Tartufo Restaurant

Ate there last Saturday, wouldn't ever go back. The manager ""Dante"" is a real idiot, arrogant and demeaning to his wait staff. We were embarassed for his employees. A classless bully who tries to impress the customers by treating the staff like garbage. We need less of this guy in the world. Food was average, the staff was great, especially for having to deal with this idiot. Dante needs a lesson on how to be polite to others, and how to treat people as you would like to be treated. Who does this guy think he is? Pros: Wait staff Cons: Manager Dante more

Talk about overpriced!!!!! The food was fair and not hot when I got it. Service was average or below. Wine was cheap stuff and priced through the sky. Place is noisy. Pros: convenient safe location Cons: everything else more

Took my wife and her parents here for their anniversary, We are all Italian and her parents are as Italian as one can get. First comment: ""Is this all the pasta they give in a dish?"" . They were amazed that the place can charge so much for a tiny bit of pasta - about the cheapest ingredient one can buy to make a meal. These guys at Tartufo should stick their heads in the sand from embarassment on pasta portions. DEFINETLY not the ""Italain way""!!! We went for the veal and it was half dissapointing due to strange and unwanted ""sauce"" and the fact that two of the dishes were not hot....like they had beeen sitting waiting for other dishes. The guy also serves immensely overpriced wine for the quality you get...it's basically $8/bottle wine sold at five times the purchase price! About the only good thing was the bread. Service was also inferior and ""amateurish"". Our prime b_tch is the amuont and quality of food vs. the price. Unless money and authentic taste/custom means nothing to you, then go ahead and try the place ---otherwise drive right by and don't stop. The guy is trying to make big bucks off customer's backs. Pros: The chef speaks Italian Cons: food authenticity, quantity, price, cheap overpriced wine more

I know food, Italian food. We ate at Tartufo Friday night. My objective judgement is that the food was inconsistent quality, way way overpriced in many cases, a noisy place to eat, and fair service. Stay away from pasta dishes and certain antipastos - very high price for what you get. My veal was fai but dinners for other 3 people were not as good as expected. Maybe it was a bad night for cooks and Dante- but a good quality restaurant can't charge those prices in a noisy environment and have bad food. Try it if you wish, but the place won't see us again! Oh, by the way ..I'm red blooded Italian and we cook all from scratch at home and BY FAR my wife can cook 100 fold better than whoever was in that kitchen. Problem is most US born people can't cook well and never had truly great food ..so their point of rerence or baseline for judging is skewed. That includes so-called ""Culinary Institute"" graduates who are made into ""instant chefs"" (vs. people who have cooked all their life and have no need for a ""paper certificate"" to give them a ""chef title"". If one has not cooked for years and years..no culinary school"" will truly make them great cooks. Pros: clean and convenient Cons: overpriced for what you get and inconsistent quality more

A Great Place to Enjoy!! I must say as a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America Tartufo is a magnificent restaurant in quaint Newton Center. The atmosphere can be a bit noisy due to the beautiful granite bar and hardwood flooring. Anna Maria and Dante are always fun and very caring from their warm greetings to their goodbye kisses. A very loyal customer base is always there. People in Newton are very fussy and know that their neighborhood Italian spot gives them excellent food and good service. The bartender and staff are very helpful and are able to make suggestions such as the double thick cut veal chops, lobster parpadelli, and best homemade pasta and delicious sauces that accompany them. The chocolate tower and italian speciality coffees and fine selection of after dinner drinks are a great way to end a great evening. My highest compliments and praises to all. The restaurant business is difficult so keep persevering!! I am happy you are in my wonderful town! Pros: Nice owners, friendly patrons more

I'm true blooded Italian. Tartufo is a fairly good place to eat if you don't mind the BIG $$$ for what you get. Have gone twice and each time we came to same conclusion: Food is good BUT not authentic Italian in most cases. But, hey, most people won't know so they go and pay the price. Good place, good quality food in MOST cases, but poor value. Service is also ""sopotty"". If you want to laugh, check out the polaces website (""about"" part) at: tartuforestaurant.c0m/about.htm\r Nice English! Pros: clean, acceptable food Cons: overpriced, fair to poor service more

This is very much a neighborhood joint, where the folks there at the bar know each other and the staff pretty well. Being the odd one out at the bar, I got the attention of the staff, including a woman who seemed to be a manager/owner. \r \r It took some time before they came around to take my order. I caught the manager that I wanted to order and she appeared to hear, but gave no response, which seemed odd to me. Anyway my order was taken by the bartender by and by, no harm/no foul. \r \r The food arrived and it was quite nice, so I enjoyed it -- I got a bruschetta appetizer, followed by a carbonera, which was flavorful with good texture. The wine was fine, too. But at some point the manager came along, and made a big production about how important all the customers at the bar were -- one owned a prominent restaurant, another couple was a local TV personality and his wife, etc., etc.. I suppose that sort of thing is important to someone, but the heavy-handed name-dropping seemed crass to me. \r \r So while she annoyed me, the rest of the experience was very nice. \r \r Sad to see the anti-Semitic remark in the previous review -- glad to hear that person won't be coming back, good riddance! Pros: Good pasta dishes Cons: Name-dropping manager more

Not sure what all the negative reviews are about, just ate there literally hours ago and the meal was outstanding. The waitstaff was wonderful - met the head chef and owners, spoke to them at length - he uses all organic salad and chicken, free-range meat, top of the line fresh fish - only the best ingredients. The salad was very simple but excellently served with a vinaigrette with a good oil:vinegar ratio, the best greens, and a nice portion of warm and fresh goat cheese. Their wine selection is no better or worse than any other Italian restaurant I've visited in Boston (admittedly it would be hard to top Toscano Restaurant's wine list), but the pinot grig they had as the house wine (Caposaldo, I believe it was called) was very robust. I am definitely returning here again and am happy to have found such a quaint and wonderful place to enjoy an Italian atmosphere (they play a wide range of Italian music from classics to new Italian, which is a little weird but it eventually gets back to the good stuff) and Italian cooking. The smell when you walk in just draws you in! \r \r I'm not sure what restaurant all of the other people on this site ate at, but it was certainly not Tartufo. Everyone who wrote a negative review cited some ridiculous reasons for not liking their meal; if you walked in an ""JUST WANTED TO RUN!!!11!!"" then clearly you shouldn't have dined there and thus your review is of absolutely no help to me, a discerning diner who wants the real story and not some long tale about your family dinner. Pros: Great atmosphere, great location, draw good clientele (don't serve beer... enough said), plenty of parking across the street or around neighborhood, great desserts Cons: It is pricey so not something you would want to do very frequently if on a tight budget, but worth it when you do. more

We went there last week. My wife and I are true Italians from Southern Italy, though admittedly growing up in Boston area. We not only speak Italian but eat Italian ..all ""from scratch"". We travel to Italy to visit friends and relatives every year so we arguably know good, real, authentic Italian food. In case anyone wants one brief golden rule on Southern Italian food: MAKE IT SIMPLE! Southern Italian food is all basic, simple, uncomplicated, but full of flavor and fresh ingredients (many of which are unique to Italian soil conditions). Tartufo, in our opinion, ""tries"" to ""simulate"" somewhat of an ""Americanized"" version of Italian food ...catering partially to what Americans ""think"" Italian food should be based upon all the ""wanna be"" TV chefs .....Tartufo is a place for people who want Italian food that is somewhat better than many advertized Italian restaurants, but it's not great Italian food by any stretch of imagination. In souther Italy, in case someone is misled by other reviews, restaurants dish out very sizeable portions of very healthly Italian food at affordable prices. Why? Because Italian love their food and know good food and good value as they all cook at home. Tartufo gives you neither good sized portions nor good value. Wine is substandard and immensely overpriced. Pasta is way to expensive for what is served. The food, we have found, is inconsistent in quality (prep and cooking) from day to day or week to week. We rate the place as ""fair"" at best. Anyone giving the place high marks does not truly know good food and does minimal home cooking of a serious nature. In a nutshel, fair food, overpriced food and wine, fair atmosphere, ...but DEFINETLY not ""authentic"" . It's ""Americanized"" for sake of economics. But, go try it out and be your own judge. Hey, so maybe you don't know TRUE Italian food..but if you like it and don't mind the bill...go ahead. We still go occasionally but are very choosy on what we order. A mixed bag rating. Pros: hard to find Cons: price, portions, value more

I went to this restaurant about two months ago. I found the atmosphere relaxing and even romantic. The service was just as I like, which is not overbearing, but rather friendly, informative and timely. As for the food, I ordered squash filled ravioli in a saffron sauce which was delicious! I have recommended this restaurant to many of my friends, who have also enjoyed their meals. I can't understand the complaints of the portion sizes; it was the perfect amount of food. Much of America is unfortunately used to gigantic portion sizes particularly with Italian food. I thought it was refreshing to have a meal put in front of me that I could actually finish and feel good about. Travel overseas and you will find that the portions are similar. If you want enormous plates of food as soon as you sit down, stick to the Cheesecake Factory; if you're looking for quality over quantity and fast food, this place is for you. more

seriously, when i walked in here, i wanted to RUN (but couldn't since i was there for a family dinner...they all agreed afterwards that it was the WORST dinner ever). besides the fact that the food is bland, boring and uninspired, the waitstaff was pushy ad the wine list was A JOKE. literally they had $5/bottle crappy ""little boomey"" wine for $9/glass and even (gross) by the bottle. this wine sells as cheap liquor stores by the cash register as an impulse item. i was horrified! Pros: nothing Cons: everything more

We ate at this place a few weeks ago. Needless to say, we were hardly impressed. They put us near the bar and the noise and chit chat from bartender and friends was unbearable. The waitress took her sweet time to serve us as we waited, and waited, and waited. We could not believe the pasta portions for the enormous price charged. Do yourself a favor - don't go, but if you do-skip the pastas. Our main course was not only poorly cooked, but hardly what you call warm by the time we got it which was about an hour after ordering it. Is this place for real? Then the Executive Chef comes out with his stupid smile and we tried to complain but could not even get his attention as the clown went upstairs. We will NEVER AGAIN go to this lousy place and overpriced canteen. Pros: nothing at all - and I mean it Cons: everything you can think of more

My group of friends always go to a restaurant together to celebrate each other's birthdays. Once of my friends chose Tartufo as his celebration spot. The poor guy could not have been more disappointed! Our reservation was for 7:00 and we were seated right away which was good. Our waitress was ok, but the noise in the room made it difficult to hear her. After ordering wine, it took an hour before she even came back to take appetizer orders. Our appetizers arrived at approximately 8:40. I thought this wait was a little long, but it only got worse from here. When we had not seen our main meals by 9:30, my husband asked and the waitress told us 2 minutes. Another ten minutes went by and another friend at our table asked again, this time to a different gentleman. he basically told our friend, everything is made fresh, just sit down and wait! No apologies at all. We were getting ready to pay for our wine and appetizers because we could not wait any longer, when finally our food arrived at 10:00. One of our friends asked to speak to the manager who refused to come up and talk to us about the wait and lack of service! The portions were small and my Rigatoni with Shrimp had 3 shrimp on it! No one seemed very impressed with the food and when we were finally done eating at 10:30 we asked for the bill. Not only did the restaurant not do a thing to rectify the long wait, they charged us for items we didn't order! Upon leaving the restaurant, we found the owner downstairs and went to speak to him about how awful our experience was and he did not care at all! We were one group of eight people who will definitely NEVER eat at this restaurant again and will be telling all of our friends and family to stay away! more

Why all the negative reviews? My wife and I ate there in late October and it was SPLENDID!! Food was incomparable and PERFECTLY cooked. Service was outstanding! I disagree with all negative reviews. Though my wife does little cooking due to our busy schedules and good financial situation, we know good food. Pros: food, service, greek female owwner (a fox), great exce chef Cons: parking can sometimes be a challenge for close spots more

GIVE ME A F - - - ING BREAK! A $22 plate of pasta with about 3 spoonfulls on plate? An ""Italain Antipasto"" for $12 with 2 slices of prosciutto, 2 tiny pieces of cheese, a tiny pickled artichoke, and a slice of tomato???\r What is it - made with GOD DUST?\r Do yourself a favor -save your money for some place that gives both quality and VALUE for your hard earned money! DRIVE BY and KEEP GOING!!!!! The chef needs to go back to the mountainside peasant village where he was barely making ends meet and cook for the cows there! Pros: NOT A F - - -ING THING! Cons: EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF more

I see all the reviews on this ""authentic"" Italian ristorante. ""Authentic"" is a bit stretching it! Try - OVERPRICED to the point of what is almost GOUGING! It may be Italian (and I KNOW Italian!) but its incredibly overpriced and some is not ""authentic"". Maybe the chef should go back to Italy and start an ""authentic"" American Restaurant and also take some cooking lessons? My opinion is - skip it and avoid North End ""tourist"" traps that they call ""Italian Restaurants"". My suggestion to ""Chef Dante"" is to ""get a life"" and stop gouging people just because the Chef thinks it's ""upscale"". Also - check what your cooks conjure up...and stop dishing out cold or no-value food! Pros: Chef speaks Italian Cons: quality, consistency, price, noise, service more

Do yourself a favor --keep driving by this place! We ate there a week ago with my wife and daughter. To begin with, I ordered the Italian antipasto for each of us. I think it was $12 and worth about 2.00 at most! Whata racket!!!! We got a couple of half-slices......proscioutto and salami..very thin slices...3 pieces..small tiny pieces of cheese...a picked baby artichoke...and that was basically it for $12!! Talk about a RIPOFF! \r Then my wife decided on a pasta dish....it turns out it was about 4 tablespoons of pasta..which ran about $22. Double ripoff! Finally..our maibn courses..my daughter's was cold (veal dish), my wife's was loaded with some type of sauce DEFINETLY not used in Italy...she left most of it. My steak? Did they buy it at COSCCO? Tough,,,fatty!\r We paid a handsome sum in a tiny noisy restaurant for a meal that we got ripped off on! Italian??? My a -s!! \r Go to Italy..ANYWHERE in Italy (as we have) and not only is food fantastic, but they give you enough, and prices are realistic. ""Authentic""??? I think the chef at Tortufo better get some Italian cooking remedial classes! He must have had high absenteism when they did Italian cooking at whatever joint he ""learned"" to cook at. PASS BY IT--DON'T BOTHER GOING IN! MISERABLY SMALL PORTIONS, VERY VERY HIGH PRICES FOR WHAT YOU GET, AND SPOTTY QUALITY! \r Pros: It's in a low crime area Cons: EVERYTHING ELSE!! more

I have to add my 2 cents! I ate at Tartufo twice. Both times I had a mixed result. The antipasto and the pasta were embrassigly small portions , and yes - they way overcharge for those! But, the main courses were very good and the bread and oil at starter was delicious. My problem is that the waiter was way too slow, screwed up one oder, hard to get on several tries, and on one visit it was so darn noisy close to the bar at the windows that I could not even hear myself think. I agree with others - the place is way overpriced. Based on my experiences, I give it an overall below-average rating , considering it's location and prices. The head guy, said to be named ""Dante"", truly must have no sense of value..or is just making ""what the market will bear"" . I don't think the place deserves high marks, but I think people should go and check it out, but skip pasta nd antipasto. Pros: main dish not too bad Cons: antipasto and pasta - qty and prices, waiter service, more

I read some of the reviews and agree with much of the negative things - particularly WAY overpriced, spotty quality (sometimes very good, sometimes not so good), value is poor (not enough for your money), not the most ""romantic"" setting and not for a large group. I wish they would be consistent with the bread and ""beef up"" their Antipasto dish (don't get it - there is barely enough for a baby with nausea to eat..). Forget pasta dishes - OVERPRICED and embarassingly little amount! You should try it once to see yourself - just stay away from Italian Antipasto and pasta dishes! Careful about toppings on meat dishes -ask or dictate none if you want it simple. DO NOT sit near the bar - traffic and noise. Upstairs is more quiet, but slower service. Pros: cozy but not romantic, good bread sometimes Cons: OVERPRICED, poor value, quality not consistent more

I tried this place in last week of September 07. You have to be kidding!!! I mean..SOME of the food was OK. But some was not. We got the Italian antipasto and expected a good portion of stuff. Surprise..surprise..we received a big plate each with a couple of slices of cold cuts, a piece of pickled artichoke....a couple of tiny cheese pieces...in total about 6-7 little items..at a HUGE price (compared to plate contents). Forget that pasta dish.....again a TINY portion at huge price! Do they put Gold tiny nuggets in their food? That is the ONLY way one could explain the enormous prices compared to quantity and quality of food. They are lucky that they have a clientele with money in the area that also is ignorant about cooking! And by the way, what does the woman in the place do...the one walking around aimlessly? We won't go back..after getting shafted with a $160 bill for 2 of us...for small qty and mixed bag quality of food. We don't reccomend it - though you can give it a shot once..you might get lucky! Stuff is 40% overpriced!! Pros: good area Cons: prices, low qty, mixed quality, noise near bar, ripoff more