La Campania

We were in town for a graduation at Bentley Univ., called last minute for reservation and they squeezed us in. I’m so glad because what a treat. Our server was Stacey B and she was first class!!! The food was delicious and very authentic & fresh. I highly recommend the chocolate soufflé for desert what a treat. I’d definitely would try La Campania again because there were other dishes I’d like to try.

Great atmosphere, impressive wine list. Food and ambience are in synch. Very enjoyable place to visit

Now that we’re in the ‘burbs, great Italian fare is hard to come by. We miss La Morra in Brookline, and we recently went to Il Casale in Lexington, which on that one visit has lost its luster. Per suggestion of a friend, on two different nights we ended up slumming it in the ‘Tham, and made our way to La Campania and Il Capriccio — a win-​win situation (I never thought I would write that about any restaurant in Waltham. Then again, in my college days, Vinny T’s and Papa Gino’s was a win-​win).
La Campania — Overall 4.5 stars. 5 stars for the food, 4.5 to 5 stars for service at the kitchen bar. 3 to 3.5 stars for the service in the main dining area (for us, service in the main dining area has been consistently slow and inattentive, so we prefer the kitchen bar). Starters like Buffalo Mozzarella, Warm Octopus Salad, Tuna Crudo — all excellent. They change up the pasta dishes — I had a lobster fra diavalo here, and it was phenomenal. Bucatini and Campanelle are also excellent options. Be sure to order their chocolate soufflé… we also had a rhubarb here that was really good, and a pear dessert too. Great selection of wines to complement a consistently great meal…

As other customers have recently pointed out this place is going down hill. The food is just ok, but with boxes of Barilla pasta in the kitchen and precooked pasta in bins out back, it’s definitely not worth the money for non house made pasta.
I would also think that waiters who follow you outside and get in your face after you leave a 20% tip
After waiting 40 minutes for your check and to pay are probably not helping the situation. I don’t care if the waiter is an owners cousin, he was rude, a bad server and deserved no tip. I was certainly surprised to be confronted and bumped by a member of the staff. But he suffers from «people I don’t give a !?$& about» so walked away.
This place used to be one of the best Italian places in and out of the city, but now it is just another mediocre establishment in Waltham.
4 people a bottle of wine and cocktails was close to
$ 500 and they even throw in unprofessionalism and boxed pasta for free.
Save your money and go to Bertuccis.

Without a doubt the best Italian food west of Boston. My family comes here to celebrate occasions a few times a year, and sometimes just to treat ourselves! I often order their signature Branzino, which is baked in salt and then filleted (or served whole on request), but I’ve had many of their delicious pastas as well. Be sure to order one of their cooked-​to-​order desserts when you order your meal, as these take extra time. Also, ask for Angelo, who is one of the finest waiters I’ve had anywhere.

First of all you have to give credit to good eating in the burbs. This is non red sauce Italian restaurant. You can pretty easily get free street parking so that is already a great start. Then you walk in and the décor is excellent. We had Angelo as our waiter (he has been working there 19 year) and he was terrific and entertaining. We had 6 people and sat in the wine room which was private and quiet.
Bread was homemade and incredibly soft. Angelo seem to take pride in helping us with our ordering. He planned our appetizers and presented them well for each person (We did not mind but If you are price concerned then make sure you tell him how many orders you want of each dish). The top appetizer items we had were…
Prosciutto di Parma– excellent Prosciutto wrapped around asparagus with micro greens. Not something I would have ordered but I would get this as my top item next time.
Baked Oysters– oysters warm with cheese were excellent
Gnocchi– we shared this as an appetizer and it was also excellent. Lots of mushrooms.
Entrees was excellent also. I would say that the Veal, Bronzino and the Lamb Rack were the top items at the table. The portion sizes were good size and prepared very well but not over seasoned since the meat was high quality. I would probably have the Bronzino next time but I really enjoyed the Veal.
No question that you need to have the chocolate soufflé and it delivered. We had 2 of them and they were gone in 30 seconds.
Overall a really good experience and I would like to eat outside next time when it gets warm out.

We had a great time at La Campania. The dishes were very tasty and the main courses were big portions. The inside of the restaurant was beautiful, comfortable and authentic. The servers were very accomodating, attentive and friendly. My husband felt that we were treated as members of their family. I had the Veal Chop for my third visit in a row… it is that good. My husband recommended the Lobster Tagliolini as fantastic, that is was just spicy enough yet did not overwhelm and that there was lots of lobster. Son said the Pork main course was excellent. I had never had Beef Carpaccio before and enjoyed it. Thought it was seasoned amazingly.

Eaten here many times and very disappointed this time. Took my family — kids were home from college — for a family night out.
Ordered a salad dish appetizer and the salad had an olive pit in it. Broke my tooth on the pit — — who expects a pit in a lettuce salad ! Spent the dinner in a fair amount of pain watching the family eat.
Got a mild reaction from the manager who was somewhat helpful — said he didn’t know how it happened.
The waitress, when I told her I was upset about having to cancel my order because I couldn’t eat because of the tooth, reprimanded me for complaining !! UNBELIEVABLE.
The next morning (new year’s eve) the dentist informed me the tooth was cracked and had to be removed right away and will have to be replaced with an implant.
THIS IS AN UNBELIEVABLE OUTCOME FOR A DINNER OUT WITH MY FAMILY. THIS PLACE IS BAD NEWS AND I’D STAY AWAY FROM IT.

Really outstanding food choices outstandingly prepared — such saucework. Foie gras, oysters, basil-​infused oil (strong), breads, then veal chop and duck/​venison, and did I mention the distinct, individual sauces with each? Strong and distinct flavors and, most amazing, nothing oversalted, which is just unheard of in restaurants (and TV cooking shows). Expert barolo advice from owner Dave: the 09 Prunotto had as fine a nose in the glass as any red ever, almost, and amazingly did not dissipate over time. Service was perfectly fine, although Dave will want to remind the servers to keep the label up; ours poured up, down, twirling to the side, all over, but as this barolo had no dregs, it was all good. Pricy but well worth it.
Oh, yeah, another surprising non-​major drawback — website menu is not only not completely accurate (it happens) but has underpricing errors as well. Wtf?

I wanted desperately to love this place and to mimic the 4 and 5 star reviews I’ve seen. I can’t in good conscience do that.
I made a reservation three weeks in advance and was rewarded with a back corner table adjacent to kitchen door, so we had staff running by us all evening. This did not bother my wife in the least, but it got under my skin. We had planned a romantic «date night» dinner for weeks but didn’t expect to be sharing it with the entire Campania staff.
Excellent wine list. Appropriately priced for the caliber of restaurant.
Meals were disappointing. Presentation seems to be a bigger priority than substance. The plates were gorgeous, with incredible varieties of color and texture… Unilocalers who take food photos are likely in heaven here. Portions were meager and the descriptions seemed to oversell the meals we ordered. I paid about $ 30 for what amounted to standard plate of Bolognese, which was pepped up with veal cheek but obscured by the sauce… it was good, but nothing to write home about (or pay $ 30 for).
Décor is beautiful. Small, intimate, well-​appointed, classic. Really comfortable, aside from our back room table. We look forward to sitting at the bar and enjoying a glass of wine and an appetizer, but won’t rush back for a full meal.
It is really difficult to deliver when the reviews are sky high, as they are for Campania. Maybe our hopes were too high. We’re not writing it off, but we are recalibrating our expectations for the future.

Food is good, service sucks. I don’t know how else to put it. There is a reason this is in Waltham and not in Boston. 15 minutes to get our drink on a Monday night with only one other table occupied. You should never EVER have to ask if someone is getting your drink. There was NOBODY in there! It was almost comical! Couldnt even get water in a timely manner. When we did get our glass of wine. I started to laugh. How cheap can you get?! a $ 9.00 pour that didnt even make the ¼ mark on the glass?! You can’t make this up. We laughed $ 140.00 off a «never-​again» promise and went home.

I’ll go as far as to say that it’s an interesting place with very tasty food, nice ambience. It’s quality was built up before I got there so I was expecting a lot. I don’t feel as though I got what I had been led to expect.
I ordered an appetizer, an entrée’, and a dessert. First, I had the Scallops. They were described as sea scallops. Now, in my mind I visualized those gorgeous jumbo scallops normally found in high end restaurants. What was brought to me were the same sea scallops that anyone could find at any grocery store. (Let down #1) and they plated only three of them. I realize that an appetizer isn’t a meal, but 3?
My entrée’ arrived. A frenched rack of lamb. 3 chops. Does three constitute a rack? An ice cream scoop of microwaved potato covered with three leaves of Swiss chard. (The chard was cold, the lamb was cold, and the potatoes were thermonuclear hot) In the chef’s defense, the cold chops had been cooked to perfection before they were allowed to chill. As was the chard. (Let down #2) The final insult was the chocolate soufflé. The flavors were simply outstanding! Supposedly made to order, this dessert must be ordered at the same moment that you order your entrée’. When it arrived, one could only presume that it was pre heated in the same reactor that they used to heat the potatoes. It was blistering hot! (Even with a scoop of ice cream added! (Let down #3)
Food? Minimal portions for maximum $$
Wine? A «house» wine for $ 12 per glass.
And The use of a microwave is absolutely unacceptable. What a pity. I’ll be going back to the North End. For obvious reasons.
This meal had the potential to be a real knock out. But cold elements along side unspeakably hot items took the joy out of it for me. Using a microwave on any item placed on a $ 50.00 dinner plate is just plain wrong, lazy, and an insult to the diner.

Still the best!!! Haven’t been back to La Campania for several years but nothing has changed — superior service, delicious food, fantastic ambiance. Had dinner with several friends on Saturday night. Started with the appetizer special of soft shelled crab w/​fennel salad and whipped avocado. Delicious! Next ordered the grilled veal chop, cooked perfectly to temp. (med rare) accompanied by sauted spinach and fingerling potatoes. Very large portion, and managed to save some to enjoy for lunch the following day. Passed on desert, but the selections looked appealing. An excellent wine list and went with servers recommendation based on our entrees. All in all, a fantastic experience was had by all. Won’t be so long before my next delicious visit!

A five star restaurant deserves a shout out. This restaurant is extraordinary. I’ve eaten at La Campania 6 times. And every time it is noteworthy.
Tonight I had the quail as an appetizer and my friend had the famous fois gras. The quail was delightful and toothsome. The fois gras was ridiculously superb.
I usually order the veal chop which is the finest veal chop anywhere. But this time I chose the special: a venison chop. And I must say it was outstanding. It was perfectly cooked medium rare and flavored lightly so that the flavor of the meat was not disguised. The potato on the plate was a bit understated — too understated for such a serious meal. My friend had the beef tenderloin and it was so good! Again perfectly prepared.
The service was friendly and attentive.
La Campania is on my greatest hits list for a reason.
It’s not cheap. It is the real thing. I’ll pay for authentic excellence any time.

Slipped in around 9pm. We were seated right away. Our waiter, Tim, was attentive and quick. We shared an artichoke salad, and I had the mushroom gnocchi and my husband had the veal genovese. Both were offered in a «appetizer» portion and a full. We both ordered the appetizer portion. For dessert we had the Pear tart.
Everything was delicious, hot, and fresh and we left full.

Service & food A++++
Highly recommend the mushroom insalata and salt encrusted branzino
perfect for special occasions

The famed place that I’ve longed to try.
Raved by Zagat as the #1 Italian spot in the Boston area, we booked this place for a post-​Christmas celebration. The intoxicating classy, rustic and casual Italian feel is ever so present in the atmosphere.
Everything on the menu looked exquisite, it was a hard choice but we decided to go with the braised beef ribs and seared duck. After a short wait, a masterfully plated dish of duck leg confit on top of seasoned warm spinach, and medium-​rare duck breast slices on top of savory sweet potatoes was placed before me. The duck breast perfectly seasoned and tasted more tender than steak, slightly seared on the outside to give a contrasting texture with the tender meat. The duck leg confit is more on the cooked side and of a stringy texture. Both the spinach and sweet potato sides are magnificent as well, so finely mashed and seasoned deliciously. Also had a taste of boyfriend’s short rib, which is a combination of tender beef and tendons, conveniently melts in the mouth. Our culinary experience ended with a beautiful Italian dessert — Tiramisu, perfectly whipped mascarpone cream layered on top of a rich chocolate cake, balanced by the bed of liquid chocolate goodness and the contrasting bitterness of the expresso powder. First bite = heaven. Needless to say, the tiramisu disappeared from the plate at lightning speed.
Amazing experience. Can’t wait to come back.

Another great night at la campania. Giving 5 stars b/​c outside of the city it truly deserves it.
My girl friend and I sat at the bar on a week night and it was very comfortable.
The ambiance here is adorable and very authentic feeling.
Bartender was SUPER nice and fun. Had an excellent chardonnay, beet salad and duck/​fig pizza. The duck was a little overpowerful but maybe I just don’t love duck. The consistency was perfect and the salads were delish too. They split the salad for us without asking.
They give you realllly yummy fresh warm bread — 3 diff types, and probably the best olive oil I have ever had. I think it’s a pesto olive oil.
This place is pretty affordable considering the reviews it gets. May be pricey for Waltham but not compared to Boston.
Patio is also ADORABLE but was closed for a private party — check ahead if you’re planning on going on a nice night.

We went to La Campania on Valentines day for a 9:00 reservation at the bar. I had never been and was a little skeptical with the scenario but gave it a go none the less. We were pleasantly surprised that the bar was broken up very nicely into intimate groupings of two and four.
I got the stuffed chicken which was great and the old lady got a braised veal dish that she was thrilled with. The wine was great, the food was great, and the service was great.
The meal took a little longer than I had hoped because they were so busy, but we weren’t really in a rush to get out of there. I would like to go back on a less crowded night and try some of the other menu items.

One of the best italian restaurant options in the Boston area.
A rustic but elegant country home setting with several small dining rooms.
The service, ambience and food are all excellent.
They are low tech with their reservations.
No OpenTable option here, you need to call the old fashioned way.
La Campania is known for their appetizer thin crust pizzas. The duck and fig pizza is awesome.