Toscano still good?

[takeoutgirl]

Was wondering if anyone had been there lately?

There was great buzz when it reopened in the fall and whenever I walk by it appears crowded. But I was curious if the food is still as good as reported a few months back?

Thanks and happy healthy New Year to all Hounds great and small.

[Kbee]

Isn't this the place that was recently purchased by the wealthy former president of Prudential (or Hancock?) Insurance to give his son something to do? His son wanted to be in the restaurant business, so... maybe that explains the downturn. Too bad, I remember a pleasant meal there many years ago.

[BostonZest]

Just to be clear to those who may not notice the difference. I believe this conversation is about the Restaurant on Charles Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood and is NOT about the ChowHound favorite on Jersey Street in the Fenway.

I'm not even going to say that name in this space to keep this conversation from coming up in future searches.

[C. Hamster]

Yes. They have different names, too.

I am referring to the restaurant on Charles Street. Just "Toscano."

[MC Slim JB]

It's Ristorante Toscano (Beacon Hill) and Trattoria Toscana (The Fenway). Actually accurate usages of Italian terms that are often badly misapplied in the States.

[takeoutgirl]

Actually it has been re-named "Toscano Restaurant" as part of the new incarnation.

[Alcachofa]

Unless they got a new chef, I see no reason to go back for uninspired, overpriced food, whatever the room looks like now. Did they?

[C. Hamster]

My office group went for lunch about a month ago and were pretty disappointed. The soup was excellent, as were the salads and the foccacia bread. My panini sandwich was cold and uninspired. A colleague's eggplant dish was swimming in too much sauce and the eggplant skin was too tough to eat, so she spent the whole time trying to scrounge edible bites from the mess. Someone had something in brown butter sauce and it, too, was swimming in about a cup of oily sauce.

We each ordered a different dessert and they were all BAD. Which was very upsetting, as they looked good but tasted VERY blah.

I'm not in a hurry to go back.

They did gussy the place up very nicely though and the service, though slow and sluggish (kitchen's fault), was pleasant.

[takeoutgirl]

Sorry to hear about your experience - how disappointing. I think we are going to give it a go for dinner in the next few weeks. I hope our luck is better - I have a feeling that the shine may be gone from this penny but we shall see.
Thanks for the response.