When planning our trip to Boston, there was one restaurant that I knew we had to try. That place was Giacomo's Ristorante in the famous North End of Boston. When researching "the best restaurant" in the city, Giacomo's is what came up every single time. As if this wasn't enough to convince me, Giacomo is my father and grandfather's name so eating there quickly became a sealed deal.
I pre-planned meeting up with my cousin a Boston resident at Giacomo's for the night that we arrived. While trying to find our destination in the North End, we passed another restaurant called Ristorante Lucia. My daughter immediately insisted that we had to eat at HER restaurant since we were eating at Nonno's. That's when the competition began.
Giacomo's Ristorante (link) | Boston | MA
Upon arrival, I was immediately annoyed with Giacomo's. Since they are one of the most popular spots in Boston, they're INSANELY busy. They don't take reservations and they won't even let you put your name down for a table. Instead, they make everyone wait in a single file line until it is their turn to be seated. After waiting on this ridiculous line, I asked the hostess to sit us outside. She told me that she has one table available and it's inside. If I don't want it, get back to the end of the line. Needless to say, I agreed to eat inside and immediately regretted it. It was cramped, packed, and our own table wasn't even big enough to fit our meals.
So far they fail for a ridiculous seating system, poor service, and unheard of seating arrangements. Now, let's talk about the food. I'll start with this. My family are off the boat Sicilians. I'm also from Long Island, an Italian foodie destination. Knowing all that, I'll say that this place was OK. That's a compliment coming from me about Italian food. I ordered the linguine with scallops in pesto sauce and I also tried their grilled octopus. The octopus was chewy, but the sauce was good. The pasta dish was alright.
When we were about halfway done, the waitress put the bill on the table and said "No rush". No rush, my butt!!!!
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Ristorante Lucia (link) | Boston | Massachusetts
While we started our trip with Giacomo's, we ended it with Ristorante Lucia in honor of my daughter's name. This Italian restaurant was nowhere near as crowded as Giacomo's which made me a little hesitant at first. The low crowds ended up being a blessing. We were seated right away and was accommodated with our request for outdoor seating with just one caveat. You can't order hard liquor drinks outside, instead you can only have beer or wine. This may have been a negative for some, but this totally worked for me!
The kind and PATIENT waiter walked us through the menu, made recommendations, and even engaged in some small talk with us. While we were sipping our wine and enjoying our appetizers, the owner of the restaurant came outside to engage with the customers as well. This was Lucia herself! She was warm, welcoming, and engaged in a lovely, brief conversation.
Now, let's talk food. I ordered something called Mare E Monte which basically means land and sea. It was a pasta dish with a tomato based sauce. It had mushrooms from the land and clams from the sea. Despite being an Italian food snob, I have to admit that this was one of the best dishes I've had in a long time! It was delicious. The kiddies ate all of their spaghetti and meatballs, which is saying something because they're both meatball snobs. My husband loved his so much that I think he fell in his dish.
At the end, the waiter asked for our opinions and offered any other services that he could provide. When he was satisfied with our satisfaction, he handed over the check, thanked us, and wished us a safe trip back home.
What is the best restaurant in Boston?
Ok, so I can't talk for the entire city, but, I can say without a doubt that it's NOT Giacomo's.
Raviolis & Wanderlust is giving the win to Ristorante Lucia for service, environment, and food!
Next time you're in the North End, skip the line at Giacomo's and walk the extra few feet to Ristorante Lucia. Trust me when I say that you'll be thanking me.
- R&W
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