Spiga Ristorante

I was surprised to see it from outside. It doesn’t look like a restaurant! It looks like an old house nobody lives in. The entrance looks slightly better. However, I changed my mind when I went inside. Based on number of people I saw there, I figured the food should be good. There were 8 people of us, we ordered pasta and sea food. It was delicious but took them so long to cook it!
Also, the waiter confused one of the orders so the person waited another 20 mins until it was ready…
They don’t split the checks so I had to ask for a group check because I needed to leave early. Overall, not excited about service.

Excellent Italian restaurant. Creative dishes with fine, subtle tastes. Beautiful small room, nicely decorated. (The television over the bar damages the otherwise lovely atmosphere).
Minestrone soup is very good, perhaps a little bit too much ‘tomato taste’, but very good. All of the entrees we ordered were excellent: Parmigiana Di Meleazane in Crosta is a creative eggplant parmesan; Spaghetti Allo Scoglio was well filled with seafood and had a delicate taste; Gnocchi Di Patate Mare E Monti and Papparadelle Al Ragu Napoletano were both a pleasure to eat.
Deserts were terrific: Tiramisu is light and delicious; Chocolate Trilogy presentation is beautiful; bread pudding is very good.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our Saturday night dinner in this lovely restaurant, our third visit.

North End prices without the North End taste. I think that the staff from the Wingate senior center must moonlight in the Spiga kitchen. Lovely ambiance, bland, overpriced food. I’ve had more exciting meals at Bertucci’s or Not Your Average Joes. The restaurant was very popular with the low-​sodium crowd. I was hoping for a redeeming dessert, but the tiramisu with whole wheat lady fingers was gritty and not satisfying. Can’t say that I wasn’t warned by a friend, but wanted to give it a chance.

Came highly recommended and I was disappointed. I ate alone at the bar – albeit early at 5 and by myself– but the service, ambiance and food all lacked. The front door blows cold air right into the restaurant and a loud… train? screaming pot? Broken refrigerator… Made loud screeching noises my entire meal. I had the beet salad and the gnocchi with shrimp. I found both to be very bland. Nothing particularly wrong, just very low on flavor. In fairness, I didn’t order what I had asked and had told were top choices. The shrimp were waaaay overcooked and the gnocchi needed some additional flavor with the mushrooms and meager tomatoes to make it work.
I thought it was just fine. Wouldn’t go back likely.

Worst Italian food I’ve ever eaten… and I’m not kidding. The portion was tiny and the Bolognese sauce tasted like it came from a jar. The table was not level and constantly moved back and forth. Sorry but when I’ve eaten Italian food that tastes like grandma made it, it’s a hard act to follow. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else… I’m so embarrassed I choose this restaurant that I’m taking my coworkers to Marchetti’s in Rhode Island (only 38 minutes away)

Our waiter was very pleasant and the outdoor patio ambience was delightful. I wish I could continue to rave about their food but sorry it stops there. My husband, son and I went there because the restaurant is local to us and the great reviews on TripAdvisor. We started off with a $ 16.00 Prosciutto, Parmigiano in Tempura, Aged Balsamic. It was presented on a large dish that contained three small pieces of parmigiano with the same number of prosciuttos. My entrée was Scialatielle Ai Frutti Di Mare. The mussels and shrimps were disappointingly small in the sauce that wasn’t tasty. I was expecting my son’s Grilled Bone-​In Ribeye a thicker cut for the price but was less than a ½ inch steak. Also, he (11) complaint few times about tasting the charred pieces. Out of the three entrees, my husband’s choice of Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese apparently was the winner. He said it was good. I’m unsure still if that was because we had waited an hour and 40 minutes for our meal and he wolfed it down without even really tasting it. Well, I don’t believe this place has the food quality to match their prices.

Let me first say that I was blown away by the ambiance of Spiga. When sitting outside, you would never imagine that busy Needham Street is just over the beautiful decorations.
I ordered the Pappardelle Al Ragu Di Coniglio E Porcini and unfortunately was not very impressed. The pasta itself was hard and very chewy and the «sauce» was on the blander side. I do not recommend this dish but am open to trying another entrée.

Great food matched by excellent service– ask for Pam, she’s fantastic and attentive and always has a smile!

Ate here again last night and once again the flavor of the food was outstanding. The service was also excellent. The portion size however was far too small for the prices charged. Overall the food is excellent but the value is poor.

It’s been a year since we ate here and now I remember why. We ate outside next to the owner. Several times the staff came out to tell him about problems in the kitchen and they weren’t kidding. Forty five minutes for a panini and no apologies. Never again.

Went for dinner on a Thursday night the place was pretty busy our service was very good unfortunately the food was lacking. The pasta was homemade which got us excited but the dishes just didn’t have flavor. I got the rabbit ragu which was under salted and had an off flavor to us the grilled octopus was not grilled but rather breaded and slimy and was not good at all my wife’s seafood and pasta dish also wasn’t very good. The open kitchen was also a run off since it looked dirty and dusty. Spiga just isn’t for us.

We are visiting from Oregon where we have fantastic restaurants with fresh local produce in the ingredients, so we have high standards. Spiga did not disappoint. My Mediterranean salad was delicious with fresh local lettuce and arugula. My husband had pasta which was yummy and my in-​laws had pasta and lobster salad which they said was yummy also. Finally, believe the other reviewers when they say try the bread pudding. Oh my that’s delicious!

My kudos to the chef. I went in at lunch one day and checked out the menu and didn’t see what I wanted on the menu that day which was linguini Bolognese and went up to the window where the chef was and he was very engaging and made it for me. That’s a real restaurant. Thank you chef !

The worst dining experience in Needham. The waitress double checked with us when we told her that we were not getting wine. Didn’t know getting wine was a must here? Told me that what I ordered was too little and I switched one item, and then messed up my order by putting the canceled also on the order. I had to cancel one item because it was too much. I had no napkin until I asked for one. The food was also disappointing – no highlights at all. Not worth your time.

I’ll never forget the «deer-​in-​the-​headlights» look from Ruthie.
On recommendation from several locals (we’re from Iowa), I called Spiga for a reservation of 10 the day before our daughter’s Harvard graduation.
Ruthie answered the phone. She was gracious and accommodating in honoring our request.
She asked if we might move our requested time of 7 p.m. back to 7:15 in order to accommodate an easier transition for other larger groups. I was happy to comply.
When we arrived at 7:10 p.m., Ruthie was beyond shocked to learn that it was a group of 10 rather than two which she had written down (see «deer-​in-​headlights» comment above). Reminding her of our 7 versus 7:15 conversation, she immediately «owned» the error and asked for a few moments to rearrange some tables.
We waited anxiously outside on the patio steeling ourselves for a disappointment.
Five minutes later a table was set and we were invited in. We were not disappointed. The staff was accommodating and friendly.
The food? Oh right, that’s why we wanted to dine there.
It was UNBELIEVABLE!
From the lamb to the chicken, the gnocchi to the eggplant, and from the bread pudding to the gelato, our family dined in elegance of palate.
Thanks to Ruthie, Robert DeSimone, and the rest of the Spiga team for an unforgettable and lovely evening that capped the end of our daughter’s Harvard commencement.
Viva Spiga!

I did not know what gnocchi was supposed to taste like until I came here.
We went on a cold night in February. It is more upscale than you would expect given it’s location in back of a D’Angelo’s. Thus, I brought my children.
Usually dining with the little one is the opposite of relaxing. But luckily, they employ a baby whisperer as one of their waitresses. She said she would hold her and I said the baby would be scared, and she said not of me! And she wasn’t. It was really amazing.
We had an unexpectedly wonderful evening. They do a nice job with everything; the food, the service, even the music.
My gnocchi was divine. My husband and son’s meals were terrific, and the wine was nice as well. Even the other customers were nice. (Not like at The Cottage.)
Needham is lucky to have two great Italian restaurants. Spiga’s menu and approach are definitely more old school than Sweet Basil, but for good Italian it is really fantastic.

Top notch service, attentive and very welcoming. Spiga was a nice find in my backyard and was truly surprised at the quality of food and authenticity of the menu choices.
The only drawback was price and value. I am not interested in quantity. Quality and passion for the food is what matters to me. My bill was $ 130 plus over 20% tip which was about $ 160 total! How does that happen with 2 glasses of wine, a split salad, two entrees and one dessert? Order the veal special for $ 52 and ask for a side of pasta and be charged $ 18!
I appreciate the genuine nature of the staff but may suggest that the special prices are quoted and when a side order of pasta is orders it isn’t priced as an entrée.
We really enjoyed the atmosphere and would go back as my tip reflected but would not order without knowledge of pricing.

A delicious and unique italian style restaurant hidden away in Needham.
I had a roast octopus starter that was an amazing way to kick the tastebuds into gear. Delicate, with a perfect hint of heat from some slivers of vinegar peppers.
For my main entrée, the swordfish was grilled to perfection. The sauce was more of an Italian salsa (can’t remember what was in it!) that complimented the fish.
The wine list was good. The service was attentive without being intrusive. Alex, our server, was very knowledgeable and made good recommendations. My wife wanted a salad but doesn’t like hazelnuts. Alex suggested substituting pine nuts for the offending hazelnuts. Delicious!
The ambience is pleasant, the décor nice and clean. It is warm and inviting.
I have 2 regrets about Spiga. The first is that it is only beer and wine for adult beverages. But, that just means I need to grow my experiences a bit. The second is that I couldn’t order every one of the half a dozen entrées on the menu, plus the two specials that caught my eye.
Maybe next time. Because there will be a next time!

Great food, atmosphere and service!
Eggplant Parmesan in a crust is delicious!
Same with salmon entrée!
Want to come back to try more!

Spiga Ristorante is hidden on a concrete parking lot off of Needham Street. The restaurant is small, tacky Italian landscape paintings line its walls, cheap curtains hang on windows and are used as partition in front of the bathrooms. The high ceilings are a plus, they make the small restaurant look larger than it is.
They don’t have a full bar, so your choices are beer or wine. There were six of us, we ordered two bottles of Pinot, some beers and a Mixed Crostini and Affettato Misto to share. The crostini was okay, the meats were good and the cheese was very good.
Then we ordered the entrees. Two ordered some fish (I believe it was sole, it was over salted), one spaghetti with octopus and shrimp (okay), I ordered the Sardinian Saffron Gnocchetti with baby clams, mussels and lobster (the seafood was good, but the gnocchetti was very tough and hard to chew), one ordered the Gnocchi with duck ragu (delicious) and one ordered the veal chop (also delicious).
For dessert we ordered a Tiramisu, Gelato and Bread Pudding. The bread pudding was the only memorable dessert.
The service was attentive and we were happy that we weren’t charged for the two fish entrees, which were too salty and inedible.