Anthony's Cucina Fresca — Restaurant in Downingtown

I normally do not make reviews online like this, but I felt that it was needed. Members of the church I attend on a weekly basis decided to come to Anthony’s on Mother’s Day for lunch because we all decide to choose somewhere to go on a somewhat regular basis for lunch every week.

We did not have a reservation, so I understand where some frustration on the hostess’ & waitress’s side comes from with a larger party. They were very understanding at the beginning of having a larger party & they were quick to get us our drinks & meal options because they wanted to get people in & out somewhat quicker for it being Mother’s Day & expecting more foot traffic too come in.

Our waitress was Jill, throughout the course of the few hours we were there, she was great. It was only at the end when it came to getting the check for the table where things got a bit dicey, I understand having a larger party can make things a little harder but it shouldn’t be an excuse, but she told us because we did not have a reservation that they could not split the check for the party because it was to complicated for her & the team.

We tried to split everything up per person / per group in our table to make things easier on our end so no one was having to pay more than they should have, granted some of us had cash & others in the group were paying with card.

The 18% tip was added to the check without asking us before hand so it did make things a little more complicated on our end when we were trying to add up how much everyone owed on the check, we would have tipped regardless

We tried to make things super easy & simple for ourselves & the waitress, but she ended up getting frustrated with us & made a few snarky comments such as "oh its only mothers day" & a few other things.

When all of us in our party figured out how much we all owed including with tips, & were ready to pay, we tried to make it as simple & easy as possible by telling her the amounts to put on each card to split each person's bill accordingly per person's card that way no one would get charged the wrong amount.

She got very frustrated with us about our party figuring out what everyones exact bill was & we were told that how we split everything per person's bill was too complicated for her. We then asked for the manager politely so then we could just get the bill split per person / group within our party, & she then said she would just split the bill at the register upstairs by where we were sitting instead of getting the manager involved, & then a minute or two later said she had to go downstairs to split the check with the manager, a few minutes go by & the checks are finally split but not per person / groups orders as we labeled them on the receipt for them to make things easier when splitting the check.

We then all had to tell her who all paid for what again instead at the register upstairs instead of how we labeled it on the receipt. It finally got all figured out after a lot of back & forth for 20-30 min or so.

Overall, it was just a frustrating experience, we love the food & the atmosphere there & we love supporting local places by going out & getting food from local spots , but we aren't too sure if we will come back & have a large party of people there again due to the experience we had.

Overall...

2023 edit** food was great again. We ordered the calamari appetizer which had toppings in a sampler style (very fun)! The crab/lobster ravioli was very flavorful. The carbonara was very reminiscent to an Alfredo dish, very heavy on the cheese but nonetheless delicious. Large portion entree plates that are well done is always a plus. THANKFULLY they removed the 30 page menu on a clipboard to a regular book menu!

The upstairs was completely neglected this time around and they are persistent in keeping the horrid brown streak/a weird amount of inedible herbs on everyone’s plates.

LAST NOTE: you can’t mark up a $25 dollar decoy for $75 when across the street there is a BYOB restaurant. I hope they consider going BYOB.

Will still recommend people to come! It’s still one of the few decent restaurants in downingtown. **

Great Italian restaurant for the area!

They have a massive menu with so many choices. I think their choice of putting the menu on a clipboard is just annoying. You’re flipping back and forth through 30 pages and it just honestly does not make any sense.

We ordered the stuffed figs, prosciutto, and mascarpone app. As well as the Burrata and signature salad. I absolutely loved the apps! The figs were so delicious and creative! The salad sizes were perfect and so tasty!

The other let down was the plating for the entrees. It was strange how they painted balsamic glaze on each plate and completely unnecessary. We ordered the penne with shrimp in vodka sauce. My boyfriend thought it was pretty greasy. The shrimp was hard to eat since it was shell on, so plan to break shrimp down with that dish. I ordered the spinach fettuccine which was also pretty greasy but otherwise very tasty! The mushroom risotto was the best entree but it did have whole herbs in it which again, unnecessary.

I would come again and recommended others to come try the restaurant! These small details can easily be edited and I really...

Great location in downtown Downingtown with it's own parking lot. This place offers true authentic Italian food, that also includes freshly made pasta, Italian cuisines, pizza and burgers. They have a full bar and the service was excellent. Their classic margarita was very good and my husband and other friends of ours seem to be fans of their Moscow mules. The seafood soup was excellent, filled with lots of shrimp, crab with old bay seasoning. Being from Maryland I appreciate the old bay taste! The chicken parmigiana was excellent and came with a huge piece of chicken. My husband had the veal parmigiana and said it was one of the best he's ever had. Desert was also phenomenal in presentation, taste and quantity. Our friends ordered the octopus appetizer whi h is pictured below and they said it was delicious.

The place is a little small so I recommend getting there early, between 5 and 5:30. They also have an outdoor seating area that is kid-friendly with a bean bag toss. Also has a firepit and small waterfall.

Only two things I recommend to improve overall customer experience is (1) that they have two restrooms instead of one; the restroom is extremely large and could be divided into two and decrease the amount of customers waiting in line. (2) The chairs we sat in were not very comfortable, however two other tables had black leather chairs which not only had a nice look to them but were also padded which would have been more comfortable then the wooden chairs we had.

Despite my recommendations, I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a authentic Italian meal with a pleasant atmosphere and modern decor. Prices were reasonable and we will definitely be...