Bernini Italian Pizzeria and Wine Bar — Restaurant in Laconia

My wife and I visited Bernini's on a weekday night without a reservation. We were able to get in, but you should probably try and make a reservation. It is a small restaurant. Even so, the decor is very upscale and comfortable and the food is as good as any I've had in Boston's North End.

Our dinner began with 2 complementary garlic knots which were fresh out of the oven, light, fluffy and delicious. I ordered the Seafood Diavolo with angel hair pasta and a side house salad. The salad was fresh and crisp with crisp cucumber slices and grape tomatoes. It featured a thick, tasty balsamic dressing served on the side. The Seafood Diavolo came in a large deep dish and the inner rim was lined with mussels. It had two huge sea scallops and several perfectly cooked shrimp. The diavolo sauce was plentiful and delicious.

My wife ordered the stuffed chicken with asparagus and mushroom risotto. She said it was tender with a nice crust and delicious stuffing. Her asparagus was cooked just right and the mushroom risotto was some of the best she has ever eaten.

We finished our meal with two perfect slices of chocolate cake from The Modern in Boston where all of Bernini's deserts come from.

Bernini's definitely wowed us on our first visit and we will be returning for more great food. Our meal came to about $140 with the tip. This isn't an inexpensive meal, but it is in line with what you expect to pay for a meal of this quality. If you are looking for the best Italian food in the Lakes Region, Bernini's is where...

Summary: Becareful, Bernini’s doesn’t allow you to book online and they failed to actually book the reservation I called to schedule a week in advance. “Not the first time this has happened” Unfortunately, they do not allow you to book a reservation online. As a result, I called a week in advance to schedule a reservation for our anniversary. After receiving verbal confirmation from the hostess, we showed up at the restaurant a week later only to be told that we didn’t have a reservation. I showed the hostess when I called and how long we spoke so they were aware. Understandable, mistakes happen. What’s not understandabke is how they then dealt with the situation by not doing anything to help accommodate us or offer to try to make up for their mistake. Instead, we were told there was nothing they can do for us. We overheard them confirming that this isn’t the first time this has happened and that other customers have had this happen recently as well. So warning to all, if you want to go here, I suggest ensuring that you get a confirmation of your reservation. Alternatively, Bernini’s could get with the times and allow online reservations. Kudos to O’s Seafood and Steaks for saving the day and accommodating us for a delicious meal without a reservation. Very disappointed in Bernini’s. Doubt they will even acknowledge this review as other restaurants commonly monitor for. Mistakes happen but how you deal with them is where you retain or...

We went to Bernini’s last night, a Friday, and it was packed. That’s to be expected, so make sure to have a reservation, even in winter. We had Chicken Marsala, Shrimp Scampi and Stuffed Chicken Breast w/risotto. They were all good, on par with the North End. So were the prices, but still it beats driving to Boston. We had bruschetta, which was good, but a bit on the skimpy side, the bread being the size of a baguette rather than Italian bread. I had a Caesar salad, which could have used more dressing, but those were minor issues. The service was excellent. What wasn’t minor was the noise level in the room. It was so loud that we could barely hear or be heard by our server. Most of the noise was people shouting, yes shouting, at the bar, which is on one end of the room that’s really too small to have a bar. It wouldn’t be nearly so bad if there was a divider wall between the bar and the tables, but there is none. In my experience it’s the loudest restaurant in the Lakes Region. I can’t say if we’ll go back again. I would for the quality of the food and service, but the noise is unbearable. If you don’t mind an atmosphere reminiscent of a frat party it might not bother you. But if you’re looking for a quiet night out you won’t find it here. It’s too bad, otherwise it would deserve a five...