Chiara

A Westwood gem! Great menu, attentive staff and an upscale Boston feel. There is something on the menu for everyone. The cuisine is cooked to order and perfect every time!

First timer in this town as well as the restaurant. Such a hidden gem in the suburb! Didn’t even know it had been here for 10 years now.
Found out a little about the owner– 20 years chef into a restaurant owner.
This place has parking around the restaurant. Nicely decorated, fancy but not overly done, cute and just right. Went in through the door and greeted nicely by a lady. The owner decorated the restaurant to suit any type of events and weather. (Patio included for the summer)
Everything on the menu looked so good and we ended up ordering 3 appetizers & 3 entrees & 2 drinks between 2 people.
1. Three mushroom bisque: smooth and creamy.
2. Half a dozen oysters: really fresh
3. Chicken pâté: really dense and fresh
4. Duck breast: cooked perfectly and juicy. Turnip purée went very well with the orange sauce and red cabbage
5. Pork chop: bone in kurobuta, seasoned just right and cooked just right. Came with mushroom risotto.
6. Angus burger (add an egg): the beef patty was cooked perfectly and we were able to have substitute the regular fries to truffle Parmesan fries
7. Pear bourbon old fashion: husband said a great drink and a great addition to the old fashion
8. The current affair: great drink as well
Everything were cooked in perfection and portion was worth the price. Food was fresh and seasoned just right. Our waiter Nick was very attentive and friendly.
Left the restaurant a happy hippo!

Bland flavorless overcooked pork chop on top of gluelike risotto with limp greens that were tossed in unseasoned. Apps, the calamari and mushroom soup, were quite good. Mainly a place for the older crowd and they were there in force. The place was full but I would not return. Service at the small bar – despite three bartenders – was non existent. One of them pointed at me once but never returned to take our order.

Excellent food and service. Have never had a disappointing meal here. The half plates are really nice because you can order a variety of items. Highly recommend.

We went to Chiara for the first time last Saturday. It was our anniversary and picked this restaurant because we thought it would be a small, quiet place to celebrate. It was much louder and larger than we expected. However, we loved everything about our experience. We sat at a bar table and were served by a very knowledgeable and extremely attentive waiter named Nick. We had mussels (awesome!) and the house salad, followed by the scallops and Artic Char for dinner. Both excellent. Great selection of wine. And though we were too full for dessert, Nick bought us an anniversary treat. Great place! We will be back soon!

Five stars both times we’ve been there. This is our local special event place to go; birthday, etc. You definitely want to make a reservation, but service is great, food is great, and good wine selection — although could use a couple more choices by the glass. Its not cheap, but for a restaurant of this caliber without having to drive into the city its well worth it.

A small, but hopping spot. The staff is friendly and attentive without being oppressive. We sat at the bar (call and make a reservation) while waiting for a table. The bartenders were fun and engaging to talk to. No qualms were made about substitutions of sides, and I felt warmly welcomed. We had the French onion soup and steak tartare. The soup was a wonderfully made staple. The steak was inspired with delicate side samplings. The Arctic char was grilled to perfection being light and moist with a perfectly crisp skin. The braised porkchop was delightful. Not a bad thing to say about the place except perhaps they need more space! The décor is cozy. A great first date place.

It had been a number of years since we had dinner here, and we aren’t sure now why we waited so long! Lovely room, very friendly staff, excellent service and incredible food. Really a treat. Menu was creative and the dinner we had was really excellent. Felt like a special occasion even though it was just a Tuesday night!

Chiaro is superb — a hidden gem in Boston. We had a large family gathering and the staff was courteous and welcoming. The food was delicious and the portions just right. We will return next time we’re in town.

We came here for a special birthday party and reserved a private room for 11 people. The food was good, however the service was very bad. Our waitress was disinterested and we waited over two hours to be served. When we were finally served, I was given something I did not order twice before I got the correct order.
Even 5 star food could not make up for the unusually bad service… They really need to work on improving this, definitely am not going back!

Chiara Bistro is great. The end. (Yeah, I know, I can’t end it here.) The food, the service and the ambiance are all awesome. The $$$ makes it more a special night out for two (and worth the $$ babysitter). What speaks even better is that we’ve been here with friends and by ourselves and Chiara has never wavered from being 5 stars in my mind. We love the duck and the steak frites, and their perfect serving size left some room to try (and truly enjoy) their apple turnover and chocolate destiny cake with coffee and tea. Even their wine menu has a great assortment to select from. So nice to not feel rushed through a meal and to be welcomed with open arms and warm kitchen smells.

First time there last night and it was fantastic! Ate at the bar and the bartender really knows his stuff. He made a refreshing Gin drink to start. Fresh Oysters, Spinach Salad and Gnocci Bolognese all with wine
were all top notch. The owner came by to say hello too! He was looking forward to warmer weather so they could allow guests to dine outside, with 7′ of snow outside, I could agree more!

Very nice restaurant, location, and ambiance. The food is very, very good, but certainly what you would expect at these prices. The calamari was great, as are the salads. The scallops and chicken were also two great dishes. Not 5 stars because this is exactly the food quality you would expect at these prices, no better, no worse.

This restaurant has a nice cozy feeling to it with separate sections for dining, a small bar and a waiting area with a fireplace.
The food is awesome– its delicious, creative and well presented on the plates.
I ordered the pork chop and it was cooked perfectly. The risotto underneath was out of this world!
Now for the service. They are seriously lacking in this area. Waitress took about 10 min to take out drink order. Normally not a big deal but it was a Tuesday night and it was only half full. On top of the slow service, she had a bit of a attitude (I heard similar complaints) and she totally forgot our appetizers.
We met the owner and she was really nice This place will do well but they could be a 5 star restaurant if they work on their service.

Went for dinner on a Saturday and our feeling was that it was «okay» but not great.
The positives: The décor was nice and there was a fire going, which was pleasant given that it was chilly. The staff was very friendly and I ordered the «Sweet» drink, a combo of champagne and blood orange juice, which was delicious and my favorite part of the meal. The bread was also very tasty.
Pretty much all of the food was so-​so. We ordered the calamari appetizer and split an entrée of swordfish. The flavor was fairly bland. Mostly in keeping with the other reviews.
So overall, I’d say our experience wasn’t objectionable, but it’s probably not something we’d go out of our way to repeat, especially given the price.

We have been coming here since they opened. I can say that we have never had a bad meal. The price point is a little high, but when all is said and done, worth it.
One of my favorite meals they used to serve was chicken under a brick over polenta. I wish they would bring that back!
Regardless, you can’t go wrong with any of the meals.

Went back, and had a different server that provided FAR better service. Food was tasty, but not outstanding. That being said, the pricing was really fair, and I felt like I got great VALUE out of my entrée.
Next time I stop in, I’ll just ask that I am sat with any server other than the blonde woman who has made our meals so unenjoyable in past visits. Guess that’s key to me having a pleasant meal here.

Disappointed with our last visit here. Hostesses (2) ignoring us when we came in and were talking to each other and were playing with the menus.
Table not ready though we had reservation at 8:30 PM. Placed in bar area & male server ignored us and waited on a party that were seated after us.
Food (steaks) were poor quality, not top of the line. Most of steak was inedible. Bread basket contained stale bread.
Only reason I gave them 3 stars was that the owner (?) took price of meals off bill.
Our waiter was O.K.

Went there last night for our anniversary dinner with the family. The ambience was lovely. We were greeted as we walked in and shown directly to a table in the bar. I as pleased with this as we did not have a reservation.
My husband and I both had specialty drinks (Bermuda Triangle and some Prosecco drink with flower syrups that I forget the name of) which were yummy. We started with Calamari and the peach arugula salad. Very good. My husband had the spinach gnocchi –best gnocchi I’ve ever had. I had the crispy cod with pea risotto. Very good, but very rich. My daughter, a vegan, asked for a vegan dish and was presented with a super looking plate of food. I admit I was a bit jealous.
All in all, it was great but since the food was so very rich I couldn’t eat there all the time.

A great option for Italian outside of the city
I had dined at Chiara in the past and liked it. However, it had been a while, and I decided to take my wife there for a nice dinner. I was surprised to see that it was even better than I remember.
Located in Westwood, it is easily accessible from Route 128. The service is helpful although the dining room may be a bit understaffed because it took some work to get the server’s attention. The ambiance is cozy and fun.
To start, we had the pumpkin gnocchi with pork belly confit and dates. It was delicious and very well-​balanced in its flavors. The gnocchi were big but light and savory. We also had the shrimp, avocado, and arugula risotto which was also fantastic and rich. I had the duck with pomegranate-​port glaze and duck confit sweet potato mash. It was outstanding: large pieces of juicy duck breast cooked perfectly at a medium. My wife had the steak frites which was also fantastic. The steak was not over seasoned but rather dusted with some salt. This left the flavor of the meat to shine through. The frites were generously heaped on the plate and quite good.
For dessert, we had the chevre goat cheese cake. It was a bit too dense but had a nice ginger snap crust.
Overall, Chiara is a great place for Italian in the suburbs. In our case, well worth the drive out of the city. We will be back!