Ristorante Damiano

I was really excited to try this new North End spot, Ristorante Damiano, as yelpers seemed to have enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I was definitely UNDERwhelmed. Z and I headed over last Saturday night, excited to try a new spot. As the dinner went on, we got quieter and quieter. Bad sign for two people who love food.

It's a really cute space-- I loved the open kitchen and the decor. But that's where the love stopped. Our waiter was rude and acted like we were completely inconveniencing him. We were never brought water, or even offered bottled vs. tap.

Ristorante Damiano serves tapas style Italian food ("piattini") which is a cool idea, and I was excited about. Our first tapas arrived in a cute little bronzed pot-- a risotto with proscuitto and peas. It was pretty good, but then anything loaded with parmesan cheese and butter usually is. But then it went downhill. The fried calamari, which was supposed to come with a spicy lemon aoli, was pretty tasteless and definitely not spicy. The beef carpaccio, a special that night, was also pretty tasteless, even with shaved parmesan cheese on top. And our final dish was the worst-- duck breast with a frangelico glaze and gnocchi. The gnocchi did not taste like any gnocchi I've ever had. It crumbled apart and was super dry. The duck was rubbery, and the sauce was gross. For Dish Gal not to finish food is rare; for me not to finish a small plate is unheard of! But I couldn't bring myself to finish, and instead we headed across to get dessert at Lucca, since this restaurant doesn't serve it.. Not that we would've stayed, anyway...