Overall the service was not great, it felt like the team was understaffed. Food and wine pairings were very good. It was overall very cold in the restaurant, we ended up moving tables but we're still very cold.
Marvan
Worse experience ever. Waited over 1.5 hours for first course. Looks like chef quit during dinner. We literally left before we got all our options from our dinner. Barbara Lynch you are the Boston Chef Queen.....get it together!!!
MelissaM
Very disappointing New Year's Eve experience, starting from trying to make the reservation. We wanted to book a table for 7 but OpenTable will only accept reservations if 6 or fewer. I tried calling for 3 days during the advertised business hours as well as emailing, in an effort to confirm as reservation for 7. I was anxious to confirm a reservation because it was a milestone birthday for my husband as well NYE. Finally, after 3 days we got confirmation of our reservation for 7 people. When we arrived at 5 pm (the moment they opened), we were led to a small table that would have comfortably seated 4 at the most; 6 if we squeezed to the point of discomfort. There was no way the table could accommodate 7 plates let alone 7 people.. It took 5-10 minutes to sort out that we needed an additional small table to accommodate a party of 7. Fine - we were finally seated. Service was painfully slow and disjointed. There was a 4 course prix fixe menu which should have made things efficient, but it took nearly 45 minutes to get our first course - even though we were the first party seated, and even though several tables around us were served first. We were not given a wine menu or wine pairing option until the second course. We had to ask repeatedly for basics like an extra napkin or a bottle of wine that we had ordered at seating. The food was as fine, but honestly the service was so bad it put a damper on the whole experience. I had mentioned in our reservation request that it was a milestone birthday for my husband, but there was zero acknowledgement. Disappointing overall and certainly not what we would have expected. I doubt we'll be back.
dushyanth subu
Fresh pasta made for each plate from scratch makes the quality of food just unbelievable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi with Lobster
Nina
The cost is way too high compared to the size of food. The dinner size is about half compare to other Italian restaurants but at higher price, not to mention the food is not that tasty. Disappointed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Alia E.
Business was not open at ~12pm on a Wednesday despite their answering machine saying they serve lunch at that time. Very disappointing.
fitforfood
Started with a delicious bourbon cocktail, Gulfo, then the artichoke starter, grilled Caesar salad and finally the lobster gnocchi! All presented by the perfectly attending wait staff.
Erika G.
Just re-visited after many years. The service here is truly wonderful. Thank you to the host who was able to snag us a table, even though we would have settled for the bar. We split three dishes of pasta between the two of us and enjoyed the tiramisu for dessert. Luckily, the line for "Drink" downstairs wasn't too long and we snuck in for a nightcap. Lovely dinner, and date night, for two.
MikeP
Wonderul entrees. The strozzapreti and the gnocchi were incredible. Skip the tutti antipasti. It was very basic. It was a $25 antipasti board that they chharge $55 for. Server forgot to bring my glass of wine. Had to ask for it. Unfortunately, they sat us at a table 8' from the restroom doors and beside the front door. Every time a new party arrived we were blasted by cold air rushing into the restaurant.
FoodieFemme
I was surprised by the stark ambiance (everything is white laminate). We were the first to arrive at the restaurant so it felt very sterile. But the restaurant filled up quickly and it turned into a very lively modern vibe. Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable but was quite slow in getting drinks. We had to wait about a half and hour. But the wine we had was fantastic! Three of us had the Bolognese and it was OUTSTANDING!! The fourth person in our group had the gnocchi and said it was very good too. So all in all it was a very good experience.
This used to be such a good restaurant. Sadly, the menu has not evolved, and the tagliatelle wasn't very good. Service was hit and miss. Our server forgot to order one of our entrees.
AnnaB
The food we had was excellent, but disappointed that whole categories of the menu we'd viewed online were not available (meat mains, side dishes). Service was a bit unattentive.
ChrisH
The service was a little too impersonal for me.    I know what the name translates to but the service seemed to match the typical lunch counter service. Barely adequate
I've been Sportello many times and have really enjoyed the food and drinks. Tonight our server was quite slow but otherwise the experience was what we'd expect: great food, and great ambiance.
BeverlyG
Been to Sportello several times because they have what is probably the best tagliatelle bolognese on the planet. Went here for my birthday last night and it was a little disappointing. It was remarkably busy for a Tuesday night and I think the waitstaff might have been struggling with that because everything took a really long time to arrive, from taking our order to the check (except our starter, that came out quickly). Also I asked for traditional seating when I reserved the table but got seated at the counter; the lack of back support or cushioning meant the seat was pretty uncomfortable. I had to keep standing up because of my discomfort. Food and cocktails/wine were on point as usual, though. They did give me a nice earl grey/apple crumble sorbet on the house, too.
Overall the service was not great, it felt like the team was understaffed. Food and wine pairings were very good. It was overall very cold in the restaurant, we ended up moving tables but we're still very cold.
Worse experience ever. Waited over 1.5 hours for first course. Looks like chef quit during dinner. We literally left before we got all our options from our dinner. Barbara Lynch you are the Boston Chef Queen.....get it together!!!
Very disappointing New Year's Eve experience, starting from trying to make the reservation. We wanted to book a table for 7 but OpenTable will only accept reservations if 6 or fewer. I tried calling for 3 days during the advertised business hours as well as emailing, in an effort to confirm as reservation for 7. I was anxious to confirm a reservation because it was a milestone birthday for my husband as well NYE. Finally, after 3 days we got confirmation of our reservation for 7 people. When we arrived at 5 pm (the moment they opened), we were led to a small table that would have comfortably seated 4 at the most; 6 if we squeezed to the point of discomfort. There was no way the table could accommodate 7 plates let alone 7 people.. It took 5-10 minutes to sort out that we needed an additional small table to accommodate a party of 7. Fine - we were finally seated. Service was painfully slow and disjointed. There was a 4 course prix fixe menu which should have made things efficient, but it took nearly 45 minutes to get our first course - even though we were the first party seated, and even though several tables around us were served first. We were not given a wine menu or wine pairing option until the second course. We had to ask repeatedly for basics like an extra napkin or a bottle of wine that we had ordered at seating. The food was as fine, but honestly the service was so bad it put a damper on the whole experience. I had mentioned in our reservation request that it was a milestone birthday for my husband, but there was zero acknowledgement. Disappointing overall and certainly not what we would have expected. I doubt we'll be back.
Fresh pasta made for each plate from scratch makes the quality of food just unbelievable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi with Lobster
The cost is way too high compared to the size of food. The dinner size is about half compare to other Italian restaurants but at higher price, not to mention the food is not that tasty. Disappointed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Business was not open at ~12pm on a Wednesday despite their answering machine saying they serve lunch at that time. Very disappointing.
Started with a delicious bourbon cocktail, Gulfo, then the artichoke starter, grilled Caesar salad and finally the lobster gnocchi! All presented by the perfectly attending wait staff.
Just re-visited after many years. The service here is truly wonderful. Thank you to the host who was able to snag us a table, even though we would have settled for the bar. We split three dishes of pasta between the two of us and enjoyed the tiramisu for dessert. Luckily, the line for "Drink" downstairs wasn't too long and we snuck in for a nightcap. Lovely dinner, and date night, for two.
Wonderul entrees. The strozzapreti and the gnocchi were incredible. Skip the tutti antipasti. It was very basic. It was a $25 antipasti board that they chharge $55 for. Server forgot to bring my glass of wine. Had to ask for it. Unfortunately, they sat us at a table 8' from the restroom doors and beside the front door. Every time a new party arrived we were blasted by cold air rushing into the restaurant.
I was surprised by the stark ambiance (everything is white laminate). We were the first to arrive at the restaurant so it felt very sterile. But the restaurant filled up quickly and it turned into a very lively modern vibe. Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable but was quite slow in getting drinks. We had to wait about a half and hour. But the wine we had was fantastic! Three of us had the Bolognese and it was OUTSTANDING!! The fourth person in our group had the gnocchi and said it was very good too. So all in all it was a very good experience.
Restaurantji Recommends
This used to be such a good restaurant. Sadly, the menu has not evolved, and the tagliatelle wasn't very good. Service was hit and miss. Our server forgot to order one of our entrees.
The food we had was excellent, but disappointed that whole categories of the menu we'd viewed online were not available (meat mains, side dishes). Service was a bit unattentive.
The service was a little too impersonal for me.    I know what the name translates to but the service seemed to match the typical lunch counter service. Barely adequate
I've been Sportello many times and have really enjoyed the food and drinks. Tonight our server was quite slow but otherwise the experience was what we'd expect: great food, and great ambiance.
Been to Sportello several times because they have what is probably the best tagliatelle bolognese on the planet. Went here for my birthday last night and it was a little disappointing. It was remarkably busy for a Tuesday night and I think the waitstaff might have been struggling with that because everything took a really long time to arrive, from taking our order to the check (except our starter, that came out quickly). Also I asked for traditional seating when I reserved the table but got seated at the counter; the lack of back support or cushioning meant the seat was pretty uncomfortable. I had to keep standing up because of my discomfort. Food and cocktails/wine were on point as usual, though. They did give me a nice earl grey/apple crumble sorbet on the house, too.