Artichokes

first time with my bf on a recent Sat. night. got seated within minutes, small dining area, but nicely decorated. we were seated at a tiny table for two. would have agreed to wait longer for a bigger table, felt cramped, it was right next to the wall. nice friendly waitresses. food took a long time, altho it was fresh and very good. there were about 5 other tables waiting a long time too. the antipasto was ok, nothing special. sangria was ok. salmon w/​spinach and roasted potatoes was very good. good size portions on the salmon and potatoes. bf got spicy seafood di mare (spelling?). he liked it a lot and he’s a very picky Italian food eater. most of our food was very good, pretty reasonable, portions are good size, service was good. the only negatives was that its somewhat a small dining room and the food took a very long time. I’m sure we’ll be back.

Being a resident of Wakefield, Artichoke’s is a staple of the Main St. landscape, and a place that I wanted to try out since the first time I moved into town. My family and I went for a «move-​in party» to the restaurant to celebrate my new place, and ever since then, we have been fans of this establishment. We have spent birthdays, holidays, and family nights out together there and enjoyed every minute of the experience. I was skeptical at first about a good Italian restaurant in the town of Wakefield, but this was one of the many establishments that made a believer out of me here in town.
I agree with a lot of the other reviewers that the atmosphere is great and very homey, and although it gets crowded, its never too cramped, and the people there are usually of good company. The have a nice bar and the drinks are very good, and made to order. Another perk of Artichoke’s of course is the white Christmas lights on the inside and outside. Nice touch, people. Extra points there.
As for the food, I wont go as far as saying that its as good as some of the places that I have been to in the North End, but the food is among the finest in the Wakefield stretch, and that is not to say that the food is bad by any estimation. They also make one of the best bruschettas I’ve ever had. Folks, Wakefield is a secret area of hidden Italian restaurant gems, that need to be explored fully. This is probably the best and most dazzling of the assortment and a great place to start. I will say that of the many times that I have been to Artichoke’s, I have never had a bad meal or drink. Both were really good. The waitstaff was professional and courteous, bartenders are pleasant and accommodating, and the place is always busy.
The only drawbacks I can think of to the Artichoke’s experience, is that the restaurant is on the pricey side, but remember, this is a classier restaurant than most in the area, so that kind of evens it out. So, if you want to show someone a good time, and don’t want to take them to a sawdust joint, Artichoke’s is the Cadillac of the Wakefield area. Enjoy!

Went back to give the place another try. I ordered the cavatappi and eggplant. The sauce was so thin and watery, it didn’t stick to anything and the breaded eggplant was a soggy mushy mess. Sorry Artichokes, but I guess you are not my cup of tea. Everyone else at the table, there were 8 of us, seemed to like their entrees, but for me it was just another meh.

***oops meant this for anthony coal fired pizza. I’m sure artichokes is delish, but I accidentally posted to the wrong place! Unilocal is working on it***
Came here with my girlfriend today, a Saturday at 2PM. Busy but grabbed the last 2 seats at the bar. Mark the bartender and Brianna the trainer were awesome. A patron next to us let us try the meatballs and they were delish. Not overly seasoned and had that authentic bread essence. Being first timers, they brought us a sample of their wings smothered in caramelized onions. They were pretty good, if you’re not a spicy wing person. Pizza is well done but there’s a perfect amount of doughiness… which is great for me because I’m a fan of both regular and thin. I had sausage pizza, it came out piping hot and not at all greasy or oily. The sauce is tangy and fresh. The cheese was nicely melted with a little bit of softness inside and a bit of toasted on the outside. They were happy to bring us some extra dipping marinara… hot and garnished with a basil sprig.
Bottom line, we will be coming here regularly. We are hoping that with the gradual departure of trainers, the excellent experience we had will continue. Great job anthony’s!

Absolutely some of the best Italian food… as good as you’d get in the North End of Boston! No matter what you order, from appetizers to entrees and finishing up with dessert, everything is perfectly cooked and seasoned! Portions are generous and the service is impeccable! Reservations are strongly recommended because Artichokes is very popular and is always packed… including at their bar, where you’re also free to dine if you’re able to find an available seat, or two! They also have great live music on certain nights on their lower level, where you can also dine. They bring in very talented musicians who provide great music and entertainment, making for a great night out with a group or with a date! Don’t miss out and head to Artichokes!

Love this place!!! We’ve been here a few times, the most recent being last night. In spite of the restaurant having a «full house,» we were seated almost immediately. The server was attentive & friendly. The menu accommodates any sort of palate. Delicious food & great ambience. In addition to the dining room, they also have a spacious bar, as well as a «downstairs bar» that regularly features live music. We reside on the North Shore & despite the fact that there are many good restaurants from which to choose, Artichokes remains our favorite! Highly recommend!!!

Absolutely loved this place. Sat downstairs and tried many of their starters as our dining experience. Meatballs were amazing. Loved their sauce as well. No surprise that the artichokes were great. Loved the eggplant too. Atmosphere is cozy and downstairs they have live music too. Highly recommend!

The atmosphere here is just right. There is a nice bar area on one side with hightop tables. The other side is for sit-​down dining. The music is the perfect volume and the lighting isn’t too dark or too bright. They really nail it.
Props to our terrific server (named Fabio) who was friendly, personable, and made us feel like we were his only table.
We started with meat balls then had the chicken marsala and Chicken, veal, & shrimp piccata. The meatballs were just average but the entres were fantastic. Both entres were huge portions — expect to bring home leftovers.
It took a long time to get our order in and the food took a long time to come out, but in a good way. We were able to make a night of our dinner. Plenty of time to finish our drinks and enjoy each others company.
TL;DR
Pros: Large portions, excellent food, great atmosphere.
Cons: none
Other: Expect to spend 1.5+ hours for dinner

Love going to Artichokes, prefer to hang at the bar. I find the bartenders are top notch and make everyone comfortable. The fruite d’ mare is the best in the area, they also make a fantastic Veal chop. All the standards are here too and I have yet to be disappointed with a meal. I eat here voter. The staff is friendly and attentive I would give them a 5 but I think some new specials would earn the extra star.

Extremely disappointing experience all around. The space is beautiful, but the service and food don’t do it justice. I expected better of both for that price point. The Caesar salad, which had way too much dressing, pre-​grated cheese and croutons out of a box was only the beginning. Veal cutlet dish (bellabucca I think) was soggy and unappetizing, drowning in marinara. Mushroom ravioli tasted mysteriously fishy, shrimp fra diavolo was so spicy that it was inedible, and to add insult to injury, the server never came back to ask how the food was, so we had to flag down another server to get parmesan (at an Italian restaurant?). To top it off, when he finally came back to clear plates (no dessert offered), he saw that my husband had not touched his dish and asked if he wanted to take it home. My husband didn’t hide his disgust in saying no, yet the server completely ignored it, instead of asking what was wrong. We will never be back and recommend staying far away. They obviously don’t care enough to do a decent job, as if they think that having a nice space will hide their mediocrity.

I have been going to Artichokes since it opened in Malden many years ago. We went last night and I ordered the same meal I have ordered every time I go. Chicken Margarita. I could never bring myself to order anything else because that was so amazingly delicious. I don’t know if they have a new chef or just a bad night but last night the Chicken Margarita was awful. No flavor at all. It was as if they just poured chicken stock on the plate and added chicken and ziti. I will say that the bartender brought the food back to the kitchen, but they did basically nothing to improve it. Very very disappointed. I love the atmosphere of this restaurant especially during holidays and the entertainment on Wednesday nights makes you want to go back. I just don’t know what I would have to eat the next time.

This place is a great local place. Went there with my husband on a Saturday night. The service was excellent and so was the food. The interior is cozy, they had some yummy specials and the prices were fine. I would definitely go back. My husband said the last time he went they sat at the bar and the bartender was really great and they ended up having a good time. Will be back.
This place is also family friendly.

I got the lobster ravioli and it was delish. Service was excellent and cosmo’s were extra strong. The place is super comfortable too. I would definitely return and recommend it.

As my Dad would say, this place is nothing to write home about. Beautiful old building with a very nice interior. We sat at the bar, which was cozy and warm.
Ordered 2 super Tuscan wines. They tasted more like a mid grade Merlot. Also ordered the antipasto for 2 special. Really wasn’t a well balanced plate. It was mostly salty cheese, salty flavorless meats, and can grade pickled peppers and olives. Probably sysco foods.
I could get past the mediocre food, but some of the staff should have been fired on the spot–
Johnny the bartender would rather sit with his face in the register than take care of patrons. That’s because he uses his phone to text or Facebook while he is at the register. (See picture). I’m also surprised that he doesn’t get involved in a sexual harassment lawsuit from the female employee with the heels that night. He’s loud, and annoying. But he is somewhat friendly. I guess that makes him a good choice for a day shift bartender.
My other gripe with employees and management is the constant gossip we had to hear about at the bar. I don’t come to drink glasses of wine that cost as much as a bottle of tge same wine, to hear other people’s crap.
Speaking of hearing crap– one of the male servers coming out of the kitchen was explaining to a female employee what ‘cropdusting’ is. I think he meant he crop dusted the food. Gross. Maybe that’s what happened to my antipasto.
Also, the employees must smoke our back really close to the bar entrance (health code violation), so all night, you smell smoke and people who smell like smoke. Gross!
Lastly, the place is very beautiful at night, from the outside. For what Wakefield offers, this is in the top 50.

It takes a little while to get your food here, and it doesn’t have the same ambiance as it used to in Malden, but still, this place is amazing.
Highly recommended.
Everything is delicious.
Very authentic food.

I am not quite sure how people can give this place more than three stars.
My mom had taken out my sister and I for a fun little girls night locally and she chose Artichokes. Before I proceed, I did not like the original location in Malden. I was taken twice for lunch and each time I got raw food and bad service, so this night I wasn’t expecting different.
It was just… ok.
Service was pretty bad. Our waiter was popping in and out of the kitchen with other tables’ orders and neglected us for a long time. With that said, the place was not even all that busy. It was a Thursday night two weeks ago and there were a few empty tables.
Drinks took what felt like forever. I got a bellini martini which was ended up to be good though.
I ordered the veal marsala, and it was nice. Not anything special to swoon me. My mom got the shrimp al diavolo and my sister the steak. No one seemed too impressed, but at least no one received raw food!
We finished dinner with splitting dessert and a cappuccino, and it was sort of comical. My capp was the size of a shot glass but the lobster tail (from Modern Pastry!!) was as big as a loaf of bread drenched in what we figured as Hershey’s chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Ugh what a disaster!
Overall, it was just ok. Nothing I would rush to go back for or recommend, but I am glad I tried the brand again cause it was slightly better than my past experiences
It definitely isn’t what I consider good Italian food.

I discovered Artichokes while it was in Malden and it became a favorite. I’ve since been to the new, larger location in Wakefield several times and I’m glad to say the food is still outstanding. This is one of the restaurants that inspired me to only choose Italian restaurants that serve fresh pasta — what a difference! Not cheap but high quality, delicious dishes and generous portions. I love not having to stand in a small, packed vestibule for an hour for a seat anymore! I recently had a special that included steak, shrimp and scallops over fresh fusilli that was just bigtime. Definitely crushes any chain Italian restaurant — if you’re local to Wakefield and heading to a Polcaris, Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden etc., seriously consider spending the extra bucks on a «wow» meal here.
Update: enjoyed a meal here last weekend and it was fantastic. We got there early, around 5pm on a Saturday, and got a table right away. We (somehow) had room for dessert and the orange sorbet was served inside an orange peel with whipped cream, it was great. First time getting dessert here, was well worth it.

After hearing about this place for years, we finally decided to give it a go. Very glad we did. My only complaint on the night is that the server should have told us how BIG the appetizers are (because we ordered 2 for 2 people, like any other sane couple would do). No wait either on a Saturday night — but that was probably because there were only 2 of us to squeeze in the dining area.
Fusilli pasta was fresh and delicious, drinks were great, everything was great. Lobster tail for dessert was phenomenal and huge and I ate half with plenty to bring home. We will definitely come back.

Im inlove! The décor & mood is so relaxing and inviting! the food was absolutely delish && service was great! I felt so well attended all night long. now lets talk food…
I had the Pumpkin Ravioli for an app && it was in the most delish cream sauce! A+
Then I had the Chicken Parmesan over Linguini and the portion was huge i could barely eat half but it was def an A++.
Drinks were amazing! haha can you tell I loved it?!
I went back a few weeks later and tried the Fucilli di Maria and that was absolutely delish! In fact, so good… i’ll have to order that again next time!

My husband and I have been here twice in the past eight weeks, once in June 2013 and once in August 2013. We were seated within five minutes both times, despite each visit being on a Saturday night and without a reservation (they’re not accepted).
The food was excellent during both visits. I love the artichoke appetizer and I’d also recommend the shrimp scampi appetizer, both of which I made into an entrée. The homemade pasta — which my husband ordered both visits — is divine. Nice large portions, the ambiance is fantastic (the décor is beautiful) and you can’t beat the location. The waitstaff are very friendly.
Our major gripe is the slow service and forgetful staff. Each time we visit, it took at least fifteen minutes for a server to stop by the table; I will note that the restaurant was not at full capacity either night. The first time we visited, a couple next to us actually moved to the bar because no one had come over to take their order. Also that first visit, our (very nice) waitress completely forgot our appetizer, though she later realized the error (as she served us the entrees) and kindly took the price of it off our bill.
For our second visit, tonight, we arrived at 8:15pm and waited fifteen minutes for the server to come over and take our drink order; the drinks themselves took another fifteen minutes to arrive. The table next to us also felt ignored and I could overhear one of them contemplate whether they should get the attention of a floor manager (though I’m not sure if one was working; if she/​he was, we didn’t see him/​her once in the two hours we were there).
We skipped the appetizers and waited for our food to arrive, which it did at 9:15pm. No bread served prior to the entrees, so we had been in the restaurant for a full hour at this point without any food. We were starving by then but, as I reported earlier, the food was great!
Long gaps of time between service. The server forgot my husband’s glass of wine until the very end of the meal; we would have reminded her, but we didn’t see her after she dropped off our food until we were done and ready to order dessert. She remembered the missing wine at that point and my husband drank it while we shared a delicious dessert.
Usually I will give a restaurant the benefit of the doubt, but since we’ve had a less than satisfactory experience twice in a row, I’m forced to conclude that this is commonplace. So five stars for food, two stars for service. We’ve decided we’ll return if/​when we know we have at least two hours to spend on a meal.