Sportello is my favorite restaurant in Boston. Great food, nice atmosphere, wonderful concept—these three factors are what make Sportello so good. Sportello is a semi-casual restaurant that serves seasonal Italian food. One thing that I love about Sportello is that it has an open kitchen, so you can watch the chefs at work preparing your meal. They also play really good music—that doesn’t seem like a big thing, but it’s just a little something that makes the experience of dining at Sportello enjoyable. The house-made bread that they give you, accompanied by whipped ricotta and figs, at the start of meal is another example of the little details adding up to an unforgettable meal at Sportello. Oh, and the placemats are also the menus. Isn’t that cool?
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| Here’s what I started with: frisee salad with a soft-cooked duck egg, prosciutto, and croutons. It’s hard to go wrong with that combination. |
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| My dad had the tomato soup with grilled cheese. I didn’t try it but he liked it. |
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| My mom had the grilled artichokes for an appetizer. These also got rave reviews. |
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| For his main course, my dad had the octopus. He loved it! I tried a little and it wasn’t as bad as I expected, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. |
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| My mom had the bigoli with beets and walnut pesto. This was amazing, I think it was my favorite dish of the night. The homemade pasta was coated in a garlicky, nutty sauce which was complemented perfectly by the earthy beets and beet greens. |
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| I had the polenta with wild boar ragu. The boar was perfectly tender and delicious. The creamy polenta mixed with the flavorful meat was a great combination. |
If you’re looking for unpretentious Italian in Boston, it doesn’t get better than Sportello. Their menu changes frequently, reflecting what is seasonally available, which is a great excuse to go as often as possible.
