Erbaluce

If you’re looking for somewhere special, somewhere one of a kind, where you feel the food is really prepared for YOU (and not just an item listed on a menu that’s cranked out), Erbaluce is it. Delicious. My favorite get-​away-​from-​the-​crowds spot. Romantic too.

Visited last week with a couple of friends. A bit overpriced.
Reason for UNO star ?
When I visited restroom, which flanks a short open doorway between dining room and kitchen, there were few waiters waiting on the doorway for food from the kitchen. And to my bewilderment, one of them greeted me and opened the bathroom door for me !!! EWWW!!! If I m not mistaken, restroom attendant and waiter should be two different job positions. And I haven’t seen them wash their hands after attending restroom door for other guests too.
I wanted to throw up the dinner I just had.

Below averaged. Ambiance is good service is great but the food that we had was pretty bad. An extra star is just because the wine was good. The veg pasta was undercooked. Cauliflower appetizer was just ok the mushroom special was good. Parsnip maple sorbet was descent. But under whelming

I’ve been to this restaurant several times and I think I’ve written at least one glowing review! It’s a cozy neighborhood spot with tons of charm.
Last week I took a group for a work dinner and the food was very good (not great but solid). The gnocchi were tender and tasteful but oily — the flavor of the salmon was on point but it was over cooked. The service was solid but our particular server was an over talkative ‘know it all’ that frankly made us all feel stupid in his presence. I understand taking food seriously and having opinions but this guy took it way too far — over explaining, talking too much and acting like our wine choices were insane for what we were eating. I was a bit embarrassed to have recommended the experience. Bummer.

I was so looking forward to dinner at this restaurant. The pork dish was one of his «favorites «, so said the waiter. What a disappointment! It was fatty… and I ended up getting sick a few hours later.

I travel a lot for work, and this is one of the best spots I’ve tried to date. Well priced and a very creative spin on typical Italian cuisine. The servers are SO knowledgable re: wine pairings and are intimately familiar with the menu. Perfect for a fancy-​ish date night that won’t break the bank, a celebratory meal, or quiet and impressive dinner meeting.

I always expected Italian food to be extremely heavy handed with diary products but this place completely changed my mind. Everything I ate was light, fresh, and delicious. For my appetizer I had the sea scallops, my entrée pappardelle (or was it tagliatelle I don’t remember all I know it had scalloped edges) in a mushroom sauce, and for dessert the coffee marsala gelato and poached pear. My absolute favorites were the sea scallops and the desserts. The sea scallops were served in a large shell with a generous amount of this flavorful yet light green sauce. The coffee marsala gelato served in the pizzelle cup was AMAZING. I don’t drink coffee nor like coffee flavored anything but it was the perfect combination of coffee and wine. The poached pear was stuffed with mascarpone and covered in this decadent caramel sauce. My only complaints about the meal were that I just wish I had more scallops and pears! I was hesitant to try this place due to the very extreme mixed reviews but I’m glad I did. Wait staff was nice and gave us complimentary chocolate truffles and honey flavored meringues.
I will definitely be back.

This place is so wonderful. The boar was incredibly delicious and the servers were so kind and helpful with my food allergies. It’s a lovely atmosphere and a great place to spend an evening.

Adorable place with a small dining room and a sweet bar. Delicious food, entertaining waiter. Incredible wine list. We had the Giacomo Ascheri Du ut Des Verduno Pelaverga 2013, which was recommended by our waiter. This wine went very well with the perfectly cooked lamb. My companions were very happy the sturgeon and with the roasted cauliflower. Desserts were divine.

Excellent food and great wine selection by the glass.
Original Italian cuisine.
Service was perfect. Great time at Erbaluce.

I went to Erbaluce for dinner with three friends last night and we had a blast. We were on the meter since the parking garage price rockets after 3 hours, but we still managed to get in three courses. I love how they focus on vegetables and give every ingredient dignity and use different techniques to make it shine. So impressive and delicious! The menu is always changing and featuring different
The bread at the beginning of the meal was so fresh and delicious. It came with a white bean purée dip that was delicious.
I had an arugula, escarole, pear, cheese salad that was crunchy fresh and delicious – and had an awesome lemony dressing that I wish I could take home with me!
I had a pasta special – the cacio e peppe with truffles. It was super peppery and good. Creamy without cream or butter. Really perfectly cooked pasta.
We ended the meal with the panna cotta which was delicious. Great texture, great flavor.
Our waiter was awesome – we told him we wanted a red in the $ 30-​$ 40 range and we loved his suggestion. He was friendly and attentive, but not overly so. At the end of the night we were rushing for the garage and he was busy elsewhere and the manager noticed and was happy to help. Great teamwork.
Overall a special, delicious, fun dinner.

Really enjoyed this place! Stumbled upon it one evening and we were really pleased. The older gentleman that was our server was so sweet and took excellent care of us. We had the opportunity to try new things (dandelion greens and wild boar) with interesting flavor combinations. Highly recommended to an adventurous eater!

I’ve been here a few times, and Erbaluce has never disappointed.
Unlike many Italian restaurants, Erbaluce doesn’t rely on cream, butter, or oil to enhance the flavor of its dishes; instead, it flavors food with sauces built from vegetable based sauces, or with cured meat, etc. This keeps the dishes light, flavorful, and satisfying, but never cloying or overwhelming rich. The flavors of the fresh, fresh ingredients really shine when there’s less dairy and oil to interfere.
I’ve had the pleasure of trying the rack of boar, which was cooked to a juicy, flavorful perfection. Well-​seasoned, well-​cooked, and beautifully presented.
Others that I’ve tried and enjoyed are the lobster broth appetizer– no dairy, and all lobster flavor with select vegetables and flavoring that meshed perfectly.
The carbonara was amazing too, with its chewy-​to-​the-​bite pasta, rich Parmigiano-​Reggiano, fragrant guanciale, and crowning jewel of a duck egg yolk. There’s just something so special about breaking an egg yolk over a puddle of pasta and watching it diffuse…
The little truffles, meringues, and mint leaves that always come with the check are a thoughtful, much-​appreciated touch.
My minuscule complaint is that the menu, written in a handwritten script, can sometimes be illegible… Honestly, if you’re as picky as I am and your only complaint is the font on the menu, you’ve found a perfect restaurant.

Worst decision to go this place. Served me a meat this when I clearly mentioned I was a vegetarian. No apologies, and the manager was so rude as if it was my mistake that I was a vegetarian. Such a bad experience! She refused to give me in writing that she served me meat.

First of all, the tags on this place is completely off! Definitely not «soul food» but borderline Italian, more like a modern take on Italian food, with unique combinations and only the freshest ingredients!
I absolutely adore this restaurant, it is my favourite spot in Boston and would rave all day about this place.
The food is out of this world, everything on the menu that I’ve tried is not just a dish, but an art piece. You know those commercials that always say «freshness you can taste», but you’ve never experienced it? Erbaluce will make you feel it a thousand times over.
The staff is… adorable. Professional, helpful, friendly and always able to make me laugh.
Atmosphere was dim-​lit and romantic without being pretentious.
The price is fair considering the quality, not expensive at all if you think about all the other over-​priced spots in Boston.
Overall highly recommended! Been there twice in the short month after I discovered this place, and when I’m not eating here all I can think about is «when can I return to Erbaluce?»

This place is awesome! We had the best dinner. Everything was perfect from the bread with lima bean purée all the way to the magical lemon panna cotta.
Our waiter was friendly, knowledgable, helpful, but not over-​bearing. It was timely, delicious, and romantic. I just wish we lived in Boston so we could go there all the time. Well done!

Went here to grab a bite to eat for dinner on a weeknight. Thankfully we had a reservation since the place was pretty packed, despite it’s somewhat hidden location.
First off, the bread with the lima bean purée was excellent. I probably ate way more than I should have, but it was that delicious.
For our appetizer, we decided to split a serving of the carbonara pasta. This was my favorite dish of the night as the pasta was cooked perfectly and had great flavor.
For my main meal, I decided to go with the famed boar dish. The portion is quite large and has a lot of flavor imparted in the rub. I was not the biggest fan of the overall flavor of the rub, but the meat was cooked well and the presentation was well-​done.
I also had a bite of my friend’s dover sole and it was quite tasty as well.
Overall, the service here was mostly friendly – though I do have to agree that some of the waitstaff did try to upsell here a bit – and the food was quality. It was a nice touch at the end for them to leave us with 2 truffles each after passing on dessert – and they were quite tasty. This place is a hidden gem, perfect for a date or small group.

Let me begin by saying that if you are not the type of person that has an adventurous palette, then you probably will not find the food here enjoyable. To eat here, you have to truly appreciate the art of food, the technique, the flavors, the spices, etc.
It is quite a romantic setting for a date. Very intimate feel as the tables are very small but not so much so that they are uncomfortable. The tables are candle lit and the lighting in the restaurant is extremely dim.
It is pricey but a great treat once in a while.

So good! All of my food was absolutely delicious! I ordered the razor clams, pappardelle with boar ragu, and the red wine braized pork cheeks. The meat was cooked to perfection, and the pasta was some of the best pasta I ever had. Didn’t order dessert because I was too full :)
What I loved even more than the food was the service! Our waitress was very warm and friendly, and I felt cared for. The hostess was also extremely nice, and even brought us some meringues, currants, and truffles after the dinner, on the house.

Ask my friend B.G. what is his absolute favorite restaurant in Boston, and he says Erbaluce, twice, in different emails. B.G. so far shares very similar taste in food with me, so I promptly made reservation prior to my trip to Boston. B.G. split time apparently between Boston and SF, like another friend of mine, come to think of it. If they are in fact uncanny double i would not be surprised. For appetizers: Dandelion greens and razor neck clams. For second course we had cavatelle with home made sausage. For entries: rack of wild boar and pork cheek. Fantastic bread with white bean dipping sauce, and to cap the evening truffles on the house. French red to pair of course.
You would not think south end for Italian, at least for untrained eye such as I, but it was quite amazing. Every course was well executed, with lots of complex flavor profile, and the setting is sophisticated and even romantic (though was not my intent for the evening). There are many theatre goers heading out after, and there are many people waiting for tables on a raining night.
For me the food is unique enough because you’d not see this in San Francisco. Just not the same type of food really so the food felt a bit exotic, and thus more attractive to me.
Afterwards, I wrote to B.G., «You may not know this, but our friendship was hinged on your recommendation of a true great Boston restaurant. You did not fail. This time.»
I have a handful more to try out from his list. But this restaurant definitely deserves a second visit, if not more.