Osteria l'Anfora — Restaurant in Padua

Stumbled on this enchanting place quite by accident whilst on a business trip to Padova. Hidden away behind a bustling market plaza in the heart of the beautiful city of Padova it offers a fantastic selection of beers, wines and incredible homemade food. It has a special kind of magic all overseen with ease by Alberto who skillfully engages his clients with the warmth and genuine passion he exudes doing a job that he clearly loves. We drank wonderful beer, ate exquisite food and chatted endlessly with many of the regular clients. The bar is full of interesting photos, books and rugby memorabilia which all gel together to give an unforgettable, almost ethereal atmosphere. To make things even better the prices are very modest and almost unexpected in this part of Italy. We spent several hours there and came away with memories of an exceptionally pleasant experience and also 2 free books relating the history of the bar through some very artistic black and white photography. Thank you Alberto you are a...

Great meal, great staff! We booked because the place was packed when we walked by, and we were not disappointed! Such friendly, funny people, and the food was delicious! I had beef, and my friend had a delicious pasta. All menus were in Italian (in Italy, go figure!) and everyone was super helpful at making sure we understood. While we were eating, we witnessed a bit of a kerfuffle. Then, as I went to pay, the diners got belligerent with the staff (they’d ordered a meal, eaten half, and then decided that they didn’t want it. The server offered to do something else and was refused. Then the diners insisted that they shouldn’t have to pay for the meal because they didn’t like it! 🤦‍♀️). The staff handled it professionally in the face of some really aggressive people. That just added to the respect I had for them. They clearly take great pride in their food and service, and dealt was a difficult situation extremely...

6.29.18 - our last night in Italy and this was a great meal. The appetizers were great, especially the porchetta. We saw another table order the burrata, apples, and priscuitto that looked delicious. The pasta were okay with the mussels and clams a little too salty and al dente, the duck bolognese pasta was a tad salty. The tiramisu was done well with real moscopone cheese, espresso, and lady fingers with the right balance.

Make sure to make reservations or show up with 30 minutes of open because the place fills up fast and most tables are reserved. There is a bar to order drinks, but so sure if you can order food.

The staff is amazingly nice and patient. We had Elena or Helena serve us and she was very attentive and hustled with the other wait staff while Gorgio manned the bar and...