Antico Forno, Boston, Massachusetts Restaurant Details

Food:

Sorry mom, but the ample-sized renditions of standard Italian specialties from this reasonably priced North End institution are so delicious, it feels like being at home (you're only missing out on the cheek pinching); adding a further personal touch are coddling staffers that circulate through a crowded space warmed by the brick pizza oven.

Food:

Spent 10 days eating our way through Boston and Manhattan and Antico Forno was by far the biggest disappointment of the whole trip. It pains me to write anything negative about others, so here goes nothing:

Had a similar experience as another reviewer where our table was given away and the hostess subsequently put us at the very bottom of a then very lengthy list of parties to seat. Our wait time was supposed to be 20-30 minutes and our group of 5 stood right outside the entrance people watching the entire time. By the time we realized that they had crossed our name off the list and were seating people after us, it was the height of dinner time in the North End and every place had hour long waits. So we stuck it out, waiting on the sidewalk in front of Antico Forno, watching table after table get cleaned off for parties (without reservations) who arrived well over an hour after us. Finally, 1:45 minutes later, we were seated by the most hostile hostess I've ever met.

Our waitress was as cold as our pizzas, though the flavor was nice on one of them. My sister really liked her arancini. We wanted to order an hors d'oeuvres but our waitress never gave us the opportunity. She probably spoke 3 sentences to us the whole evening and wouldn't look anyone at our table in the eye, out of rudeness and not shyness. We even had to request to order our drinks and then make another request for wine glasses after she brought our wine.

I completely understand that people can have "off nights", but what we experienced was much more than an innocent off night. It was clear to us that after we saw that our name had been crossed off the list (as though we had already been seated) and then rewritten at the very bottom, which is rightly so something we were frustrated about, they decided to make us pay for it. However, we killed them with kindness anyway.

All in all, I will certainly will not forget my meal at Antico Forno! Unfortunately, it isn't for a better reason. It's pretty difficult to disappoint a bunch of hungry Italian food lovers, but this place did just that. Luckily Mike's is around the corner and we got a giant box of cannoli to make up for the evening and headed off to meet up with friends at a bar.

Food:

Came here for dinner tonight and had a horrible experience. We had a party of 7 and was told a 45 minute wait. After almost an hour we went to check the status of our table and when the hostess looked at us she replied "I just sat you".. Well obviously, no you didn't because I'm standing here in front of you. So our table was given away. We had to wait another 20 minutes for a table to open up and during this time the hostess had an attitude. The restaurant was completely under staffed. Our waiter was very nice but very overwhelmed. Service was INCREDIBLY SLOW!! And to top it all off when we finally got our food it was cold and my cousin's pasta dish had a hair in it! We asked to speak with the owner and was told "she is at her other restaurant across the street." Our waiter asked if we would like to speak with the "lead waiter" we said yes and they never came over. All in all a horrible experience. There are so many other great restaurants in the North End, I highly suggest skipping this one!!

Food:

Great pizza and best pizza crust ever. Even house chianti was good!

Food:

Great pasta dishes and a large menu. The service, while friendly, was very slow, particularly when it came to refilling drinks or bringing the bill at the end of the meal. We visited during the lunch hour when it was quite busy, which resulted in a high noise level, but not so much that it made conversation overly difficult. Italian food lovers will find a lot to enjoy here.

Food:

Ok large family dinner. We had a cold table right next to the mobbed front entrence. The table was very tight (chairs touching each other with no elbow room). Staff didn't help me find a place for our stroller, so I dumped it by the packed bar, right in front of various Chianti drinkers.

The kids liked their pasta, and I liked my clam pizza. But adults in the family had mixed reviews on the salads and non-pizza entrees. A fine time, but there are other options and wow was it overstuffed in there. Staff seemed earnest by overwhelmed (or unearned and not that great? Was hard to tell).