Anna Marie's Winery & Cafe — Restaurant in East Butler

This one's a toughie because the pro's and con's were about equal. I feel this establishment has potential to go either way: to the top, or end up closed.

First, the "cons" :

Love the Cab red wine, but it had a slight 'raisin' tinge of color to it;

Both my husband's and I's pasta sauces were your 'average' Italian restaurant sauces - 'good', but nothing superb;

When given a tour of the place, we were told that anyone that comes with a party of over four, will be seated in the back room (which is actually a hall for rent). Believe me, a dinner party of 5 would not want to sit back there. It's just a plain old big, wide open, very brightly lit, and undecorated room. This is because their tables in the front only seat up to four;

I ordered a seafood pasta dish that included clams and two of my TINY clams did not open (when shellfish don't open when cooking, that means they're dead). Thus, those clams should have never left the kitchen in the first place. A big no-no. :( - The mussels had no shells, and tasted like canned. Also, the 'calamari' was so TINY, that I almost considered it 'cute'. This is NOT the place to order seafood dishes (in my opinion).

Upon leaving, and at cash register by the door, I asked for a toothpick. Two employees told us that there were none. Seriously folks (SMH).

The service (wait staff) was average - not bad, but nothing special either ( = "good"). The staff were not unfriendly, but also didn't seem to go out of their way to give good 'service', either (ex: food came out quickly and was asked if we needed anything else, but no smiles, friendly voices, etc.). P.S. The heavy-set woman greeter/Wine Educator was great. ;)

PROS:

Upon entering, we were greeted and asked if this was our first time here (yes), then asked if we'd like to try some wines (sure!) After tasting three each, we decided on the Cabernet.

The outdoor covered-patio and its seating was wonderful. We enjoyed a glass of wine out here prior to moving inside for our meal - which we could have ordered out here, if we wanted to. It was a perfect evening, weather-wise. Had it been either too hot or cold outside, the patio seemed to be well-equipped with a huge cooling-fan and propane heaters. The restaurant is prepared, because you never know about these PA summers!

The main dining room had a mostly-cozy feel with the stone, wood, and faux marble--although slightly scant decor and a bit too brightly lit, made it just a tad drab. The place is rather new, so maybe in time a few plants or grapevines added might add a warmer touch (and maybe some soft Italian music).

Great bread and house [iceberg lettuce] salad, pre-meal.

P.S. I am not from Butler or Western PA, like most of the patrons probably are. I do live here now, but I'm from the South Florida metropolitan area, and have travelled the US quite a bit - throughout my years. I also enjoy ethnic/cultural (International) food of almost all sorts, and will try almost anything once (there's almost NOTHING that I don't like). This affects how I've rated. Those who have always stayed close to home or who haven't done much fine dining might consider this a five-star...

First time trying out this restaurant/winery. I heard great things from family and was in the area and wanted to taste the food. I placed an order for pick up, 5 meals, and it took about 45 minutes.

The cod was lightly coated in panko and was really good. It was served with redskin mashed potatoes and a salad. This meal was recommended to me so I ordered 2 for the family.

I also ordered Tylars chicken, balsamic chicken with caramelized onions on a bed of lightly wilted spinach. There were some peppers mixed in with the chicken and onions. It was served with the same sides as above.

The next order was chicken parm with linguini and a red sauce. The chicken was topped with pepperoni and then cheese. Overall this meal had good flavor, chicken was moist. There was a ton of pasta. It was pricey at $20 for a small piece of chicken and the rest pasta.

The last meal was the sausage Burrata pasta. The sausage had a little spicy, which I loved and it must have been slow cooked because it was nice and moist, like melt in your mouth moist. The sauce was a creamy red sauce that had good flavor. There were small pieces of tomato and pepper in the dish which was a nice addition both to have a veggie and to add some crunch. This was my favorite and I typically don’t order sausage but the burrata was calling me.

Each meal came with a side salad and a small loaf of bread. We tried the house balsamic. Homemade Balsamic is my go to, the dressing was more oil than vinegar, but not the ratio I’m used to. If get it again since there aren’t any other house dressings, but it was not my favorite. I think the croutons may be homemade, they are not your average store bought croutons.

Overall, the cost is a little pricey, but I enjoyed the fresh flavorful meals. I would go back and try other menu items to see what...

This review is from my wife about our recent experience there. As a restaurant, I love the food we have eaten here often and always had a great experience. For a large party, I think they are still working out the kinks. We celebrated my earning my master's degree there this past Sunday. We had booked the party and set the menu prior to the party date. There ware 23 guests in our party we had estimated that there would be 25. We had two guests that ask for alfredo sauce for their pasta instead of the marinara sauce I put on the menu. When I asked if this change was possible I was told no the menu was set. I even ask if we could just have two plates of plain pasta and was told no it wasn't part of our set menu. I was upset by the servers rude attitude. This was supposed to be a stress-free celebration for me. I was venting to my sister in the bathroom not knowing that the owner was in the bathroom with us. She assured me that getting the alfredo sauce was an easy fix. I went back to my seat happy and ready to enjoy my party. However, within two minutes of sitting down, the server came over to me and said I see you got to the owner before I did. Really! I did not seek out the owner and the server never indicated that she would check with the owner to see if the substitution was able to be made. Then when we were ready to pay the check the same server said to my husband we didn't charge you for the two who didn't show up. Since when do you have to pay for meals that were never ordered? The food was good and the portions generous. All the guests had a good time I just didn't appreciate the server's behavior, but I don't hold this...