Antico Forno

03/14/09

Mortifying Experience

by mochi82 at Citysearch

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?

• Pros: not sure.
• Cons: terrible service. bad food.

07/28/08

Bad Italian American food

by Agalag at Citysearch

I was expecting authentic Italian food, got bad Italian-American food instead.

I'm sorry to see a wood-burning stove wasted in such bad pizza. The risotto was even worse.

On the plus side the place was packed and everyone else was enjoying their meal. Every other restaurant in the North End area was packed as well. Very nice area to walk. When I go back to Boston I'll stick to clam chowders and the like.

04/21/08

Our New Favorite North End Eatery

by isabeljo at Citysearch

Four of us visited on Sat. of marathon weekend. Boston was CRAZY that day. Arrived just about 5:00PM . No wait. Cordial staff. Water and bread brought immediately.( just white loaf bread but there was a cheese dipping sauce instead of olive oil that was tasty). Wine list was reasonable. Ordered Calamari and Caprese.

Calamari was breaded lightly, tender and plentiful. Mozzarella was fresh and tomatoes jumbo but soft.

Rigatoni Alla Boscaiola, Rigatoni Salsiccia e Ricotta, Chicken Parm, and Mussels. All were absolutely fantastic!

The room filled up fast after being seated but we never felt rushed or forgotten. Dishes were removed discreetly, water filled promptly, and leftovers bagged without hesitation. We could not have enjoyed the experience more.

We now have a new favorite North End eatery. Not a real romantic or quiet place but delicious food. We have tried several times before to get in but long lines deterred us. Never again.

• Pros: delicious food, open for lunch
• Cons: small dining room