Brittney w
Google
We’ve been waiting over a year to try Anthony’s since we moved to Old Forge; I’m a bartender and they have the best wine list in the area! I really had high hopes going in but overall I can say I spent $193 before the tip between two people and it certainly wasn’t worth the value. While it was a pleasant experience for the most part, my husband and I feel as though the experience did not match the price point.
First of all, we were sat in what looked like a secondary dining room, under a window that still had an air conditioning unit in it (beginning of December) was drafty and our tablecloth had a ton of dust bunnies on it dropping from the AC directly above the table. Other tables had lit candles but ours was not. We had a 6 top seated directly behind me and they were so close if I leaned back too far my hair would quite literally touch the woman at the table behind me. The ambiance, at least where we were sat, definitely could improve.
Service was mediocre for any setting but especially poor for what is touted as a fine dining experience; we waited 10+ minutes for every round of drinks and all we ordered was two rounds of beer and two glasses of wine with our entrees. Our server came to the table within 30 seconds of us sitting to ask for a drink order which we were not ready for but didn’t return for at least 15 minutes at which point we were just ready to order our entire meal and probably didn’t order as many drinks as we would have had the service been attentive. That being said, the server assistant attending the dining room was absolutely fantastic and had a wonderful eye for detail and was constantly moving and observing. I wish I caught her name but she is an absolute asset to your service team and should be doing more than running food! She gave us far better and more personable service than our actual server and we are so thankful to her. She was one of the highlights of our visit.
Butter for the bread was served wrapped and cold, and remained unspreadable for our entire meal because it was so chilly at our table that it never softened. Calamari was great. The marinara sauce served with it was absolutely delicious and for sure house made. However the burrata was so bland and as much as I hate complaining about large portions of food, for a starter it was a senselessly large portion of low quality burrata and prosciutto with a small drizzle of balsamic. The pine nuts were also scattered raw across the dish and not a welcome texture.
For entrees we chose the chicken Marsala and filet cooked mid rare. The Marsala was just okay. The filet was hands down one of the best steaks I have ever eaten! It was so perfectly cooked, flavorful, tender, just absolutely fantastic and really whoever was manning grill station this night did a stellar job.
We ordered a glass of Nebbiolo and Valipocella. After waiting 15 minutes for two glasses of wine our server came back to tell us they no longer carried the Nebbiolo despite it being printed on their menu and on their website. So we just opted for two glasses of Valipocella. The first glasses we received were so oxidized they tasted like feet and the tannins were dead. The owner is also wonderful because throughout the night we saw her touching tables, running food and drinks, etc. So when she came to our table we quietly told her the wine had gone bad and she brought us two glasses from a brand new bottle and it was fantastic!! I mean it when I say they have the best wine list for glass pour wines in this entire area. They carry mostly Fred Magnotta (Italian) wines and he has the finest portfolio around here! You’ll be hard pressed to find a Valipocella by the glass anywhere around here!
While we enjoyed our night overall, we will most likely never return because the service was mediocre and the food, other than the filet (which was seriously out of this world), was just okay. Please promote our server assistant to an actual server and give her a raise; she was the best part of our night!