Antica Italian Avon — Restaurant in Avon

A beautiful space both outside and in, with great overhead doors that let a bit of the outside in. Nice cocktail and wine menu. I had a Thyme-based cocktail that was both aromatic and tasty, while my fellow diners enjoyed a good bottle of Rosso di Montalcino offered at a favorable price. Our server was new, but she was very nice, making up a bit for some service fails - not offering a sample of the wine before pouring full glasses, not offering to bring the salad prior to the main courses. I was surprised that Antica didn't offer fresh ground Parmesan cheese table side, nor fresh ground pepper, nor red pepper flakes. We ordered Frito Misto and Arancini as appetizers. The Calamari and Shrimp were clearly previously frozen and flash fried, a disappointment. The Arancini was nearly inedible. Again, pretty surprised a restaurant that strives to offer "classic Italian with a modern take" fare has failed in these basic dishes. I had Spicy Rigatoni Ala Vodka, which is described as "Calabrian Chili, Vodka Cream Sauce". It wasn't spicy, and there was no sign of Calabrian chili. My fellow diners ordered Spaghetti Pomodoro with Kobe Meatballs. I sampled their dish, and it was, again, lacking in flavor. It makes me wonder: has Antica lost chef Josh Septoski? Is he on holiday? Is he being reined in? The front of house manager (I presume, although I can't be sure) asked about our dinner, and we were honest. She graciously made adjustments to our bill, which was a nice gesture, but not the intent of our honesty. I'm leaving this review in the hope that someone/anyone at Antica Italian reads these reviews and makes adjustments accordingly. The restaurant space is beautiful, the location looks like it can provide sustainable business. Now it's up to the owner, the chef, and the staff to...

Super Impressed. As an appetizer, we got the PEI Muscles. These things were HUGE. The sauce and veggies they came in were great. Once the Muscles were gone, we mopped up the sauce with the bread until the bread was gone and then considered drinking the sauce like it was a bowl of milk. The Pesto Cavatelli was creamy, butter, smooth, and had some nice soft bites and a nice snap with others. The breading on the Chicken Parmesan was nice and crisp. The sauce was refreshing and sweet and the fresh Basil on top was a great touch too. The portions were very generous. Even the appetizer could have been an entree by itself for one person. We defiantly took leftovers home. The service was outstanding. I watched the bartender come out and serve a table. Our server, Angela was perfect. There when we needed her to be. Friendly, kind, attentive. She even double or tipple checked with us about taking the bowl away from our Muscles just incase we still wanted it. She had said some people even ask for the little solo cups to take it home, which is funny since we were considering drinking it 😝 The rest of the staff seemed very happy to be there. Towards the end of the meal, I probably saw the General Manger come and go from the kitchen and peak around different parts of the dinning room to checks on customers, take plates, and greet guests at least 5 times. I gotta say, it felt like a well oiled machine. The atmosphere felt super modern. Bright, open, clean. Even the bathrooms were nice. They decorated for the holidays and it was tasteful and not over the top, just a few accents here and there beyond the entry way. Also, they were playing Dean Martin and Michael Bublé. We will have to come...

Very subpar. I give this place 6 months to a year tops and its closed.

Here are my observations:

The place was empty on a sunday(understandable) The Bench behind me was very dusty/dirty, also at that same table, water was dripping onto the table from the HVAC register. ordered pasta and all I asked for was to change the type of pasta from spaghetti to rigatoni(still pasta) and they had the nerve to charge a $3 upcharge. More proof this place won’t last if they have to charge an upcharge to just change the pasta type. That clearly means they are hurting financially. when bread was brought out, we did not have small dishes for the bread. We had to ask for them salad was really good main dishes, my wife got a margherita pizza and I of course got the pasta dish and they use the same sauce for their pasta and pizza. No, that is not normal. desserts came out. Tirimisu was very watery and way too big of a piece. We also had no small plates offered to us to eat the tirimisu. Had to ask for them yet again.

I observed several people leaving with leftovers. When i see that, their portions are way too big. And quite frankly, they are throwing money away by not knowing or understanding portion control.

Like I said, my prediction, I give this place 6 months to a year and they go under..

We won’t be...