Grotto Restaurant

Grotto is without a doubt one of Boston best hidden gems.  Located underground on 37 Bowdoin Street in Beacon Hill, it seats barely 50 people.  But because it’s such a well kept secret, reservations are never hard to get.  It has a vibrant and intimate setting, perfect for a date or dinner with a group of friends.  No matter the occasion, Grotto is one of the best Italian restaurants in the city.

 My favorite part of Grotto is the fact that it’s a prix fixe menu, every night of the week.  It’s $34.00 per person, and includes a primi, a secondi, and a dolce!  (That’s an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert for you non-Italian speakers out there.)  So not only is it a great dinner, but it’s an absolutely steal as well.

Food

Picking what you want for your appetizer, entrée and dessert is not easy with all of the delicious sounding options.  However a few stood out above the rest.  The fontina cheese fondue appetizer was a unique appearance on an otherwise traditional menu.  It’s served with beef tenderloin to dip into the cheese, and it’s incredible.  The aged balsamic and truffle oil added the perfect additional flavor.  If it were socially acceptable to eat melted cheese with a spoon that’s exactly what I would have been doing.

My favorite entrée was the potato gnocchi with short ribs, mushrooms and gorgonzola.  While the gnocchi was homemade and excellent, the short ribs were truly the star of this dish.  They were so tender they essentially melted in your mouth.  Despite how (uncomfortably) full I was, I still managed to finish every bit of the meat.

All of the desserts were excellent, but for me the melting chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream really stood out.  They took a classic dessert and made it extra indulgent.  The cake was rich and “melting” was the best adjective for it.  It was the perfect end to a wonderful meal.

Runner up’s for favorite primi, secondi and dolce are the mussels, the grilled beef tenderloin and the banana bread pudding respectively.

Complaints

My biggest complaint about Grotto is there are too many delicious options and too much food to finish!  No, in all seriousness, it is an excellent restaurant.  My (very small) problem with it is that there is no parking in the area, unless you get very lucky, and there is no valet.  If you can walk, take the T or a cab, I suggest you do so.

Additionally they are open from lunch between 11:30 AM and 3:00 PM and then for dinner from 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM.  Just something to keep in mind if you are in the area from 3:00 to 5:00, you’re out of luck.

Rating

4 out of 4 forks.

Incredible food, great atmosphere, attentive service, reasonably priced.  I will certainly be going back and I recommend you do the same!  Grotto has become my new go-to restaurant to take friends when they visit!