Toscana Bar Italiano

This is probably the first review I ever put on Unilocal but I feel this place totally deserves it. The other night we went to Toscana’s in Beverly, Ma for dinner. We have been there many times before but this night was the best! Our bartender whose name is Gail was outstanding. Not only was she very personable but she was so attentive. My water glass was always full and she never waited for us to ask for another cocktail. We asked for recommendations on the entrees and were pleased with our choices. The bar and restaurant were full but she managed to handle every thing, signs of a seasoned bartender with a personality! Which a lot of restaurants seem to be lacking these days. The other bartender also was super attentive, sorry didn’t get her name.

Underwhelming. Nothing was particularly bad, except for maybe the tiramisu, which should have been marketed as a cream of tiramisu, since it was a big bowl of mostly cream. The service was beyond poor, but I’ll give it another shot mostly because of their drink/​wine list.

Just Ok our food was good menu was very generic and our waitress the most obnoxious We’ve ever had
I would come back but I would not sit in her area

Tried to eat here twice.
1. Shortly after they opened, I checked their website and it said they don’t take reservations so my husband and I went there for a 6pm Saturday dinner before a NSMT show. The place was empty but we were told the tables were reserved. WTH? I thought they didn’t take reservations except for larger groups! We were told the tables were reserved for call ahead customers. Like we were supposed to know that!
2. A few weeks later we decided to try again this time we were a group of eight. i called for a reservation which was accepted. A day later I got a call that our reservation could not be honored. Not sure why but I thought it was a crappy thing to do.
Now when I suggest trying it again my friends are apprehensive. Guess there are plenty of other places close by to patronize. Poor customer service.

Overall a very good experience. I went with my family on a week night. We we seated with friendly service. Personally I’m not a friend of the high chairs but it wasn’t my choice. The drinks were awesome and the food was delicious!!! The only things I would change would be the flies around the window to be gone and the prices to be a little lower. Otherwise it was great. Loved the food and the drinks!

Tried this restaurant for the first time last Saturday. Our waitress was Karen and everything was spectacular from the service to the food. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Karen was attentive without hovering. I had Veal Saltimbocca and my wife had Scallops over Risotto. I had the Cod & Clam Chowder before and we had Tiramisu and the Lemon meringue tart for desert. Everything was done to perfection. The scallops were seared beautifully on both sides and the Risotto was creamy and had a marvelous blend of cheese and corn flavors. The veal was done med rare and covered in mushrooms. The Tiramisu was a very large portion would feed 2 and the lemon tart was delicious. We will be asking for Karen returning often.
Pat Casavecchia
Beverly Ma

I have been to this restaurant three times now, once for drinks and appetizers and twice for dinner. The food is consistently superb. My first selection was the appetizer meatballs and they were so good that I changed my plans for dinner elsewhere and stayed there for dinner. The Italian wedge salad is delicious. My next meal there was just as good, although I thought the Parmesan Truffle Frites appetizer were heavy on the parm and light on the truffle. No huge surprise, I suppose. My third dinner was the Cod and broccoli rabe and it was divine. We were a party of 7 (graciously changed by management at the last minute from six) and everyone loved their dinners. I sampled the Caprese Salad (divine) and the Calamari (also delicious). The risotto was simply scrumptious. The drinks were good and ample.
The service has been very good, although on my third visit, our party of 7 was placed at the hightops in front of the front windows, and our waitress was short and it was a bit awkward for her to stretch to serve us. She seemed completely unable to enter the dessert and coffee orders and I had to repeat them several times. Not sure the electronic order pad is a good replacement for a good old-​fashioned paper order.
I love the location, the food and the service. What else is needed? It’s a great addition to downtown Beverly.

My family has a now eaten here twice. You get a very tasty meal. The wait service is above average and there isn’t anything that we’ve had on the menu that would send us running and screaming away from the restaurant. They certainly put out a terrific meal at a fair price. A heads up, though, is in order. On the second visit there was a sign out front saying Monday — Thursday Appetizers were ½ off. NOT TOTALLY TRUE. Only three of four of their extensive appetizer list falls into that category. Could really hurt when you expect a lower bill at the end. Make sure you ask which are ½ off. We suggested they make that note on the sign because it’s deceptive, but they haven’t made any change to in in the several days since we ate there. Worth the visit… the food is good.
Since I posted this there has been a response to the appetizer issue by one of the owners… My hats off to one of the owners who said, ” Hi everyone, I am an owner of Toscana’s and saw this post this morning. I’ve added a temporary notation onto the sign until a new one is printed. Our intention was never to deceive anyone with this promotion. I apologize to anyone who feels that way. We have also decided to close Mondays until after labor day, which will be corrected on the new sign. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding” My hats off to Angelo Perrina who took action. Class act.

Having enjoyed their Peabody location we decided to try the new location in Beverly, in spite of the mixed reviews. I am glad we did. If the service had been poor, as per reviews, management must have taken heed, as our service was impeccable from the second we stepped in the door. They did a great job renovating; it is open, yet cozy, with a warm ambiance. Our waitress was well informed experienced and efficient. The calamari was tender and perfectly cooked and the rollatini was expertly seasoned and a perfect appetizer portion, that we shared.
My chicken Marsala with homemade fussily was one of the best I have had,
Tender chicken, great flavor and unique mushrooms. My husband asked for veal parmesan with sauce on the side (his usual)…no problem. That brings me to my lack of 5^th star: I request Saltimboca with chicken instead of veal and the waitress paused and said that could not be done. Why? My chicken, in Marsala, would be the same cut, just replace chicken where veal would be and create Saltimboca with prosciutto etc.
All in all the high quality food makes this a go to Beverly location. Even the bread was perfect: warm, not your basic Italian bread, served with a great dip. We skipped dessert as meal portions are large, but the dessert menu looked to be as great as the main courses. This location has a smaller menu than their Peabody one, but is superior in choices to others in the area.
As an important aside their drink menu is very special. They have a large variety of unique, sohisticated drinks.

Last night our first time. Cute inside. Nice bar… didn’t sit at the bar yet the high tops did the job. Here’s why I won’t return. Staff was pleasant but seemed to have restaurant professional experience. That’s a big deal in my book. Professionalism. Can change the taste of a meal. Next, since it was a first I figure go with a tried and true easy selection. Veal Parm with homemade fuselli (sp?).
Everthing was «soaked» is sauce and the cheese topping. I would never typically complain about cheese cause I love it. But too much is too much and when the food is drenched in sauce you can’t taste what you intended to eat. I’d say… food failed. (d+ at best).
My wife did enjoy her linguini alla vongole… so she weighed in here.
We typically go out 5 days per week … this one won’t get a return from me.

I have mixed feelings after eating here. The food was really good, and they have an interesting beer list. I had an excellent Dark and Stormy with their house ginger beer. Our waitress was great (I can’t remember her name).
We came here after our first choice restaurant had a long wait, and based on Unilocal telling us it was «good for kids». We have twin toddlers, who are very well behaved in restaurants (believe it or not). I scouted out to see if they had high chairs and if there was a wait. The answer was «No» to both, but the waitress I spoke to (who later served us) said that they have booster seats. So far, so good. When I came back a few minutes later (we decided to bring our own travel boosters because the boys do better in them than in the standard boosters), a different waitress immediately (and rudely) said «I don’t have high chairs.» When I told her we had our own, and could just put them on regular chairs, she responded «oh, well I guess you can have that table if you want», indicating the only open low-​top table in the restaurant.
Fortunately we had no further interactions with the rude waitress, apart from her bumping into our table a few times because it was inconveniently located too close to the bar seating. The waitress who took care of us was terrific. The boys devoured their fried chickpeas and my fusilli. The chicken parm was very good, as was the porcini ravioli my wife had. But it definitely was not a good restaurant for kids. No kid’s menu, no kid’s cups, no high chairs. It would also be nice if we hadn’t been greeted like we were an inconvenience. But again, our waitress was great, which is why they get a good rating from me.

Beverly definitely has its choice of Italian restaurants. This newcomer is worth a visit! The cocktail selection is so original and interesting. The little plates are delicious with a nod to Sicilian cuisine. Located off the main restaurant drag (Cabot Street) this tiny restaurant is a great place for delicious Italian food.

Tried to eat here last night. Sat at the bar with my wife just about 5 PM. Bar was about half full. Took a while for the waitress/​bartender to come over and take our drink order, but she finally did. Then we never saw her again. Another bartender/​waiter came over to us after a while and gave us food menus. After a few minutes, he literally went to everybody else at the bar and asked them if they were ready to order food, except for us. He then gets in a discussion with another customer about personal things, and didn’t even give us a look.
After waiting over 20 minutes, we decided to leave, called the bartender over and told him to give us the check. He obviously saw that we didn’t even finish our drinks and that something was wrong, but he could’ve cared less and never even asked.
There are plenty of great restaurants to go to in this area and neighborhood. Management, you have to treat your customers better than this otherwise they will not return. I sure won’t.

It’s very rare to find a restaurant that leaves you slightly unbalanced. Somewhere that changes your expectations about the quality you can dare to expect from a seemingly homely Main Street location and that offers little in terms of exterior view or pedigree of dining neighbors.
The good news is we found such a place — but if you want to understand how staggeringly good Toscana is then stop reading and you’ll need to head to Rantoil and seek AJ and his crew of magnificent chefs, bartenders and servers.
The Carbonara was off the scale fabulous — I swapped out the fettuccini for linguine — but oh my… what a dish. Specials were plentiful, the wine list utterly fair. And with everything else to choose from you’ll be blown away.
Everything about this place was special. And we were not the only diners who felt the same — a small space crammed with happy faces and booths filled with pleased diners.
Well, well done.

My husband and I went to Toscana for the first time last night and we were both pleasantly surprised. The cocktail menu was incredible, there were so many unique and delicious options. You could tell this menu was designed and well thought-​out for a delightful guest experience. My husband ordered the
Dark and Stormy which was excellent and I had a
Strawberry Prosecco in a champagne flute, which was very good. For our dinner, my husband ordered the steak tips which were cooked perfectly with a scrumptious but not overpowering marinade. He enjoyed his meal very much. I ordered their take on chicken, broccoli rabe with wine sauce, it was fresh, delicious and all made to order. The service was excellent and the atmosphere was bustling with a fun 30−40+ crowd. They have high bar tables and a great bar, perfect spot for a super fun date night. Beware of the noise level, and tables are close with other guests, we actually made some new friends. Thanks so much, we will certainly be back. Cheers!

There’s something a little more Roberto Benigni and less Marcelo Mastroianni about Toscana Bar Italiano. Part quirky, part funny, but still some deep substance to this cuisine, like that Pork chop Milanese, a HUGE bone in chop pounded, breaded and fried, then topped with an arugula salad, with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese bites. Yummo!
Chicken Parmesan was a hit… it’s a great take on a classic.
Did someone say Dessert? Yes please… like that lemon meringue tart or Nutella Chocolate Mouse with crushed hazelnuts that will have you dragging your finger at the bottom of the empty glass to capture just one more smidge of it.

My husband and I tried to visit Toscana with our almost 3-​year-​old daughter. We were shocked to find out they didn’t have a single highchair at their establishment, and also had no plans to get one. When we admitted we were surprised, we were told rather rudely that they were «more like a bar,» which is ridiculous, considering their menu. We will not be back there, with or without our daughter.

Ok, so maybe not 5 but 4 stars. Great atmosphere, food was excellent, specials were on point, Chris the bartender was attentive but not overbearing. Will definitely be back and probably become a regular. Short rib was fall apart (girlfriends dish), my gnocchi was the best I have had since aunt Geneva’s. Pizza was great (moms plate), and the step father killed his dish so fast I’m not sure what he even got. Long story short … Try this place. Period .,

This place is a little hidden gem. Fancy Italian restaurant meets downtown Beverly pub. Atmosphere is quaint upscale pub. Food ranges from wings burgers and steaks to eggplant rollatini and chicken parm to mussels and clams. Food is delicious and lot of snacks /​appetizers to pick on as well. Bar is where it’s at though, blue lights and fun cocktails make it so intriguing! Lots of delicious drinks to try including the ginger beer they make in house. They even have a mule menu! Def a must try for date night or girls night out!

Modern spin on classic Italian. Came here for dinner and drinks with my girlfriends. We each had two different craft cocktails and all were amazing! Especially the MAZZA. Great small plates to share. Will definitely be back to try more!