Al Dente - Boston

Wait was very long even with a reservation. I had the pumpkin ravioli and it was mostly good but some bits of the pasta were still hard. Calamari with jalapeños??! Amazing combo. Service was really friendly and attentive. As for atmosphere it was quite small and loud I felt claustrophobic.

Very authentic Italian restaurant. Busy and thus a little noisy. Hard to hold a conversation without almost yelling. Food was excellent and service was great.

The pastas were great! Portions were huge as well. I liked the Al Dente Gnocchi! The restaurant seems popular but it was slightly noisy.

The minestrone soup was very good. Then I ordered linguine with pesto. The linguine was fine but the pesto was made with Parsley, not with basil as it should and as the menu established. No mention by the waitress for the change. A true major disappointment. I should have returned the plate, but I didn't, leaving with the sense that I was taken. No, I do not recommend any place with such practices.

Our server saved our experience. We made reservations on line via the link they provided in the early afternoon for one of the only 2 available seatings (5:30 and 9:30). When we arrived no reservation and the person hosting sarcastically asked if we made them on line in the last few minutes. We did get seated nuy were asked to move our chairs several times during the course of the meal to give other diners more space than we had. We ordered yhe calamari appetizer and it was rubbery and barely seasoned. One of us had the lobster ravioli the house specialty and it was mealy and the pasta was sticky. The other had the risotto which was underwhelming. The wine was mediocre as well. It took quite a while to get our check our server was overwhelmed but heroic. She offered us a complimentary limoncello to make up for the delay. We thought that was nice until we saw everyone get limoncellos with their bills.