Real Italian Gusto

Real Gusto is one of the few places in the area that really is authentic Italian food. I have been here several times since opening and they always meet and exceed expectations! Service is perfect– they allow you to take your time and interact just enough. Excellent wine and cocktails. Food is beyond words! A must if you are in the Medford area.

The four of us walked in without a reservation on a Wednesday night, but we were seated right away. The atmosphere and the décor is a mix of modern, hip, and upscale. Something I’m not quite used to for an Italian restaurant especially in the Greater Boston area.
We ordered the pasta with bolognese sauce, a few pizzas, and another pasta dish. All were amazing. Both the pasta dishes are made with homemade pasta. And the pizzas are to die for. Probably some of the best pizzas I’ve had anywhere including NYC and the North End. We were dining with a friend who’ve visited Southern Italy three times and he claims this is the best Italian food he’s ever had anywhere around here so I gotta take his word for it. Plus, he’s somewhat of a food snob so that’s another indication of just how good the food was here.
I’m knocking off one star simply due to the service. The service wasn’t bad but like other reviewers have mentioned, they are seriously understaffed. We sat and waited for at least 10 minutes before we got our initial greeting. That’s a long time to be waiting around for an upscale restaurant. My friend said if this is truly an authentic place, then there’s no rush and this is normal for a real Italian restaurant. But reading the owner’s responses below makes me think that it’s more about being understaffed than trying to replicate the laid-​back and slow-​moving service that folks are accustomed to in Europe.
We loved everything we ate. From apps to dessert, everything was delicious, homemade and tasted authentic. We’re excited that a true Italian restaurant is just down the street from us and we no longer have to go into the North End and fight through tourists to get a table. We’ll definitely be coming back, especially for that delicious pizza!

Tried this place last night for first time and it was great. We shared some pizza’s, spaghetti carbonara and an eggplant parm appetizer. The bread that came out first was warm and fresh. The pizza’s and spaghetti were amazing. Love the eggplant as well. Never knew such a great Italian place was in Medford. The space is inviting and relaxing with a contemporary flair and nice large white lantern style lights. They also have an Italian market which looked great.

We arrived and were seated right away for our 7:30pm reservation on a Saturday. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and the nice view of the Mystic River. Unfortunately, we had a lot of time to enjoy said view as we sat for a while before being told by one server that they would be right with us. Another server came over and said ‘ready?’ That was it, not ‘hi, how are you?’ Just ‘ready?’
The apps were really high quality– my Sicilian husband was impressed with the arancini, as well as the prosciutto.
Our meals were brought out and his was tasty, the veal marsala and my arrabbiata came out… oh wait, that’s not what I ordered. The server then took back the arrabbiata, disappeared for a few minutes and brought out the bolognese that I did order, which was tasty and that was it. I opted to bring my remaining bolognese home. Upon arriving home, I opened the container and found a chicken cutlet. Whoops.
All in all the food was fine but the service left quite a bit to be desired. I do wish improvement as it is exciting to have a nice, family run business in Medford Square.

Great pizza! It was probably the best I’ve ever had in the state of Massachusetts. The waiter and owner were both extremely friendly to us, and the ambience was both modern and homely.
We also got the arancini (which were great!), and prosciutto with burrata (good quality stuff!).
I really don’t understand the bad reviews on the pizza here, though. I read one review comparing this to Papa Gino’s, and hot damn… this is nothing at all like Papa’s. Saying that is just a great disgrace to (real) Italian cuisine as a whole.

My girlfriend and I are now devout fans of the place. My parents live in Italy and I am thus skeptical of Italian restaurants purporting to be authentic or even good. However, from the moment the owners greeted us with Italian accents and fed us sublime and true-​to-​the-​mother country fare, we knew we would be regulars (and bring our friends+family). The pasta is cooked al dente, the pizzas taste like they are from Naples. The wine selection is solid and the service is lively. The ambience is modern and cozy, like being in someone’s very well decorated home. At the end of the day, you get a top notch meal on par with some of the fancy Italian restaurants like Il Casale for a much more reasonable price.
Our favorites: the pizza margherita and the pasta pachino.

Just awesome ! Can’t believe how great the mezzaluna pizza was and the Bolognese pasta was to dream of…
I’m definitely coming back!

Medford Square has a new italian spot. Clean and modern art gallery feel in the front and views of the river in the back main dining area. Cool pizza oven in the open kitchen is what the buzz is all about. We ordered the Emilia pizza. It was good but the toppings weren’t spread out as evenly as we had hoped and one lone slice stayed on the tray with nothing on it. We did try this «special» appetizer that was very interesting and tasty. This salty cannoli is called a Bottarga. It’s made with salted, cured fish roe. Some sort of delicacy in Italy and I welcome it here. Dessert was a panna cotta that was really good and firm. Weird that the waiter gave us these tiny espresso spoons to eat it. We had a nice chuckle over that.
I think an expansion of the menu is needed and a little more training with the staff.

I went here with a friend on a Friday night around 6:30. It wasn’t too crowded, we were sat right away. The atmosphere is lovely and we were seated with a nice view of the river so that was great. Seeing the authentic pizza oven and different types of pizzas made my choice pretty easy! The pizza was delicious!
The reason for my 3 stars was the service. I guess our waiter assumed we didn’t want any wine or anything to drink maybe because he didn’t think we were of age or something? but we had to flag him down. Then, after we were asked 3 times in 5 minutes of we were ready to order (went from ignoring us to pestering us) we finally did. Everyone around us had been served their wine and bread with oil (even thought we were seated before). We had nothing on our table still. It wasn’t even about the lack of bread but I was so frustrated by how we were treated I asked for it and he looked so inconvenienced that I even asked for the bread? Every single table around us got plenty. Without asking! With the olive oil to dip. Did we get the olive oil? Nope. We ended up with the bread the same time our meals came out. I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal but to see the difference of how we were treated vs. some of the «regulars» around us was ridiculous. Overall it just left a bad impression on both of us and I will most likely take my business elsewhere especially for those prices.

The place is indeed needing some warmth
Perhaps a few nice items and pictures on the walls would help
I did say the dinners were good but if you say that’s good pizza then thank god there is Papa Gino’s
Also my suggestion is that you put some of your staff through bartending school
For the record I am an Italian American person with my home roots in Calabria, Italy and was raised on only the best Italian food
Lastly instead of being snide when you get criticism it would be to your advantage to listen and consider changes
I wish you the best of luck and a happy birthday

Wow what a find. I see some of the one star reviews but perhaps it has to do with what was ordered.
We loved the location. The site by the Mystic is great and the layout is clean and elegant. The staff is friendly.
The salume plate is delicious and he bruschetta was well grilled and the caponata was super tasty as were the Caramelized onions. The Parmesan was really excellent as well.
We loved the arugula salad with salume was wonderful and well seasoned. We loved the olive oil.
The simple cherry tomato sauce on penne was lovely and light. And I guess in our litmus test the pasta was perfectly al dente.
The cod with the tomato sauce was really lovely as well. Great stuff! We loved the potato and olives in that fish are great. The cod was perfectly cooked. Delicate yet rich.

Bust-​o not Gusto !
After hearing this place had great food I decided to give it a whirl. They should have a negative star!
I am in AWE of the (lack of) quality of food for the price. I ordered on Dining-​In and noticed eggplant parmesan was not on the Dining-​In menu but was on the Real Italian Gusto menu. I chatted Dining-​In and they were able to add 2 eggplant parmesan to my
order was over $ 50 for the 2 eggplants, a Romana salad and Pachino pasta = very pricey but I will pay good moeny for good food. this was not the case!
The eggplant was greasy, acidic, thick cut, skin on and and the only «parm» was a sprinkle of parmesan cheese dusted on top. The portion of cheese was so small it would not even attract a mouse. I order 2 in effort to take some home for dinner… could not fill a cavity never mind leftovers!
$ 20 for a piece of eggplant «parm» the size of a baseball.
Pasta Pachino should be renamed pequeno due to it’s tiny size. Initially, I thought this was the sample to try, but to my dismay it was not. $ 14 for about a dozen pieces of ziti topped with tomatoes. No basil as described, but I was ok with that as I would most likely would have brought the portion down to 8 noodles. I have had better pasta at Olive Garden.
Romana Salad or as I call it RomaNO No good… Some of the lettuce was wilted and the salad consisted of a container of lettuce topped with 3 paper thin tomatoes slices, actually a decent amount of fresh mozzarella and 4 olives that were as easy to find as an Easter egg at Fenway Park.
I contacted Dining In and they were nice enough to contact the owner, who in turn replied they did me a favor by making the eggplant parm in the first place. Some favor, I would hate to be on their bad side. Dining In was great —
The owner alleged that the reason it was not good is because it doesn’t travel well…
Well I can tell you what does travel well WORD OF MOUTH

Finally made it here! YAY! So nice and clean! Waitstaff are very friendly.
The portions are good, not overly large.
We got appetizers of bruchetta that came with different toppings to put on. My favorite
topping was a balsamic red onion OMG to die for. I ended up buying a jar of it on my
way out.
We also got rice balls, and a dish of homemade pasta. (how can you not try pasta?)
Dinner I got chicken marsala that came with potatoes. Very very good.
I plan on going back, but I do want to try their pizza as they have brought over a
pizza oven from Italy, that the pizza is suppose to be outstanding! We shall see!

I’ve got a salumi antipasto and cheese antipasto as an appetizer and a wild mushrooms risotto as a main course! Definitely the best italian lunch I have ever eaten after 5 years in Boston!!! Truly, you will find all imported italian ingredients! you will eat fresh and gorgeous dishes! Highly recommended!

I have lived in Europe for quite some time and had the pleasure of having wonderful Italian food not only in Italy, but throughout the continent. One thing I miss in the US is that there is just no place that seems to get the True Italian way of cooking a crispy thin crust pizza, or the vast variety of flavors that come from all over the country, from Tuscany to Sicily.
I was so pleased to find that in my little town of Medford, Real Italian Gusto has decided to open up shop. Tucked right along the river (it will be wonderful in the Summer), the back of the restaurant is a beautiful open, bright space that has the option to overlook their brick oven and a little bit of the front-​kitchen. The front of the house is a little market, which looked as though when I was there last, was still stocking up on wares.
Service was provided to us by the owner (husband of the husband and wife team who opened the restaurant), though it was towards the end of service.
Oh, the food? It was magnificent. It delivered on all the aspects that I remember from my long time abroad — so many memories of a happy childhood and travel flooded back (cheesy, but certainly a memory trigger for me). It was divine. It is also worth noting that the wife selection is both well cultivated, but approachable. Per glass prices hover around the $ 10 which I still find to be ridiculous when you compare per glass wine prices in Europe (but this is a universal complaint and off topic). But the price feels worth it as it is well paired to the general food style.
I look forward to returning and continuing my exploration of Real Italian Gusto’s menu.

Real Italian Gusto is hot and new, but I’ll add my two cents to bring the glowing reviews down to earth. I was very excited to try this new Medford Italian restaurant after a positive review in the Globe, and its location perked my interest in moving beyond Somerville to explore the inner burbs’ culinary scene including Medford. However, service, value, and taste lacked true gusto for now.
The interior space is bright and modern, but awkward in the sense that the restaurant is in the back of a wide open storefront. One must pass through an odd empty room with a few Italian groceries, including a deli counter, into the back of the restaurant, which had wide windows facing an overpass carrying the Mystic Valley Parkway. The front seemed underutilized, and we thought we may have walked into the wrong address at first. Once in the back you have a nice view of a brick oven for pizza and can glimpse into the kitchen to observe the chefs hard at work. The space is loud, furniture very bland, candles were unlit at 7pm.
The menu was smaller than we anticipated, but had a nice selection of pizzas. While I understand this is authentic neapolitan pizza, featuring what I’m assuming are high-​quality ingredients, the pizzas seemed underwhelming for 18.00+ (closer to $ 20 – 22) per pie. Our white pizza with truffle oil was just oily and oozy and way too rich. In fact, it was soggy, especially in the center. We thought this may have been due to the truffle oil, but others who have visited and ordered other pizzas have had similar lackluster pizza experiences. Overall disappointing.
To try out some pasta, we went for the bolognese with homemade pappardelle. Pasta itself was fine, with a nice homemade chewiness to it. Bolognese sauce better than average. Though, we had to directly ask the waitstaff for parmesean and pepper. Portion seemed to match the price. For dessert, we went for canolis, served in a pair, that were fine as well. Tiramisu was fantastic, highly recommended.
Service was a downside, especially as our waitress seemed disinterested and not so enthused about the menu. We asked a few questions about different dishes, only to get bland responses. Besides our waitress, other staff weren’t too engaging either. Water wasn’t refilled, bread plate was empty for a long time. Quite the opposite of the flame of the pizza oven, the service could not be characterized as warm. Street parking was easy to find, but we may not be rushing back.

Time to upgrade. Wine is now available. Food is fantastic and authentic. The restaurant has a stunning clean, white ambience and overlooking the Mystic River is wonderful.
Always look out for the special of the day. The red sauces have been remarkable for now. I am not much of a pizza guy, but Real Italian Gusto has the real Italian gusto. Correction: It is better than pizza in Italy.
Besides the main courses of the day, I very much enjoyed the salumi and the insalata caprese. Medford Square is turning into a gourmet heaven with ethnic excellence.

Absolutely delicious margherita pizza from an imported Italian oven that cooks it perfectly and offers both 10″ or 14″ sizes. So light, fresh ingredients, every bite is a delight. Hand stretched dough, light tomato sauce, just the right amount of Bufala mozzarella, EVOO and fresh basil leaves.
The regular size salumi plate provides a very generous portion of meats, marinated sundried tomatoes and virgin olives.
I look forward to returning again soon to try more items on the menu. A very welcome addition to Medford Sq. I hope many others will appreciate Real Gusto.

After my first visit, I am so surprised by the high rating?
The owner was sweet, waitress, hard working and awesome. So, want to start with that.
My husbands $ 10 soup (not worth that), was served 10 minutes before my bruschetta. So, he wouldn’t eat it. So, he had cold Pasta e fagioli. For my dinner, I ordered a mushroom fettucini with truffle oil. I was eating high carbs as a special treat for my half marathon race the next day. The pasta was congealed together. Stuck together! At an italian restaurant???
The flavor of the oil and cheese was great, wish I had bread to dip into the sauce, but at this italian restaurant you are given no fresh bread. So, could never bring my Italian mother in law here.
My husband got veal, but it was tiny. It was teeeny tiny portions for the price, and he wasn’t impressed with the flavor.
Go to Bistro 5. You’ll get better prepared food for your money. What a disappointment in the actual food!

I’ve been here several times since opening, and have tried to order a representative sample of all the dishes. I’ve eaten all over Italy, and Real Gusto feels like I’m in some small town outside Milan or Florence.
I can say that the Chicken Milanese is incredible, and the calzone-​pizza hybrid is as well. The focaccia is the best I’ve had outside of Tuscany, too. This is a truly Italian experience – not an Italian-​American one – and is unlike nearly any other restaurant in the Boston area.
Some of the prices seem a little high, while others seem a little low — and beer and wine are only available Fridays and Saturdays for now (not a bad compromise — and a full liquor license is promised for December) but I’ll chalk those up to opening teething issues. They don’t detract from the service and the food.
Just… Go here for the food. You’ll be impressed.