Antica Osteria Italian Eatery Limited — Restaurant in Brampton

I went here yesterday with my fiancé because her mother suggested it was a really good restaurant. She also kindly gave us a gift card for us to dine there. We weren’t quite sure what to expect.

We went on a Saturday around 5pm. It wasn’t packed (yet). Upon being seated, our first waitress was a young girl who appeared to be very miserable. It’s like she didn’t want to be there. She gave us water, and then our next server (Chris) came. He showed us the specials and then took our order. He was a bit warmer and kind. We ordered calamari as a starter. Here’s the thing…after some time went by, we saw our calamari coming out of the kitchen, but it went to the table next to us. People who came later, and ordered later. We were confused.

As we sat puzzled and without an explanation, eventually another waitress brings us bread. Again, confused because it ain’t calamari. I managed to get ahold of the waitress and asked her what happened, she said “orders got mixed up.” Chris on the other hand came (when he got to us again) and said they “Messed up the order.” I understand stuff like this happens, it just would have been a common courtesy to tell us that instead of leaving us in the dark. The calamari was good when it came.

Eventually the restaurant got really loud because tons of families were coming for dinner. And servers were all over the place. We must have been served by 4 different people, seemed a bit disorganized.

We both got their pastas which were just okay. My fettuccine was too chewy. We asked for chilli flakes. Didn’t get them.

The frustrating thing is when you needed someone, they weren’t there to help. Help would only come after a bit of a wait.

We got gelato for dessert which also took a long time to come out (not sure why). It seemed like when we would make these inquires we were being an inconvenience (even though as the customers we should have been catered to above and beyond).

As my fiancé put it well, “They were not hospitable.” I thought that was a good way to put it because when you think Italian? Definitely hospitable. But wasn’t so much the case here. I will say, it wasn’t like people were flat out rude…it just didn’t feel like they cared as much for us. Which was a bummer.

Finally when it came to payment, the same girl who first took our order came to take our bill. When she went to get the machine, Chris came by and saw we had a gift card. Knowing we were going to use it, he took it. And then he brought back another bill, with added gratuity. Like what?

Now, of course I would have liked to tip even with the use of a gift card, but adding gratuity without informing the customer you’re going to do that is not good practice.

Overall, the food was okay, the service wasn’t good, and the environment was chaotic. I was disappointed. But it would be nice if they were willing to make it up to us because I would gladly like to give it a...

The food was amazing but the service was awful. I will probably never go back unless it's during the week and not on the weekend when they have a ton of events or large parties. I made a reservation for 7pm and we got there at 651pm. There was a ton of people already waiting inside and no hostess in sight. Finally someone was available and they told me to wait because the table wasn't ready. They were also setting up for a large party/event as well and it seemed like a large group had just finished as they were all chatting and standing outside the restaurant. While we were waiting, either the owner or relatives of the other storm through with a bunch of kids and teenagers. The teenagers went behind the bar, the hostess was carrying and holding one of the kids. It just seemed very unprofessional for a more fine dining type of restaurant. Our table was ready and we were tucked away in the back with a bunch of other tables. The layout was awful and it was very difficult to move and get by if you needed to go to the bathroom. We waited 15 mins or so until the server who I think may also be the manager, Chris, came by to go through the specials and then immediately walked away. We already looked at the menu and wanted to order an alcoholic beverage and an appetizer. I had to flag him down and call him over so that he could take our order and we ordered our main at the same time. The calamari and Charcuterie board were delicious. We all ordered chicken or veal parmesan with a side of pasta of our choice either the penne al vodka or the spinach ricotta ravioli. The food was delicious. The red sauce they used on the chicken parm wasn't my fave, a bit bland but still good none the less. After we finished eating, we waited atleast 20 to 30 mins. I wanted to order dessert but by the time I got someone's attention we wanted to get out of there. The party was extremely loud and inconsiderate. The restaurant seemed very short staffed and unorganized. No one was able to get to our table. Finally Chris came over after I grabbed his attention. He came over and cleared out plates and apologized saying he asked someone to clear our table ten minutes ago. He brought containers and our bill and we left. It was way too hectic in there. We most likely won't be back which is unfortunate because we did enjoy the food. They should notify reservations about booked parties as it doesn't affect the overall experience and they neglect paying customers. They lost money because we didn't end up ordering dessert due to the poor customer service and extremely long wait times. We felt ignored and completely forgotten. They only came over to us when I called them over. Very disappointed. This was my...

Updated review (4 star)

So the restaurant reached out almost immediately after i posted my last review, offering a $25 gift card and their apologies. I appreciated the gesture and its promptness but expressed i wouldnt be changing my review unless i visited again, to which they were understanding.

My sister ordered and my husband went to go pick up the food. According to my husband the lady who was rude to my sister and I the last time around went on to apologize and express some of her thoughts to my husband regarding our review.

My husband didn't say much and just paid for the food.

To be honest i still don't think my family will be dining there again, but we do appreciate the apology and gesture to mend the situation.

There food is decent nonetheless, and we wish them well.

Original review (1 star)

Generally, this place has been a favorite of my family and me with great food and service. However, today was an extremely disappointing experience. We had placed an online order at least 30 minutes prior to picking it up. When we arrived, we spoke with an employee we had dealt with before, and she said it would be ready in a minute before leaving. Despite waiting for over 15 minutes, we exercised patience as we could see our order just sitting there. When we approached her again, a much younger and extremely rude employee took over. The first thing she said was, 'Well, how are we supposed to know you are here if you don't tell anyone? You're just standing there.' This was quite upsetting, given that we had been waiting for over 15 minutes and had already spoken to someone. Eventually, the order was ready, and as I gestured to take the food, the younger employee made things worse by demanding payment. Her behavior was unacceptable and made us feel unwelcome. I hope the management takes note of the rude behavior of this employee and takes appropriate action. Unfortunately, this experience has left a bad taste in our mouths, and we may have to reconsider dining at this restaurant in the future.

Unfortunately i did not get the name of the young woman, but she had dark brown hair, long pink nails and wore glasses.

Whoever she is I'm sure busy days in the hospitatlity industry can be difficult and taxing. So I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. But the whole experience left a very sour taste...