Boston is home to one of the most enduring Little Italies in the country – the North End. The one-square-mile neighborhood is one of the city’s most visited areas and is home to dozens of restaurants, coffee houses, and pastry shops. It should come as no surprise that some of the city’s best Italian bars can be found in this area. Boasting extensive Italian wine, beer, cocktail, and martini menus, these three low-key establishments are among the best in Boston.
America Domani has compiled a brief list of the best Italian bars in Boston to check out for a casual cocktail or two during your next trip to the city.
Cantina Italiana
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Cantina Italiana is an old-school trattoria that has been serving old-school dishes since 1931. And while the food is delicious, its biggest draw is its impressive cocktail and wine menu. Visitors can choose from classic Italian cocktails like Aperol Spritz and Negroni, Italian wines and beers such as Peroni, Moscato, and Falanghina, as well as frozen drinks like the citrusy Sgroppino, a refreshing drink made with lemon sorbet, vodka, limoncello, prosecco, and mint.
Don’t forget to try their unique Italian martinis, including “Pistachio,” made with vodka, creme di pistacchio, amaretto, and pistachio crumbles; “Limoncello,” made with citron vodka, limoncello, lemon, turbinado syrup, and a sugar rim; and “Nutella,” made with vanilla vodka, Frangelico, chocolate, chocolate liqueur, and nutella.
Caffe Vittoria
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Caffe Vittoria has been serving generations of Italians since 1929. Positioned on Hanover Street, the main avenue that runs through the one-square-mile neighborhood, it claims to be Boston’s first Italian coffee shop. While the 94-year-old coffee shop is primarily known for its coffee and pastries, it also serves a wide assortment of Italian grappas as well as regular and coffee-based cocktails and martinis like the “Caffe Vittoria,” made with coffee, kahlua, brandy, and tiramisu liqueur; “Italia,” made with hot cocoa, hazelnut liqueur, kahlua, and brandy; and “Black and Gold,” made with coffee, triple sec, amaretto, baileys, hazelnut liqueur, and a dash of cinnamon schnapps.
Caffe dello Sport
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This no-frills coffee shop is aptly named “The Coffee Shop of Sports,” for always playing sports games on its televisions. As is the case with other coffee shops in the area, it sells traditional pastries and sandwiches, as well as coffee and hot chocolates. But, on the weekends, the small joint gets packed with visitors looking to sample a selection of its Italian draft beers, cocktails, and martinis, including the famous Aperol Spritz, Espresso Martini, and Lemon Basil Martini, made with deep eddy lemon vodka, simple syrup, and basil.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, The Christian Science Monitor, and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.