Toscano Harvard Square
A stone’s throw from Harvard’s ivied walls, surrounded by the bustling eateries, shops, and confectioners on Brattle Street (once called the King’s Road), Toscano’s second location brings the bright, fresh flavors of Tuscany to historic Cambridge.
Popular dishes
Pasta e Fagioli
Puree of White Bean Soup, Tubettini
9 reviews
Truffle
Espresso, Frangelico, Vodka
5 reviews
Toscano
Espresso, Meletti Chocolate, Splash Sambuca
3 reviews
The food was beautifully presented and delicious. The server was attentive, gracious and nonintrusive. The social distancing placement of tables permitted easy conversation. Delightful experience.
Wonderful food (e.g., tender and flavorful veal!) plus lovely atmosphere with perfect acoustics: while being lively and filled to capacity, it was still very comfortable to hear ourselves conversing at our own table. Highly recommend!
Excellent as usual. We had the $ 25 Restaurant Week lunch.
Delicious and authentic Italian food in a classy setting.
Superb meal as always. We enjoyed the three course dine out menu and the recommended wine on special.
We had a fantastic experience here! The decor and lighting are both lovely, the service was really good, and the food was amazing.
Great food drinks and service!
My friend and I went during Restaurant Week. The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated and visually appealing. The young staff greeted us warmly, The menu at lunch was diverse and seemed to offer something most people could really enjoy. My friend had a beet salad with gorgonzola and lemon. I had a wonderful minestroni soup with many different visible vegetables pieces. Our entrees were a steak dish with delicious sauce and salmon that was as fresh and perfectly cooked. Desert was a pana cotta with multiple fresh fruit slices, and an unusual but tasty deconstructed tiramisu ...wow. Our waitress was so professional and attentive . This was the finest lunch I'd had in a long time.
Great place for a home-style Italian meal. Good location as well.
Consistently pleasing food in a calm and attractive atmosphere.
Our only complaint was the noise level on a Sunday night--we could barely hear each other.
Delightfully expansive menu - ordered the Prix Fixe with Caprese Salad, Veal Scaloppine Limone and Tiramisu — very good! Service was a little inconsistent and the noise level a little loud, but otherwise, excellent dining experience.
We are always treated like Gold at Toscano’s. Classic and delicious Italian fare; always one of our favorite destinations in Harvard Square.
Food was excellent and portions were just right or large. It was a little noisy but people at my table could still hear each other talk. Service was pleasant and we were not rushed. This is a place I’d return to.
Reliable Harvard Square restaurant. Great for lunch and dinner. Excellent pre theater ART destination.
My sister and I booked dinner at Toscano due to the favorable Open Table reviews and its proximity to the American Repertory Theater.
The restaurant decor and atmosphere is elegant but unfortunately that and the location were the only two highlights of our experience.
The food was mediocre at best from the bread to the salad to the pasta to the Tiramisu dessert. Everything was bland and unremarkable. Nothing seemed fresh or made to order.
The service was just ok.
Food was very good and the waiter did a nice job. Great restaurant next to Harvard Campus.
Great place. It occurred to me that Toscano is a somewhat more up-scale Paparazzi. Both are selling good Italian food in cozy Italianesque atmospheres with good service. Toscano's food is better, the prices are higher and the place is generally more luxurious, but the approaches are similar.
One caution -- if you want to eat at Toscano's at either location, make reservations well in advance. Both restaurants are very popular and getting a reservation at a reasonable hour if you wait until the last minute is not likely to happen.
I always enjoy the food and atmosphere at Toscano. My friend and I went to the 2:00pm show at ART so this was a good place for a delicious and convenient meal.
Always fabulous!
Always a successful pre or post theater stop for us. Food, service and ambience perfect. Love the bar seats
Great service! Delicious pasta.
Toscano is my go-to place in Harvard Square when I'm in town.
Excellent filet of sole-- one of the specials for the evening. Better significantly than I remember, and my memory is of very good food and service. I asked for a quiet spot in the bustling space and was given what must have been the quietest spot at Toscano-- thank you for that. Three older friends had no trouble having a conversation.
Service was great! Food was excellent. Nothing was rushed, would recommend for any occasion.
Excellent Experience!
Delicious food.
Outstanding service.
Always great food and atmosphere, my girlfriend and I love going on dates here.
Excellent food and service, every time I have been to Toscano's. The noise level is WAY TOO LOUD, however, and a conversation with one's dinner companions is next to impossible. PLEASE fix this. and deaden the noise!! it's enough to discourage me from returning, unless I come alone with earplugs!!
Always excellent.
A wonderful experience as always!
Dinner was outstanding, we started with meatballs, and had the sausage risotto and scallops dinner as our entrees. All were delicious, served piping hot. Our waitress was very sweet and attentive. I enjoyed my Sangiovese red wine - excellent wine when ordering by the glass. It is one of our favorite spots in Cambridge.
This was a pre-theater dinner. The server and staff couldn’t have been more efficient in their service. We never felt rushed, just helped by their understanding of how to get a terrific meal to the table with ample time to enjoy it. As usual, the food was well-prepared with excellent ingredients. I had the venison, which was easily the best I’ve eaten (and I’ve ordered it many times in a number of restaurants).
Pasta dishes are uninspired for an Italian Restaurant.
Asked for a candle in our dessert for my wife’s birthday in open table notes but they forgot. I have never put anything in the notes before but it feels like it is ignored anyway.
Everything was delicious. Lovely window table. Waiter was charming and very knowledgeable. He made sure our courses were timely because we were going to the theater.
Huge portions but quality nothing special. Service seemed inexperienced. Not a noteworthy evening.
Another amazing dining experience! Stopped by for a birthday dinner while in town, and everything was fantastic!
Toscano did not disappoint! The service was outstanding, our waitress was one of the best we’ve ever had. Attentive without being overbearing, great recommendations for food and wine and efficient (we were on our way to a show but never felt rushed.). Busing staff was outstanding too. High-top seating was fun. Would highly recommend!
Great food next to the theater so convenient
I would not go back. Food was average. Service average.
FAQs
Toscano Harvard Square is rated 4.5 stars by 1613 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.