Great Room, Wine List Needs Work
Back Bay · Boston · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated April 2026
Reviewed March 23, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Piattini on Newbury Street, the Italian enoteca energy is real — small plates, warm lighting, the whole thing. Then you open the wine list and it starts strong: 100-plus bottles, heavy Italian focus, some serious names scattered throughout. But flip a few pages and the cracks show fast.
The Italian backbone here is genuinely solid — Antinori Solaia, Brunello di Montalcino from Colombini, Barolo from Ca'Viola, and Allegrini Amarone give the list real credibility at the top end. The problem is the middle and entry tiers, which lean on grocery-store stalwarts like Josh Cellars Chardonnay and Kenwood Cabernet Sauvignon — bottles you can grab at Stop & Shop for $14 and $18, respectively, being sold here for $46 and $59. The Italian house pours are similarly thin: La Vis Pinot Grigio and Zonin Prosecco are fine in their place, but not at 200% markup. There's a real list hiding here behind the budget filler; it just needs a tighter edit.
Twenty-plus options by the glass is a legitimately good number for a neighborhood Italian spot, and the range covers the usual suspects — whites, reds, bubbles, rosé. What's missing is any sense of rotation or curation; this reads like a static list that hasn't been touched in a while. At $10–$17 a glass, you're paying mid-tier Boston prices for entry-level pours.
Barolo Ca'Viola — $N/A — bottle
If you're going to spend money here, spend it on this. Ca'Viola makes real Barolo — not a trophy bottle, but the kind of producer who actually gives a damn about Nebbiolo. It's the most honest pour on the list relative to what you're getting in the glass.
Brunello di Montalcino Colombini
Colombini (Donatella Cinelli Colombini) is a name most people scroll past because they don't recognize it, but this is a respected Montalcino producer making age-worthy Brunello. On a list that otherwise leans safe, this is the bottle worth hunting down.
Chardonnay Josh Cellars Craftsman 2023
At $46 a bottle, you're paying nearly 3.5x retail for a $14 grocery store Chardonnay. Josh Cellars is fine at a backyard barbecue. It has no business commanding $46 on a restaurant wine list that's supposedly celebrating Italian culture.
Amarone Allegrini + Piattini small plates (cured meats and aged cheeses)
Allegrini's Amarone is a big, raisined, serious red that needs something equally rich to stand up to it. A spread of cured meats and hard cheeses from the piattini selection gives it the fat and salt it wants — and turns a few small plates into an actual moment.
❌ The Bottom Line
Piattini has the bones of a great Italian wine bar — the right address, the right vibe, a few genuinely exciting bottles — but the markup on entry-level pours and the reliance on supermarket brands undercut the whole thing. Go for the Brunello or the Barolo, skip everything else under $50.
Seaport District · Boston · Greek
Trade is doing something genuinely rare in Boston: taking Greek wine seriously and giving diners the tools to explore it without a lecture. If you're eating anywhere near the Seaport and curious about what's actually in your glass, this is the move.
Surprising Depth
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Post Office Square · Boston · Cuban
Mariel earns its Wine Spectator credential by being genuinely thoughtful about a list that could have easily phoned it in. If you're in Boston's Financial District and want something more interesting than another steakhouse Cab Franc, this is exactly the kind of wild card worth having in your back pocket.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Atlantic Fish is a reliable, well-run wine program in a room that takes its seafood seriously — Greg Bergeron keeps the white Burgundy and Italian whites sharp and the BTG list honest. Markups will sting on the big bottles, but if you navigate toward the value end of the list, you'll drink very well.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Lovejoy Wharf · Boston · American, Seasonal
Alcove isn't a destination wine list, but it's a genuinely solid one with fair prices and enough depth to reward the curious drinker. If you're coming for the view and the lobster risotto, you'll leave happy on the wine front too — and that's more than most waterfront spots in Boston can say.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Beacon Hill · Boston · American, Small Plates
1928 Beacon Hill is exactly what a Beacon Hill neighborhood spot should be on wine — honest, Italy-forward, and priced fairly enough that you won't feel the sting. It's not a destination list, but it's a very good reason not to skip the wine.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Toledo / Reynolds Corner · Toledo · Italian
There's one reason to come here for wine: Thursday. Half-price bottles on a standing weekly basis is a genuinely good deal, especially on the Santa Margherita. Any other night, the markups are steep and the list doesn't justify them.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
West Toledo/Monroe Street · Toledo · Italian
Carrabba's Toledo isn't a destination for wine — but it's not an embarrassment either. The Ruffino Chianti Classico alone earns its keep, and if you stick to the Italian side of the list, you'll drink reasonably well without drama.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
La Jolla · Chula Vista · Italian
Marisi is a reliable Italian wine list with genuine ambition hiding behind a steep markup structure — the producers are right, the regions are right, but you'll pay for the privilege. Go for the Produttori Barbaresco and the Pre-Phylloxera Barbera, and you'll leave satisfied.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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