Giacomo's Ristorante

Giacomo's Ristorante is absolutely one of my favorite restaurants in Boston and if you haven't been here before I strongly recommend that you give it a try. It is a tiny cozy Italian and seafood restaurant in the North End located at 355 Hanover Street. The reasonable prices and mouth-watering dishes bring in crowds ranging from local college students to families and tourists.

You can watch your food being prepared as the kitchen is staged inside of the restaurant across from where people eat. The red brick walls and menus written on chalk boards gives Giacomo's a down-to-earth quality that is absent from many of the fancy, pretentious restaurants accompanying it on Hanover Street.

It really is tiny and probably only seats twenty to thirty people at maximum capacity, so do not be surprised if on Friday and Saturday nights there is a long line of people waiting to get in. But the food is well worth the wait. My friends and I stood in line for over an hour last Saturday night, but once we dove into our respective meals we did not regret the wait one bit. On the other hand, since Giacomo's only lets in so many people at once, the service is superb. We had two waitresses serving us that made sure our water glasses were always filled and we had everything we wanted.

Due to the high demand for seats in the restaurant the atmosphere is upbeat and fast paced. If you want to kick back and relax for hours at a restaurant I would not suggest coming here. One last tip about Giacomo's, is make sure you bring cash because the restaurant does not accept credit cards.

Here are some dishes to try:

The fried calamari is delicious and contains Chile peppers that gives the dish some extra flavor and at $6 it won't break the bank.


















Although chicken parmigiana is a pretty standard Italian fare there is something special about this dish at Giacomo's Ristorante. You can definitely tell that they make their own sauces. The cost for this meal was about $12 or $13. (There is a side of pasta that comes with this but I did not get a photograph of it with my camera.)



















Chicken and shrimp in a creamy pesto sauce always makes a nice meal. The cost was just under $15.


















Finally if you do not want to take my word for it, just listen to what others are saying about Giacomo's Ristorante:

Frommer's Travel Experts for 50 Years write:

Giacomo's Ristorante
Cuisine: Italian, Seafood
Hours: Mon-Thurs 5-10pm; Fri-Sat 5-10:30pm; Sun 4-10pm
Address: 355 Hanover St
Location: The North End
Transportation: T: Green or Orange Line to Haymarket
Reservations: Reservations not accepted
Phone: 617/523-9026
Prices: Main courses $11-$18
Credit Cards: Not accepted
Frommer's Review:

Fans of Giacomo's seem to have adopted the U.S. Postal Service's motto: They brave snow, sleet, rain, and gloom of night. The line forms early and grows long, especially on weekends. No reservations, cash only, a tiny dining room with an open kitchen -- what's the attraction? The food is terrific, there's plenty of it, and the we're-all-in-this-together atmosphere certainly helps. My dad is a New York ethnic-dining snob, and this is his favorite Boston restaurant.

The fried calamari appetizer, served with marinara sauce, is ultralight and crisp. You can take the chef's advice or put together your own main dish from the list of ingredients on a board on the wall. The best suggestion is salmon and sun-dried tomatoes in tomato cream sauce over fettuccine; any dish with shrimp is delectable, too. Non-seafood offerings such as butternut squash ravioli in mascarpone cheese sauce are equally memorable. Service is friendly but incredibly swift, and lingering is not encouraged -- but unless you have a heart of stone, you won't want to take up a table when people are standing outside waiting for your seat in (no kidding) 90°F (32°C) heat or an ice storm.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/boston/D39702.html