Ristorante Saraceno

Tourist trap in the north end of Boston. Don’t bother eating here, I have had better food from Chef Boyardee. They served us used bread, obviously from a prior customer, the butter was half used. There are so many better restaurants in the area. Service was terrible, our waiter took our order , after that couldn’t be bothered with us, his second time speaking to us when he brought the check.

Been going there for years and all the chicken dishes are great.

Awesome place! I love my carbonara. I will be back!

The food was outstanding. Can't wait to get the chicken piccata again.

It can be difficult to find great Italian cuisine in the North End, while it's easy to find run-of-the-mill, bland, uninspiring food. Unfortunately, Saraceno fits the latter group. There were seven in our party. One person had bolognese, which was sub-par: weak sauce that was salty and drowned the pasta. Doubtful that the pasta was homemade. The bread was terrible, like a something that might have been purchased at a local convenience store with no texture, stale and spongy.

The atmosphere was fine. We were seated downstairs in the cavernous basement. We were surprised to see three rooms (or more), a labyrinth of cozy dining spots. Service was attentive. The inexpensive ($40) red wine we purchased was very good.

Great place.

went there sat night with friends...everything was great until the end...my left overs were put in a brown paper bag which leaked all over my husband carrying it...it was a messy ending to a great night

Smell of mold and cockroaches in the basement eating area.

Family get together

Pasta was homemade and tremendous. 2nd floor = odd ambiance.

The food was delicious, the service was great. We arrived early for our reservation and was accommodated right away. Would definitely return to this restaurant!

Doesn’t actually take reservations. You have to wait when you arrive until they have an opening.

Terrible service. Took nearly 2 hours before we were served. Sat down at 7:45 and had our meals served at 9:25 pm. Barely had time to enjoy the meal as we were going to be late for an event. Server didn’t care nor made any effort to treat us like patrons of the restaurant. Will not be going back again and strongly advise you consider other options given the amount of others in the North End that do treat customers well.

We were celebrating a birthday. The food was excellent and food allergies were accommodated.

First time there. We were seated right away which was good. Simple and authentic food but terrible service otherwise. The wait staff all seem overworked, they are brusque and unfriendly. I don’t mind being seated in a ‘dungeon’ but the space is so tight that the buspeople are constantly brushing by you carrying a huge plastic bin of dishes. I am tired of tight spaces with unfriendly service labeled “authentic experience “. They all treat customers with ‘take it or leave it’ attitude.

Amazing experience!!! Felt like I was back in Italy- very authentic.

Italian from NJ, the food was very good with good size portions and reasonably priced.
All Good

Very strange experience. We walked into the very very densely crowded first floor— and we were not acknowledged. Suddenly a woman in a puffy coat hat and boots came from behind us outside and asked if we were waiting for a table. Without speaking or explaining or greeting us in any other way she gestured and we followed her Thru another outside door up very very steep stairs to another loud crowded Sedona floor and we were abruptly seated at a jammed in table in the back.

We ordered an app and a bottle of wine. Then ordered entrees. The calamari was hot and fresh. The lasagna was outstanding. But we waited over 90 minutes for our entrees. We finally asked for our check from another server as ours disappeared.
It got late and the place was empty by the time we left. No one spoke to us again or said thank you.
Again the food was very very tasty but I don’t like to be treated so poorly. Would not go back.

One of our favorite places to have dinner in the North End. We have never been disappointed!

Good value for the price. Friendly staff.

We went prior to a show! Service was quick per our request and service was attentive. Food was delicious! Quaint restaurant!

From the outside, and even upon entering the front door, this restaurant looked like a hole-in-the-wall, but it actually turned out to be a hidden gem... the food was excellent - my husband had lasagne and I had eggplant Parmesan - and the atmosphere was quaint and delightful. Our server was very sweet and did a good job. We were very comfortable there, had a very enjoyable time, and will definitely go back the next time we return to Boston!

By far one of my favorites in Boston!! They treat you like family!!

I loved the service and the food was superb. I had the scallops and shrimp pasta special and my friend the veal chop. Nothing remained on our plates.

Delicious food, but terrible service. We had to ask for bread twice, it took way too long for the main courses to be served, and we asked more than five times just to get water. They charged an automatic gratuity of 20 percent for our party of 6 (which I would have no objection to paying if the service were better).

We had a table on the top floor and loved the ambiance. The food was excellent too - I loved the gnocchi. The servers were really inattentive though. We waited a long time for menus, and had such a hard time tracking ours down for anything. Also, we got a bottle of the house montepulciano, which was not very good - I’d avoid it. On the whole, we would still come back to this place.

Food was excellent. We were there on a very busy night so service was slow. We had a reservation it were seated at a table that was normally for 5 but they used to seat 7 so needless to say it was very tight quarters

This restaurant is a gem....lived in Boston area for 60 years and there is not a more pleasant and fabulous place to enjoy an amazing evening. Service is great, atmosphere is awesome, and food could not be better.

Excellent attention to our dairy allergy!

Group of 8 and everyone really enjoyed their meals. Great quality food. Sergio was our waiter and he was fantastic. Very attentive, great personality. Will definitely go back.

Great service, they were very accommodating to my group and me.

Excellent food, excellent service. Very friendly owner who came by to check in and chat with us at our table - fun atmosphere excellent Embiance

Been going since my college days for over 19 years and Just as good as ever! Amazing lasagna!! Romantic and quaint especially lower level seating which you should request!

This was exactly the experience I wanted for out of town guests who wanted to eat in the North End. The food was delicious and the staff could not have been nicer. Will return again and again.

Food was excellent as was the service. The amount of food is very generous.

Every time we are in Boston Ristorante Saraceno is on our must do list. The food is absolutely delicious. Our party had linguine bolognese, lobster ravioli, chicken parmesan, tortellini, and chicken francaise over linguine. Every thing was delicious. The staff is very friendly, and the owner makes you feel as if he's known you forever.

Wonderful food. Met every expectation

Had not been back here on a while. Mistake....food and service wonderful as expected. Our favorite in North End. Veal was perfect, stuffed mushrooms delicious. A perfect lunch. Will be back soon.

The waiter and hostess were rude from the moment we sat down informing us that we only had 20 mins to order because the kitchen closes at 930pm. Who closed their kitchen the middle of a customer meal on a Saturday night? its fine if that’s the policy but don’t let us make a reservation in that case. The food came out and it was a joke of an Italian meal. The chicken Alfredo looked like microwave pasta from Trader Joe’s. Would not go back here. I’ve explored many gems in this neighborhood with amazing and authentic Italian. This is NOT one of them.

Saraceno's is always our "go-to" restaurant in the North End. There is never a long wait, the service is outstanding and the food is always consistently good! There is a great menu and the food is very reasonably priced! It is definitely a hidden gem of the North End - we love the top floor!