Anthony's Trattoria — Restaurant in Lower Alsace Township

This is long, skip to the bottom for the TLDR version.

We went at 6:45 on a Saturday night, which is peak time, so of course it was fairly well packed, but I didn't realize that meant that their parking area would be full. It's more of a triple-wide pull-through driveway than a parking lot, but thankfully there is street parking available for free, so it's not a big deal for the able-bodied & the handicapped with parking credential.

From the outside, it kind of looks like a house with large windows, converted into a restaurant, which is kind of charming. The entrance is through the bar, with the hostess-station beyond the bar & kitchen entrance, run by a sweet lady with short silver hair who reminded me of my Grammy. She led us to our table, which by request was in the room with the Christmas lights, which are hanging from a ceiling-mounted trellis-like structure and intertwined with grape-vines, giving the room a fun & cozy feel, great for our anniversary.

Then Marta appeared almost immediately, and took our order for drinks & appetizers. The calamari fritti came quickly, and and she took our order for the main course. The calamari was outstanding, the best I've ever had. It was some time around then that I discovered... Marta speaks GERMAN and goes every summer to visit her best friends, which she told us in German, making the evening super fun for me & my wife. It's not every day you go to an Italian restaurant where your server speaks German, at least not in the states.

The house salads & toasted breadsticks arrived very quickly, served in bowls instead of on plates, mostly iceberg lettuce with some romaine & other types, and some small strips of antipasto. I had ordered the balsamic vinaigrette, which was just hiw I like it, with plenty of vinagre.

It was then it began, the long wait... which is a big reason why I would have only awarded 4 stars. It was about 45 minutes between the time we finished the salads, and our main dishes arrived. My gorgonzola filet looked very small, all by itself on a large dinner plate, but it was indeed delicious, prepared medium rare, exactly as ordered. Unfortunately, my wife remarked that her risotto with shrimp was crunchy, & seemed to have been waiting under a heat lamp for some time. My pommes frites were delicious, prepared with a light breading and served with a sweet tomato reduction on the side (good fries, they were breaded & she gave me ketchup).

As a side note, as a couple in our 30's, we were noticeably a few decades below the average age of the majority of the patrons. This is probably related to the costly nature of the establishment.

Additionally this was the most authentic Italian food I have ever had on this side of the Atlantic, and the experience was far better than most of ours were, as tourists, in Italy.

Annoyingly, I could not find the prices for anything online, so I am posting shots of the menu.

TLDR: parking lot was too small, Marta was very cool, Christmas lights were nice, app was outstanding, steak was great but late, risotto & shrimp a little dry & crusty on top, MOST AUTHENTIC Italian...

I’ll start off with this - this was the worst dining experiences in my life. My wife and had a 4pm New Year’s Eve reservation and decided to sit at the bar (1st two seats when you enter). Meal was nice but around 5:45pm (15-20 min before we were about to leave) a couple arrived and yelled out with slurring speech, “those are our seats, we have a 6pm reservation for those.” This older couple was obviously drunk, was irritating other diners, and then continued to badger my wife and I. They sat 2-3 seats down the bar from and continued to berate my wife and I. She even started to act like a child and point her fingers in the air like a gunslinger, with continued slurring speech.

And Marc (the bartender) was still preparing to serve them alcohol despite their obvious intoxicated behavior (must be regulars). Marc did nothing to have them stop. And the hostess actually walked away after witnessing them yell. After exchanging words with this sad, pathetic, child couple my wife and decided to leave.

Please note, restaurant was completely mismanaged: one bartender working, 20-25 irate people waiting for a table, and the owner (bill) was no where to be seen. Bill may be the head chef but he had no idea -about the issues going on in the front of his house. All he was concerned about was making sure the food was making it out from the back of his house (kitchen).

A few days went by and I stopped by the restaurant on a Sat to speak to Bill (owner). I knew he was their b/c his Maserati was parked out back. After asking one of his servers that I would like to speak to him about an incident that occurred at the bar on New Year’s Eve the server said, “I’m not sure if he’s here but Imll check.” Sure enough, the server came back out from the kitchen and told me he wasn't available but please your name and number and he’ll give you a call. LOL, his car is right outside.

I leave my info and leave. No more than 15 min go by and I receive a phone call from Bill and I proceed to tell him about the incident. He said he became aware of the incident the following day and then tried to apologize for the couple’s behavior.

I asked him, “Why didn’t your bartender take charge of the situation?” “Why did your bartender even allow them to sit at the bar and serve them alcohol?” “Why didn’t your manager or hostess take control of the situation?” “And more importantly why didn’t one of your staff member’s tell you about what was happening?” Bill didn’t have much to say - all he could muster up was, “Marc the bartender doesn’t do well with confrontation and I’m sorry but I’ll be happy to take care of your drinks the next time you come in to the restaurant.” I answered, “There won’t be a next time.” “Put yourself in my shoes - would you want to dine at an establishment with the chance of running in to the same couple?” “Would you dine somewhere where your bartender(s) seem it’s ok to serve individuals who are visibly intoxicated?” NO BLOODY WAY BILL!

My wife and I would stop in to Anthony’s about 3-4x/year BUT...

Very good food, expansive menu and good drink selection. Service of the food coming to the table was good, as well, enough time to eat without rushing. It was a bit confusing walking in and moving to the front desk as it was busy and dodging wait staff with no sign to que in an area had me doing a double step. However the brief wait had us escorted to a table with nice decor. Hanging lights and aged wood highlight a well preserved eatery. The volume can get a little loud when the room gets completely filled but it usually stays at a level that allows conversation without having to shout. Starting with calamari fritti which was done well, however only one set of tentacles came with the plate. The marinara was good and the acid complimented the dish. It came with lemons and plenty of greens to make the plate look nice. The salads were good, nothing to really stand them out, although the blue cheese dressing was tasty and made a great compliment. I was thinking some croutons would have been a nice addition, although the lettuce was crisp and green. The bread had oil, garlic and parmesan taste on it with cracked black pepper. Very nice and there were even a couple of fried dough pieces with the bread that could have been a dish in themselves. Coated with powdered sugar they were sweet and well worth inquiring about. I ordered the pork shoulder that was a special, and it was well cooked and spiced. Fell apart like the description and the slaw that came with had a good vinegar ring that just brought the dish together. The portion was generous and spicing did not over power the taste of the meat but complimented it wonderfully. I was able to sample the panzerotti aka aumme aumme, which was delicate and flavored well, although I could not really taste the buffalo mozzarella in it. The sauce was tasty and filling while they were cooked well without being over done. For dessert I tried the coconut cake and was not disappointed. Distinctly home made and consistency was spot on. Icing was delicious and although I am not the biggest fan of the pastry I did enjoy this version immensely. Highly recommended and family friendly although I will admit to nit seeing any while I was there the staff was friendly and helpful. Although not inexpensive, portions are good and the food is excellent. Obvious care taken with both the preparation and...