RESTAURANTS > RESTAURANT PROFILES > Cantina Italiana

Cantina Italiana
346 Hanover St. 617-723-4577
Scott Roberto

In history-bound Boston, one of the most certain of all Hub traditions is the guarantee of a hearty, quality meal at any number of outstanding restaurants in the confines of this cozy, Old World-style neighborhood. Cantina Italiana has almost single-handedly solidified this reputation. A mainstay of reliability over its more than 70 years of existence, Cantina is one of the area’s most venerable establishments—and one of the most recognizable with its familiar, wine-dripping neon sign.

Visitors to this Hanover Street landmark almost always become repeat customers. Many well-known sports figures, as evidenced by the autographed photos placed above the entryway bar, have frequented the welcoming red-and-brown accented dining room. But even that touch of glamour is overshadowed by the kitchen, which serves well-prepared, robust Italian staples such as risotto, calamari, lasagna, and veal parmigiana, as well as such dishes as the specialita della casa, a combination of lobster meat, scallops and shrimp in a tomato sauce over your choice of pasta.

Other selections include delectable appetizers like crostini di pane & gamberi—garlic toast topped with sauteed shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, porcini mushrooms, green peppers and proscuitto—and lobster ravioli. Seafood lovers can rejoice over main dishes like whole grilled prawn, little neck clams, mussels and red snapper, set upon a plate of spaghetti in a fresh cherry tomato sauce. Other classic entrees include saltimbocca di pollo, a boneless breast of chicken topped with proscuitto and mozzarella in a sauce made with sauteed mushrooms. All can be savored with a drink from their fine list of wines, naturally heavy on Italian vintages.

The dessert tray tempts with such sweets as the chocolate devil’s cake and cappuccino cake, and, of course, cannoli and tiramisu. After relaxing with a double espresso and drinking in the old-school Italian ambiance of the dining room from a comfortable booth, a sweeter ending to a fine evening in the North End would be hard to imagine.