Enjoyed a nice Italian meal here with friends to celebrate my running of the Boston Marathon. We were lucky to score a last minute reservation anywhere in the North End due to the many in town to run the marathon along with family and friends to cheer them on. The service was terrific. The food was delicious. The restaurant itself was full with plenty of people laughing and enjoying their meals. We had a nice experience here with some tasty pasta plates. Also, I'm a big fan of Italian restaurants who place good bread on the table along with oil to dip as a start. Hate those rock hard little fake butter squares in tinfoil! read more

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This family run old school tradition in the north end offers traditional dishes, and entertaining service. There are white linen table clothes spread across a tightly crowded packed space. It could even be described as loud and ruckus. An incredible female vocalist built it out songs on a Bose speaker that was at a deafening decibel setting off my Apple Watch alert for a loud environment. Thankfully, she sang a few songs and left. Our party of six certainly had a fun time on this Saturday night. The 3.3 Yelp score captures the rating well. The hard-working staff was relatively attentive and had a great sense of humor. Food was served quickly. For appetizers, we had the calamari, the signature eggplant roolatini and the fried mozzarella for our German friends attending the World Cup. The calamari was fresh and cooked perfectly. The accompanying tomato sauce was fresh. The eggplant is a signature dish and was very good. You get reasonably good value. There was a great wine list with reasonable prices. We had a super Tuscan for $48. The cocktails were good and served quickly. For dinner, I had a veal special that was prosciutto and mozzarella wrapped with veal. My wife had the orecchiette with sausage. Both were good, but lacked a defined taste. I guess the word is bland. The veal was plentiful and a very large portion. However, it was a little tough and inconsistent. It's clear with the size of this two story restaurant that they need to create a volume of dishes. My son enjoyed the lobster ravioli. Perhaps it's from their sister restaurant Giacomos that is one of our long time favorites. Others enjoyed the swordfish and a Bolognese with ricotta cheese. On the whole, the food was good, but not distinguishable. It was quite the experience. When we received our bill, it was added up in incorrectly by $100 thankfully, I caught it. It's a fully manual system. We certainly appreciated the friendliness of the staff, but this place is a machine. We were seated on the second floor, where the back corner had a bar that was closed with the space being used to cart in and out dishes and a logistical hub for the floor that took away from the vibe of the space. If you have a large party and want that old school sort of meme experience, Ricardo's is the right place for you. It's a relatively good value. read more

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The food is tasty and the restaurant has a cozy atmosphere. They also have large tables for bigger groups. The mussels didn't seem like the freshest, the meatball was great. The lobster and shrimp stuffed ravioli, though, was phenomenal. read more

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Food is completely unseasoned, vegetables look and taste frozen, and the chicken honestly could have been out of a can. Beyond disappointed and I don't know how it's survived in such a historic neighborhood! Friendly happy staff, though not especially attentive. Do not waste your time and money here! Go to Walmart and get frozen food and you'll have a better plate of pasta. read more

Server tried to be funny but was rude , 4 out of the 6 meals were cold atmosphere was a 2 out of 10. Just saying it as I see it. Not happy to leave a poor review because I know how tough the restaurant business is . It was packed so that iam sure has something to do with the off but the server we had there's no excuse . Anyway Find another one if the many many restaurants to go to in the north end .. read more

Work dinner with a party of 8. We were the first ones in for the evening so service was pretty stellar. Nice little joint with a typical North End feel. Appetizer were delish. Portobello mushroom, calamari, and bruschetta. All good. Entrees: I had the veal special Braciolatini. Others had the seafood special pasta and bolognese and ravioli with shrimp. Overall a good experience with a family feel. Definitely recommend. read more

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Amazing dining experience! From the minute Jason welcomed us to Jordan serving us the delicious fruit tart, everything was delightful! We were elated to be serenaded by the violinist. Just when it couldn't get any better, this opera singer begins singing and the whole place starts singing along. The food was delicious! I've missed a good east cost red sauce. I had the salmon the first night and tasted the linguini with clams, caesar salad (with anchovies!), and the eggplant appetizer. The bread deserves mentioning too. They prepare a cheese and oil dip that was different than I've ever tasted. The meal was so fun and fabulous, we went back the next night again! I really enjoyed the clam chowder and eggplant dish the second night and of course THE BREAD! I recommend this place highly, and guarantee you will be treated like family! read more

Their chicken piccata was amazing and loved the ambiance of this restaurant. Very spacious seating, friendly staff, and a warm cozy atmosphere. Perfect for a dinner date read more

I visited this restaurant with my family to celebrate my nephew's college graduation while visiting from out of State. My sister made a reservation over the phone for 8 guests and received confirmation. However, when we arrived, they could not find our reservation because they forgot to make it. We were then led to a round table that clearly seated only six. I mentioned this to the host/server, who then added a square table to the round one to accommodate us, but the setup felt awkward. The restaurant is quite small, and although I later saw them combine two square tables for another party of eight, that setup wasn't offered to us. At no point did anyone acknowledge or apologize for the oversight with our reservation, which was disappointing. As for the food, three of us ordered the Linguini con Calamari e Gamberi. It was underwhelming--bland in flavor and overloaded with calamari, with very little shrimp. Unfortunately, none of us enjoyed it. Other guests in our party had the Ravioli Ripini can Aragosta, which they thought was fine but not particularly memorable. The Penne con Pollo e Broccoli and Linguini alla Vongole were also just okay. Service throughout the evening was average--not bad, but not great either. Given that this was meant to be a special occasion, the experience fell short of expectations. While I always try to support local restaurants, especially when traveling, I hope the team takes this feedback as an opportunity to improve both hospitality and consistency in the kitchen. read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - The table set up - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

really odd experience. went here on a poorly planned saturday night out (don't come to the north end without a reservation). i appreciate we could get in here without a reservation (although that should've been a sign from the start). vibe was super weird, spaced-out formal seating with 2010s pop music blasting, and then a surprisingly rowdy bar (some guy was loudly kicked out by the owner). also a child who was presumably 10-12 years old was serving our bread and water (not docking stars for that, just noteworthy). espresso martini was basically a glass of baileys in a short wine glass. our food was all fine, just nothing special. great reminder to make a reservation if you come to the north end on a weekend!! read more

When our original dinner plans fell through, we made a last-minute reservation here--and to their credit, the restaurant was able to accommodate us with no fuss. The staff were warm and welcoming, and the atmosphere was cozy. Drinks started off on a high note: my mojito was refreshing, well-balanced and not too strong. The food was a mixed bag, though. The gnocchi arrived slightly overcooked--less pillowy cloud and more chewy dumpling. The broccoli rabe leaned aggressively tart, bordering on sour, and the salmon had the texture of something that's been through a lot. Not quite old shoe leather, but definitely headed in that direction. On the brighter side, the fettuccine Alfredo was spot on--rich, creamy. They brought out a complimentary alcoholic coffee drink--a very nice touch. All in all, a decent spot with great service. Just choose your entrees wisely--and maybe give the Alfredo or other standard pasta dishes a try first read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Outside - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Food was yummy. Service was immaculate and family friendly, very lively! There was live music, lots of laughter and conjunction of happiness throughout the restaurant. Would recommend for outgoing customers! read more

I got the fettuccini Alfredo and it tasted like literal water. Arguably the worst Alfredo I've had in my life. The drinks and apps were good and the waiters were SO nice but the entree was just terrible. The actual pasta itself was fresh but the sauce was flavorless. We had to put SALT AND PEPPER on our pasta to make it taste like something. The cherry on top is two of my friends had liquid poops and I had a stomach ache and cramps for two days after eating here. I also got called a b*tch by a customer in the bathroom cuz she overheard me tell my friend our pasta tasted like water. When I said I wasn't talking to her and that she's weird for talking to me while im actively peeing, she called me a c*nt and then walked out of the bathroom without even letting me see her face. I was in the stall the entire time this "conversation" happened. Other than the flavorless fettuccini Alfredo, the stomach aches, and the rude old hag it was decent as the servers were very kind. read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Fettuccine Alfredo - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I love this place. I have gone twice, once for dinner on a busy weeknight and once on a slow weekend lunch. I ordered the seafood diablo both times (a dish I like to order at many places) and they do my favorite rendition. The staff are delightful too and with so many options in the North End, this one is worth a repeat visit. read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Seafood fra diablo and pasta e fagioli - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

They jam people in. Uncomfortable seating arrangements . A putrid smell from candles at entrance. Smells like a bathroom deodorizer. Why not let us smell the garlic and food ? Felt like waiter could care less about us. Never replenished drinks unless we waved him down. I will say the food was good. Rug in dining room looks like it's never been cleaned. We frequent the North end and would Never come back here. Many other great places. One right around the corner on Richmond St is Vinoteca di Monica read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Chicken exquisito with fusilli in Marsala wine - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Came here for an early work dinner- large party of 10. We had the whole place to ourselves when we first arrived at 5:30pm and the service was quick. We got apps and wine so fast. We all placed our orders and it came decently quick for how much we ordered being a large group. Portions are huge! Enough for 2-3 meals- so def worth the steep prices. As we ate the restaurant started getting filled up quickly and before we knew it there wasn't a single open table. Ambiance was great! But, that did mean that we waited 30 min for our check and leftovers to be packaged up. Overall we had a great time, friendly service and great food! I'd come back again read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Fettuccine Alfredo - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This is the type of place you'd get recommended from the Nonno sitting in the stairwell while wandering around North End. Skip all the fru-fru places and just come to Riccardo's. Is that pronounced "Rickardos" or Richardos"? We will never know, but somewhere an Italian has a very strong opinion about it. I'll leave that to the professionals and just enjoy the meal. Plenty of seating here for parties of 1 or 21. The upstairs will fit your team meeting or family celebration just fine. Or if your one of the lucky ones you get to hobnob with the elites on ground level. I was a plebe treated like royalty upstairs. I'm amazed at the waiter's memory. My order was straightforward, but he knocked out the 8-top beside me with ease. I also love the adept way he guided the poor-decision people next door: Midwest accent: "should I get this or some other totally different completely unrelated thing as my main course?" Boom: "get dis; it's da best". "Ookeey sounds good donchaknow." Back at my lonely table with the nice window-view since I'm so special, it was Peronis, bruschettas, lasagnas. I added the "s" just because. And believe me there's no way you could finish multiple of these in one sitting. I wasn't with my wife tonight, which proved fortunate (not because I don't enjoy every moment with her!) since the bruschetta had mushrooms. She informed me during dinner-recap that she would have "not liked that at all!". I however did, but I'll remember that for future reference. The lasagna was deceptively filling. I finished it, of course. What do you think I'm some type of novice Little Italy tourist? But with all that extra bread and olive oil, it was going to require a walk around the End before I was ready for some gelato. Prices here are as reasonable as it gets, with plenty of selection and a few nightly specials. I enjoyed the visit and would return "again and again and again". read more

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If you are considering Riccardo's Ristorante on 175 North Street in Boston, DON'T. We made a reservation for Saturday, 11/8, for 8 people at 8:30pm. When we checked in, they told us they were really busy and they would get to us when they could. Busy Saturday night, I can understand that. We waited 30 minutes before checking in again on our reservation and the host was extremely rude. Once they finally seated us, around 9:15pm, they took us upstairs and wedged us into a table right next to a table of 10, who were extremely drunk and rowdy. They screamed and yelled throughout nearly our entire time there and the restaurant did nothing about it. It was miserable. The server we had was also rude. I'm assuming given it was a party of 8 where gratuity is automatically included, they were not concerned about providing excellent customer service, or even OK customer service. Another 45 minutes after ordering our food finally arrived and it was mediocre at best. We left around 11pm. What a horrible experience. Not what you'd expect or hope for when spending $600 on a dinner and certainly not in Boston where there are plenty of other amazing options from which to choose. May I suggest Umbria at 250 Hanover. We ate there the night before and the food and service were both impeccable. And the prices were very reasonable. read more

Below you will find some helpful information to determine if this is a place that you would like to visit: It is very popular, crowded, and congested. They're packed in the tables to maximize and have as many people in the restaurant is possible. They had someone playing music, which was really nice and added to the experience. We had a reservation as soon as we entered to we were greeted and seated within 20 minutes of the reservation. I definitely suggest you make a reservation. I saw many standing outside. The waiter was very nice and made recommendations, However, when it came to bringing out the food, he bought out whatever he desired and didn't tell us that they were out of the kids ravioli. The children do not eat meatballs and so we had to send them back. It would've been better as a waiter to keep communication open and tell us what they were out of so we had a choice instead of them waiting an additional time for food. Children can become restless when hungry. The food was OK. When he came to the chicken Alfredo was bland . The halibut was good. And the bolognese was OK. The drinks were OK. They we're not strong. I was really expecting more. The restrooms could use a little tender in love and care. There were so many people in the establishment that this could fall through the cracks. They need more stalls for women's restroom. There was a line any time a female at the table needed to use the restroom. Hope you have a good experience. I do not have any drink or food recommendations to share. There are a lot of restaurants in the area hope you find a great place. happy dining. read more

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It was a busy Saturday night and it took about 25 minutes to seat us. Once we were seated it took over 10 minutes for a server to come. I was annoyed because it was 8pm and I had a kid who hasn't eaten, literally nowhere in the area would take us. Bread came quickly, dip and bread was delicious. My Caesar salad was perfect about of dressing. Fettechini was ok, didn't love how runny it was, but my husband loved the lobster ravioli. How the atmosphere..... oh my god. So loud in this restaurant and then they add live singers who were so Loud!!!! Nice to have but could've turned the volume down. And then.... THEN! They walk around and ask for tips. Absolutely drove me nuts. As we were trying to enjoy our dinner. read more

The food here really carried this rating! Food(4/5) - fusilli with cognac sauce and shrimp (4/5) - chicken alfredo (3/5) - fried mozzarella app (4/5) but price was high for it so bit of a downer Ambiance(3/5) - nothing special. Just a typical north end restaurant. Service (2/5) - table was dirty - long wait - had to ask multiple times for just water.. 90% of the dinner - nobody came back to check on us - ask for a Prosecco and he gave us the wrong bottle then looked and said oh no this is Prosecco too..clearly it wasn't. We weren't angry so he could of just corrected his mistake but instead that ticked everyone off by lying. read more

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I'm sorry if the photo doesn't do it justice, I've had a few martinis. Just know the lobster ravioli is absolutely incredible. It could bring me to tears. If you do one thing in this life, come order it. read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Lobster ravioli - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Last minute reservation on a Saturday night here was surprisingly amazing. There are multiple people helping make the experience enjoyable. Order the stuffed ricotta meatballs (not on the menu) to start, this is a 10/10. Caesar salad was fully covered in dressing (my favorite). Large portion of fried calamari with marinara sauce. The bolognese was insane. After 930 pm there was entertainment (opera singers, dancing, and an accordion player). Overall, this was such an enjoyable evening. read more

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We were in need of food but due to it being marathon weekend it was difficult to find a spot with availability. Open Table came through with one reservation left for Ricardo's. The restaurant is small but very lively. There was singing and lots and lots of talking. Our waiter was incredible and took care of every need. The bread and oil was a great way to start. For my entree I had the penne with chicken and broccoli. The pasta needed some more seasoning but overall it was tasty and hit the spot. My partner had the fettucine and said his chicken was undercooked. Not a bad spot by any means but the food could use a touch more salt and pepper. read more

What to say about this place. This is an amazing spot in the North End, the staff was amazing! We had such a great experience, from the food to the Accordion Player, then final a late night serenade of Italian Sonatas. Reminded me of a piazza in Italy. read more

Great experience! We made a last minute reservation, and were unfortunately late due to not being able to find parking. However, we were still seated. We were in a bit of a rush because we had tickets to an 8:00 show, but we let them know and they didn't let us down. We ordered the Mozzarella Carozella for an appetizer and let me tell you. It's possibly the best thing I have ever eaten. Everything about it was delicious. We both ordered pasta with seafood dishes, of which there were many choices (Fridays in lent can sometimes be difficult for eating out, but not here), and they were both very good. Overall we had a great experience and loved the food. We'll definitely be back! read more

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Fettuccine Alfredo * was not salty Ravioli Ripini can Aragosta * favorite item ordered * garnished with two pieces of shrimp * both sauces were very creamy * was super busy during dinner time so service was slow and food was served slightly cold 7.5/10 read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Ok sorry this is long overdue! Must go spot in Boston, amazing Italian restaurant downtown and not only is the food and drinks amazing, but the service was some of the best I've ever seen! Jordan our girl thank you for a lovely time and of course Eman and Mike thank you all for making such a lasting impact on our trip to Boston!! A warm, cozy, family vibe. We will be back! (Try the chocolate wine and banana shots) Near the Paul revere house as well read more

I have already visited this place 2 times. As everyone has said, the waiters are very polite and helpful. The first time i got the Mesculin Insalata. It was great and they let me add a bunch of toppings and everything was amazing. I also ordered calamari which was amazing. My friend got alfredo pasta which was fine... This time i got the Scaloppine di vitello, the veal tastes amazing and the sauce tasted great! My friend got the Ravioli Ripini Con Aragosta. The shrimps were tasty and the lobster filled ravioli were Awesome! BUT!! The whole portions were very small!!! With a prosseco our bill ended up being 92$ but the amount of food we got was very low! Compared to paying 30ish for each plate. This was the most disappointing part. The place is beautiful but could smell better!! The smell always bothers me read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Ravioli Ripin can Aragosta Scallopnini di Vitello - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Service was fine. Food was not good. Spinach salad was fresh but the lumpy honey mustard was gross. Salmon fine but nothing to remember. Pasta again fine but nothing I would ever pay for. Super cheesy singers made me feel like I was at Disneyland. read more

Food poisoning. Food was not good or fresh. Smelled wrong. Tasted odd. Unclean. Old and tired finishes. Drinks were even bad. read more

I booked a table on open table and it took them forever to seat us and even longer to get drinks/food. They then said that I never showed up and cancelled the reservation so that I couldn't leave a review there. On top of everything, the restroom was gross and out of toilet paper. Avoid at all costs read more

We made a reservation and asked for a quiet table so as to catch up with my daughter. The manager gave us the 2nd floor. Service was spotless. Wine was delicious, She had a veal chop that was huge and tender. I had the gnocchi. Portions were huge and perfectly prepared. We asked for the bill, the sum was modest. Again A+ service, A for the quality of the food. Highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Busy place but we did get seated. Service was great. Small area with lots of seats. Good food. Meatballs were great! Lobster ravioli was great as well. Healthy wine pours. read more

Service was really great, but I was completely disappointed by the portions and pricing. On a surprisingly good note before I go into the bad, the olive oil that went with their starter bread actually tasted flavorful to me. Not sure how, but it was savory and suddenly made me understand why people do olive oil tastings. (This was before the pepper and cheese were added.) I used to avoid daily specials like the plague, for various reasons, and after Riccardo's, I might never order a special again. I love pesto, shrimp, and pappardelle so when I heard the daily special, I was excited. It was a pesto shrimp pappardelle ($32)! Then the dish came and disappointed me at once. First, there was hardly any shrimp. $32 for three pieces of shrimp...and you can already see two in my photo! They weren't particularly huge either. Second, the pesto. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt-- pesto jsn't always densely bright green and can be more oily-- but this had the barest taste of any basil (if it was even that?), much less cheese, or (pine) nuts. I spent minutes Googling pesto sauces to see if I was crazy; it was like I was eating flavored oil. It didn't taste awful at least, but it wasn't pesto and it didn't have enough shrimp to justify the ridiculous price. My friend got the eggplant parmesan (aka melanzane parmigiano, $22). I can understand why some others might say the tomato sauce is watery. You can see they didn't even bother to cover the noodles with sauce and the portion is still small. She was also disappointed. read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Underwhelming pesto shrimp pappardelle (with eggplant pamesan in the back). - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Hands down the best spot in the North End! Went here for a birthday dinner on a Friday night. Highly recommend making a reservation especially for a weekend night. I was very impressed by the outstanding service we received. Not your typical North End restaurant where you feel rushed to get out and are distracted by the city noise and crowds. The ambiance here is perfect. We truly felt cared for here. Multiple staff came up to us to make sure the food was to our liking. The food is incredible here...and for an unbeatable price. Probably the most affordable spot in the North End. I ordered the Pollo Piccata which was unbelievable followed by Tiramisu with an ice cream filling which was on the house (because they found out we were celebrating a birthday)! Definitely coming back here and would recommend to others! read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Pollo Piccata - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Ordered the orecchiette with sausage and broccoli. It was good but missing some fresh parm or pepper on top. We got there on the early side so not too busy, but once things picked up, it was clear they were understaffed for the night. Service was slow and we didn't see our waiter for long periods of time (although he was running around serving other tables) Great ambiance- the restaurant is family owned read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Orecchetti con Salsicca e Broccoli di Rabe - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Amazing food, service, and ambiance. The Gnocchi and bolognese were incredible, as well as the caprese, fried mozzarella, and ricotta-stuffed meatballs. The fresh ricotta was the best I've ever had. read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Easy to get a reservation, we did have to wait a little after our reservation time but it was worth it! The lobster ravioli is amazing and the espresso martini was tasty! Service was always kind and there was constantly some kind of music (accordion, singer, violin, etc.) read more

Riccardo's was a pleasant surprise. Called earlier in the day and was able to get a reservation on a Sunday easily. The restaurant has a relaxed ambiance with low lighting which makes for a nice dinner. I ordered the Agnello (rack of lamb served with wild mushroom risotto) which was cooked well and was more than enough food to fill me up. read more

Riccardo's Ristorante - Agnello - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts