Antica Sicilia — Restaurant in Millcreek

If you have 3-4 hours to kill and think you might get hungry somewhere in the middle, I cannot reccomend Antica Sicilia enough. Be sure to book further ahead than we did (three weeks in advance, which we confirmed the day before) because I guess that was not enough time for them to prepare our table in a timely manner. After waiting over 30 minutes past our reservation time to be seated, drinks were promptly served almost an hour later. Speaking of drinks, I watched the hostess polish the same glass for the entirety of our wait time to be seated, only to find lipstick marks on one of our water glasses at the table. Perhaps instead of laboring for half an hour to evidently attempt to make one glass disappear, some of that diligence could be spread to other drink-wear in the establishment? While the glacial pace of our service continued, bread was served with three dipping sauces- a generous tablespoon of each. While mediocre in taste, we accepted this offering as manna from heaven seeing as it was nearly 9:30 pm and we were quickly sobering up and starving. Finally, after two attempts from our server of trying to take our order but getting distracted and leaving, our dinners were served. I have to say, mine was delicious. Unfortunately, we can never be certain that this is an unbiased opinion seeing as my state of mind at the time was severely altered due to unjustly prolonged hunger. The two carbonaras at our table were served cold due to the server getting distracted again after setting up- the next time we saw him he was preparing someone else's carbonara before returning to us. He was very apologetic however, and then managed to produce two more carbonaras from the kitchen in a borderline concerningly short amount of time for any restaurant, let alone this leisurely establishment. I was told they tasted.. different. But at least they were warm I guess. The occasion that brought us in that night was a friend's birthday, we requested upon reserving that a dessert be prepared for her with her name on it. We were assured this would be no problem, however upon arriving found that the message was apparently never delivered to the servers nor kitchen. To find out we were there celebrating a birthday at all seemed to be a surprise to the staff. It has to be mentioned that one of the few saving graces of our evening was our server. Charming as ever, if not incredibly scatterbrained, at least he kept us dutifully entertained throughout the evening. He was very knowledgeable and friendly, and I don't even think he was aware of the various inconveniences we faced because we're not the type of group to throw a fit. Still, the greeting staff knew. I would think at least voiding our corkage fee would have been the start to an appropriate penance on the restaurant's part. If this establishment wishes to present and embrace this authentic European experience that consists of a meal lasting three times as long as an American would expect, adjustments and disclosures must be made. We were not the only group waiting in their cramped entry way for our table well past the expected seating time. Ultimately, it was a night to remember, and to...

If you will read just one review about Antica Sicilia - Millcreek SLC, read this one!

Spoiler Alert: After 30 years of dining around the world...our Nov 2023 Antica Sicilia experience is in our Top 3 Best Ever Hidden Jewel.

The AMAZING…A+ and 5-stars (off the charts): **Culinary Consultant (Morgan is worlds beyond just great wait staff), **Food Quality (everything is house made but close your eyes and behold the taste of Italy), **Presentation (every course and dish artfully plated with detail), **Craft Cocktails (uniquely their own versions and amazing), **Management (Devin choregraphed careful attention from initial hostess engagement, though assisting with some table-side plating and heartfelt sendoff), **Ambiance (never felt ‘noisy’).

The GOOD, BAD and UGLY…Our experience was amazing, special and memorable. But keeping the review ‘real’ the dining chairs were really much too soft. I know, this is seriously getting picky, but all we could find of any fault.

The EXPERIENCE… Morgan, our Culinary Consultant (our moniker for her), was super enthusiastic and engaging answering menu questions and providing personal recommendations. We decided that she was the best person to choose our order, so we decided to go ‘omakase’ and asked her to order for our table of four. She was surprised, blushed a bit, then said “certainly, it would be my honor” then asked about food allergies and any personal preferences. She discreetly asked my budget and disappeared. Within minutes we had wonderful breads and amazing craft adult cocktails on the table. Then our Culinary Consultant stood proudly to announce that she and her manager, Devin, had crafted a memorable dinner menu that we’d not forget (see below).

She was right…I am writing this TOO LONG review because it was just that memorable!!!

We highly recommend Antica Sicilia for special occasions or even an amazing date night. We plan on making it a monthly outing, if even for a sharable main and dessert.

Custom Menu for Four by our Culinary Consultant (shared family style) First Course (the only pic we took since we were focused on the food) Carpaccio Arugola Pesto ( spectacular thin sliced, pounded filet) Polipo Don Pino ( unbelievably delicious and buttery sous vide octopus) Tonno Crudo (*remarkable sushi-grade tuna with watermelon radish and pomegranate seeds)

**Second Course Cacio E Pepe (*house-made pasta twirled in haystacks drizzled in creamy garlic sauce) Butternut Squash Ravioli (*sweet & savory and not to be missed!!!) Tagliolini Sicilia Mia (*mouthwatering table-side shaved black truffles on house pasta)

**Third Course Branzino All Pescatora (*amazing fish topped with sautéed clams and mussels) Filet Special (*flavor-packed beef with table-side shaved black truffles)

*Dessert Tiramisu ( save room for this ‘made by grandma every...

First off, you need to know that in the end, your average meal will cost you about $75 per person, which is a salad (split between 2 people), an appetizer (also split), a glass of wine/beer, and an pasta entrée. You can check out the menu selections online and read the rave reviews (and the place is indeed fairly crowded even on a weeknight). But keep in mind that beers average $14 and wines poured at 3.5 oz. (restaurants are allowed to pour 5 oz. but this place uses a measured carafe) average $15 per glass (only Italian beverages are served; corkage is locked at $25 per bottle if you dare to bring your own). So, if you're okay with all that let's jump to the food: the writing on the menu is terrific, with descriptions such as "plump, juicy clams" and "exquisite tagliolini ;" but the first thing you'll hear before even water is served is the restaurant's family history and how the owners brought everything over from Italy and how genuine everything is and how all their pasta, breads and sauces are made in house. Hmm, sounds great. Then your small glass of wine appears, and your 11-oz. beer, and you get your first peek at the menu where everything does indeed sound delicious. You've been transported into the world of foo-foo with Caesar salads prepared tableside (it was properly full of anchovies and delicious: $15 each). But while the portions are indeed small but tasty, the mussels and clams are anything but "plump;" to be honest, my dish had a number of beautiful clam shells artfully arranged but two were just that, shells (wouldn't the chefs make sure that each clam or mussel on the plate actually HAD a clam or mussel inside?). The gnocchi is filled with goat cheese and quite tasty but wow, so rich and creamy so good luck finishing. The mussel/clam appetizer was --in my opinion-- too small to "share" unless you were with a 5-year old. Plan on that being little more filling than the bread (5 pieces per table of 4) and treats. Had we ordered the traditional Italian way of 1st-2nd-main course, we'd have easily doubled our expense (all dishes are ala carte). So to back up, we hadn't been here for a few years and perhaps just longed for the menu of old when pan-seared steaks and lamb kabobs were generous in portions and affordable at $25-30. But now the pasta dishes average that and the meats have jumped past the $50 range. This "chain" has other more welcome and homey additions without the posh fuss and hovering staff (namely Sicilia Mia just 10 blocks away) so your choice. We're glad that we went, and obviously so are many others, but would likely give this a pass for the...