not worth it.. detailed review

1. Summary

2. Pros- Cons

3. Final Thoughts

Massaminos.. Well 1 word to describe this place .. obtrusive.... in so many ways, the size of this place is a downfall. STAFF lingers near the doorway which is connected to the kitchen which is 5ft away from the seating. A hovering effect as all stafff just stands their talks mingles, talks loud. very unproffesional. THE FOOD..The soup a pasta, beans mixture looks like it came out of a can. It just doesnt look as if it was prepared separetly. small bite size peaces of pasta with beans mixed it with an orange sauce looks like a typical CAN of soup picked up at STOP AND SHOP or something... nothing special.. the polo paridiso sauce is watered down.. a pasta dish comes on the side with marinara sauce... the effect doesnt do much as the pasta plate is just ZITI and marinara nothing special almost like a KIDDY plate if you ask me.. The Bachliorti though is impressive. the mixture of Chicken , ham, cheese is very appetizing but again the SAUCE is watered down. The service.. is great... the server... You%26#39;d expect more from an Italian Restaurant... She seemed lazy, unattentive and left EMPTY plates on the VERY small table. One must know when the table needs to be cleared. The water filler was extremely efficient though as she always made sure out cup was filled to the max with water.

Pros: Price, $10-14 dollars entree is cheap by North End standards

Cons: Size- Small places usually have an appeal. The hole in the wall places usually stand out to have a higher quality of food at times. Not this time. Employees hovering near the door, hovering outside the kitchen next to your seat, discussing their life, dating, how tired they are. Management should tell their staff to stand somewere else and be proffesional.

PRICE- reflects the product, as it does not share the same quality of food as other North End restaurants. Cheap price compare that to going to Applebee%26#39;s or Fridays when you pay a little more, you can go to Cheesecake Factory and get the Cheescake Factory quality.

Location- Located on the outskirts of the North End. The beggining of Endicott street. A walking distance away from Hanover street. 5-7 minute walk to Mikes Pastry or other North End Shops. Hanover street is the heart of the North End.

Parking- Forget about it, though a parking lot across the street varies price on day depending on local event at Fleetcenter/TD Banknorth Garden. $15-$25 WOW. If your smart like me you either park your car somewere around North Station ( Weekends are free) ( Weekdays is for Commercial vehicles only) near the bars and walk a few blocks or you park your car at the 99 restaurant in Charlestown and take the orange line across the street. 1 ride over and get off at North Station.. Parking is free.

Final Thoughts: Choose alternative restaurant. North End is littered with other shops that offer a higher quality food for slightly higher price. The price is the bright side, but its quality is I felt on par with a TGI Fridays, not something you want when you go to the NORTH END. Side Note: the watered down sauce was such a dissapointment. If you want to go their, youll go their to see what i mean by a HOVERING EFFECT of the STAFF. VERY VERY UNPROFFESIONAL. And whenever possible GO TO MIKES PASTRYS after. the Conolies are to DIE FOR....

not worth it.. detailed review

Hi BostonFan1983,

You certainly covered a lot of ground in your review it was excellent! Thanks for sharing it with us so well. That%26#39;s a shame that you had such a disappointing dinner at Massamino%26#39;s! You know what%26#39;s funny? You were saying that the hovering effect of the staff in the restaurant was pretty bad? Well, a week or two ago I dined for the first time at #5 North Sq. in the North End and it%26#39;s ironic, but my friends at the table with me who are Italian descent, went right out of there ever loving minds with the ';hovering effect'; of the waiters in the dining room right behind us. It wasn%26#39;t just the waiters though in this establishment? It was also the owner of the place! It was so unnecessary and uncalled for.

I%26#39;m wondering if it%26#39;s done because the establishments are in such tiny quarters that they have no place else to go?

Whatever it is, I%26#39;ll tell you, it drove one of my friends right out of her ever loving mind. She said when we left there ';That%26#39;s it never again!'; and she%26#39;s not like that at all usually! Now with me, I didn%26#39;t even notice it at all probably because my back was to them all.

Other than that with this restaurant #5 North Square I would absolutely make it a point to go back again some day. It was really that good. As I said before though here, I%26#39;d have to make it a point of going right upstairs the next time to there other room for dinner and not put up with a thing downstairs!

From having Italian friends and going out to dinner with them to a lot of unbelievable restaurants? Believe me, they know there italian food too and they know exactly where they like and where they don%26#39;t like to have dinner! One of them kind of taught me through the years now, that when we go out to dinner we a lot of times won%26#39;t even get red sauce on a thing ordered! Cooking and serving a red sauce and having it so that it serves so many people in a restaurant? You really really have to know what you%26#39;re doing with it and there aren%26#39;t too too many places even in the North End where they have the most wonderful restaurants that have it down to a science, I don%26#39;t think any way. The best red sauce? Is when you prepare and cook it right in your own home and no ones telling me different with that, you can tell the difference right away!

I%26#39;ll get marsala, alfredo or any other type of sauce alot of times and usually stay away from the reds because these other sauces are so incredibly fantastic and to me they%26#39;re much better and they%26#39;re so good.

Did you ever notice when you try a lot of red sauces in restaurants? That they absolutely kill you for days afterwards and if you make your own home cooked sauce it never EVER happens? I%26#39;m telling you then that%26#39;s one of the clues right there to stay away from those red sauces.

So Bostonfan1983 the hovering by the waiters

isn%26#39;t just happening at Massamino%26#39;s on Endicott St., it%26#39;s in a few other places as well, you weren%26#39;t alone noticing that one!

not worth it.. detailed review

This is a great, thoughtful review. However, I couldn%26#39;t disagree more. I work near North Station and Massamino%26#39;s is the place we always choose for small, casual office lunches because the food is great, the portions are large and the prices are right. It%26#39;s not going to win any special awards for ambience and service, but there are few places better to get a variety of inexpensive, consistently delicious meals. I highly disagree that the quality of the food there is below that of most other restaurants in the North End. You can easily do a lot worse and pay a lot more.

Look, if you just want great, fresh, no-nonsense meals at a great price in a cute place that feels more like an Italian mom%26#39;s kitchen than a restaurant, Massamino%26#39;s is for you. But I wouldn%26#39;t recommend it for a special night out, as it%26#39;s simply too casual. And I wouldn%26#39;t recommend if for those who can%26#39;t feel comfortable without 4-star service and atmosphere.

For anyone looking to try this place, I can%26#39;t recommend the antipasto enough.