We'll be in Boston Saturday night with friends. Where should we go to dinner? We all agree we want to go to the North End for Italian. Al Dente? Nico? Mamma Maria? Or where? Thanks for your help.

High end, must reserve: Mamma Maria
Low end, great food, great atmosphere of kind, will have to wait: Daily Catch/Calamari Cafe
Lowish end, great simple food, zero atmosphere: Artu's
Avoid at all costs unless you are a suburban teenager: Giacomo's

There are lots of other choices, and I doubt that anyone will be shy about theirs.

Here are some options I especially like:

Northern Italian: Prezza, Mamma Maria.
Southern Italian: Pagliuca's, Maurizio's, Saraceno, Antico Forno (this last especially for baked specialties, also makes an very good pizza). Marco is also excellent and has a slightly broader menu beyond Southern Italian.
Pizza: Pizzeria Regina.
Southern Italian seafood: Daily Catch, Giacomo's.
Italian/Peruvian hybrid: Taranta.
Espresso/pastry afterward: Caffe Vittoria.
Bakeries with less formal sit-down seating: Modern Pastries, Mike's. Not sure is Maria's is open evenings.

Other worthy options of varying Italian types include Euno, Rabia, Carmen, Bricco, Vinoteca di Monica, La Summa, Pomodoro, Lucca, and Massimino's.

If I could only choose one place and was fine with Northern Italian, I'd opt for Prezza.

Re Giacomo's: I've been several times and enjoyed what I had -- though I've stuck strictly to seafood pasta dishes there. But as Ackislander demonstrates, that positive experience appears not to be universal -- in fact I've seen several naysayers on the place. I'll join the chorus if I have a bad experience there.

Thank-you, both. I think we'll reserve Mamma Maria's. No feedback about Nico (college kids said it was good) or Al Dente?

Al Dente is certainly good, if not among my personal first choices in the North End. One can do a lot worse here.

Haven't been to Nico yet. Its owner also owns Strega, which I have been to and found to be middle-of-the-road okay for the area. I've seen positive and not for Nico online.

We enjoyed our meal at Euno:
http://www.eunoboston.com/

Euno Restaurant
119 Salem Street
Boston, MA 02113
617-573-9406

We do not know the neighborhood well, and chose this restaurant based on its reviews. We loved the downstairs dining room, which has brick walls and is very cozy.

Food was excellent. Server was a bit disinterested, but it wasn't a big deal.

Thank-you, all. We're watching the storm track. We may end up slurping down oysters and champagne somewhere close by instead.

How is the Old Oyster House? (that's the name of it, right?) I'll also check google maps to see what's near the hotel.

Bowsprit, the "Old Oyster House" you're referring to is likely the Union Oyster House. It's also a tourist trap, food-wise -- if you go, stick to the oyster bar for a plate of raw oysters and a beer (they have been known to pre-open oysters, which is why sitting at the oyster bar is a good idea).

UOH is actually very close by the North End -- only about two blocks away. And if you're looking for a seafood experience of this sort, you'll find two much better spots close by the UOH, Neptune Oyster in the North End and Kingfish Hall in the Faneuil Hall area.

Thank-you!!!! I cannot imagine eating a pre-opened oyster. What's around the Hotel Commonwealth? Anything similar to the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Terminal? Is the a clubby, pubby upscale place to have a glass and some oysters while it's snowing away outside? This group is low maintenance and will be happy to enjoy the atmosphere of such a place while waiting out the storm.

If a storm occurs at all, that is!

Bowsprit, you're in luck! Island Creek Oyster Bar is right in the Hotel Commonwealth as is Eastern Standard. Both have excellent oysters. You'll be happy at either location as both are clubby, pubby (Eastern Standard a little more pubby) and upscale.

Please don't eat at Union Oyster House. It's terrible.

Wonderful! I'm so happy.

I promise: I will NOT eat at Union Oyster House.

I was very irritated when they opened Island Creek Oyster Bar in the Hotel Commonwealth... but only because I stayed at the Hotel quite a few times during the four years my daughter was at Boston U, and the ICOB opened right after she graduated!

Although the Island Creek Oyster Bar website is one confusion cluster of information, the menu looks great. We'll try it during our visit. Perhaps lunch on Sunday or apps before dinner. Thanks again, everyone.

Island Creek is great. I would definitely recommend going there, especially with the bad weather. They always have an interesting selection of oysters, but I recommend you include the Island Creeks amongst your choices, they are one of DH's favorites. Also, it sounds weird but the lobster and short rib with tomalley noodles is really, really good. And for dessert I recommend the cider donuts.

Should you need another recommendation in the area, Eastern Standard right next door is also very good. And there is a newly opened bar in the hotel, called the Hawthorne which is getting great reviews over on chowhound.

My guests are still hoping for a North End eatery. How far is the hotel from Mama Maria's, I wonder. I'll check on google maps. The hotel restaurants sound atypical of what I would have expected.

I received another recommendation for Massimino's.

Last night we had the BEST ITALIAN food ever, even better than we had in Italy! I should start a new thread dedicated to this restaurant alone: Nico, at 417 Hanover Street, in the North End.

It is a tiny place, with excellent personal service. Our waiter was from Sicily, and every other worker we heard also had an Italian accent, except the maitre d' was from S America.

We started with shrimp bruschetta, which was a large plate with two pieces of toast, covered by four gigantic shrimp, in a wonderful scampi-type sauce. This was the size of a lunch sandwich. It was so delicious. It was $17.95, so not cheap.

We also had a caesar salad which we split, thank goodness, because it also was huge. I think it was only $9. It was dressed perfectly and also was delicious.

My entree was veal saltimbocca, for $22.95. It also was huge. Two slices of veal, stiffed with cheese and proscuitto, accompanied by homemade pasta. I had asked for pasta, instead of potato, and they are happy to modify their menu for their patrons.

DH had a house specialty-- linguine with seafood. OMG. Enough for two people, for sure. Lobster claw and a split lobster tail on top, huge shrimp, scallops, calamari, mussels and clams in a wonderful fra diablo sauce. I can't believe he ate the whole thing! If we'd had a fridge and microwave for leftovers, he would have taken it home, I am sure. It was about $45.

We enjoyed wonderful wine by the glass, which the waiter recommended. He brought sample tastes to the table, without being asked. He was extremely attentive and friendly. Our wines were probably $10/glass. I had white, DH had red.

We were given complimentary glasses of limoncello to finish.

Tables are close together and tiny, in the tiny room. We struck up a conversation at the end of the meal, with a couple from Canada and Australia. They were very interesting, and we actually had a lot in common.

It was an exquisite evening. Total bill was $150 + tip.

We highly recommend Nico!

Great information!