Scopa — Restaurant in Lynn

Scopa – A North Shore Italian Gem 📍 829 Boston St, Lynn, MA 01905

You don’t need to head into Boston’s North End to get top-notch Italian food — the North Shore is bringing the heat, and Scopa in Lynn proves it. This cozy spot delivers authentic flavors, homemade pasta, and hearty portions that rival any city favorite.

APPETIZERS

🍴 Prosciutto Rollatini – 8/10 If you’re not usually a fan of raw prosciutto, don’t write this one off just yet. Scopa wraps fresh basil, roasted red peppers, and provolone in thinly sliced prosciutto, then tops it with a rich balsamic reduction. While raw prosciutto isn’t my go-to, this was balanced and well-executed.

🍴 Calamari Fritti – 8/10 Crispy, fresh, and paired with hot cherry peppers and a house-made spicy marinara that hits just right. These were golden and light—not greasy—making them a great start to the meal.

ENTRÉES

🍝 Orecchiette with Sausage – 10/10 This dish blew me away. The sweet Bianco sausage was packed with flavor and perfectly balanced with the light marinara, fresh spinach, and basil oil. The fresh orecchiette pasta soaked up every bit of sauce, making each bite rich and satisfying.

🍗 Chicken Parmigiana with Angel Hair Pasta – 9/10 A classic done nearly perfectly. The chicken was tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, topped with gooey mozzarella and a tangy marinara. The only critique? Slightly oily. Still, this was one of the best chicken parms I’ve had in a while.

Final Thoughts: Scopa is proof that great Italian food isn’t just found in Boston’s North End. With fresh ingredients, homemade pasta, and generous portions, this Lynn gem is worth the trip.

If you can, grab a table outside by the water — the ambiance there is peak 9/10, adding a scenic charm to an already fantastic meal.

Food: 9/10 Ambiance: 9/10 (outdoor seating by the water is a must!) Affordability: 7/10 (average pricing for high-quality Italian...

Scopa in one sentence: very good food, cute atmosphere, smells like poopoo water.

The food and drink - generally speaking - is easy to recommend. Solid portions, plated nicely, fairly priced. Highlights included the eggplant rollitini appetizer, eggplant parm, and their extensive cocktail menu. The focaccia bread is also deliciously crispy and they don’t skimp on it, which I always appreciate from a family Italian restaurant. The cacio e pepe (too peppery) and stuffed chicken (cooked unevenly) were not as big of hits with our group.

The dining room is intimate, cozy, and nicely decorated. Probably could do without the TV’s, but I understand they need to cater to their clientele who won’t even leave the house if they can’t watch the Celts/B’s/Red Sox/Pats game in the middle of having a romantic dinner.

Service was good, not amazing. Attentive and friendly, but they did miss a couple of drink orders and weren’t super knowledgeable about the menu (which I should also mention is too big…narrow it down to what you’re great at!).

What’s really holding Scopa back from 5 stars (and almost brings it down to 3 stars) is the distinct smell that smacks you in the face when walking through the front door. Some blame it on the marsh, but it’s odd that the smell only really persists in the front entrance and waiting area and can’t be smelled immediately outside of the restaurant or at the nearby KPub. The smell is that of sewage. Like a backed-up septic tank. It takes your appetite away almost immediately and it’s impossible to forget because it’s the first thing you smell when you enter and the last thing you smell when you leave. Ownership really needs to look into this. It overshadows an otherwise above-average dining experience, which is a shame.

Worth a shot, just be sure to hold your breath when you walk in through...

All in all our experience at Scopa was really phenomenal! I went with two friends, and we decided to share our dishes to try a little bit of everything.

For our appetizer, we got the Caesar salad, prosciutto rollatini, and meatballs. All three appetizers were great, but the meatballs really stood out to me because they were simply massive and delicious!!

For our dinner, we decided to share the carbonara and the clams and linguine in the white wine broth. Those were also very good! Note that the carbonara has caramelized onions (which is stated on the menu). I thought it was a very delicious spin on a traditional carbonara because the onions made the sauce a bit sweeter!

Last for dessert we got the lemon cake, tiramisu, and brownie sundae. Oh my goodness this was my favorite part! I’m a big sweet tooth, but I hate when things are overly sweet and these three desserts hit the spot perfectly. The one that stood out to me was the brownie sundae because it had crunchy bits (chocolate chips) inside with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream!!

The restaurant is on the smaller side, but it made it very cozy and ambient. It was pretty loud but in a good way, where you could see that everyone was enjoying themselves when you looked around. The water by the restaurant was also gorgeous at sunset. Based on how packed the restaurant was, I was surprised I was so easily able to get a for prime time dinner time the day before!

In conclusion, my friends and I were very pleased with our experience at scope and definitely will...