Sportello
348 Congress St., Seaport District
If a traditional trattoria got together with a modern diner, the result would look a lot like Sportello. Prolific Boston restaurateur Barbara Lynch somehow always gets it just right and delivers something unexpected. Case in point: Italian trattoria-style food—in a sleek, all-white, decidedly modern, light-soaked space. Pasta, polenta, slow-braised meats, and hearty soups are the backbone of the Sportello menu. The capellacci dei briganti—braised lamb, green garlic, and salty ricotta salata stuffed into nettle pasta shaped like the tall hats (capellacci) worn by nineteenth-century brigands (briganti)–is the kind of rustic, rooted-in-history dish that Bostonians come here for. The wine list is just as curated as the food, with smaller artisanal Italian producers dominating.