We spend numerous holidays, celebrations, and regular nights out at the colosseum! We always choose to go here for any occasion. My favorite meal is the Pork Chop alla Nicola. The family who owns this restaurant is second to none -- they don't make people like this anymore! You feel like family immediately from the way they treat you, as well as the food. It tastes just like family Sunday dinner every time. Love this place! Oh -- and TRY THE LIMONCELLO!! read more

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Started with stale bread followed by bland stuffed mushrooms. My wife's entree of Vermicelli Al Filetto Di Pomodora had no flavor as did my Linguine Alla Frutta Di Mare. I was sick all night from the bad shrimp. I gave it a two star because the service and Brussels sprouts were good. I expected more for my $100 tab. Will definitely not be going back! read more

I am giving this restaurant four stars, but I am grading on the curve. The staff is friendly. The place looks clean. The food is pretty good and the prices won't set you back too much. They have messed up a few times on my take- out orders, but so has every other restaurant I've frequented several times. read more

Colosseum The last time we were there was for my daughters junior high graduation. That was in 1992. It was nothing memorable and we just never went back. We thought we'd give it another try as a lot happens in years. We were there late afternoon so there was basically no one there but one or two parties. The decor is very nice and there are loads of booths which we love. I ordered Chicken Picatta which I would say was not that great tasting. It only came with ziti, and server was trying to up-charge with the sales pitch of home made pasta. I am not a fan of either home made or traditional ziti. I love the option of changing out the pasta for potato, etc. No options here. My husband ordered Veal Parmesan which was paper thin (and I mean paper). He was not overwhelmed with the thin piece of veal. He prefers a thick and tender piece of veal. I would also like to point out the server never came back to check on us after the food came. Not to ask how the food was cooked, not to ask if we would like additional beverages or water, nothing. World's most horrible service. In a restaurant, its not only the food that gets rated, its the service, and whether the restaurant makes you feel at home. All in all, the experience was not good. I really wanted to love the experience, but I can honestly say it was probably the same as years ago. I noticed on their website they boast about winning awards? They should be putting their efforts in improving their food and service. I think the thing that really disturbed me was, that when we were leaving, the owner and some employees were sitting in the opposite room around a table. Not one person said "thank you, have a great night". I recognized the owner, and thought it was weird he never said anything to people leaving his restaurant. That is the most important part of the dining experience. There should be someone asking how everything was and bidding you a good day or night. Anyone can have a bad day. But if no one asks you how everything was, it's like they already know and don't want to hear it. The place just wasn't for us. read more

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It is my opinion that the Colosseum is dying a slow death. We returned last night for a relaxing meal after a long work week. It appears that they painted, and it is now more modern that the old pink and grey colors that they had. The restaurant was not even a quarter full for a Friday night.Staff were doing cross word puzzles in the back near the bathrooms. We waited nearly 10 minutes before menu's and water was brought out and another 10 for drink orders. The wall over the table was dirty, and had food splatter all over it. The fake battery tea candles on all the tables were off. I turned ours on.Why even have them it they are off? The pasta fagole soup tasted like it came out of a can. My stuffed calamari was not fresh. Very fishy so I had to sent it back. The replacement dish, the gnocchi Colosseum was ok, nothing special. My partner's chicken parm was bland and just ok. My dirty martini was very good. For $75 bucks, we can do better at home or elsewhere. read more

Service was great. Food was just ok. Nothing special. I had the scampi and it was bland. Lacking seasoning. Not sure if I will go back.

We used to like The Colliseum. Last night, the food was very mediocre. My chicken parm which is what I usually order was processed chicken with a nickels worth of Angel Hair pasta. The bread basket was meager. so what I think happened was the menu prices were the same, the food quality was substantially lowered. With food prices skyrocketing, this makes sense. I don't need to spend money on garbage. It's sad because I have eaten there for over 20 years. Will never go back. read more

The Colosseum has been our go-to place for Italian food for many years. Our last visit, (January 2023) was very disappointing. My dish, the fettuccine alfredo (with chicken & shrimp added) was hard and dry. The chicken was an overly cooked, pan-seared disaster and the shrimp were miniscule. This place used to have a cool vibe but it's all gone now: Does it have new owners or new management? Sorry to say we're not going back. read more

Once upon a time The Colosseum was one of THE places to go for a fine meal in the area. However, as the years have passed new restaurants have cropped up in the area and the glory days of The Colosseum have passed. Recently my fiancé and I stopped in for an early dinner after a Saturday of Christmas shopping. We were both struck at how dated the decor was when we walked in and although we appreciated their attempt to make the atmosphere festive with holiday decorations it seemed half hearted. The various decorations hanging on the walls looked as though they had been the same ones that had been used for 15-20 years. The appeared to have been dragged out of a basement and thrown on the wall as they were misshapen, flat and/or frayed. Despite the dated appearance of the restaurant from what we could see it seemed clean and the hostess and our waitress were polite and welcoming. These initial impressions would have mattered less if everything else was amazing but to be honest it just wasn't. They served rolls which were nice and hot but strangely they were served with only butter. I don't think I have been to an Italian restaurant in the last 20 years that didn't serve their bread with both butter and seasoned oil. Salads did not come with our meals so right after the bread we moved onto the main course. I had the chicken, broccoli and ziti in a butter/wine sauce which I thought tasted great but arrived to the table just a little hotter than lukewarm. My fiancé had the gnocchi in bolognese sauce. The gnocchi had a gluey texture and my fiancé said the sauce reminded him of something he couldn't put his finger on. I tasted his meal and immediately said that that flavor profile he couldn't place was Chef Boyardee from the 80's before they changed their recipe. The prices that they charge do not seem to align with the food quality. I know times are tough because of COVID but unfortunately The Colosseum just didn't impress the way that it used to. read more

The Colosseum Restaurant - Chicken, broccoli and ziti - pretty tasty but needed to be warmer - Italian Near Me - Salem, New Hampshire

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My family and I ended up at the Colosseum by accident, when a restaurant down the street cancelled our reservation. But what a happy accident. We were all supremely happy with our meals. They were delicious and very generous portions. Would definitely hit this place again. read more

So, been here dozens of times over the last 20 years, once upon a time this place was pretty good, but it has steadily been going downhill. Service, quality of food, basically everything is taking a dive here the last five years or so. This most recent visit capped it for me, probably never going back. When they bring out luke warm bread that was so stale and hard it would be best used as croutons for salad, or tossed out in the grass for the birds to eat. This last time was simply the last straw for me. The place is clean, a little dark, but not too bad. My wife got the gnocchi and it was okay, not horrible, but for what we paid you just expect more. My chicken piccata was too sweet. The linguini was a little overcooked. Again, for what they charge here you'd expect a little better. The service was mediocre. Not down right horrible service, but definitely not great either. All in all there are just way too many dining options around for us to waste any more of our time or money here. read more

Had been a few years since we tried this restaurant. In the past week enjoyed great meals there. Four of us recently went there for dinner and we're extremely disappointed. It took forever to get a drink before dinner (10-15 minutes) . Worse, the food was very disappointing. I ordered the Bolognese and couldn't finish and refused to take leftovers home. The other three were also disappointed in their meals. Too many other great Italian food restaurants to choose from so they are off the list. Will stick with Amalfi's in the future. read more

not great - wouldn't go back. Food was greasy. It's not often you find a parm of any kind sitting in a pool of oil :(

This is probably the fifth time we've gone here over the past 5 years. The first time, our food ( appetizers OR entrees) never came. The second time, we were at the bar and the staff was so loud talking to each other at each end of the bar we left. The third time, we were seated in the dining room for a birthday and the server brought our birthday cake to the wrong table. Last night, we were at the bar again. Again, terrible service, as the bartender paid little attention to us. We ordered seafood stuffed mushrooms. It seemed to take forever. Apparently she forgot to put in our order and only did do when she heard us talking about the length of time it was taking. Then we ordered fried calamari which never came. She said she didn't hear us order it. Food is ok. Service is deplorable. read more

Looks like it was a nice place in the 80's. I ordered steak and was never asked how I wanted it cooked. Flavor was not good. And pricey.

The gluten free pasta was cooked perfectly! Such a good taste. The meatballs are huge and that sandwich could feed two people. We always start with the rice balls. They're crispy on the outside and the rice is nice and tender on the inside, not mushy at all. read more

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Lovu2 colosseum for Italian. One of the best Italian in the area. They even allow you to order off the menus as long as they have the ingredients. Ambiance is great for a small party/group. Bar area is a bit noisy for a group. read more

My husband and I recently hosted a rehearsal dinner at The Colosseum. We were extremely pleased with everything! The setting for our small group was perfect - private and quietly tucked away from the main dining room. We felt free to move around and talk. The food was outstanding and the waitstaff was very attentive and friendly. Everything went very well. We highly recommend this restaurant for the food, staff and any event you might want to celebrate! read more

If you don't know about The Colosseum Restaurant, I am sorry that no one has told you of the place. We were in for my birthday on a Friday night. I am glad that I had made reservations as it was busy. We sat down and had a cocktail and then a few appetizers. We then ordered our dinner. As we were finishing our appetizers and drinks we could hear a person in the bar area singing. I wasn't sure if it was a singer or just a song on the radio. He was great and sang all different types of music. We got our dinner and it was fantastic food. We never felt rushed but it was busy when we went to leave at 8:00pm. We all had take home food. Great food great atmosphere without the unnecessary high end posh stuff. This has been a great place for really good food for a long time. read more

I am originally from New York moved to Massachusetts 6 years ago and a die hard Italian food lover my wife still lives in nj comes to visit all the time we usually dine at the Chatue in Andover or Almalfi in Salem nh but we decided to try something so booked reservations at the Coloseum in Salem NH and it was the worst service I have ever experienced I have gotten better service at McDonald's if you are craving Italian food Almalfi is the place to go . read more

If I could rate this at no stars I would. We recently tried the Colosseum in Salem for Dinner. It was horrible. Don't waste your time or money going there. The meal and drinks were terrible and not worth the money spent and the service was awful. read more

My absolute favorite Italian dish is made at the Colosseum- eggplant parmesan with fresh gemelli pasta. The eggplant is succulent, sweet, and NOT deep-fried. Yup, it's beautifully breaded, layered and baked in a block, similar to a piece of lasagna. The portion is so big that I always have a ready-made lunch the next day. Oh wow is it delicious. I get it every time we go there. My dinner partner always tries something different, and has consistently enjoyed the food. The atmosphere is a different matter. Until our latest visit, we always sat in the main room, and have enjoyed a relatively quiet, relaxing dining experience. This past Friday, however, we were seated in the bar area (first time in there). What a difference! It's crowded and very loud, with everyone talking louder just to be heard over the awful, booming music. I will definitely return to the Colosseum, but will be sure to make a reservation in the main room next time. read more

So, My friend and I went here for our lunch because we heard from her parents this place is great. So we tried chicken parmigiana and I tried scampi. First of all, for an Italian food, the portion kinda small. But good thing it's small because it's doesn't taste good. The server was bringing our food and literally 2 minutes after he dropped our food and as we shoved our food into to mouth he came and asked us how was the food. And never ever come back again and left us with dry water. And after waited for along time, we decided went to the cashier and asked for our bill, and he came running and ask if we would like to bag our food. (Of course no thanks) even with small portions we rather not finish it. We went to wendys after. read more

The Colosseum is one of the best Italian restaurants in New Hampshire that I've been to. I finally have a moment to Yelp this place. After a day at Canobie Lake, my friend and I wanted have great dinner close to the amusement park. I remembered reading Matthew's great review about The Colosseum and watching the commercials of the Chef going down to Boston and picking out the best ingredients, the freshest seafood, and Italian desserts from the North End. We decided to give this place a try for dinner. The place was busy on a Saturday night, but we were seated immediately in a booth. The menu is a la carte here. For starters, the Pasta Fagioli ($5.95) and the Oysters On A Half Shell ($12 for six) were excellent. The Oysters were freshest we've ever had at any restaurant in NH, right off the boat in Boston and we ordered seconds. The Grey Goose martinis were just right, not too strong. The bread basket had warm bread and packaged hard breadsticks. For dinner, I had the Linguini alla Frutti di Mare ($16.95) and my friend had the Gnocchi Colosseum ($14.95), which were both fantastic!! During our meal, two musicians performed live tableside singing Italian songs and playing accordions, now that's amore!!! After dinner, the server brought out a large dessert tray of some of the scrumptious Italian desserts to choose from. I had an Italian chocolate cream cake ($5.95) and my friend had some Orange Gelati ($5.95) with some Espresso ($2.25 each) to end this exceptional meal. The service here was good and attentive; timely delivery of drinks and food, reorders, and constant refills on house ice water. read more

If you want traditional american italian (by that I mean exactly what you think of when you say italian food in america) this is the best place in the area. It is not super fancy, it is not super light, it is not super authentic. But what they do, they do great! I had the baby clams and mushroom pasta, which was fantastic. My wife had the eggplant parm which was sliced very thin and individually breaded; not one big heavy slice of eggplant. THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO EAT EGGPLANT PARM. Order it. The drink menu wasn't huge, but you they had a full bar so order whatever you want. I am just very lazy and tend to order what the little cards at the table tell me to. Surprisingly? The margaritas at the italian place were the way to go. Our waiter gave me a cup of soup to try on the house after he saw me waffling about it. I know that probably cost them like 45 cents, but it made me so happy. The soup (peppers and suasage) was also very delicious. Indecisive me was wrong to hesitate. read more

veal parmigiana was very cold. veal was crispy dry . not enough sause to cover all the pasta. maybe I missed the part where they ask you what they offer for pasta but it came with ziti read more

I unfortunately have nothing great to report. I have been living in NH for 20+ years and have never gone. We finally went and were disappointed. Price is through the roof for what you're getting. Appetizers came out at 2 different times. The pasta was not fresh, felt like it was store bought. Each dish was "garnished" with parsley which overpowered each pasta dish. As an Italian, you do NOT throw raw parsley on top of dishes. The veal was honestly the worst I've ever had. It was dry and rolled up into a very unappetizing look. If you're Italian you'll be disappointed, if you're not Italian you'll also be disappointed. I hate to write a bad review but I can't find anything good to say about this place. I wonder how it has stayed in business for this long. read more

This place has really gone down hill. Pasta sauce was watery and literally tastes like Chef Boyardee. Fettuccine Alfredo was drowned in some sort of white cream sauce that in no way resembles the fettuccine I would expect from a restaurant that claims to be authentic. Neither dishes were worth their $15.00 price tag. They say they make their own pasta but they're not fooling anyone. Sad to see what's become of what was once the nicest Italian restaurant in the area. read more

Food was ok. Waitress scammed us my wife wanted a certain dish from last year when we went instead gave her the most expensive dish.... Very greasy read more

My wife and I enjoyed a very nice Valentines Day meal. Terrific attentive service. A wonderful dining experience. Our waiter Thomas C. was awesome as was our meals, drinks and dessert. Highly recommended! read more

ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE STAFF! And food Had a very nice dinner table side Cesar and table side old fashion!!! Can't say enough about the waitress and bartender ! Thank you for the lesson!!! read more

This was a very good place to eat. Food was tasty, plentiful, made to order. Loved our waiter. Had the table side Caesar salad.....delicious, perfectly balanced dressing. We ordered our main course after we had that, so no rushing to make a decision from the huge menu. My husband enjoyed the Veal Saltimbocca and I had the house specialty Seafood Colosseum. Clams, shrimp, lobster tail, muscles, scallops, italian tomato sauce over linguine. Loved it. They even give you a dish for your shells and a bowl of lemon water to rinse your hands if needed due to all the seafood in their shells. Would definitely go back and bring family and friends. read more

The food is fresh, the staff is attentive, and the owner on the premises most of the time. Excellent variety and always consistent. The specials are varied and the food is consistent. Highly recommended. read more

We ordered the fried calamari, alla pizzaiola, gnocchi al teganimo and eggplant romana. Best thing we ordered was the eggplant, eggplant is always good. It was 1 texture tho- mush. The steak (pizzaiola) was dry and bland (the menu says "best steak"). Looks like it came out of a TV dinner NO JOKE. The gnocchi is dry as well, pretty gummy too. Stuck to my teeth and hard to swallow. The calamari taste and texture was as if they fried too much then they reheated a batch and threw it in the container to serve. The tomato sauce on everything was so bland and we were not impressed.. Prego tastes better. read more

Great food! Swift delivery! Great family. Food was 5 stars! Even brought toilet paper.... I would have rathered a little lemoncello. Fantastic food none the less. Great place. read more

If I could give 0 I would. Arrived for our reservations and were told we need to sit at the bar because there wasn't enough space to give us a table. We weren't going to have our kids sit at the bar. When we asked for a table the host stated "it would be a while". Disappointed Dad and Grad. Why even make a reservation? I know we're in uncharted territory, learning to dine in a pandemic, but what a way to ruin what should have been a celebration. read more

We have been here a number of times and always enjoyed the atmosphere and food. Went Saturday night, we had reservations, and the hostess was so pleasant and seated up promptly. One us got a pasta / eggplant chicken combo and one got rib eye dish. Both meals were perfect and portions were adequate, and our server Thomas was polite and very attentive. Just a couple of disappointments.....We ordered a calamari appetizer and for the price, the portion was very , very skimpy. Also, as you would expect from any nice Italian restaurant, you usually hear Italian music in the background which adds to its ambience. Tonight was a sort of 70's -80's rock and though I like this music, it's not what I want to hear at a fine dining Italian restaurant. Soooo disappointing. read more

I haven't been to the Colosseum for about 20 years - have been twice in the past and enjoyed the food. I decided I would do a take out order so I looked at their menu on their website and placed the order. Food was really good, enjoyed it, but I was in for a shock with the price....it cost 32% more than what their website had shown. If I knew the true price, I probably would have gone elsewhere. I wanted to make sure that I had seen the numbers correctly, so just looked on their website. There are actually two places where you can view their menu. The one that I had looked at, was more text and descriptions - and not a photo or scanned copy of their menu. It was $19 there....however, on the other link on their website, the photo/scanned version, it was $25. I'd much rather pay the $19 and had that been the price, I would be going back to try other things, but at the $25 figure, there are other restaurants I enjoy that are that price or even less. I liked the food, I really disliked the price. A darn good think that I didn't eat there and had to pay a tip, not to mention IF I had some wine....I opened up a bottle of wine I brought back from Nova Scotia, which was enjoyable and I saved LOTS of money. A shame there is a difference - if not, then the prices are what they are and I wouldn't have gotten shocked and would feel entirely differently. read more

We had dinner last night with friends and ordered 2 of the steak tips and shrimp special. The menu said nothing but the best beef.... I have to say that both orders were the worst meal my friend and I have had in a very long time. We spent almost $200 and the beef was like rubber, there was so much fat that we both had a hard time cutting it with our knives. The shrimp looked good but both orders were tasteless. Definitely will never be eating there again! read more

Nice place from what I remember a long time ago. Bartender was great during Pats game. Grabbed a stuffed mushroom (no seafood) and it was decent but not worth the money for what we received. The mix veggies we good but nothing to write home about. Will return for atmosphere and hopefully the food everyone brags about read more