from the DoorDash driver who said he was waiting in the lobby of the hospital. We walked on over from our office to the lobby. The food was packed in paper boxes with a window so it was easy to see which order belong to whom since it wasn't labelled. The food cooled down pretty quickly. I had the pappardelle with braised lamb shoulder ragu and pecorino. It had good flavor and taste, but I thought the portion was small for $24.00 and the noodles were kinda clumping together. The food is probably better served hot. read more

Papa Razzi Wellesley - pappardelle that had braised lamb shoulder ragu and pecorino - Italian Near Me - Wellesley, Massachusetts

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I 100% recommend this restaurant as the ambiance and food were superb. I had a hard time choosing what entree to get as so many stuck out to me. If you're making a reservation I definitely recommend requesting a seat next to the fireplace! read more

Food was surprisingly good. I really like the bread, which had a nice crust. Mushroom toast was amazing! Got some great cocktails as well. But even better than the food, the service was one of the best I've experienced recently. They got our salad order wrong by accident...no big deal. However, the attentiveness of both the waitress and the manager (I think) to come check on us to get it right and to make sure we are enjoying ourselves made us feel really valued. And it wasn't just us...they were checking on other customers as well. The atmosphere was really great as they had a nice fireplace as well. Overall, the experience exceeded my expectations. I would definitely be back, and would recommend others to try it out...after all, going out to eat isn't just about the food, but about the experience. read more

Came here for a work event, and the place itself was really pretty, and the service was great. The entrees were really good: crab cake bites and mushroom bites. I also liked the Caesar salad; all the combinations were really well mixed. I ordered the chicken piccata, and it was really good; the chicken Parmesan was good too. For dessert I got a tiramisu, which was good, and I also tried the chocolate mousse cake, I just took a few bites as it got overwhelming. read more

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I've been eating at Papa Razzis basically my entire life, as it has always been a favorite of some of my family members, most of whom are Italian on that parent's side. Sadly the one in my hometown recently closed, but I've dined at this location a couple times recently at least. It's one of my favorite restaurants, with a wonderful selection of pastas. The interior is large, with an upscale atmosphere, and the service is great. The menu seems to change a decent amount so it's worth visiting multiple times. The beef and sausage meatballs were wonderful as well as the carbonara, the latter with a bit of spice to it, and my favorite might have to be the Bolognese! read more

Papa Razzi Wellesley - meatballs - Italian Near Me - Wellesley, Massachusetts

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We've stopped here two different times after an event in Natick and weren't disappointed. We are from Rhode Island and this restaurant is part of the restaurant group in Newport area which prides itself on great service and quality of food. My husband has celiac and feels safe eating here. The servers are always so knowledgeable. read more

Great food, great service, great chewy Focaccia bread. Huge portions big enough to split, Best Chicken Piccata with perfect sauce to eat with the Risotto and Asparagus accompanying it. Sadly they stopped doing half orders. Great place to go where you can hear your friends in a conversation and fabulous food! read more

Went here on a Thursday night and there was certainly a good crowd. I ordered the arugula salad which advertised tomato confit and a lemon vinaigrette. It seemed as though there was not tomato confit, but instead normal cherry tomatoes which did not taste super fresh - similar with the arugula. The size of the salad was great and wasn't too small or too large, however, it just didn't really taste like new or fresh ingredients. Maybe I was just there on an off day. Later for dessert I ordered the tiramisu which was a good, but it tasted more like a cake than a tiramisu. Instead of the signature lady fingers and cream it was a bit more like two layers of cake and some cream. It was still a nice dessert, however, not what I expected with a tiramisu. I would try going here again on a different day and see if I was here on a bad day. read more

Papa Razzi Wellesley - arugula salad - Italian Near Me - Wellesley, Massachusetts

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Ate here to celebrate my brother's birthday. Always a great time and quality food. I had: Meatball starter for table Classic chicken soup Rigatoni bolognese (great) read more

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Went for a memorial lunch and the service and food were excellent! Food is little pricey but worth paying the extra for high quality and fresh ingredients read more

I haven't been here in years but I just went for dinner and it was absolutely delicious. We started with the bruschetta (I could eat this every day. A MUST order) and the beef & sausage meatballs (also delicious -- it came with 4 meatballs in a small skillet with Mariana sauce and ricotta cheese with 2 pieces of toasted bread). The starters alone had me locked in. So good. I'd order both of those again every time. I ordered a red sangria and that was fruity, light, and refreshing. Just how I like my sangria. :) For dinner we both ordered the chicken parm and that was fabulous as well! Truly a delicious dinner. Looking forward to trying other menu items! read more

Paparazzi in Wellesley has nice ambience. The food is fine. Nothing spectacular. Definitely overpriced and portions have noticeably shrunk while prices have remained high or increased. I would not go out of my way to go to this restaurant. It is a convenient location. read more

I dropped in around 5pm on a Tuesday looking to eat dinner and stay until 6pm when the traffic was lighter. I had other options near by but they were Chinese which I had for lunch. The moment I walked in there was a wall of noise from about 20 30 somethings at tables near the bar. I almost walked but I hoped they were almost done. I sat at the bar and they just got louder and more obnoxious. The food was fine but I only spent about 30 minutes there because of this crowd. I got the attention of the young woman bartender and said "I'd like a check and a pair of earplugs". She laughed and said she wasn't tough enough to be a bouncer to tell them to quiet down or leave. I always avoid sports bars for the same reason but there wasn't even any game on. The staff should have told them to tone it down. read more

We took a client to Papa Razzi for lunch and I was disappointed in general with the restaurant. First, the bread was stale. What a way to start off the meal. The rolls had a strong peppery taste to them which I could live with but the rolls were stale. I ate the bread in the middle which was the freshest. I ordered the chicken parmesan sandwich with French fries. The sandwich was mainly bread with a couple of breaded fried pieces of chicken. I suppose that is what I ordered. I just ate the chicken and left the bread off to the side. No complaints with the service. He came over and took drink orders and returned to take orders for the entrees. We were served in a timely manner but overall I was disappointed with the quality of the food. The restaurant was dimly lit using mainly the natural light from the window. Since Papa Razzi was the only restaurant in the neighborhood, I did not have much of a choice. read more

Service was great as was the food. My server knew exactly how to guide me to the gluten free picks on the menu. Only reason this is not 5 stars is the gluten free roll at the beginning of the meal was obviously a packaged roll. Really dry and crumbly. The Octopus starter and Bavette's meal over potato puree with mushrooms was awesome. Cooked just to my expectations. read more

Papa Razzi Wellesley - Grilled Octopus Starter with white beans and olives - Italian Near Me - Wellesley, Massachusetts

Terrible!!!! I went in to specifically get a chicken Caesar salad to go, something I've gotten for years!! To my surprise the portion shrunk, the price increased and the salad was a joke! Soggy croutons, brown lettuce and a small piece of chicken. I'll never go back!! That place has gone downhill since the days I used to go!! read more

this is my favorite restaurant in the area . the staff are so friendly and accommodating. i am a single older woman and the staff and especially the bartender treats me so kindly . the food is always excellent. ypu cant go wrong here for a lovely meal or a stop at the bar for dinner. wonderful service staff . read more

This place is the best!! Highly recommend. I am never disappointed! Great service, great ambiance and food is always spot on!!

Had not gone to Paparazzi in Wellsley in some years. Was there Sunday for a function, a huge disappointment with food. The pasta was terrible because of the sauce that seemed like canned Restaurant Depot stuff. We are Italian, and that sauce would be a 1 out of 10 for us, many people left the pasta dish. The "focaccia" was garbage, used to be awesome, but now dry and thick. Lousy for sure! The "bruschetti" were lousy with globs of apparent mozzarella, strange taste, just overall definitely not bruschetti. On the plus side the small steak was OK. Years ago all of the above would be fine. Cutbacks? I reccomend stay away from pasta with sauce, bruschetti , and maybe focaccia, not sure of other foods on menu. Will never go back. read more

I got a delivery from this restaurant. Very pricey. The pizza was burned and cold with too little pepperoni. The deliver driver did not hand out the pizza. The order was left outside the doorway. Chicken parmigiana too salty. The whole order was a mess. If you see the picture is something that kills your appetite read more

Papa Razzi Wellesley - No Yummy. - Italian Near Me - Wellesley, Massachusetts

Last night we had a fantastic meal. Two pasta dishes that were absolutely delicious and the portions were very good. We were both very impressed and will be signing up for their rewards program. Our new go-to spot! read more

Papa Razzi Wellesley - ORECCHIETTE CON FAGIOLI - delicious! - Italian Near Me - Wellesley, Massachusetts

This past Sunday, my husband and I along with 3 other couples came here for a late lunch. We were gathered to wish a fond (temporary) farewell to one of the couples about to embark on a 14 month cross-country journey in a 36 foot RV. I hadn't been to a Paparazzi in years...the last one being in Cranston RI and that one no longer exists. All 4 couples were coming from widely varying areas surrounding the greater Boston area and this seemed like the most equidistant place to the organizer of this outing. It was very busy despite our 2pm reservation. We thought we would beat the lunch crowd. There were several large groups clearly celebrating one thing or another. It's a large space with a bar along one side. There is also seating outside under a canopy which is where we were seated. This was dicey because when we arrived it looked like it might rain and the canopy was mesh which rain would come through. However, the sun came out and then we were all in need of sunglasses. The canopy provided minimal shade and this was a problem. It was hot under there. The canopy is basically useless. Once seated, we were brought water and shortly after that baskets of bread and butter. However no cutlery, no bread plates nor napkins were provided to us until we finally asked. The waitperson (a very young seeming woman who looked like deer in the highlights to our table of 8 people) introduced herself and then left for a long time. She finally returned to take drink orders and then disappeared for another long stretch. Tick-Tock! She seemed new, inexperienced and woefully undertrained. She was not a great match for a large group. Her limited skill set, attitude and inexperience were almost agonizing. When she took our lunch orders we learned that they were out of the haddock. This is what 3 of us were hoping to order. The manager came by our table to apologize for not having the haddock. It might have been a nice touch since 3 out of 8 of us wanted it, maybe send an appetizer to the table for us to share or make some simple effort to recognize it's not great to offer something only to be told you don't have it. I ended up getting the steak tip sandwich instead. My husband who also wanted the haddock went with a burger. Another person ordered the gnocchi, another person, the pasta Bolognese and I can't remember the other orders. My steak tip "sandwich" was a very few tiny steak tips on the plate. This was not a sandwich but rather a huge piece of toasted Italian bread lay on the plate astride the steak tips. The bread was slathered with butter and maybe some kind of blue cheese spread? I didn't eat it so I am not sure. The steak tips were tough. I left the bread, ate a couple of the too tough steak tips and ate most of the salad that came as my side (versus french fries). The salad was lackluster and had too much dressing on it for my taste. I had sangria to drink as did several others. It was okay. I make a better sangria to be honest. Others had beer and sodas. We were all enjoying each other's company so it was difficult to be too bothered by my food mishap. My husband thought his burger was just okay. The person eating the gnocchi finished her food so I took that as a good sign. Another person had also ordered the steak tips "sandwich" and I noted that she left most of her food on the plate. While it was a nice time for us to be together as a group of friends, I won't be returning to this restaurant. In general, I am not a fan of chain restaurants with that corporate menu feel....although in years past I have had a couple of good meals at the former Rhode Island Paparazzi. I know restaurants are still struggling to find help but clearly our waitperson was in over her head. Another table near us (a party of 5, so not a small group either), was seated after us and received their food before us. It seemed they had a more efficient waitperson. It's always nice to be out with a group of friends and we did linger at our table talking and having a nice time with one another. Fortunately, we rarely saw the waitperson anyway so there was no rushing us out the door. That said, when we celebrate our friends' return from their 14 month journey it will not be here. read more

Nice place! Food is delicious. Location is also very convenient. Pasta is my favorite.

Food here isn't so bad and they do have parking in the back. Our group from work came here for a holiday dinner and the food and service was pretty good. What I really enjoyed here was the polpo. My first time trying it and it was delicious. It was perfectly cooked and had a grill taste that really brought a ton of flavor to the appetizer. For a meal, I had the Atlantic season. Nothing to crazy and memorable unfortunately. The side rice was tasty though. Cheers read more

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The food was great I thoroughly enjoyed my Veal Scaloppini. The service was excellent, and the ambience was tasteful along with acoustics. On could have a normal conversation without having to strain one's voice or hearing. I highly recommend the place! I know I will be back. read more

Food was authentic Italian and delicious. The chef came out and spoke to us directly. It has a full bar but we've only eaten in the dining area, where it's open but private. It has an outdoor option- I recommend this if the weather is nice. read more

I really wanted to like Papa Razzi. I've been here before and always had a good meal. This time was different. Let's start with the drinks. The Sauvignon Blanc was "heavy" and the Rose was not good. Though I didn't expect much from a $10 glass of Rose. The bruschetta was tasty but the mealy/nearly white tomatoes not so much. The bruschetta was basically a loaf of crusty bread nearly impossible to cut. The calamari was tasty but why serve it with a tartar sauce. A marinara would have been better. My salmon entree was fine. Big piece of salmon but the succotash lacked a fresh look and taste. I would summarize as "okay in a big picture but missed on the details" read more

The caesar needs work. Seriously, 3 stars mostly due to that caesar. Atmosphere, good service, and the carbonara was very good. The food is decent, not amazing but good for a meal with friends. They have a nice bar as well. We were here during the day but I bet the bar is fun at night. read more

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I would highly recommend NOT using this restaurant as it felt like a scam.... I recently had an event in their back function room and was very disappointed. They changed $38/ person and all my guests left hungry. We guaranteed them 50 people, they claim there were 90 people in the room (but before booking they said the max capacity was 80 people). The whole thing was passed appetizers with a small side table for other appetizers like cheese. They only had one server and one bartender because they only expected 50 people. I find it very hard to believe that one server was able to provide $38 worth of food to 90 individuals walking around with small amounts of appetizers on a tray. I talked to a bunch of my guests and everyone says they had like a few bites of food which is why everyone was hungry when they left. We spoke to the manager and after a day or so he said there was nothing he could do about it. I would highly recommend NOT using this restaurant as it felt like a scam. read more

My partner and I go out about once a month for a fancy night at a new restaurant. He found this one and I was truly blown away by the food. Appetizer was the bruschetta which pretty much changed my whole concept of what bruschetta even is. The bread was soaked in delicious sauce. Mmmm to good. I had the gnocchi and my partner had this incredible mushroom pizza. Both were loaded with freshness and so decident. We each had a dessert and with that I ordered a cappuccino which came with a stick of rock candy to sweeten it. Such a lovely touch. I also had the Cherry Bomb drink and that was so delicious. I love how they put the maraschino cherries under the ice! The service was excellent- we never felt like we were waiting long or wanted for anything. New favorite Italian restaurant! We will be back! read more

Food was good. Hade a rib eye. Pasta not fresh but good enough. Too many tables in dining room for its size so super noisy. Staff was attentive and helpful. read more

Went to dinner at Papa Razzi for the first time and was pleasantly surprised. We got the calamari and eggplant parm to start which were both delicious. My husband got the bolognese and I got the carbonara. They were both fantastic and flavorful. My only critique was their cocktail menu was lacking but I will definitely be going back. read more

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It was fair. Small portion for the price of the meal. Service was slow staff stood around chatting than helping patrons.

Although this is a chain restaurant, I've been eating here for decades. This is the best pizza this side of Italy! Highly recommend.

We came with a big group, so their restaurant was an excellent choice for us, bc it offers a large space and nice ambiance. The focaccia bread that came first with olive oil and balsamic glaze was delicious! We got a bunch of appetizers to share; fried mozzarella, grilled octopus, fried calamari, mussels, and Cesar salad, which were all wonderful! Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals. My husband had their bolonaise pasta, and he said it was basic and enjoyable. I got the whole branzino fish, that was flavorful and delicious, the presentation is also quite impressive, but I wish that it was butterflied and deboned like I've had it in other fine restaurants. It was kinda awkward to try to pick the bones out of my mouth discretely in front of a group of people. To give them proper credit, I talked to one of my friends from Italy, and she did say that is the truly authentic way that they serve fish in Italy. Overall nice experience; good food, nice ambiance and attentive service. read more

Papa Razzi Wellesley - Whole branzino and Rigatoni Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Wellesley, Massachusetts