Mamma Maria

Mamma Maria Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: This lovingly restored townhouse on a cobblestone street a few doors down from Paul Revere's abode offers an elegant setting for a night out. Enjoy being pampered by the professional waitstaff in one of five individually themed dining rooms throughout your well-paced meal. Fellow diners consist mainly of suburbanites and businesspeople engaged in subdued conversation, rather than the gawking tourists who frequent the more boisterous North End trattorias.

Food & Drinks: Of course, you pay extra for your mini-vacation, but the food is generally well worth it. Order a bottle of Sangiovese to pair with dishes like lamb gnocchi, suckling pig and rabbit pasta. Making use of local, seasonal ingredients, from foraged mushrooms to sweet corn, the kitchen also has a way with seafood. Try sea scallops with a blood orange glaze or grilled swordfish served Mediterranean style with black olives and capers. Handmade pasta, meanwhile, is a given as well as a treat; don’t miss the not-so-traditional Bolognese with spicy pepperoncini pasta. Finish with the lemon panna cotta with biscotti. To clinch the deal: In a neighborhood not known for either, reservations and valet parking are both doable.