11 Best Italian Restaurants near Leominster

“Birthday celebration at Brady’s. Chef brought out a 4 week aged Tomahawk steak for the birthday boy. Brian took excellent care of us and made most of our meal/wine decisions, which I appreciated. The best dessert - toffee top pudding. We will be planning our next event here“

“What a great place, staff was amazing as well as the food. Lauren our waitress was on point as was the food. It was our first date, took our drink and app order and food order at the same time giving us time to talk and get to know eachother. Atmosphere is perfect, they were busy and all tables full but we could still hear eachother as we talked. I had the veal marsala, she had the pan sears salmon. Both amazing dishes as we shared. Will definitely be returning!!“

“Great family style Italian food. Great tasting red sauce (gravy). Pasta home made and delicious. Wait staff really friendly. Food is made to order. Veal parmigiana was excellent without the breading (as requested). House salad was phenomenal. Overall local favorite.“

“Paisanos Pizza and Spirits is a gem! The pizza is mouthwatering, and the drinks are top-notch. The cozy ambiance makes it a perfect spot to unwind with friends. You'll love the friendly staff too especially Antonio, their leading sandwich engineer, who served me the most delicious sandwich I’ve ever had. Truly a magnificent morsel made by the leading architect in sandwich engineering. Overall, it's a must-visit place for a fantastic dining experience!“

“Stopped in for the unlimited soup, salad and bread sticks. The soup was served hot and very delicious. The salad was served cold and delicious with extra cheese added. The bread sticks were hot and covered with butter and covered with a light coating odd garlic.

Our server was very personable, professional and was there the minute our bowls were empty and cheerfully bring additional food with a smile on her face.

The restaurant was well maintained and very clean. Overall our experience was great and I would definitely recommend dropping by and being pleasantly surprised. Thank you!“

“Great place! I love their subs and their burritos!!“

“Food is always delicious. Entire staff is friendly and attentive. Atmosphere is beautiful. Refinished Old Fitchburg General Electric building. The presence of the restaurant in this architectural dream is to been seen. Food and Staff hands down are priceless.“

“TLDR: Good food, reasonable prices, and a cozy atmosphere make Il Forno in Lunenburg a worthy place to try instead of a generic, big chain restaurant.

Details:
I have driven past Il Forno more times I can count but have never tried the place. So, when family recently said they'd be in the area and wanted a quick visit, I proposed going to Il Forno for lunch.

The parking lot has ample parking and is easily accessible. Upon walking through the main entrance, the vibe is calming with dark wall colors, high-backed booths (the seats are very comfortable), and low lighting. The windows for booths along the wall near the recently built addition have light filtering blinds and window dressings to keep distractions to a minimum.

We were seated promptly by the hostess and given menus. Our server, Carrie, approached the table to introduce herself, go over the lunch specials, and get us drinks.

There weren't many other customers so we had the building basically to ourselves. The atmosphere is very cozy, but a tad too dark. I think lighting could be better.

The lunch specials had a variety of offerings and very reasonably priced. We were offered some garlic bread which was hot, crisp, and very garlicky which was great.

I settled on the Crispy Spicy Chicken Scampi: Crispy fried chicken cutlet over angel hair pasta in a lemon, garlic butter wine sauce with diced hot cherry peppers, scallions, and tomatoes.

While I usually take pictures of my food when writing reviews, I don't when with company.

The food came in about 15-20 minutes or so. Presented on a simple, recessed white plate in perfect portions was my crispy spicy chicken scampi. The smell of garlic, butter, and tomato was very much prevalent.

The cutlet was a little smaller than I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't a show stopper. Actually, the ratio of chicken to pasta was perfect for a lunch portion. The cutlet was lightly breaded, juicy, and fried to give a nice crunch without being overdone. The pasta was al dente and there wasn't a mountain of it.

The lemon garlic sauce was the star. Packed with garlic (which I loved) yet had a nice balance of the lemon and wine keeping it light-tasting and not heavy. There were smatterings of chopped scallions and chunks of cherry peppers and tomatoes to round it out.

As for the spicy aspect, the garlic not withstanding, it's a mildly spicy dish. There is a pleasant "heat" to it which most people will enjoy. It certainly won't cause you to breathe fire or have unpleasant side effects post-meal.

I saved some of the garlic bread and used it to lap up the remaining sauce. A testament to how good it was.

Carrie checked in on us twice to make sure we were set so that was appreciated. Most often servers are MIA or show up too often.

Overall, Il Forno was a simple, no-frills experience of good food and atmosphere. I will be going again, for sure, maybe for dinner to have that experience.

If you are in the area looking for a decent place to have lunch, definitely check out Il Forno.

Parking: Lots of parking in front and on the side of the main building.“

“Great food, great prices and excellent staff!“

“Since I’ve moved here 5 years ago, this has been my place and always will be my place. Not only is their food delicious and made in a timely manner, the hard work, dedication and service they give is top-notch! Would give more stars if I could. Thanks for being the best!“

“I just started working in the Clinton area, and this place has instantly become my go to place for lunch. The subs are enormous. Today I tried their meatball sub, and it did not disappoint. The employees are all friendly, and the food is definitely above the pizza / sub shop norm.

Parking: There's 5-6 spots within 10 feet of the door and plenty of on street parking.

Kid-friendliness: Plenty of room for the kids to dine in.“