Bistro Limoncello

Bistro Limoncello Ristorante and Bar — Northborough, MA — 5÷19÷2016
Today I find myself at Bistro Limoncello in Northborough Massachusetts… This is a local place featuring Italian comfort food… As I sit here waiting for my food to come out I sit here and watch all the people interact… It’s a very local crowd that comes here and it’s obvious that many of the patrons have known each other for many years… Come 7 o’clock, the former owner owner of the restaurant entertains the guests… Frank Sinatra type stuff…
Their Italian bread comes par-​baked from a local bakery and is served in slices with olive oil… I would say the bread is very good…
Tonight I start with Insalata Alla Cesare… Crisp Romain, anchovies, house made garlic croutons, shaved asiago cheese in creamy Caesar dressing… The salad and croutons were particularly good although I ran out of anchovies early in…
The main course… Traditional rigatoni and meatballs… Unfortunately they do not make the pasta in house but all in all not bad. Three meatballs, rigatoni pasta, imported ricotta cheese with our homemade Ragu…
Tonight I was good an passed on the many yummy house made sweets they had on the dessert menu and finished with my signature cappuccino.
My server Joe was a pleasure to deal with and on his game… Executive Chef John was also great and came out to make sure everything was to my liking… If I lived local this would probably be one of my hangouts as they’re extremely friendly here…

We booked a luncheon for a group of 33. Trina, Todd and John (cook) were gracious and very accommodating. From appetizers to drinks and a fine buffet style meal everything was excellent and reasonably priced. Special care and considerations for allergies and or dietary concerns were handled as well as special requests. They closed off the dining room to accommodate our group in a private setting (room will hold up to 50?). We look forward to our next visit!

My partner and I went to this cozy little restaurant with a friend that was visiting from Colorado. It was a late dinner around 8:00pm. It wasn’t very busy as there were two occupied tables, we sat in the bar area.
My partner asked for an Italian Margarita which was not on the menu. The bartender mentioned he never made one, but gave it a try and nailed on the first attempt. We started with calamari and salads. The calamari was lightly fried and tossed with chopped olives and peppers. It was very good and had a nice spicy heat. The wedge salad and Cesare salad was fresh and tasty. Dinner was chicken saltimbocca and chicken picatta, both were good.
Overall, we enjoyed the ambiance, drinks and meal. The waiter and bartender were friendly and attentive. The prices seemed a bit high for a restaurant located in a small town strip mall, but a nice place to eat for special occasions.

Small restaurant. Service was slow. Even though we were assured that they could handle my gluten allergy I found regular pasta in with my gluten free pasta and was soon sick. My fiancé ordered the pasta Tuscany and found it to be bland. Felt like a generic Italian American restaurant. We won’t be back.

Stopped in today by chance for lunch with my Mom and sister, and we were glad we did. From service to food everything was fantastic. Everything was delicious, risotto poppers were some of the best I’ve had, bruschetta delicious and fresh. All of our meals were cooked perfectly with fresh ingredients and the plating was beautiful. Highly recommend and can’t wait to get back and try dinner!

This is a place that is «trying» but isn’t there yet. Atmosphere decore and music on target! Friendly service from staff — definately! But the food, well it is lacking. I so wanted to like this place that I held off on a review till I had a second visit but sadly it was no better. The food is not horrible but it’s not good. And for what they charge it needs to be excellent because it is very expensive. The veal was a little chewy, the sauces a bit «off» flavor almost like they were not made by a professional chef but some one just learning… the pasta is nothing special neither is the sauce and most disappointing was dessert… the lemon cake was 10.00 for a slim slice of dry flavorless plain looking cake and the tiramisu was bland. If they were a little greasy spoon that didn’t charge much the food might be acceptable if you were starving and needed something fast but that’s not the case here! They charge a lot and so I hope that they can improve the food soon! Everything else seems to be working but the food is the most important thing!

We went here for valentines day. The atmosphere is nice. The table set up is nice and fancy. The flowers (roses) on the table were on the dead side however.
The food was great here. Maybe towards the slow side as far as kitchen speed, but the presentation and the taste of everything was great, IMHO. The service was good. Drink refills were normally very prompt.
Only complaint: I ordered my entrée with no mushrooms, yet 3 – 4 mushrooms seemed to have snuck in. Perhaps (speculation) they reused a serving spoon that had mushrooms from the previous dish, I don’t know. I commented to the server (Lori), but she didn’t care. The manager came out and asked everyone but us how everything was.
The prices, especially on the deserts, were EXTREMELY unreasonable.
If we are going to be in Northborough again for eating out, and want Italian, next time it will be Tavolino’s.
If I didn’t have the mushroom incident, someone cared about it, and the prices were reasonable, this could have been a 5 star review.

The atmosphere is nice. The table set up is nice and fancy.
The menu is on the small side. The bread was small but very fresh with a semi hard crust. Perfect for me. The presentation of everything was excellent. The kitchen was a bit slow but not noticeable. The refills were ok.
The risotto balls were large and plentiful. I think they were fried too long as the exterior was hard and flavorless. They were on the dry side. I did not care for their sauce (I do not hold this against them as I don’t like anyone else’s sauce). Hubby liked the sauce.
The house salad had way too much dressing on it. Not worth the price of $ 10.
The shrimp limoncello (house specialty) was ok. There were 5 jumbo shrimp so that was good. The scampi was bland and really only tasted like lemons. I would not order again, especially for $ 23.
Hubby has the chicken Sinatra. The sauce was very good. Except for the mushrooms the meal was very good. He asked for no mushrooms. It came with mushrooms. The waitress seemed unconcerned when we point edit out and as an afterthought asked if he was allergic. When the answer was no she said sorry as walking away.
We had the peanut butter pie. It was good but not even close to worth the price. It was a sliver and the entire pie likely consisted of over 20 slices. Yet they charged $ 10. Really? Give me a break. Talk about profit margin.
This would have been 3 stars if anyone cared about the kitchen screwup, but they didn’t. There were 3 tables (including us), and the manager went to both of the other tables to ask if everything was ok. Conveniently he did not stop by our table.

Great food and great service! Nice atmosphere and a good bar with very good drinks. My only complaint would be it’s a little pricey. We Will definitely eat here again!

My wife and I had dinner last night at Bistro Limoncello. This was our first time there. We had chicken Parmesan and Chicken Piccata. Both meals were outstanding. We both enjoyed a Argentine Malbec and a Moscato. A Tiramisu was served for dessert and it was great. We will be back and will come back on a weekend. The atmosphere in the restaurant was great and the restaurant was spotless.

Just.Plain.Awful
We started with the risotto balls. They were flavorless and had a mealy, pasty consistency. No crunch at all even with the fried breading, which is supposed to offset the risotto.
For dinner I ordered the 10oz filet, cooked medium. I was served what looked like 2– 3oz steak-​tips cooked well done… waste of $ 29. The smashed potatoes with spinach and garlic were good though.
My wife ordered the chicken Marsala and got very undercooked cooked pasta with dry chicken. The Marsala wine sauce with mushrooms was excellent, very flavorful.
Atmosphere was decent, good music, good lighting but very warm inside… stuffy almost.
The clincher of our bad experience was having to wait 30 minutes for our check. (Only took us 20 mins to eat). When we complained (which we never, never do) the floor manager apologized by saying he was in «Crisis mode» and they were having an «off night»?? (Ok, then comp a drink or dessert at least man!!!)
Yikes — all that for $ 90 (incl drinks).Never again!

Nice Italian for a reasonable price. Great service. Tastefully decorated. Try them you will not be sorry.

Great food, wine and service. This is my favorite Italian resaurant. Try the chicken piccata. The chicken is tender and the sauce is delicious.

I felt like I was in my grandmother’s kitchen. Chef John is very talented. The meat balls and meat sauce are simply the best. We will be going back to try more dishes. All the people there are very nice. The service was great.

My friend and I went for a special birthday lunch today. There was hardly anyone in the restaurant and our food came 45 minutes after we sat down. Each of us ordered a Caesar salad, mine with grilled salmon and my friend ordered her salad with grilled chicken. The salads were very small, the chicken was burnt and tasted like it came from a box/​bag. I asked for my salmon to be a bit well done, but not burnt. The salmon was the worst I have EVER tasted, crispy with a lot of fat. This was very disappointing. Each salad was $ 16!!!
I would never go there again, my friend who ordered the chicken now feels a bit funny– her stomach is upset. Do yourself a favor, skip Limoncello’s and order the lunch Caesar salad at Via in Worcester– where we should have gone!

We have been to Lemoncello a half dozen times since it changed hands. The food is excellent, as is the service. Their fish is fresh and well prepared. The short rib is to die for. Their pasta dishes are also excellent. The linguini a la vognole was superb. This is the best restaurant on the area by far. We used to be regulars at Romaines, across the street, but Lemoncello is far better

We dined here tonight. Service was slow from the start. They were out of the wine we ordered and the server recommended another which was not good. Salads were very good but once the dinners arrived, things took a turn for the worst. After a few bites of my Chicken Piccata I discovered it was raw. Light was very dim in the dining room so it was hard at first to determine. I sent the dish back and they apologized. When a new meal came out they assured me it was a «fresh» plate. After digging in I discovered that was a lie. Found a piece of the old chicken mixed in with the potatoes. Stay away from this place. Horrible experience as I am sitting here wondering if I will end up with food poisoning tonight. Bill was still $ 90.00 after all that.

Four of us guys went there last Sat. Food is OK, but pricey. $ 12 for glass of house red wine a bit much. Food quality OK. Waitress incorrectly charged us $ 62.50 more than our bill should have been when we provided CC’s and cash for the bill. Took a while to straighten out. Waitress knew she had overcharged but it took one of our guests to bring it to her attention. I won’t be going back. Too many other nearby rest. that offer comparable or better food at more reasonable prices.

The menu was limited but they were accommodating on making a child size portion and modifying a dish to make it vegetarian. And the food was quite tasty ONCE WE GOT IT.
The service was horrid. First the host/​manager give us «do you have a reservation, let me see if I can find a space for you» BS greeting, it is a weekday evening, there are 3 people at the bar and 2 other tables are filled (and we later find out one of those tables are the manager’s kids) and all the time we are there (more the 2 hours) the place is never more than half full.
They take our order, give us drinks and bread and then nothing for an hour-​no food and no waiter (–1). Finally after an hour I find the waiter in the back, he and the WHOLE kitchen staff FORGOT about the customers because THEY WERE TO BUSY WATCHING A BASEBALL GAME (red socks vs Yankees in extra innings) and they haven’t even started our meal (–1)!!! They started working again and we finally got our food 30 min later. The manager did come by, apologized and took one dinner and our drinks off the bill (+1) but still…

I’ve lived in town since this place opened and finally just came in the first time a few weeks ago and it was great.
The service was polite, prompt and friendly. The food was very good Classic Italian. I had the Saltimbocca and it was incredible. Kids had pasta and meatballs which they loved. This is rare because they usually only eat mine.
I’ve had the risotto balls and bruschetta and both were great. The risotto balls are an extremely large portion don’t order them alone.
Nice wine list good selection not overpriced and not too big to comprehend. The dry vodka martinis were perfect pours.
My only complaint is the full menu hasn’t been available when I’ve gone. My first selection hasn’t been available twice.
I’ll be back