Trattoria Il Panino - Boston

I cannot decide whether this place is a 3 or 4 stars.

My friends and I stumbled past this place and decided to stop by for lunch because (1) the portions looked huge, (2) it was a nice day for their patio, and

Sunday night of Columbus Day Weekend was my first ever visit to Trattoria il Panino in the North End.

The waiter was friendly and professional, but had too many tables. The food was salty and had clearly been sitting under a heat lamp for a while. He used to enjoy this place, but will probably not be back now.

Have eaten here several times. Was surprised that with a reservation we were still sitting at a booth looking into the kitchen. We could have asked to be moved, but we didn't want to. The waiter was very enthusiastic, but failed to fill glasses of water without being asked. My husband's lasagna was a huge brick in the middle of an unadorned plate. A little salad or something green and crispy would have been nice. Not an à la carte fan, especially when it comes to the price of the main course alone. The room was very dark and a bit noisy. I would ask not to sit in this area another time.