Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse

After reading all the reviews about the quality of food and great service, I was very disappointed with my experience at Davio's. We went here for Valentine's Day so you would have expected the restaurant to staff up and be on their game knowing how busy it would be. We waited over 1.5 hours after being 30 mins early to our reservation and being told it would be a 45 minute wait. There was no clear check -in process as it felt folks were told they were next after asking for an update even after arriving after me. The servers never cleared our table as you can see in the picture that the menus were left in the corner and the bread baskets and small plates were stacked on top to make room for the entrees.

On to the food, it really was average when it came to taste due to lack of seasoning and flavors. The scallops were actually cooked well but the creamed corn did not too much to enhance the entree. It was kind of a waste to order the pasta because it felt I could have made a better version at home. The lobster risotto which had great reviews was just average. It might have been the best thing I ate but the bar was low. We ordered the chicken liver to start and it came out burnt and was not edible as you can see in the picture.

The staff did offer to replace it but honestly it wasn't worth the effort. The staff was not attentive after the entrees came out so we ended up waiting over 30 mins for the check after we were done.

I am hoping this was a one off experience because all of the other reviews seem to be much more positive. Not sure I'd be willing to try though because I'd be worried about spending too much on another unfortunate experience.

Outstanding! I made a reservation to celebrate a special birthday with my mom and couldn't have chosen a better restaurant. I live close to the restaurant but have never eaten there. I'll be back. Bryce and Layla were our server team, and they handled everything and all of our needs, from the Maitre 'd to the busboys to the waitstaff; everyone who came to our table was friendly and professional. It was like eating at a Michelin-star restaurant, which I have done and therefore could use as a comparison.

We asked the waitstaff for recommendations for cocktails, appetizers, the cold seafood tower, entrees, sides, and dessert, and they took care of us, making the proper recommendations throughout. Davio's is a restaurant for patrons, and they give great suggestions. Each suggestion was perfect and delicious, and we got what we wanted the way we wanted.

We started with cocktails, and I got a classic called Something Funky! I had them do a small pour with little alcohol, and it was sweet, which is what I prefer. We decided to get a lobster tail to share as an appetizer. It was just enough to share and save us a little money since there were several things my mother doesn't eat in the small cold tower.

My mother got the Sea Bass for our entrees, which was highly recommended and looked delicious. We ended up splitting her fish and the 16 oz 55-day aged Ribeye that I got. Bryce highly recommended both, and I can see why. Both were excellent suggestions and delicious! We got the spinach, which had almonds and golden raisins in it. Both entrees were large and filling. The Sea Bass came with Asparagus Risotto and tasted good.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see the dessert cart being rolled out. Pictures to follow! Every dessert was explained, and I knew which one I wanted, but I asked for recommendations since the recommendations had been fantastic all night! I opted for the molten lava cake with the ice cream and the most delicious cherries I had ever tasted. My mother got the homemade cannolis with fruit in this light and tasty sauce. I had some of it, and it was perfect, a different style of cannoli and much lighter.

Overall, we went on a Monday night, so it was quiet, and there weren't many people in the restaurant. We also went early in the evening and were the only people in the dining room when we sat down. A few kids were sitting at the bar when we arrived and were not keeping their voices low, and they reverberated off the ceilings. The restaurant would be very noisy on a busy weekend evening.

This is most certainly a restaurant to come to for a special occasion. It is a relatively expensive restaurant, but you get quality food and fantastic service, and it is terrific. I've been to other top restaurants around the area, and it tops them. I can't say enough about my meal, the food, the service, and how friendly and welcoming every team member we encountered was. I so look forward to going back in the future.

We decided to check out Davios for a nice date night. This is a wonderful place for a special occasion or just a nicer than normal dinner. They have valet for a fee or will validate self parking up to 3 hours. Restaurant is large but still somehow quiet and intimate. Service is very friendly and prompt. This is a great spot for gluten free diners or for parties who have a wide range of food preferences. There is a wide array of veggie, seafood and meat dishes. The restaurant is pricey but quality is very high. We started with the tuna tartare. It was very flavorful and they modified it with cucumbers on the side to make it gluten free. The gluten free gnocchi with mushrooms dish was divine and flavorful. Gnocchi and all pasta is made fresh daily. It was such a treat. My husband had the veal and was upsold on adding this tiny shrimp with crab for an extra $14. He said it was a delicious addition so maybe upselling isn't such a bad thing! Not a lot of gf dessert options, but the cannolis were gf and soooo delicious. Really loved the fruit salad that came with them. We were given some coconut macaroons to go as a snack.

Overall, really great experience and we'll be back. If I had to be picky, our server needed a bit more experience with wine service. She brought the wrong wine and it took a few reminders to get an ice bucket. That being said, the team was huge and it's not just the server looking after you, so there always someone to ask for assistance.

Warm and inviting staff, great spacious restaurant where you don't feel so close to other diners that you can overhear their conversations. Food is amazing as are the desserts. They offer a nice selection of mocktails if you aren't in the mood for alcoholic beverages. They do validated parking if you don't want to valet park your car.

Dinner with 1 shared appetizer, cesar salad for 4, 4 entrees, 2 cocktails/mocktails each, and 4 desserts, plus tip came out to $122/person. Not a cheap dining experience, but definitely worth the quality in experience to celebrate special occasions.

We came here to celebrate a friends birthday. We had a reservation for seven and were able to have own private room. The food was really good as well as the drinks and service. But, I would say it is very very pricey. I paid double what I normally pay when we came here then I do at other places the two of us go to at similar restaurants as this one.

We came here for an early Father's Day celebration since my in-laws have been wanting to try this place. We came at 4 pm, and it was pretty empty. They definitely seem to be working out some kinks. We had to wait a little bit before they got our table ready, in a nearly empty restaurant. They showed us to a table set up for 3 instead of 4 (our reservation indicated 4). It was pretty strange.

Our waitress was very friendly and nice. She was helpful in telling us what on the menu was popular and her favorites. We ordered the tuna crudo for an appetizer. And I ordered the chicken as my entree. We also received popovers as our bread basket, and they were delicious. They had just come out of the oven. You didn't even really need butter. The tuna was fine, it didn't really stand out to any of us.

Our entrees came out, and they were plated beautifully. The chicken was delicious. I do wish it had more polenta than the small smear on the bottom of the plate. My husband got the short ribs which smelled delicious. It honestly just tasted like a pot roast.

There seemed to be a staff meeting, and it took a while for our waitress to pop up again. We decided to get dessert, I got the Boston cream pie, my husband got the passion fruit creme brulee, and my in laws shared the butter cake. The creme brulee was fine. The boston cream pie was eh, the vanilla/chocolate pastry creams tasted like below average jello. Didn't love it.

They seemed to want to be a fine dining restaurant, but they're definitely lacking some of the small details.

We had our eyes on Davio's. Also, we considered it to be a place where we would go for a celebratory meal. So...since it wasn't far from home and it was our anniversary, then why not give it a try.

We made a reservation for 5 p.m. on a Saturday. When we got there, it was disappointing that once we checked in, no one said "Happy Anniversary". When we go for an anniversary meal at a nice place, the person at the host stand notices and says so.

We were taken to a 4 top which gave us room to spread out. One thing we did like was the amount of space between tables was quite good. For example, it was easy to take off our jackets without worrying about bumping people at the next table. Once seated, we were brought 2 popovers and asked if we wanted bottled or tap water. We said "tap". The popovers were huge and warm. They were topped with a cheese that had strong flavor but the amount wasn't excessive. We put butter on it and dug in. They were quite good.

Our waiter, Mark, came along to take our drink orders. He asked if we had been here before. I told him it was our first time and it was our anniversary. Then we finally got acknowledged and wished a happy one.

We ordered drinks. I got a drink called "Wolf Trap" which consisted of: "Remy Martin VSOP (which I discovered is a cognac) honey saffron syrup and lemon". I really liked this drink. It wasn't very strong and the syrup added a nice, sweet flavor. My husband got a glass of Malbec Colume which came from Salta, Argentina. He liked it but said he had had better ones in the past.

For starters, we both got salads. I got the "Asian chopped greens" which also had carrots, edamame, avocado, peanuts, crispy noodles and lime ponzu". What it also had that the menu didn't mention was spicy red pepper flakes but I was able to tolerate it and all the flavors worked well together with the noodles adding a nice crispy element to it. My husband got "chopped romaine" which also had green beans, chickpeas, egg, tomatoes, Niman bacon and bleu cheese. He liked it and was glad that the bleu cheese didn't overtake the salad.

For our main course, we each got the 8 oz. center cut filet and asked for it to be cooked medium rare. Even though it came out mostly on the medium size, it was still a juicy, tender and flavorful filet. It even came with a small side of sweet sauteed onions and micro greens.

For sides, we got "organic mushrooms with aged balsamic" which was my husband's choice. Also we got "David Bieber's crispy onion rings". My husband really liked the mushrooms. His only complaint was that the knife cuts were not uniform. We both enjoyed the onion rings as they were thinly sliced and not overly breaded.

Surprisingly, we still had room for dessert. My husband had "vanilla bean panna cotta" which came with fresh berries and a tuille. I got the tiramisu. Both desserts were brought out on separate plates that had "happy anniversary" and what number anniversary it was written in chocolate plus each one had a birthday candle on the plate. We both really enjoyed our desserts as they were creamy and flavorful.

Okay...so this was indeed a splurge. Dinner was $252 + change before the tip. Our waiter was friendly, professional and efficient. He had an excellent knowledge of all the menu items.

On the way out, a few staff members wished us a "happy anniversary" which we appreciated and thanked them for that. And, yes, we would go back when it's time for a splurge meal!

Let me start off by saying, I'm a fan!!

We came here randomly for lunch since we had been meaning to try this spot out for a while now. We got chicken parm rolls and clam chowder for appetizer. Chicken parm rolls were good and interesting - I'm glad I tried it but will probably opt to try another item next time. The clam chowder was a slightly salty, but really yummy!

I got the pasta which was phenomenal! My husband got the sandwich and was very satisfied.

The restaurant space is huge- I'd love to check out the outdoor space next time (which was closed at the time of our visit for outdoor events). Also shoutout to our waiter who served us! He was excellent with the recommendations and drinks!

Would definitely come back here again and try some of the other food items as well :)

This place has all the trimmings of a high quality (read: expensive) steakhouse with excellent food and outstanding service, except for the excellent food and the outstanding service.


Did I manage to make it in and out without troublesome stomach behavior?
No.

But was it at least easy to get to the bathroom?
Also no.


Did you ever play Zork? Well if not, you'll play a real life version on the way to the bathroom. It's a maze of twisty little passages all alike. I lost count of the turns. I'll grant it was clean.

We had a large party - just shy of a dozen - and were seated in a private back room. So far, so good. We were able to hear each other. Except for the fact that we were seated at two separate 6-person tables. So instead of a group dinner, we basically had 2 separate group dinners. There's an opportunity here for cocktail/appetizer/social time before the dinner gets underway. Didn't happen.

You know what else didn't happen? Service. We had to go fetch someone to come to the room several times during dinner, including at the beginning with "we'd like to place an order" and "so... those drinks ... they're coming right?" Perhaps the most entertaining was when we had waited 15 minutes for the bill discovering that our server was out in the restaurant enjoying a coffee and cake.

We started with appetizers at our table. Figured we'd try the small towers: one hot, one cold. You know what they weren't? Towers. They were plates. Flat plates. Is that really a problem? Not really... it's the food that matters, but you're getting me at max pedantic right now.

But look, the food on the "towers" was mostly okay. The (hot) calamari was quite tasty, if over-breaded and slightly rubbery. The (hot) scallops were deep fried and MASSIVE, if limited in flavor. The (cold) lobster was lobstery if translucent in a few places. The (cold) shrimp were large if a bit pasty. Also who puts chopped up raw salmon and tuna on a tower? Unusual. Not that it was bad. Anyway, I'm sure you're getting my drift.

I will say, that the salads were awesome. And they proactively separated the large salads into smaller portions for the folks who indicated they were going to share. That was really nice & thoughtful.

Most people seemed to really enjoy their entrees. I think my experience there was anomalous. But my experience wasn't great.

I ordered the Atlantic Salmon Caserecci. Everything below the salmon was absolutely brilliant. I was asked how I liked it cooked - the server said it usually came medium but lots of people get it medium well. I asked for it medium rare. Rest assured, it was AT LEAST medium well, if not well done. But fortunately it was at least just a wee bit short of dry and chalky. In most places.

After a few bites, I pushed it to the side and ate the rest of what was on the plate. Did they notice? Yes. Did they ask if I wanted to take it home? Yes. Did they ask if it was okay? Nope. Which is also the answer to the question: "Will you be coming back?" So we have that going for us, which is nice.

My husband has dined at the Davio's flagship location in Boston and raved about his experience, so when this location opened we were excited to have the opportunity to enjoy it closer to home.

What a wonderful place to enjoy a date night! The service was attentive and helpful and the food was exceptional. After some delightfully cheesy popovers that kept reappearing in the wire bread basket on our table, we started with an appetizer portion of the lobster risotto for me and the clam chowder for my husband- while the soup was tasty, the risotto was delicious and the appetizer portion was generous with plenty of succulent lobster meat- both incredibly rich while brightened by fresh herbs and shaved asparagus.

For our entrees I selected a filet, and my husband opted for the A5 Wagyu, which he generously shared with me. All I can say is if you've never had A5 Wagyu, DON'T (for two reasons: 1. It will ruin all other steak for you forever, and 2. More for us!) It was sublime. Comparatively, the filet was pedestrian, but still excellent, and I can't say enough good things about the port wine sauce! We selected creamy potatoes and the crispy onion rings which were both excellent. We brought a fair amount home with us, and although we didn't have room for dessert, individually gift-wrapped coconut macaroons accompanied the check. Overall, it was a standout experience and we are already looking forward to our next visit.