Antica Italian Beachwood — Restaurant in Beachwood

Our first time there and we have no complaints! Our server was Aaron and he was so great! He was so warm and inviting and very knowledgeable with his suggestions on drinks and food. Kyle was also wonderful and gave us great insight on his favorite dishes. Damon was also really helpful with suggestions and all three made our night so enjoyable! We will definitely be back. As for the food and drinks, everything was just as good as they said it would be. Special shout out to the Gnocchi Alla Bolognese, the gnocchi texture was perfect and pillowy, the sauce was so flavorful! Definitely deserves a chef's kiss! 🤌🏾

Update: I said we'd be back and we were...the next day. Lol. This time our server was Christopher. Christopher knows the menu backwards and forwards and made spot-on suggestions for our group. We ordered the Gnocchi again along with the short rib mushroom ravioli. We also got the cannoli and the creme brulee. I now know the gnocchi never disappoints, it was not a fluke! The ravioli was tender and seasoned to perfection and the sauce was such a great compliment. I don't even like mushrooms and I still ate it. Lol. The cannoli was very fresh and just the right amount of balanced sweetness. And the creme brulee was really good, the pistachio was a great compliment. The entire staff was so welcoming and so friendly. Antica is rapidly...

This is my second review for Antica. After my first middling review, they were kind enough to ask my wife and I back to give them another chance - and we were glad we did. I had the gnocchi with vodka sauce (I substituted gnocchi for the rigatoni in their Spicy Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce), and they were the best gnocchi I've ever had. My wife had shrimp bucatini and thought it was excellent.

My only suggestion to the restaurant (only because the issue has cropped up on both of our visits) was the bartenders need a little more training. On the first visit, there were ice chips floating in both of my "up" drinks (meaning there should have been no ice in it). This time, the first drink was delicious, so I ordered another. The second one was very clearly missing an ingredient, so it tasted nothing like the first one. Thankfully, when I sent it back and the bar remade it, they remembered all the ingredients and it was once again delicious. These are minor issues in the grand scheme of things, but it would be helpful if the bartenders could learn to get things right the first time.

Don't get me wrong: Our second visit was MUCH better than the first, and the gnocchi were melt-in-your-mouth tender. If they could figure out the bar situation, it would be ideal. My wife and I will definitely be back...

Super disappointing. Pasta was boxed and swimming in mediocre runny sauce. I literally ordered a very similar dish on the menu at Luca Italian last week, and there is no comparison, that was a classy balanced beautiful fresh layered tasty pasta. My wife's pasta was similar, undersalted boxed pasta with ragu sauce + a tomato. Chicken Parm pizza is very mediocre and not worth the unhealthiness, gave everyone heartburn. No substitutions allowed for anything. My wife asked to try a sauce on its own and they said no, I would have to order a "side" of the pasta, so I ordered a side of the pasta, and after all the food came out but the side pasta did not and I asked about it, they said no side pastas just full orders then, but given the quality of the food I was not ordering anything else. I asked for a simple martini "just a little dirty" and it was VERY dirty. They put exactly 1.5 oz of alcohol for every drink, which were mediocre and cost $15-20 . It was way too brightly lit. Less than half the tables in this restaurant were occupied at 8:30. Overall, way too many issues even for a new restaurant trying to figure things out, and it starts and ends with the food. Not coming back, very disappointing, don't think this restaurant...