Al Dente
| Address: | 109 Salem St # 1, Boston, MA 02113, USA |
| Phone: | +1 617-523-0990 |
| Site: | aldenteboston.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 10
CO
Courtney Ackerman
The atmosphere is not what you (or maybe its just me?) expect from the North End. It reminded me of a dinky, hole in the wall greasy diner. The tables were so close together that you have to coordinate when and how to get up with your fellow diners. The waitresses are all grumpy older ladies who are in your way everywhere you turn in this jam-packed establishment. They also use their bodies to serve the food in ways that make you question how sanitary the food you are about to be consuming really is: I saw 2 plates of food stacked on top of each other with the bottom of the top plate resting IN the food of the bottom plate. Which wouldnt really matter in the end because the food is horrible. Wait, I should start with the bread. Cold, stale white bread with plastic butter packets. No fresh, warm bread. No olive oil. They actually refused to warm it up when I specifically asked for it. The eggplant rollatini was decent but the portion size was so small. I got the chicken parm, I thought, how could you go wrong with that? When the chicken is a thin slice of rubbery chicken triple coated in breadcrumbs that are so thick they are just falling off the chicken in huge clumps, and there is one thin slice of cheese barely melted on top...THATs how you go wrong with chicken parm. My friend got the pasta with "vodka sauce" which, heads up: IS NOT VODKA SAUCE. Not sure what sauce that was....she also asked to add meatballs to her dish and it came with ONE TINY meatball. It felt like this was their standard meal, so nothing seemed amiss, which is why I do not understand why anyone would ever go to this place. Bertuccis would have been better.
CH
Chris Fulton
First, I choose this restaurant because of the raving reviews of their attention to detail for people who are gluten free or have Celiac disease. I personally have Celiac disease, so finding an Italian restaurant that is authentic and understanding of cross contamination is super important to me. I had the gluten free pasta and gluten free garlic bread. The garlic bread was not what you would imagine; it was more like a dense flat bread. It was worth the purchase though. I had the pasta dish at the top of the house specials page with veal, shrimp, and chicken in a garlic wine sauce. I thought it was rather tasteless and the gluten free pene was nothing better than I couldve bought from any grocery store. Pretty disappointing for close to $30. Maybe its because we came 30 minutes before the kitchen closed? But I felt that we were early enough to not be THAT customer. Al Dente is my girlfriend and her familys favorite Italian restaurant. I had only been here once before about year ago. I would try it again, but more because its safe place I can find sustainance for myself and that it has awesome food for people without Celiac disease. I wouldnt return simply to enjoy their food on my own though. Celiac friendly? Yes. Delicious? Meh. Go cook your own Udis pasta and save $30.
KA
Karen Braccialarghe
Amazing food! Amazing staff! We came to Al Dente for dinner before my sisters bachelorette party. I made reservations about 2 months ahead of time, and they were very accommodating! I received a phone call the day before to confirm our time, and they were very understanding that I had to lower the number of people after my final head count fell. Service was fast, friendly, and the food was INCREDIBLE!!! It was also reasonably priced. We celebrated with a round of limoncello to start our night! You can NOT go wrong at Al Dente! It is the classic North End experience. The atmosphere is lively, the North End is bustling, and the food is unlike any other!!
RU
Ruth Safdie
The worst experience of my Life ! Service is terrible, and they do not know how to take constructive criticism, instead of construction they decide to use destruction! I ordered a Veal milanese and my veal was a soggie specimen on top of a soup with gbocci pasta, it looked like vomit on a plate. When I confronted the waitress she answered "milanese is not the same way in all restaurants" the uncultured waitress obviously had no clue what she was saying and decided to argue their OBVIOUS FAULT of having disgusting food. Vibes were terrible too, and it SMELLED LIKE COW MANURE inside !
A
A Private User
I was extremely impressed with all aspects of my dinner at Al Dente. I had a group of 10, most of whom were visiting from out of town. Everyone was raving about the dinner hours after we left. Our waitress, Marge, really made us feel welcome and made excellent recommendations. It was extremely busy but we did not feel rushed at all. We relaxed with wine and appetizers while we waited for our meals. I highly recommend this place for the value, the food, and the service. You are going to be hard pressed to find a place that has food this good for the price in the North End.
TO
Tony John
They have great food and very friendly and attentive service. The only downside (as with many of the great Italian spots in the North End) is that the place is very small and can get very noisy if any of the tables around you are a larger group (and its Italian food so theres often a family of 6+ sitting down to share a meal and laughs). Great go to spot when friends are visiting - not the uppity kind but the laid back kind. The place has a very welcoming family feel that may be lost on some. I would recommend some of the more expensive spots for your uppity friends :D
NI
Nick Pietropaolo
im from NY and I just finished eating here because my first choice (referred to by a friend)( la famiglia Giorgio) , happened to be closed until a few days later. food was excellent. special of the day was homemade pumpkin ravioli which I had as an appetizer and were phenomenal. had a veal dish for dinner and it also was phenomenal. the veal was wrapped in prosciutto and stuffed with cheese and roasted peppers. would absolutely refer to a friend and staff was friendly. recommend a reservation if planning on eating at normal dinner time.
ME
Megan Ricker
Came by a few nights ago on our first night in Boston as it is one of our favorite places to eat in the North End. It was pretty busy for a Thursday night, so I would highly recommend reservations for any night. We started off with a couple house salads and the calamari. For dinner we ordered the homemade fusilli with quattro formaggio sauce and chicken, chicken umberto and the Shrimp/Scallops ala vodka. All were absolutely wonderful! You feel like part of the family from the moment you walk in to the moment you leave!
NA
Nathaniel Jones
All in all, not a bad restaurant, but in this neighborhood thats not enough. The bread is not very fresh and is served with packaged butter rather than olive oil. Similarly, we started with a capese salad which also did not taste that fresh. I enjoyed the gnocchi, particularly the sun-dried tomatoes in it. The one really great thing about this place is the service; our waitress was able to help us find an accessible restroom even though there isnt one in the building and was very warm and polite about it.
GA
Gail Stephanie
I came here almost a year ago but im on a reviewing spree so.This place was so cute and amazing. Its a small place on a side street so its not easy to spot but going here restored my love for Italian food! The vibe was so cute and comfy. I went on a double date there and it was the perfect spot. We could all speak easily and hear each other, the waiters were sweet and funny, and there was parking in the back. I got the gnocchi with pink sauce .
