David Palmo

Authentic Italian cuisine with bold, beautifully balanced flavors. I started with the tuna crudo, fresh, clean, and perfectly dressed. The pumpkin ravioli was rich and comforting with just the right touch of sweetness, and the tagliatelle Emilia-Romagna style was silky, savory, and expertly made. For mains, the tenderloin was incredibly tender and cooked exactly right. Every dish felt thoughtful and true to Italy. can’t wait to come back.

Carrie Sunde

La Padrona in Back Bay absolutely deserves five stars — and then some. From the moment you walk in, the vibes are immaculate: warm, elegant, and buzzing in the best way. I also love the Christmas decor...so classy! The food is truly superb. Every dish is executed flawlessly, but the pumpkin ravioli completely stole the show for me — rich, comforting, and perfectly balanced. And do yourself a favor and save room for dessert because the tiramisu is an absolute must-try. It’s light, indulgent, and the perfect ending to an incredible meal. The service is just as spectacular as the food. The waitstaff is attentive, knowledgeable, and genuinely welcoming — the kind of service that makes you feel taken care of without ever feeling rushed. If you’re thinking about visiting or dining here, plan ahead and make a reservation early — La Padrona books up fast, and for very good reason. This is easily one of Back Bay’s standout restaurants, and I can’t wait to return. Highly, highly recommend! 🍝✨

+3

Nathaniel Hudak

The atmosphere is unlike any other, a perfect mix of elegant club atmosphere with perfect lighting and cozy tables. Our waitress was amazing and the service, synchronization, and overall vibe rivals Michelins restaurants. Everything on the menu is fresh with subtle notes of complex flavors.

Justin Alpert

I am a Hospitality Design teacher and I brought my students to La Padrona as I thought it would be a great place to immerse ourselves in Hospitality. And I was right! I can see why Michelin recommend them. Everything about dining experience felt not just upscale, but warm and comforting. Everything we ate was delicious. I highly recommend starting any meal there with bread service!

+3

Steph Sparkle

Great restaurant and atmosphere. Recommend the steak was beautiful. Cocktails were amazing. Waiter was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. One recommendation to the restaurant is to set the high tables further apart. Could of done with one of those tables removing to allow other tables more room. Felt like the couple next to us where part of our table.

Ana Valle

This place is such a vibe! Make me feel like I'm back in New York City and the night has endless possibilities. There is so much atmosphere, this place doesn't have to have great food but it definitely does. From the bread service to the pasta, very good! The drinks are also carefully crafted.

Richard S

The main thing that differentiates the great restaurants from the merely good is that each dish while being delicious also is original and interesting. La Pedrona is just fabulous in that regard. The cacio e pepe bread has this incredible pepper taste that I’ve never tasted before. The sauce for the scallop is amazingly tangy and different. The streak of vinegar they put on the tagliatelle is just out-of-this world delicious and something I’d never seen before. If you want the best risotto you’ve ever had in your life, the uni and lobster choice is out of this world. The steak was incredibly tender and good (but the only dish I’d give 4 stars instead of 5 too), but not quite as special as the others. The restaurant has a special, original and delicious take on vanilla ice cream as well. Service was pretty good except one of our servers was being trained and was quite bad. The restaurant is beautiful! Huge, huge negative was a 3% “kitchen appreciation fee” added to the bill. I didn’t see this on the menu or the website. Just subtracted it from the tip. But almost subtracted it twice. The explanation when I researched it later - this is just a pure “money grab” by the restaurant. Of course they could add 3% to the cost of their dishes. Instead they just steal the money from their staff, as I’m sure people tip less when they see this. A shameful practice. I was going to give the restaurant one star just because of this, but I will let the reader decide.

+4

Michael Harris-Smith

Wow! Wow!! and WOW!!! This place is beautiful. From the time you walk in the music hits you and the visuals are breathtaking. The entire staff was top notch and very attentive. The food was delicious. We had various appetizers, main courses, and deserts. The drinks were great and the presentation alone was worth the price. Great place to hang out, relax, and enjoy a meal. We definitely will be returning!!!

Matthew Litchfield

We visited La Padrona for Valentine’s Day and had the special $150 per person set menu—so keep that in mind. My review might not be that applicable to your every day visit. Pros: • The food and drinks were excellent. Highly recommend the Japanese Opera cocktail—one of the highlights of the night. • The ambiance was elegant and had a stylish feel. • The music was loud but really good—definitely not a quiet, intimate setting, but it added to the energy. • Service was great—staff was attentive and professional. Cons: • Way too pricey for what you get. The value just wasn’t there, and it felt like we were overcharged at every turn. • They packed the restaurant to the brim. Zero privacy, which took away from the experience. It felt like they were focused on maximizing revenue over guest comfort. Overall: A good spot with solid food and drinks, but they really need to rethink their pricing and seating (at least for special occasions like Valentine’s Day). Would consider returning.

+3

Amer El-Haddad

Excellent food, good drinks and great vibe. We went on New Year’s Eve, so the staff was a little over stretched. The hosts had attitude but it was no biggie. The service was good, I forgot his name but he had a few cool silver rings on. The staff seemed to forget it was New Year’s Eve which was a little awkward. We will def be back in a regular night.

+1

ash

an elegant dining experience with a high caliber of service and attention to detail. starters and entrees were all fantastic, with the rabbit ragu the highlight of the night. drinks were superb with the exception of the salty truffle, which i had to return after trying to get the flavor profile and failing. as for desserts, the chocolate cake and creme brulee were highlights. i will note my party was disappointed with the tiramisu because the dish is far from its namesake...it is a light, creamy dessert that did not include ladyfingers/pastry. this could have been communicated better on the menu. would absolutely come back here again, now with a better idea of the menu.

Hesam Azimi

My Rating: (4.1/5) We enjoyed our visit overall — especially the drinks — but some dishes didn’t fully meet expectations for the price point. Drinks: The Hot & Dirty and Salty Truffle Martinis were excellent and very well-balanced, though most of their special cocktails were definitely on the pricier side. Food: Some of the dishes that are usually considered their “stars” were a bit underwhelming for us. •Cacio e Pepe Focaccia and Tagliatelle Emilia-Romagna felt one-note. I really wish the tagliatelle had more aged balsamic to brighten and balance the dish. On the positive side: •The Charred Arrowhead Cabbage was incredible — beautifully charred, flavorful, and perfectly balanced. •The Wagyu Beef Carpaccio was very good. •Our favorite mains were the Swordfish Fra Diavolo and the Honeynut Squash & Pumpkin Ravioli. Both were excellent, with well-balanced flavors (the swordfish had a nice spicy-tangy profile, and the ravioli combined sweet pumpkin with ginger and brown butter very nicely). Service: Service was friendly and helpful. The only disappointment was that we asked to be notified before the kitchen closed so we could order dessert, but we weren’t told in time and ended up missing it. Our waitress did bring us some Florentine cannolis as a gesture, which we appreciated. Overall: Some dishes didn’t fully deliver for a restaurant at this level, but the drinks and a few standout plates made the experience enjoyable. We’re not sure we’d return for the food, but would come back for the drinks.

+5

Alex S

La Padrona is a beautiful restaurant! It was pretty busy when we went, even though it was a weekday, and we did have to wait a bit to be seated for our reservation. The food was pretty good, but seemed more expensive than other Italian restaurants in the area. Dessert was absolutely DELICIOUS. Overall, a nice birthday dinner!

Kartik Bharadwaj

This restaurant lives up to its hype if you consider the decor and atmosphere. Food wise I’m not so sure. We tried the tagliatelle and squash ravioli, both of those were just alright and I’m very certain that I’ve had better in the city. They have an extensive wine menu but we decided to just stick to one cocktail and I felt that was average too. The chai spiced Paloma left a lot to be desired and the espresso martini felt like a pre mix. The online menu listed Irish cream as one of the ingredients while the physical menu did not, had to request for it to be added. Cocktails need to be priced better, the ones here felt way too expensive for what was just meh. Saving grace was the dessert, their chocolate cake. Top notch! It’s busy because it’s popular and that can cause a lag in service which we felt. It is ironic considering that I saw an excessive amount of staff in the dining room. For what we paid, it did not live up to any sort of expectations.

Addy Woldemariam

Pros - First time at La Padrona the patrons were a fun vibe. The food and dessert were delicious, the flavors were unique and the plates were colorful. One of their Cabernet was like fireworks - amazing! We couldn’t get enough of the cocktails, we had a second round. The music was instrumental so we can hear each other talk during dinner. The lighting felt magical, just enough dim light. Cons- There were no toilet papers in the ladies bathroom, it doesn’t look like they clean the restrooms often. The hostess and our waitress were standoff-ish. The waitress couldn’t accommodate the ingredients in the mocktails, but some of ladies were allowed to switch out the ingredients in the cocktails. The cherry on top is as we’re leaving, I reached for the gratis matches at that instance the hostess rolled her eyes at me. I hope it didn’t come out of her paycheck! Maybe it was a cold, winter day and the staff need to thaw a bit. But the food and drinks were the winners.

Clifford Ehrlich

We just got back to our hotel after a 2 hour dinner at La Padrona. My ears still hurt. I get that loud music is the thing at happening restaurants, but painfully loud music that limits conversation is ridiculous. On the plus side, the sommelier was excellent, offering us a different wine when the 1st was not to our taste. I liked the commardarie with our waiter, Srinivas. The foccacia and the halibut were excellent! The scallop appetizer was mediocre, and the pasta was over-salted despite our request for no added salt. Given the excellent reviews and very high prices, my wife and I were disappointed with our experience at La Padrona.

Taylor

How do they consider themselves fine dining when they serve brown and wilted lettuce. Absolutely zero quality control. Cocktail I got did not taste the same as the first time. Would not go back. For the price you pay, there is definitely much better options in Boston.