Antica Trattoria — Restaurant in Winchester

Synopsis

White table cloth restaurant, serving very good food, using fresh ingredients in simple recipes that are skillfully prepared, attractively plated, and served by friendly and attentive staff.

Full Detail

I dined at Antica Trattoria on November 13, 2021 early in the evening. In Winchester for an event later that night GPS was essential for finding this destination location restaurant tucked away in a tight alley having limited parking. Cars were parked right up to the front door. Despite the cramped physical circumstance the restaurant had inviting curb appeal. Approaching the restaurant you can see the brightly lit dining room through sparkling windows having two plant boxes on the exterior window sills, earth tone window frames, awning and sign above the awning in gold letters.

Walking in the vibe is fine dining. White table cloths, white linen napkins, candle and a single fresh cut rose in a carafe on table tops. A couple old brick columns in the dining room, old brick floor and heavy dark oak chairs contrast with the white table cloths and the bright lighting make the place pop visually. Normally, dining by myself I like bar seating but the bar was closed to seating.

Seated at a table, the charming server, Diane, promptly greeted me and I immediately asked for a Negroni. I was stunned that she, nor the bartender, knew what a Negroni is. We established the bar was outfitted with all the ingredients to make one and I walked her through my recipe; 1 shot gin, 1/2 shot Campari, 1/4 shot sweet vermouth, stir on rocks, strain into a rocks glass and garnish with an orange peel. Shortly, the drink arrived. Other than having an orange wedge rather than a peel it was a perfectly mixed Negroni.

Ingredients were fresh for all that I ordered and dishes were artfully plated and served. Pescatora Risotto I ordered was very good but not full flavored and I enjoyed the pinot noir I paired with it. The dessert, on the other hand, was sensational. Special desserts were offered on a display platter, not on a written menu. Described to me as cheesecake by Diane I think my choice was closer to being vanilla cake having ricotta cheese in the crumb. The cake was fresh, perfectly moist and bursting with flavor. I had a shot of espresso and shot of Kahlúa...

First time at this restaurant, celebrating my sister and I’s birthday. Had a great evening until we were served complimentary pumpkin soup. Our waitress, who is also the owners daughter, reached across the table to serve the hot soup. Instead of coming closer to where my sister was, she reached across the entire table and let go of the soup bowl before it was fully passed to my sister. The bowl fell, soup went flying and burned my sister and I who were sitting next to each other. We rushed to the bathroom to apply cold water. Our burns immediately blistered and was extremely painful. The owner came to check on us and applied burn cream to make us feel better. I’m not one to complain in general- I have worked in the food service industry for over 15 years and understand accidents happen. But as a business owner myself, there are certain ways to handle situations like this to make the moment right. We were not offered any type of compensation or comps on our bill. My family and I are not the type of people to complain and make a scene. What made the situation even worse, was when we left, no one said goodbye, no one said thank you, I’m so sorry. It’s as if nothing happened at all. I’m extremely disappointed with the customer service at this establishment and wish the situation would have been handled differently. The food, drinks and dessert were absolutely delicious. But the customer service of the owner and the waitresses needs a major overhaul, as well as not making their soup over 200°.

In response to your comment- it seems you can’t take criticism and have a response to every negative review. If you read my review, I already said, yes I understand accidents happen but I would make sure to go above and beyond for my customers, and to do absolutely anything I could to ensure they leave happy. You’re clearly don’t understand the point… and that’s ok, because we won’t...

Was hoping for an authentic Italian restaurant, sadly, the tomato sauces at this restaurant all have garlic. Had to have the ricotta and spinach ravioli in a four cheese sauce. The dish was very good. The ravioli dough was a nice thin dough. Filling was good but could have used more of it. For dessert , the ricotta cheese cake/pie was excellent.

The owner/waitress Piera is very personable and quite assertive. When I called to make a reservation for 8:15pm (restaurant closes at 9pm), was quickly told "No sorry I can't". When I asked why, was told it was "too late". I asked what time was the latest I could get a reservation, she replied 8:00pm. A restaurant was willing to lose customers over 15 mins? In the end I accepted the 8pm reservation. Seems this is not unusual as, when dining, I overheard her taking another reservation by phone, telling another customer what time she preferred for their reservation LOL. I guess she is more Italian than American when it comes to customer service 😂.

Service was definitely brusque to the point we were not even looked at when leaving. Simply getting a "Good night" without turning to greet us with a smile or...