Filippo Ristorante & Bar — Restaurant in Boston

My husband and I booked this restaurant for New Years Eve. When we came in, we were warmly greeted by an older Italian gentleman who was so friendly, he was the highlight of the visit because it was all down hill from there. There was so many photos and things to look at in the restaurant and a really cool map of Italy on the ceiling as well as coats of arms which have always fascinated me. I liked the size of the restaurant as well for the north end, and there is so much potential.

Upon sitting down, the waitress came over and asked us if we wanted drinks, we ordered and she brought them. She came back with the drinks and we put in an app and our meals, and 10 minutes later our meals came out which was a red flag to me that it wasn't cooked fresh, as ANY north end restaurant I have ever been to always takes at least 30. I asked about the app and the waitress aggressively said "I don't know what you want me to do the kitchen forgot not my fault."

This severely rubbed me the wrong way, as I served and was in the restaurant and hospitality industry for years. There were not a lot of tables in the restaurant, and it was not super busy even for NYE to have this large of an attitude.

I know everyone has bad days and is fighting battles we don't see so I let it go, but then she came back and said "so do you want me to take it off the bill or what?" - just a lot of attitude when she could have just said "I apologize the kitchen is busy and must have overlooked it, did you still want me to have them make it or remove it from the bill" and I would have totally understood.

Then the food arrived. The chicken parm was horrible looking, and tasted even worse. I had to completely remove the cheese from the top. I have tasted better chicken parms from local pizza shops, The 99 and Olive Garden than what was here. Additionally there was exactly 15 pieces of what was definitely boxed ziti, not home made. I know portion sizes have gone down, but usually you see less meat and more pasta. This entire plate was chicken, and not even good chicken. How do you mess up a chicken cutlet? I can understand some peoples sauce/gracy recipes arent for everyone, but I am italian and can appreciate different flavors. This was just bland sauce. And for being a north end Italian restaurant I expected home made everything like its advertised.

I have been to MANY north end restaurants, and run a food blog page and have never seen food like this.

Then when we were finished a very sweet busser came and took the food, offered me a box because she saw I did not eat. The waitress then came over and did not offer us dessert, coffee, or another round of drinks. she brought the check and seemed frustrated that we asked for another round of drinks.

Overall, service was poor and food was not good. Its unfortunate because this location has a lot of potential. I ensured I still tipped 25% as coming from the service industry I could never not. But this place NEEDS to do better. Please feel free to reach out to me with...

We can't let this experience go without mentioning it. Our group of 6 had reservations at 6p on Saturday 11/12/22. We were going to the TD Garden at 8p so we figure reservations at 6p would be more than enough time to eat and maybe have a couple of drinks. When we arrived just before 6p there were groups of people outside waiting to come in so we figure it was a typical busy Saturday night. We sat down, the water was poured so we expected the waitress to come over shortly for an appetizer and/or drink order. To our dismay no one came over so we started asking the woman that poured our water and other employees whose attention that we obtained about not being waited on. My daughter-in-law eventually went to the hostess that sat us before the waitress finally came over. Her first words were "what can I do for you"? I responded with "Service"? She then proceeded to tell us that the bartender had called in, that the room that we were in was hers alone, which was a lie since we saw another waitress there serving her customers, and she also was doing the bartending services. Ok we said to ourselves now we are in business. We still didn't get service and now the time is 6:50p (show at the Garden is 8p). At this point we decided to get up and leave especially when our waitress had been repeatedly going back and forth with the table next to us, which had about 8-9 guys, and then myself hearing her saying to them "can we go over this again". Bottom line is that I understand businesses are currently having issues with employee shortages or not wanting to work, etc., but they should not be letting in additional customers, or at least inform them of the wait time, if they are short handed and can not serve them in a timely manner. To top it off when we were leaving the waitress said to us have a nice night and she then proceeded to stick her tongue out at my niece. My niece responded "that is very professional". No response. PS we have eaten there before...

In a neighborhood packed full of so many Italian restaurants that it’s impossible to tell them apart, Filippo’s stands out as a hidden gem. From the moment we sat down we were treated with by far the best hospitality I’ve gotten anywhere in Boston. To put it shortly, you are treated like family. Our server (clearly from Italy) immediately got to introducing himself, giving us an extra table, getting to know us, and taking the time to make sure we were comfortable. He knew the ENTIRE menu by heart and seemed to genuinely care about giving us the best experience possible. He even brought out a congratulatory desert plate as he knew we were eating there for a graduation dinner, and genuinely seemed to wish us the best. Throughout the meal he was attentive without being pushy and really just provided the best and most welcoming hospitality you can ask for. It’s hard to find such a personable restaurant nowadays.

On top of the top class service, the food was all great and very fairly priced. The server also offered a few things not listed on the menu, like a certain pasta or meat with a sauce from another dish. Three members of my part had been to Italy before and attested to the authenticity of the food. Cocktails and wine were also very well made. As a bonus they even served the Peroni in the correct authentic glass! The atmosphere of the restaurant felt much more genuine and rustic than most places in the area, furthering the great experience.

Overall I would certainly recommend Filippo to anyone looking for a legit and fairly priced North End Italian experience that will take care of you and treat you like...