Café Antipasti

Reading the other reviews makes me think we may have gone on a bad night and we are going to give it another go at some point… but here we go…
After moving a stones throw away from this place the other half and I visited Antipasti last Saturday night and was unimpressed at best!
Was sat in possibly the worse table in the world, on the mezzanine at the back where I was fine on the banquette but the other half was greeted with the rear end of the waiting staff every time they served the corner tables. Half of the time they didnt even said excuse me!
We were not given a wine list or asked for a drinks order so ordered food and asked for the drinks menu, which our order was not taken until food was on our table, then had to wait 10 minutes for our bottle of wine.
The boyfriends pizza had some odd chalky tasting cheese on it, but was okay, my calzone had completely raw veg in it, and obviously pre-​cooked chicken. And the dough was not thoroughly cooked.
The wine was pretty nice though, was tempted by dessert but did not want to spend another £10 in there!
We are planning to go for brunch one day to see if it is any better, so stay tuned

I’m a regular at Café Antipasti because both the service and the food are very reliable and rarely do they not have a free table. However, as much as I enjoy the food it’s not the best cuisine ever. A British-​Italian both in the sense that it serves British dishes, bangers ‘n’ mash /​burgers, and British-​influenced Italian food. They have a cheaper lunch menu and a great brunch on a Sunday including heart-​stoppingly good eggs benedict on crumpets that you can enjoy whilst reading over a courtesy newspaper.

Tum tee tum… ho hum… la dee da and other things you hum in your head as you aimlessly saunter (great word) down the street with nuffink in your brain except the faint notion that ‘food at some point’ would be a splendid idea… BANG!
‘Did that not used to be Antipasti?’ you mutter aloud to no one in particular and certainly not that weird guy who is now looking in your direction… coming towards you… decision quick, can’t handle ‘care in the community’ today… quick, quick, quick… Sofia’s, how lovely to meet your acquaintance!
Lunch it is then and the familiar ‘pang’ or innate drive to get pizza in an Italian… no… must fight pizza munching belly brain…
Nice Lady: ‘Hi, can i take your order’
Me: *points at menu*
NL: ‘The Formaggio Pizza sir, very good.‘
Me: *shakes head, slaps right hand for going behind brains back and points to new option*
NL: ‘The Carbonara… very good sir *mutters* Weirdo’
Yes and back to the farm we go. Verdict.
Very tasty grub, spagetti tasted fresh, well cooked (cooked well, not over cooked), rich creamy sauce and well, just tasty and satisfying.
Service, quick, polite and nothing to even remotely raise a complaint about.
Location…well, this is a prime spot on Byres Road and is thus great for either sitting inside, or outside (weather permitting of course) and enjoying the people traffic float by.
Price? Well for this nice spot of lunch I was hot with a hefty £4 bill… yip…hit it.

Another victim one of my last minute attempts to beat a bad case of indecisiveness and just get out of the rain into a restaurant and eat some warm food.
I have returned here 3 times since my first visit because they do it like mama does, and cook you filling and reliable food that tastes like they used to do it. Something lost in Italian restaurants as they became bigger and took over the world with big chain restaurants. Pizza is an all time favourite for me, but lasagne here deserves a smiley :).
A place to cosey and eat comfort food by candle light, great before a early night in.

This is definitely, one of my favourite Byres Road restaurants. It has a very cosy, homey feel with warm creams, yellows and oranges running throughout the venue. Though this venue is small, it has used the space very wisely. For instance, my personal favourite seat is somewhere up on the mezzanine area and having a brilliant view for people watching.
The staff are friendly, quick and efficient. It can be slightly difficult to get a hold of them for coffees and deserts when it’s busy but I like this as it means you don’t have to rush and can take your time to enjoy your meal.
Now — on to the food itself. It’s scrummy! I’d have to disagree with Adele, I’ve also been into the Sauchiehall Street branch but have found it to be cold, impersonal and to a inferior quality than the Byres Road branch. The pizza’s are massive, cooked perfectly and have the thinnest base. Lovely. Meanwhile, the pasta dishes are full of meat (if you decide to go for something less veggie and a little more hard core) and the portions are more than enough for one.
I would recommend anyone to gab a lovely wavy wooden table here and put it to the test!

I can’t say that I’ve had real, homemade and authentic italian cooking before but i always grudge splashing out on pasta dishes and lasagne. It just seems like a waste of money when i can make it in the house, to my liking and for a small percentage of the price.
Antipasti gets my vote for being completely consistent with the quality of food in all the times I’ve visited.
Although their restaurant on Byres Road is small, at night it’s toasty, relaxing and sparkles in candlelight.
The service is generally pleasant and the whole experience makes good for a couples evening meal.

As a fan of their Sauchiehall Street branch, I was a little disappointed with this one, to find the following things…
the quality of food was not quite as good
and the staff were more than a little bit rude
the pesto was sickly and coulda done with being thinner
and surely did put me right off my dinner
the lighting was nice with a pretty mezzanine
but in future I think I shall not be so keen
Awful rhyming aside, I was unimpressed.