About Us

“The North End should be loaded with places like this-simple but good pasta dishes, low prices. Some neighborhood restaurants that charge twice as much aren’t half as good.”

by Paul’s Primo Places

“Lo Conte’s is just what we used to love in the North End-giant portions of pasta and such with highly flavored tomato sauces. The room is crowded and decorated just enough for dining out, and that, too, is traditional. This is your father’s Italian restaurant, son.”

By Dining Out

“One block over from Hanover Street, on lower Salem Street, you’ll find Lo Conte’s, an attractive little storefront with a clean, refreshingly simple decor and a sizable, appetizing Italian menu. Prices are down-scaled but portions are not, which allows a couple to dine handsomely, even including a decent bottle of wine. If you don’t like spinach, Lo Conte’s tasty fresh spinach sautéed with garlic and lemon may change your mind. The extensive pasta offerings include more than a dozen possibilities highlighted by light potato gnocchi tossed in a creamy mascarpone cheese sauce; and a gusty ziti puttanesca, with a zesty fragrant sauce of anchovies, capers, garlic and tomatoes.”

by The Boston Herald

“As we turned onto Salem Street, the smell of garlic wafted from half a dozen restaurants, and suddenly we were ravenous. “Head for the one with the longest line,” our daughter spoke up, before her father could say it. That turned out to be Lo Conte’s Italian Cuisine, a neighborhood restaurant filled, it seemed, with friends and relatives of the owners. Scanning the menu, our spirits soared: Gnocchi Spezzatino, Arrabbiata, Saltinbocca, Farfalle…we felt like extras in one of Francis Ford Coppola’s Italian family epics. Each of us ordered something different, to share and sample. We ate slowly, savoring every bite, every moment.”

By SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER

“This is a real neighborhood place, with chummy service and large portions of excellent food. On weekend nights the line can be long, but once your name is on the list, you’re part of the gang-you’ll be sent across the street to hang around at the Grand Cafe until your table is ready. When it is, you’re seated in one of the two glorified-storefront dining rooms, decorated with photos of Italy on the walls and filled with the satisfied chatter of happy diners. Salads and appetizers aren’t cheap, but portions are large and quality is high-the house salad dressing is a cheese infused wonder; broccoli orata is battered and sautéed until it’s both tender and crispy; and eggplant rolatini, when it’s available as a special, is out of this world. Main dishes are divided into pasta, chicken, veal, and seafood, but you may not get past the specials. The house special chicken, broccoli, and ziti (a dish you’ll find on more menus than chicken parmigiana) is the best in town!, and the daily specials actually taste as good as they sound. If seafood is involved, go for it.”

by Frommer’s Boston