Antonietta — Restaurant in Montreal

TL;DR: Antonietta is a small, but amazing Italian restaurant ran by passionate staff with a concise menu intended to focus on freshness and quality. They also do great Italian takes of classic cocktails.

I decided to try Antonietta on the recommendation of staff at my usual haunt and I couldn't have made a better decision. The majority of the menu changes often based on the season and availability of fresh ingredients, but there is a fixed pizza menu. Because of this, the menu may be considered small by some, but if you're craving Italian food there's definitely something for everyone.

Shared appetizers consisted of a refreshing summer salad with strawberries and rhubarb and a mixed fried dish consisting of seasoned battered calamari, shrimp, asparagus and artichoke. While the fried platter was delicious, the salad stole the show here. Light and refreshing vinaigrette was great on a warm summer evening.

Shared main dishes included a cacio e pepe pizza (more on this later), lemon and ricotta ravioli, a scialatelli pasta dish with pork cheek and a lobster risotto.

The lemon ricotta ravioli was served with what I believe to be a mainly butter based sauce that just enhanced the flavour of the cheesy interior that had a hint of citrus. This particular dish was rather small, but coupled with everything else it was more way more than enough and we're super happy to have tried it. We were going to order a second round, but then the scialatelli arrived. This particular type of pasta I was previously unfamiliar with, but I'm now in love with. Freshly made pasta, perfectly al denté served with delicious guanciale (cured pork cheek/jowl), confit cherry tomatoes and what I can only recall to be happiness (the copious alcohol started kicking in about here). This was our highlight of the entire night and I can't wait to go back just to have this again. The lobster risotto was also incredible. Perfectly prepared and seasoned risotto with a hearty and delicious pieces of lobster. Lobster flavour distributed throughout. I was craving a good risotto and this hit the spot.

Now for the pizza. No matter which pizza you choose, you're going to be greeted by what has to be one of the best Neapolitan style pizzas around. The crust is top notch and what guarantees you a great pizza. It's light and delicious with perfect char bubbles in all the right places.

Cacio e pepe is one of my all time favourite dishes. When I saw it as a pizza option, I absolutely had to try it despite wanting a lighter pizza option with everything else we had ordered. It definitely deliveredon flavour. It is a heavy white pizza, with cheese and oil and tons of fresh black pepper. SO good.

Drinks: These guys take their booze seriously. Just like their food, they are passionate about their drinks and love showcasing the amazing spirits Italy has to offer. They're stocked with high end ingredients to make whatever you might want. Give them the opportunity to get creative with it, and you'll be served something spectacular. They're very big on flavourful amaro based drinks. They're planning on opening a bar next door in the coming months focused on amaro cocktails and I'm sure that place is going to be a hit.

Antonietta was a spectacular find and the moment we left my dining companion was already planning his next trip back with his family in the coming week or two. It's a small place, it can definitely get loud, but the atmosphere is electric and the staff are amazing. Give this place a go the next chance you get, you...

Food was hit and miss. The Asparagus Risotto was 'mid'. Nothing special. The Pork Ragu Macaroni was excellent. The appetizers were generally good but not great. The service was substandard. The room was loud and we sometimes could not hear the waitress at different ends of the table (we were at a table for 6), so we had to ask questions more than once and she was visibly losing her patience/thinking we were idiots. It was also not easy to get her attention. They also forgot a couple of dishes but quickly recovered. In general the service was not at the level of high end Montreal restaurants. I should say however that once the food was ready the dish presentation/description/delivery (by the people who were not our server) was clear, interesting, and excellent. The room was small, beautiful, and intimate, but a bit loud. Also note - there is a lot of fish and seafood on the menu, so if someone does not like that there are very few options remaining. I'd say this in general is a good restaurant but I am not planning to go back for this menu, and was put off by the server (and I've never said that in any review of any Montreal...

antonietta is an italian hidden gem! the restaurant is small but the seating arrangement, decor, and ambiance make the space feel cozy and inviting. with an open kitchen concept, you feel as though you’re a guest having handmade dinner in someone’s home. the service is impeccable as the staff is extremely informed about the ingredients and extensively know their wine list. the wine menu has your main options: red, white, orange and bubbly. if you have any questions or concerns they are there to guide you in having the best and most authentic italian experience in the city. now when it comes to the food - absolutely orgasmic! with a perfectly size menu (one page) you can taste the freshness and quality in each bite from appetizers to desert. to add, i noticed that so much craft, passion, and creativity goes into every dish. we were fortunate to try an experimental dish made by their back of house legend, matteo, and of course it did not disappoint. antonietta is absolutely gorgeous and checks all your culinary boxes! thank you to the amazing team, can’t wait to come back...