Bar Volpe

“I had a reservation here on Thursday night at 730pm for a party of 4. Arriving just before 730, I received my table immediately. I ended up trying the following: antipasti & stuzzichini, shared plates - tuna crudo $19 - beef carpaccio $16 - warm garlic butter rolls $15 - farro arancini $9 - fritti misti $18 for myself - spaghetti al limone $29 - porcini old fashioned $17 - tomato basil gimlet $16 The tuna crudo's firm but delicate tuna and crisp, tart green apple provided excellent flavor and texture contrasts. The herbal and refreshing olive oil accentuated that further. The beef carpaccio proved similarly nuanced. The carta di musica, a thin flatbread hidden under the carpaccio, had the delicacy of a fine wafer, breaking at knifepoint but holding up to a fork. The warm garlic butter rolls tasted like, well, garlic butter rolls. Copious amounts of garlic a butter adorned this fluffy but not overly soft roll. Aesthetically, it arrived atop a diminutive cast iron skillet. The fritti misti was fried shrimp and calamari with bomba calabrese. The breading was light and not over seasoned, allowing the light tangy and spiciness of the bomba calabrese to permeate. The shrimp were notably quite large, almost prawn-sized. The spaghetti al limone had a white cream sauce, shredded crab, and breadcrumbs. Once again, I noticed the attention to texture. Otherwise, the cream sauce wasn't too heavy and crab wasn't too briny, making the dish less rich than at first glance. The lemon was muted, but definitely helped cut the richness. The porcini old fashioned was quite interesting, with bourbon, brown butter, porcini (mushroom), and maple (syrup?). The old fashioned itself provided the whiskey body. The mushroom, butter, and syrup reminded me of a butterbeer at Harry Potter themed establishments, but without the heaviness of the cream and with more nuanced flavors. The maple and brown butter played off each other, shifting between sweet then savory then back to sweet. The tomato basil gimlet was a bit more muted. The acidity of the gimlet was commandeered by the tomato, so it wasn't the straight lime juice sort of acidity. The tomato added a bit of umami. Overall, I quite enjoyed the food. The cocktails proved interesting in a positive sense. Some places make novelty cocktails that provide only shock value or taste downright terrible. Not here.”

“The food was delicious! Portions were small for preference, overall, the taste was good. Ordered dishes recommended by our server, Maximo, and was not disappointed. Maximo did a great job with service and attentiveness. Great view in front of the restaurant. Street Parking was difficult around 7-8pm as everything is permit only or full. Eventually got to sit down and enjoy the great food and drinks.”

“Don't know if this is deserving of Michelin Bib Gourmand, but it was a good experience. We had reservations, but it wasn't needed for the time we arrived. Appetizers were better than the pasta in my opinion. Some pasta was over seasoned and some was overcooked. Service was friendly, and prices were reasonable. I'd try other Italian restaurants in Boston before coming back.”

“High energy restaurant well rated on Google. We came here for graduation dinner at 8pm. Service is a little slow but friendly, they were clearly very busy. We tried all the dishes this restaurant was known for, and many in our party enjoyed the food. The best known truffle rotisserie chicken was very smokey. We found ours a little on the dry side. The misti fritti and rolls were the best dishes. Aranchinis had a honey drizzle, i found that a little strange that they taste sweet. The braised chicken was also sweet and salty. I think overall I'm not used to how they seasoned their food and therefore not enjoyed them as much as other visitors.”

“There were some 40 people standing at the bar, made the whole experience a bit overwhelming. It took an entire hour to get our starters. It took 45 min to get our first drink. The service improved once the party left. But this is a choice that the restaurant made by allowing this many people congregated in the small bar area. We asked to be moved to the other side (quieter), they said they can’t accommodate us (a party of six). That is nonsense. We ordered a lot of food. The stuffed and fried olives were good (super salty), the arancini had a nice chew and very good, the Croquetas were never delivered but were charged for it. The stand out dishes in order 1. Roasted truffled chicken (beautiful deep smoke but super juicy), 2. the squid ink pasta (delicious), 3. Lemon spaghetti (delightful), 4. Gnocchi (too small of a portion, but good), 5. Broccolini (absolutely fab charred and lemony). The tiramisu was singularly the worst tiramisu I’ve had anywhere. They had a thick layer of some chocolate cookie crumble or something like, was just overwhelmingly bad! Even after removing it from the top, it lingered and was off putting. Others dishes were ok. Is it a good value? If the ambiance was better, I would say maybe. It’s overpriced, mixed bag of value and quality. I really wanted to like it more, but management really can do better in crowd control and tighten up the execution of the menu.”