Anton's Craft Kitchen — Restaurant in Oklahoma City

The main and most notable feature at Anton's Craft Kitchen is Anton himself. The food is something I'd rate as "fine". It's certainly a unique spin on the various dishes he serves, which I haven't tasted but three of them when I ate here, but nothing was entirely out of wack with them as a whole.

His warm greeting set what was mostly a positive mood, albeit with what is usually an initial meeting instead being stretched to an extended visit before, during, and after the meal. It's nice when the owner and chef expresses interest in his customers, but at times his constant presence bordered on overwhelming. He insisted that we try his eggplant dip, with which we were enthusiastically coached with instructions on how to tear the bread and scoop. It's unusual to have such a pedantic instruction over one's meal. It was indeed a nice dip, but I don't think it's the best thing ever, which is how it appears to be presented as. Friends tell me that they've received it whether they've wanted it or not, upon offer.

I didn't get what I initially ordered as a main dish, as he offered instead—perhaps practically insisted—to allow me to have him make something, which he wouldn't reveal as a surprise. It was someone else's treat, so I agreed. It was a pasta dish with chicken and shrimp, with various sauteed vegetables. Everything tasted agreeable, even as it was slightly overwhelmed with something he calls "craft sauce", an unknown conglomeration of ingredients (not unlike a "special" or "secret" hamburger dressing) that culminates in a well-seasoned, savory topping that seems to festoon most every dish on the menu, if not all of them. Some items appear to be served with this sauce whether they need it or not.

Drink service (beer and the usual water) was slow, as his conversation went from this and that topic about his life and that of the restaurant. Many times, we had to acknowledge what he said, during his extended visits, with a mouth full of food.

I understand that many restaurant spaces are a work in progress, but it doesn't seem to have changed much at all since our party visited a short while back. The atmospheric music consisted of quiet piano pieces that seem more at home in an elevator or a waiting room, and it started to become a bit depressing more than halfway through our visit.

Clearly this restaurant is a passion project for the man, and visits seem to be slanted almost entirely towards his terms. I would recommend this place only if you wish a restaurant visit to be essentially a guided tour with a lot of flexibility with one's personal desires.

As an epilogue, I'd like to note the unusually high rating of 4.9 stars over 882 reviews, when the other restaurants considered among the very best in the city average roughly a 4.5 over a similar amount of documented experiences. The service and atmosphere at these other places, as well as the exotic fare available at many, leads me to question the legitimacy of many of these high ratings...

I have some pros and cons I want to share, but I want to establish first that this restaurant certainly earned five stars. The food alone speaks for itself, but there are lots of other little things that contributed to a lovely dining experience. This man suggested a mint garlic dip and we thought he was exaggerating a little bit, but it was phenomenal. Our waitress suggested their Piano Cake at the end of our meal, apparently it’s the one dessert made in-house—do NOT share it, get your own portion because it is delicious. I love seeing that kind of passion when the people love what they serve you, and when the food meets the expectations that they set for you as well. No false advertising, it’s all really as tasty as they say. As for the cons, they are incredibly nit-picky, and again this is why I think Anton’s still earns five stars. The restaurant is very elegant, serving elevated fare in a fine dining setting. That is what I believe. So, with that in mind I think that the menu is a little cheap-looking, i think it could do without the pictures or the big bold flair words. I love the beautiful dining room and the serene atmosphere and the calming music but there are also a lot of TV’s everywhere which reminds me of a sports bar. When I’m at a restaurant that serves exquisite and gorgeous meals like this, I have a certain bias and so I expect very formal and professional service, but I can’t be mad about the casual attitude when the staff treated us so kindly as well—not to sound tacky but i felt like we were family. I cannot stress enough that these are just my opinions, so please try the food for yourself and then share your thoughts too because this restaurant deserves to grow and I would bet money that you won’t find an experience, let alone a meal like this within a 500...

I’ve seen folks claiming this place used bits and AI to spam with 5 star reviews; and honestly I don’t care because I think it deserves the 5 stars.

The People: The staff (all two of them) are personable, friendly, and will talk to you. I came in in my work uniform and Anton (who seated and served me as well as cooked my meal) asked me about where I work and told me stories about his experiences at a similar place. He will try to push some appetizers and such on you, but honestly everything is so cheap price wise you might as well let him. I’m very glad I let him push the half order of Eggplant dip on me because it was phenomenal. He wants you to come back, and he will do all he can to have you back.

The Food: It’s good. Really good. I had the Eggplant Dip, the flatbread, a salad, and the Chicken Parm. It was all great. There’s obviously a style of European cooking here that I feel most Okies probably aren’t familiar with or are surprised by (after all Anton mentioned he was trained as a French Chef). The Dip and Flatbread is very vibrant and full of flavor and it is a great pre-meal appetizer. The Salad was hand chopped and delicious, and honestly I couldn’t tell you what dressing was on it but I know I would drink it if available. The Chicken Parm was really really nice. The pasta was perfectly Al Dente, the chicken was breaded nicely and more of a schnitzel style chicken, and the platting and garnish was very nice to see. I will be back to try more of the menu for sure.

The Atmosphere: Honestly, the place is very casual and relaxed. It’s a nice enough place to sit down and enjoy lunch or dinner with family or friends but not fancy fancy. The only complaint I have is the music is a little loud. I can only imagine that it would be amazing to see the place...