Pinocchio’s Ristorante

Stopped here about 1:30pm on a Wedns with my son. Only 2 other parties at the bar, we sat at pub style table along the front window. This place is very well done throughout, especially clean. My son had fish & chips. He claims it was delicious, and appeared so. I had the Combo Calzone which was one of the best I have ever ate. I am picky about calzones as they are so easy to mess up. NOT THIS ONE, perfect in every regard. Important note: is their marinara sauce is the BOMB. Good sign about the balance of the menu, as was the wait… not too long with the tasty food being the best advocate. I am so glad we stopped and will return again. Hats off to Nana… if she is in the kitchen.

We had found a babysitter last minute so we decided to stay local for our anniversary.
We arrived very early in the evening, maybe around 430 – 5. We decided to sit at the bar.
I had a tasty espresso martini while my husband stuck with the Wormtown Be Hoppy. The beer selection was well rounded to boot.
They were offering prix fixe specials during the week but we decided to go with the regular menu.
We started off with the mussels appetizer, nice and spicy complete with banana peppers.
My entrée was the grilled scallops. Perfectly tender and vegetable risotto was tasty. His steak was over cooked but he didn’t seem to mind. A relative of mine mentioned this happening at the restaurant also. The Gorgonzola sauce that came served over the steak was nicely done though.
Since it was a special occasion, I ordered the crème brûlée. I ate every bite!
Our bartender Sue was a delight. Make sure to see her Tuesday nights. Looking forward to another date night here!

Went here recently and ordered a scallop and risotto meal. First, I’ll say the food was good. Not the best we’ve had, but very good. Unfortunately, they took 2 medium sized sea scallops and cut them up into small pieces to put around the pile of risotto. I was embarrassed for them. Had to eat dinner after I ate dinner. We won’t be going back, which is unfortunate, because they are not a far drive from our house, and the food/​drinks were good. To cut up 2 not even large scallops and consider that a proper serving is wrong.

The food was great, the service was better! Our waitress Madeline was full of smiles and very knowledgeable and attentive. My husband and I will definitely be returning here and recommending to friends and family.

I’ve been to this restaurant many times and the food was amazing. Sadly this last visit my family and I opted for take out. Our ored was messed up. Our pizzas were burnt and our chicken and broccoli calzones were missing the broccoli. It was definitely not worth the money spent.

It is obvious to us that that some people don’t know what well prepared food is and it is reflected in a poor review for this establishment. Our second visit was as good as the first. Give it a try, put on your fine dinning face and be pleasantly surprised as this new (er) restaurant strives to learn and grow. They are working out the bugs and is well worth it. A pleasant change.

Mediocre food, high prices and bad management. If you consider yourself a «decent» cook you could definately make each meal at home yourself, they would taste better and cost you much less. The food is prepared decently but you can tell lacks the «love» a $ 20+ plus meal deserves. There was a recent management change and we were hoping it would be a turn around this restaurant needed. Unfortunately this is not the case. Most of the waitstaff are pleasant and helpful however most of them only stick around for a few weeks. Upon first meeting the manager Omar, he is friendly. However watching him interact with his staff and customers leaves much to be desired. He belittles his staff, we actually heard him yelling at one of his waitresses. His busboys must be relatives as they are more content to sit around and play on their phones than to help his waitstaff and he doesn’t seem to care. And upon our last visit we overheard him telling customers (friends?) of the upcoming birth of his 8^th child, something he seemed proud of but not completely comfortable table talk for us. We gave this restaurant the three strike try after not coming for a few years. This place could be a delightful place unfortunately run with a poor attitude and bad ethics we will no longer be returning.

This past Saturday I found myself in Three Rivers needing some lunch. After looking on Unilocal I realized that it was really slim pickings in this area — almost every restaurant in the area had horrible reviews. I knew of Pinocchio’s and decided to give it a try. There was some confusion between a few online sources as to whether they were open for lunch or not — but they were. It was pretty quiet but they had a decent bar area and the other patrons were very friendly. The bartender was very nice and professional and both the wine choices and lunch options were great. I had the lobster bisque that rivaled my favorite at The Hartford Club and the flat bread with figs, prosciutto and goat cheese that was out of this world once I requested and promptly received some balsamic reduction to drizzle on top. This is a hidden little gem that I will be visiting again. Great service, clean and a real surprise in such an out of the way area!

— «Pinocchio’s won’t make your nose grow” —
Came in after not having had been here for a while.
Great little joint with potential, but here’s the breakdown:
The wine was great, and the server was attentive and friendly.
1.) Pork Osso Bucco:
3* as the dish was HUGE but was a little on the over cooked side. The sauce could have been tastier.
2.) The tiramisu:
2*. Sorry but PALEAAASE don’t drench the dessert with Hershey’s chocolate sauce. The powdered cocoa was covered and should have been part of the experience.
3.) The Bill:
issues with breaking up the bill.
It took several rounds before being broken up properly. Server was a noticeably frustrated with the tab.
Please in the future start acting more like an authentic Italian restaurant.

Amazing food and great customer service. We Got to the restaurant 30min before they opened (we thought they were open all
Day). When the bartender saw us outside he opened the door and the server said She would ask the kitchen if they were ready to open. And they said yes! Food and service deserves 5 stars. Definitely a great experience! Too bad is a little too far from my house!

+
* they had plenty of seating on a tuesday night.
*service was excellent.
*food was even more excellent.
*everything came out in a timely manner
*ambiance was great.

well, this place is a-​ok. It is a standout in this area because, unless you drive at least 20 – 30 minutes, there isn’t much of a restaurant or wine bar scene in the Palmer area. I come up here a few times a year to visit family and usually we just cook and eat in (unless we get pizza). This has changed with Pinocchio’s opening.
Ok, so it’s just fine. The salads are good. I’m not really a fan of wedge salads, in general, but my aunt loves their wedge salad and it’s grown on me. they have these crunchy delicious things on there that are just so good. I haven’t eaten the entrees, so I won’t comment.
We’ve had most of the apps and they are fine. not great, but not terrible. A little pricey (maybe this is me being a jerk since we are in Palmer, MA, but I feel like it shouldn’t cost as much as more bustling places). I really wanted this place to be a hidden gem, like the most amazing find and you wouldn’t expect it… but instead I feel like it offers a nice, close place to get a glass of wine with my cousin or aunt while eating a good wedge salad or some fried apps in an area where dining options are extremely limited.

I sooo wanted this to be four stars. It’s near my house, has a comfortable atmosphere, friendly and efficient staff, and a decent menu… but the food was just a little too meh to justify the prices.
We went to Pinocchio’s for a spontaneous, quiet, weekday dinner when we arrived home hungry after a long day and realized that we hadn’t gone grocery shopping :)
Opting for the nearly empty dining room over the elevated pub tables in the bar area, we were seated quickly and our server brought us bread with a seasoned dipping oil. Nice. We both wound up getting salads and risottos (I know, I know… totally boring «couple-​y» violation of our adventurous eater roots; but in my defense, I ordered first and he copied): blackened scallops & risotto for him, mixed seafood risotto for me. His scallops were cooked perfectly and the accompanying risotto had a really nice flavor; however, mine was under-​seasoned and completely bland. Not only was it lacking the promised saffron and lobster flavors, it was lacking even a cursory amount of salt — and I’m NOT a salt lover, so boyfriend knew something was up when I asked him to pass the shaker. It was basically plain shellfish on a bed of plain, creamy arborio.
The crème brûlée that we shared, however, was WONDERFUL.
We will probably give Pinocchio’s another try at some point because, like I said, it’s in a convenient spot for us and nothing was horrible, it just wasn’t all that good. Hoping it was just an off night.

First time trying this place after my husband purchased a groupon deal.
Very nice decorations and atmosphere. The restaurant area was nice, but tight. We felt as though we were sitting on top of the people next to us.
We ate the calamari sweet and sour and grilled portobello for appetizers which were both delicious.
The waitress missed the boat on checking on drinks because my husband and parents would have had several rounds had she come around more often.
Everyone was pleased with their meals, veal saltimboca, filet, seafood Alfredo, and blackened scallops risotto (way way too heavy on the chipotle aioli)
Would come again, a bit expensive to go often though

I love that there is finally a great restaurant in the Palmer area. It has a nice atmosphere, the wait staff is usually pretty friendly. They have weekly specials and are frequently on groupon. I usually get the filet Gorgonzola, seafood Alfredo, ceaser salad, or something on the weekly special list all very good.

Tried Pinocchio’s for the first time for dinner after purchasing a groupon special. We entered and our first impression was that the hostess was not very friendly or warm in her greeting. She really didnt show much emotion or do a good job of welcoming people to the restaurant.
However, we were pleased that our waitress was completely different. She was warm and friendly. The two male waiters were very attentive and we never had to ask for water or for bread, they checked in and were very attentive throughout our meal.
We had the eggplant rollatini for an appetizer and the beef ravioli. The eggplant was a little mushy for me, thus it wasnt as flavorful. However, the meet ravioli was very good and flavorful. The meat very tender, and the sauce nicely seasoned.
My son had chicken alfredo, and the portion was huge. He really enjoyed the cheesy sauce and was able to take half the portion home. I had the veal with lobster which was also very tender and flavorful. It was served with mashed potatos and fresh fall vegetables. The sauce was flavorful and the presentation very nice.
We didnt have room for dessert, maybe next time!

I just had the Veal Saltimbocca. I have had squid that was less chewy. It was fatty and tough as nails. The mashed potatoes were fine, but the rest of the vegetables tasted like they were either from the freezer or had been kept in a walk-​in way too long. My wife and son ordered pasta dishes that were just barely OK. Dessert was a letdown as well. The bar looked nice and it might be a fine place for a glass of wine and some appetizers, but we won’t give the place a second try. At the prices they are charging you can get much better food in Springfield or Northampton for the same cost and go home feeling your money was well spent.

Great Food and service… until dessert… some restuarants should just stay away from stuff they have no business doing… a microwaved way overheated apple crisp was a mushy mess… loved the entire meal but when they crash on dessert you leave feeling ripped off

Went here for dinner tonight. Good but not great, little bit hit or miss.
We ordered the Gorgonzola garlic bread and calamari for appetizers. The bread was really good, not too overpowering as some gorgonzola breads can be. The calamari on the other hand, was terrible. Tasted more like fish sticks than calamari. Definitely looked like packaged and not fresh calamari as well.
My wife got a mint chocolate martini, which was simply some sort of mint flavored vodka martini with a bunch of chocolate chips poured in the glass too. She said it tasted very good though.
For our entrees my wife got the Spaghette Bistecca, which was very tasty. I got the Veal Parmesan. First time I’ve ever had veal parm. The veal itself was very good, but the red sauce on the pasta was not that good and tasted like it was from a can.
Service was slow.
Overall, it was a decent place to try but I’m not sure I would return as there are other, better choices in the area.

We tried Pinocchio’s after UMass’ graduation, since most everything in/​around Amherst was totally booked. It is right off of 181 on the way to/​from the Mass Pike, and about 40 minutes from campus.
There is a very large bar area as you come in with TV’s, but the atmosphere is low-​key and the waitstaff are all very friendly. We sat in a room adjacent to the bar with a proper dining area — nice lighting/​atmosphere; very mellow.
The prices are reasonable ($ 13−18ish for an entrée). Service was a little slow, but maybe because we had a pretty large party. I got a pasta dish and added a mesclun salad for $ 3 — which was huge and included two big chunks of some kind of soft (goat?) cheese — delicious. The pasta was very good as well.
Overall, nice environment, good food, a little off the beaten path. Definitely would recommend this place to anyone coming from UMass who is trying to avoid the post-​graduation crowds. A very nice place to go with your family.