Bel Ari

Just met a friend for lunch and was truly impressed! I had been in before for wine or drink as I work nearby and maybe had gotten a calamari and caprese before which were ok. But, today came in with the intention of having an actual meal. The food was slow to come out but both the salmon and steak were spectacular, full of flavor and the perfect combination of juicy and tender — highly recommend!

We randomly strolled in here on a walk home from work one weekday and I have to say that it far exceeded my expectations!
Hidden on a not insanely busy street in the Leather District is this awesome little neighborhood joint. It’s right next to Les Zygomates and I believe they may share an owner.
I was shocked at how great the space is as you go back. It really is a fabulous space, open and beautiful. We tried a pizza, a pasta (the Bolognese) and had some vino. Everything was good, especially that bolognese though.
Service was quite spectacular as well. Friendly, attentive, and informative as well (as it was our first time there).
We will definitely be back!
I will be sure to give it a whirl again in the near future.

I came here for a 6 person family dinner on a slow Wednesday night. We made reservation ahead of time for 6:30pm, when we arrived the bar was busy but the dining tables were almost completely empty. We were placed in the very furthest corner of the restaurant next to the bathrooms and the waiter water stand. It seemed like one of the worst seats in the house especially considering there weren’t any other people there at all. My chair was all the way up against a wall and had to have my wife stand up to let me out to use the rest room.
The food was OK, I ordered a steak which I know is odd for an Italian restaurant but it’s what I was in the mood for. The steak had decent flavor but I ordered medium rare and it was closer to medium well. Everyone else seemed happy with their meals.
Our server was funny but not much else. I’m not sure if there is a policy to put parties of 6 or more on one check (I should have looked ahead of time) but when we were ordering we asked to have 3 separate checks for the 3 couples. She told us she could not do that because the kitchen would not be able to get the orders out with the right timing. There were literally 10 people in the entire restaurant at this point so I don’t know how that’s possible. She said she could split it up at the end. At the end of the meal she just handed us the full check with 18% gratuity added. Overall the service was below average, she left my water glass empty for most of the meal and only came back once in 45 minutes to check up on us.
Overall a pretty disappointing meal. We had a bottle of wine, 3 beers, 1 appetizer, 6 entrees, 3 desserts, and 3 cappuccinos and the total after tax and tip was just over $ 350. Not a cheap meal given the bland experience. I don’t expect I’ll ever go back.

I went back a couple of months ago and ordered bruschetta (nothing to write home about) and my favorite thing again — Lobster Truffle Mac and Cheese… I actually had to send the mac and cheese back as it did not taste like truffle at all and was completely different than the other times I had ordered (which I normally wouldn’t BUT as it’s a very small dish for $ 15– and this is my favorite thing in the world I figured I should try). They explained they had a new chef who came out and asked what was different about it – he was really nice and I did really appreciate his attention. However the second try just came out cheesier (which is good) but still lacked the truffle flavor I had dreamt about before! I’m really hoping this has been worked out but I haven’t returned since.

We had Valentine’s Day dinner here and were very happy! We had a pizza with prosciutto and the seafood potato gnocchi and both were great! The wine selection is great. The service was very attentive and the ambiance was perfect. And we got roses at the end of the meal. We’ll definitely be back!

Reservations for 2 on a Saturday night before Valentine’s Day. The food was delicious but the service was awful. Really disappointing experience for a pre vday Saturday night dinner.

We came in as a group of 8 for a holiday office lunch. They were accommodating and friendly! The food was spectacular, the group had steak, sole piccata, ravioli special (butternut squash), antipasto salad, and pasta dishes and everyone left full and satisfied and for extremely reasonable prices! They constantly made sure we had plenty of water, bread, and everything was cooked perfectly. Easy walk from south station!
I’ll definitely be back for a dinner date in the future.

I just had dinner here. The place is so very pretty, the food was good (mussels in a delicious, flavourful tomato sauce; yummy pizza, meatballs a little too bouncy and dry…) But the service was not good. Little attention was paid to us. The food was not served to us by our original server, and after we finished our first round of drinks, she never returned to ask if we wanted another. Oy. I hate being ignored. Maybe it was an off night.

Somewhere in between the north end and Chinatown lies Bel Ari a fantastic new Italian spot. Dishes range from pizza to pasta to larger more expensive entrees.
The best dish of the night was the ‘shrimp and lobster’ potato gnocchi. It wasn’t the best I’ve had in Boston, but it’s damn close. The gnocchi had a great fluffy texture while not being too heavy. The sauce is super rich but worth all those calories. It complements the gnocchi extremely well. The lobster in the dish was almost non existent, basically a few minuscule scraps scattered throughout barely visible. Pan seared scallops was a nice plate that featured 4 very jumbo sea scallops cooked just right. For an app we had the fried oysters (3 for 7 $) and they were really tasty with pickled onions on top. Our dining partners really enjoyed their pizza and salads.
Service was just OK, our server seemed overwhelmed at times on a busy Saturday night.
Unfortunately the quiet neighborhood didn’t guarantee parking on a Saturday night as we had to valet it (17 $) after looping for spots multiple times. Park in a nearby Chinatown garage if you can rather then valet.
Away from the craziness of the north end is a really good Italian spot and worth the visit. It beats out many restaurants in the north end in terms of food!

What a great find, walk into a great bar, attentive staff, awesome cocktails, then be seated in a very comfortable dining room.
We had the best servers, Lauren for sure, and the evening manager could not have given us more attention.
Definitely check this place out, my lamb chops were perfect, the pastas a perfect al dente, a very very reasonable wine list, and most importantly the ambiance, stop by it’s a great night!

One of the best gnocchi that I have ever had! Flavorful shrimp and mushrooms with white sauce: I could eat every day !

The first time I went to Bel Ari, I was very impressed. I had the mussels and the Prix fixe menu (Arugala salad with fried poached eggs, strawberry, and bacon, seared scallop with risotto, tiramisu). Everything blew me away. I was really impressed; the mussels were so juicy and we even soaked up the sauce with the bread. The scallops were perfectly seared, and the tiramisu had the perfect texture and flavor. I raved about it and recommended it to everyone looking for dinner plans.
I went back for the second time today. I am not sure if it’s because I just went on a really good day last time, or if the chef was different. The mussels were all WAY overcooked and each bite was like swallowing a spoonful of salt. The first bite of the garlic bread was just taste of burnt bread. The same went for the clam that was in the pasta dish (though not nearly as overcooked). The sauce was clearly different and much thicker than last time. I couldn’t finish the plate. It was truly a disappointment. The salads and tiramisu were consistently amazing. I just wish the qualities of the cooked menu items were more consistent.
The service and ambiance was nice, though the server could have been more thoughtful and take note of my feedbacks rather than seeming to dismiss it.

I was surprised it was so easy to get a reservation for dinner. It made me think the place wasn’t so good. But that’s not the case, it is good. Some dishes we had were: lobster chowder, sole, mussels, penne bolognese and scallops. All solid, no complaints.

I recently ventured to Bel Ari for lunch with a couple coworkers. The website looked good, and it was a restaurant new to all of us. There was a decent sized lunch crowd when we arrived at 12:15pm. It wasn’t crowded but was not empty either.
We were promptly seated and provided menus. Our waiter highlighted the specials which include a lobster roll and Tuscan dish. My two companions each decided the lobster roll sounded irresistible while I order the fra diavola. When the waiter returned and we made our orders, we were told they were out of the lobster roll. This seemed extremely strange considering it was the early end of lunch, and it was suppose to be the special. Eventually, they decided on other dishes.
We were provided with bread and olive oil during the wait. It was tasty but nothing special. My dish was good but not something I couldn’t get somewhere else for much cheaper and just as great. Overall, it was an okay experience but wouldn’t make it on my list of places to recommend, particularly because of the waiter and his strangeness.

Went there with a gilt city coupon and absolutely loved the place! Great, unique and relaxing décor; friendly and educated staff; delicious food! Definitely coming back

I came to this place unexpectedly, since the other restaurant was full the night. So i didn’t set any expectation when walking in.
The place is very spacious. This place is good for group dinning and couple dinners. I got the daily special, shrimp risotto. I wanted to say it was a must try in the restaurant. As much as I like Italian food, I would say that risotto, most of time, is a little bit too cheesy for me, or sometimes, they could be too watery. However, shrimp risotto from this place is definitely well made. It is a rich, creamy dish with nearly a porridge-​like consistency, while each grain of rice retained a distinct bite. The risotto has a lot of vegetable in it, reducing the cheesiness of it and adding a crispy texture to it. There was a little bit of pineapple in the dish, which adding a taste of sweet and sour. I really like the layers of taste of risotto and it is one of the best risotto i tried in years.

Food was great, made reservations on open table for Friday night at 8:30pm. Restaurant and bar was dead the hostess was seating down at the bar. Finally seated us waited 10mins for someone to watered our glasses .Then another 10−15mins for the waitress to come and greeted, she then took our drinks orders and totally forgot about them. The bartender came and drop it over. This place is a joke. If you have all night to spend then I will recommend this place. Awful service we will never return.

We were very excited to try Bel Ari as it was featured on a recent television show and it looked so very good. So, we made a reservation via Open Table and drove almost and hour into Boston for our 6 PM reservation. When we got there, the restaurant was dark and closed. I double checked my phone and I had received an e-​mail confirmation on Friday night for Saturday at 6 PM. We stopped inside the next door wine bar and they said the restaurant was closed for the night. Amazingly, their confirmation e-​mail stated «From the restaurant:
Thank you for choosing Bel Ari Italian Modern. Should your plans change, please let us know. We look forward to serving you.» It seems the essence of rudeness that this restaurant could not extend us the same courtesy of letting us know they would be closed. Certainly they don’t value their customers.

Service was good, food was mediocre.
On a Tuesday night at 7pm, this restaurant was dead. Only a handful of other tables were occupied.
We ordered the lamb meatballs, lobster mac & cheese and little gem salad for appetizers. Surprisingly, the little gem salad was the best — the Gorgonzola cheese made the dish! The lamb meatballs were dry. The lobster mac & cheese was more like a side dish than an appetizer. It had a pleasant flavor and creamy texture but there was very little lobster or lobster flavor.
For entrees, we ordered lamb chops and pork shank. Entrée portions are fairly large. The waiter didn’t ask how we wanted the lamb chops to be cooked, which I thought was unusual. Both portions were cooked to medium, more done than we would’ve preferred, but tasted fine. Pork shank was cooked well and the meat fell off the bone nicely.
Overall, the meal was average. I wouldn’t mind coming back but it’s not at the top of my list.

The foods pretty good. That’s about it. Seriously, service is awful, its ALWAYS empty, dim and miserable… don’t go to the bathroom while you are there you may freeze to death. AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COST. So many better places in Boston– pretty much every single place in existence

Reservations for 2 on Saturday, and we rolled up to a somewhat empty restaurant. Nice décor, dark, and an interesting atmosphere.
We were seated in between two other two-​tops, and as such, felt like we were all sitting on top of one another. Why they could not place us somewhere else for a little more privacy is beyond me. Anyway…
We got the meatballs and pickled veggies to start. Let me say that I LOVE pickled anything, and I could not finish these. They were slimy, in a good amount of brine, and didn’t have much flavor. The meatballs were decent, but they were tiny, only three per order, and even the tiny dish it came in didn’t help — the meatballs only took up half of these really small bowl, so the portions seemed even smaller.
I had two cocktails, one the equivalent of a bloody mary, which tasted just like tomato juice, and the EVVIVA, which was a martini that used pepperoncini instead of olive juice. The latter was decent.
Onto entrees: I had the lamp chops, asked for medium rare. It came out, well presented, but one of the three lamb chops was well done and the others were also overcooked. Also, the menu says it comes with some sort of sausage, but I don’t recall any on the dish. The couscous was undercooked and grainy.
The chicken saltimbocca was inedible. Incredible amounts of salt on it. I ended up giving up a good amount of my lamb chops because I just felt bed.
There was a large party seated behind us that was incredibly loud. I understand you don’t want to tell your customers to keep it down, but when it affects others, its probably a good idea. I wouldn’t return here, nor recommend it to anyone.
One more thing: others have mentioned that there was bread served, and I could have sworn another table seated after us had bread on the table. We were never given bread, nor was it offered to us. Really disappointing experience for a Saturday night dinner.

Is it expensive? Yes, but you’d be hard-​pressed to find two better plates of pasta in the area than the potato gnocchi and butternut squash tortellini. The first, served with succulent shrimp and lobster in a mouth-​watering butter and cream sauce is decadence defined. It’s so rich, in fact, that I’d recommend cutting it with the tortellini, which are lightly sweet and accented by hazelnuts and golden raisins, not to mention a generous helping of duck confit. Our lovely server actually offered to split the dishes into two bowls for each of us without our even having to ask.
The prosciutto di parma appetizer was a bit of a miss at $ 16, but the whipped ricotta with pistachios is a must-​get. I guarantee you will be licking the bowl clean to get the last bit of goodness at the bottom (ok, maybe you won’t go that far, but I wouldn’t blame you if you did).
When it comes to desserts, it’s hard for me to pass up chocolate and peanut butter, but the pignoli crostata with fig marmalade, sweetened ricotta, and a honey tuille was calling my name, and oh boy did I answer. The end of the year is usually a time for «best of» lists, and that dessert ranks pretty highly on mine. The same could probably be said of Bel Ari in the category of «Best New Restaurant.» Well done.

I really enjoyed my dinner here, they have great drinks; the mixologist/​bartenders are super creative.
I recommend whipped ricotta is amazing; also I liked the lamb meatballs, they are absolutely delicious and my favorite was the gnocchi with shrimp and lobster.
Great place to go for a delicious dinner in the City, with a great atmosphere; perfect for dinner, drinks, spacious tables.
And you can’t walk out of this place without have a Tiramisu, love it! Love it!

On a quick visit to the beautiful Boston a friend of mine invited me over to this Italian restaurant. it was such an great place, staff were very nice, rest is beautiful, Food was amazing, drinks are so good and the overall atmosphere was terrific. I felt i was in one of NYC high end rest/​lounger I absolutely loved this place on my next visit to Boston for sure I will stop again.

I was another lucky person who was invited to the soft opening and had a great experience. I’m not going to repeat what the other 3 reviewers said but will highlight what I loved most. The mixologist/​bartender Karen was a bit hit with me and my boyfriend. She was thoughtful in her process of creating a drink for us and asked us what type of alcohol we liked and worked her magic. If we didn’t eat and only had drinks we would definitely come back just because of her. So kudos to her and whomever hired her.
The food was great and my favs were the lamb meatballs (and I typically do not like meatballs) gnocchi pasta with shrimp and lobster was awesome and pan seared scallops were also amazing.
The re-​vamped atmosphere and music was a nice touch to our perfect night. I think this place has great potential and excited to see the transformation.
If you are looking for a different but yet traditional Italian food with a touch of modern check this place out. You will not be disappointed and not have to deal with the craziness and hype of North End Italian places.

I was lucky enough to get invited to an early opening of the restaurant that is taking over the old Sorriso. The interior of the restaurant has been modernized while still keeping an elegant Italian feel to it. Upon our arrival we were greeted by their resident mixologist Karen. They have a cocktail menu but she was quick to make recommendations based on our palette. She was simply fantastic! This was also the theme for the service for the rest of the night, they seemed to really care about the details.
Whipped Ricotta with Honey & Pistachios — A great way to start off our meal. I would order this instead of free bread any day. The ricotta was light and slightly sweet.
Shishito Peppers — Usually I would never order something like this, it went quite eel with the whipped ricotta and kinda made me look at these like italian edamame
Lamb Meatballs — I like lamb, but even if you aren’t a fan of the dish these meatballs were great. The red sauce was abundant and they had a rich but not overpowering flavor. The goat cheese that was mixed in was also a great touch.
Radicchio Salad — I am not a salad guy but the joke at the table was that this salad was Ridicchio-​lously good. It was a mix go balsamic, gorgonzola, apples, walnuts and a mix of greens.
Gnocchi with Shrimp and Lobster — One of the highlights of the meal. It was served in a cream sauce that was full of flavor. I would return here just for this dish alone. The gnocchi’s were very fresh
Pan Seared Scallops — I am probably being super picky or maybe it is just my preference but I would have liked these a little more seared, otherwise these melted in my mouth. They were served over squash.
Grilled Pork Sausage — If you like sausage you would enjoy this dish. It was delicious but still just a sausage. It came over a side of beans that were also good.
Roasted Lamb Chop — I don’t really like lamb chops all that much so probably not fair to judge. Other people at the table really enjoyed them, so if you are a fan of this dish I would go for it
Pici Pasta — The highlight of this dish was the fresh pasta and the house made red sauce. The pancetta, olives, and anchovies added some good flavor as well.
Tiramisu — Classic dish perfectly executed
Crostate Pignoli — This dish was like a pecan pie but with pine nuts! Interesting concept and not overly sweet. This is your dessert of choice if you don’t want something too sweet
Cinque Cioccolato — Excellent presentation, they actually gave the chocolate a honeycomb like effect. Essentially a take on brownies and ice cream this was a sharp looking dessert.