Antico Forno

Easily the best in Boston.. Ate here last weekend and almost fell asleep in my chair after eating the gnocci. It's literally that tasty that you feel like you're at home on your couch afterwards, just hanging out and relaxing. The pizza is unbelievable too. The setting was awesome, kind of like rustic italy and the north end had a baby. Totally awesome north end spot to check out. It's on Salem too so you're not sitting on top of eachother like Hanover St. restaurants.…

Delicious Italian Food!. With so many restaurants in the North End offering an authentic Italian experience, it is hard to pick, but I definitely recommend Antico Forno. I went recently for a friend's birthday and had a wonderful time. The service was great, the appetizers, meals; all-around a great time. We had a large group, so made a reservation, which I highly recommend doing. Even though it is a large place, the restaurant and bar is packed on a Saturday night. We ordered wine, calamari, salad, pizzas, and some ordered pasta, and everyone loved their meals. The pizza is thin, but if you are getting an appetizer it is still big enough to share. Almost everyone in my group had previously visited Italy, in fact, a number of us had lived there for a few months or more, so for all of us to truly enjoy the food and experience says a lot! I highly recommend Antico Forno.…

Mortifying Experience. Woah! What a horrible dining experience!!! I have never written a review on a restaurant, but tonight I feel inspired. North End on a Saturday night is very busy so we found one restaurant with no wait....no wonder! Initially, we were happy they seated us right away. Too bad the table was put there as a mere afterthought....between the bar (which doubled as a waiting room), kitchen, and the restroom. Between hungry customers, drinking patrons, waiters with dirty dishes, people in a rush to the bathroom, servers with dishes of food....I felt lucky if I wasn't bumped every 10 seconds.

I told the hostess. Instead of moving our seats, she scolded the waiters in front of me ordering them to walk ALL the way around the entire restaurant to the kitchen. Yes, blame the waiters trying to do their job...and make the customer feel worse. To make matters worse, she would ignore her own order and she would pass and bump my chair about 6 more times after this incident.

I put an extra chair next to me as a mini barricade against the waiters, customers, busboys, hostess, servers...and whoever else wanted to pass. I was then reprimanded because I would cause a nuisance for the the waiters wanting to go to the kitchen. And the hostess, literally flung the chair against the wall behind me. I have never had a dining experience where hostess single-handed made me feel guilty and embarrassed.

Then we finally got our food. Maybe, I was biased by this point...but the food was mediocre. A little salty. Very similiar to the Olive Garden but more expensive. Hopefully, your experience will be different...but would you want to risk it?…