Ristorante Massimo

Tonight was our first time visiting Ristorante Massimo, but we can promise you it won’t be our last. We decided to enjoy our evening at the «Upstairs».
We started out with an appetizer — Nonna’s Meatballs. I grew up in an Italian family, but these meatballs were the best I’ve ever had.
My wife ordered the Lobster Agnolotti Style Ravioli. Loaded with lobster and LOADED with flavor.
I had the Grilled Beef Tenderloin. It melted in my mouth.
But the food aside… We decided to sit at the bar. If you go here, trust me, sit at the bar, We were served by Chris & Leigh. These two made our night. We could’ve been served toasted cardboard with Ragu sauce and the night would still have been a success. They are two great people.
And to top the night off, Mr. Massimo came out to me us and the others enjoying their evening. What a nice guy.
We highly encourage you to come here and spend an evening. You will not be let down.

Ristorante Massimo — Portsmouth, NH — 2÷25÷2016
Of all the restaurants I go to, and I go to quite a few… This is by far my favorite! It goes well beyond the incredible service and the amazing food… It’s not dinner, it’s a full scale unparalleled fine dining experience.
As I descend into the main dining area, my senses become acutely aware of my surroundings. The ambiance it’s really something to behold… it is a place unlike any other…
For this evening’s dining extravaganza…
First course…
Beets Piadina with Prosciutto de Parma, Gorgonzola dolci, and lovage… from it’s beautiful arrangement, colors and plating…, This is truly one of those dishes that would qualify as ones last request on earth…
Second course…
Smoked Duck with blood orange agrodolce… I almost felt guilty eating this it looks so good… The house-​made toast points add a nice touch to this incredible dish…
Third course…
Pollo Arrosto con Gnocchi, Roasted chicken breast, cabbage & bacon gnocchi with a porcini brodetto… I don’t order chicken out of that often, but if it’s on the menu at Massimo’s…, It’s just one of those dishes that you have to try…
Fourth course…
Bigné alla Crema do Caffe
House-​made Bigné, coffee pastry crime, dark chocolate, dark rum syrup and crushed cacao alongside my signature cappuccino! This is Massimo’s spin on an old favorite… Massimo style…
This is my first choice go to restaurant whenever I’m in Portsmouth… They just do an amazing job here… Come experience it for yourself!

The food is amazing! It is only matched by the warm and cozy ambiance. The service is top notch. Have a drink upstairs but definitely eat in the dining room. It’s a must!

Went here for an anniversary dinner. The service was prompt and they took great care of us. The smoked duck with the appetizer was amazing. The entrees were filling. The highlight of the dinner was the dessert and cappuccino with rock candy stirrer. Would definitely go back and have already been making recommendations to others.

Dined here recently with my Mrs. Found the food excellent and the service outstanding. We will be back soon.

Great dinner experience. Appetizers were amazing and full of flavor (spinach pie and lobster bisque). Entrees were just as flavorful. The service was impeccable. Ken was attentive, fun and professional.

The ambiance was equaled by the highest quality of food and service. We had a terrific time and will be back again when our travel brings us to Portsmouth

We went for dinner 3 days ago. We have been a few times in the past and have never thought it measured up to the 4 star rating. However, two members of our party had never been to the restaurant and really wanted to try it. Once again, we were disappointed, particularly the two who had never been there.
First off, the décor is dated, it has been for a while and still is. The wait staff was pleasant, but the service was slow. The meal took two and half hours and that did not include dessert (it was getting late and we chose not to order dessert so as not to prolong the meal further.) I had the ravioli special which included ravioli, scallops, with a veal roasted tomato reduction sauce. There were four good sized ravioli which were undercooked… I appreciate pasta that is al dente, but this was just undercooked. In addition, the scallops were small and there was barely any sauce on the plate. Another person at the table had the same dish and had the same critique. One person had the gnocchi, which came with duck breast. There were four small gnocchi on the plate with a very small piece of duck and very little sauce. The other people at the table had the carbonara and the bolognese, both with ribbon pasta. Those dishes were fine, but nothing spectacular. To top it all off, the meal was quite expensive. None of the dishes were up to the standards of $ 25 – 30 per plate.
As I said above, we were disappointed yet again. The restaurant does not live up the the 4 star rating on Unilocal and the quality of the food does not live up the price charged. We will not be returning for another visit.

Great atmosphere but food and service falls short. I ordered the snow crab and beet salad. First of all, the small portion wouldn’t have been so noticeable if it had been served on a salad plate, but it was served on a dinner sized plate and took up about a quarter of the plate. I ordered it because I’m a big fan of crab, but finding about two minuscule threads of crab certainly didn’t justify calling it a crab salad nor did it justify the $ 11 price.
A fellow diner asked if a regular green salad could be made for him since the menu had no green salad, and the waiter assured him it could but what he was served was a plate of overdressed spinach.
Main courses were just ok but desserts were wonderful… kudos to the pastry chef! The waiter was surreptitiously asked to add a birthday candle to one of the desserts, but alas, that request also was not granted.
For the price, it was a disappointment.

THE MOST AMAZING restaurant I have ever been to! We had our rehearsal dinner at Ristorante Massimo the evening before our wedding and it was most certainly the highlight of my wedding weekend. The atmosphere was beautiful, the food delicious, and the service was impeccable. Mr. Massimo (proprietor) welcomed every guest as if they were family and made the evening exceptionally unforgettable. Mr. Massimo singlehandedly created a beautiful evening that I will cherish forever. I would recommend this exquisite Portsmouth establishment to everyone as it is my absolute favorite restaurant.

WOW, what a wonderful evening. It was our anniversary dinner and based on reviews, we decide to try Ristorante Massimo. We are in Portsmouth a lot but somehow never dined there, we must thought it was crazy pricey, but it really was not and the whole experience was just awesome. It was a Monday night and we had the whole downstairs space to ourselves, tucked away in a cozy booth — Table 12, it was awesome. Ordinarily, an empty restaurant would freak me out, but it was so warm and intimate it just felt private. The room was wonderful, classic old-​school Italian with exposed brick, artwork of Venice, and not too many tables. And we felt welcomed by Candace and her colleague (I wish I knew his name!) who were serving us, they both were so friendly.
The food was excellent, we started with grilled lamb «lollypops» with pesto, perfect medium rare and full of flavor. For main course, I had a small portion of the pasta special, ravioli filled with mushrooms and ricotta with lobster in a light wine, tomato sauce, so delicious and the smaller portion option that they have for the pastas was perfect for me. Hubby had the Pappardelle Bolognese, which was nice and hearty for a chilly October evening.
We will definitely be back, the upstairs bar area looked just as cozy and inviting as downstairs, but not so formal, we are so happy to find a new spot in one of our favorite cities!

NEVER GOING BACK. Would give them a minus 5 if that were possible. We live nearby and used to go here a lot. Have not been in many months following a really bad experience with rude service in the upstairs room. Decided to give them another try and were met with even worse reception. We entered the upstairs — not s single patron in the room. No greeting or acknowledgement as we entered. After a couple of minutes of now recognition we asked for a seat. Really snooty guy behind the bar was put out by having to point to a table and made us feel very unwelcome. We left immediately.

Food and service were perfect. Great atmosphere at the bar upstairs. The meatball appetizer was large portion of really flavorful and moist meatballs, nicely sauced and topped with shaved Parmesan. I had the Tagliatelle Carbonara which by far, is the best I’ve ever had. Served piping hot in shallow bowl with a raw egg yolk nestled in the middle. A few swirls with the fork and the egg was evenly dispersed and up to temperature. It gave the dish such a velvety finish… yum!
My husband had the Lobster Bisque which was packed with lobster flavor — and a claw of lobster in the center. And also had the lamb chops appetizer which were seared to a nice medium-​rare.
All in all, a great meal perfect on a summer night.

Very classy new bar. Food and service are both excellent. A sophisticated spot for the area.

Get away weekend from kids. Jewelry stores, Red Hook tour, and topped off with classy Dinner.
Arrived early and immediately seated in romantic two seat enclave. David, our server, was prompt, knowledgeable, and courteous.
We ordered the Senior Massimo (cocktail), carbonara, rib eye steak, and halibut. Each was more delicious than the last.
The Rib Eye had a bit of an issue, as the serving was over 50% fat. I brought it to the attention of David, and he immediately consulted with the kitchen. After a short wait, Massimo personally approached our table and offered to either comp the meal or a dessert at our preference.
I ordered the Raspberry desert, and asked for two forks so as to share with my date. Mr. Massimo graciously offered a second dessert, which we declined.
Soon thereafter, two desserts arrived, the Raspberry and the Americano. Mr. Massimo would not allow us to have less than a dessert for each, and would not be happy unless we felt fully satisfied.
The dessert, as with the meal, were delicious. Truly and amazing restaurant staffed by attentive and caring staff. All managed by the owner himself and dedicated to your complete satisfaction.

We absolutely loved this restaurant. The wonderful tone started as soon as we walked in with the extremely warm greeting of the owner Massimo. And it even went uphill from there because the food was superb. The tagliatelle carbonara was amongst the best dishes we’ve tasted in months. Don’t miss the lobster bisque shooters, A small bite that is literally bursting with flavor. We can’t wait to return on our next visit to Portsmouth.

Awesome atmosphere, felt great being greeted by Massimo. Food was delicious! Not too many different options but they’re good at what they know!

We’ve always loved the food here, but the upstairs area has become our all time favorite! Wonderful service, an interest array on the menu, and stunning décor. This is about as good as it gets in Portsmouth!

I tend to bi-​annually eat downstairs at Massimo’s and love it. It feels like an escape into another time and place. Surrounded by brick, white tablecloths, oil paintings, and a couple of cozy nooks to disappear into while you enjoy your meal. A perfect place to dine with a date or family.
The upstairs at Massimo has quickly become a new favorite of mine. I love their Tuna TarTare and their wine selection. Also as expected their service is friendly, knowledgeable, and on par.

This place was AMAZING! If I had 10 stars it would get all 10. I have had a lot of lobster, this was the best by far. My wife and daughter were both able to get custom dishes with no problem.
Our waitress Meghan was great. The one bad thing about Massimo’s is that every other restaurant is going to suck now :-)