Love little italy! Its so quaint and def has the most amazing italian restaurants I have ever been too. it can get way to packed on weekends with loads of tourist, so I suggest hittin this area up on a weekday. My favorite thing about the north end is the italians who have lived there their whole life, and have raised their families in the neighborhood. Its a very historic spot.

While staying in Bedford, I took a roadie to Boston on the sole quest of trying the Italian Food at the North End. I parked at the Quincy Market parking lot ($20 -- ouch) and hoofed about a quarter mile (while dodging reckless Boston drivers) to the Little Italy section of the North End. Not knowing where to go, I settled in an Italian Eatery. There were lots to choose from. I chose poorly. For starters, the calimari was overbreaded and the marinara dipping sauce was loaded with onions -- wayyyy too many onions. Then my ravioli and meatballs comes. The meatballs were huge -- almost as big as a baseball. But the meat was not particularly flavorful and there were onions in the meat. And the ravioli was Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee quality with a sauce so inundated with onions, it was almost like a tomato and onion stew.

Other than portions that were abudannza, I was not impressed with the quality of Boston's Little Italy cuisine. I was so stuffed, I tried drinking a beer after dinner and nearly threw up. Philadelphia's Italian restaurants are better than Boston's.

Traditionally Italian neighborhood undergoing gentrification over the last decade or so. Awesome restaurants as you'd expect, caphillsea summed it up quite well.

The North End is very charming and reeking with history and atmosphere. Here you'll find the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house, 2 very significant landmarks in American history. Also it is home to Boston's Little Italy as there are countless cafe's, Italian bistro's, bakeries, and pastry shops. If you want to have a memorable dinner in Boston come here. Not long ago back maybe 15 years ago You would here Italian being spoken frequently in the streets. This is not so common today but every now and then you'll encounter it. This neighborhood is so unique and probably my favorite in Boston.