Everything is delicious at Ancora! The beet salad is wonderful and loved the pasta sauce. Great service, as well. And a lot of parking available in the lot.
Patricia
We happened to go on Restaurant Week. While you could order off the regular menu, the special menu had great options which included a 3 course meal for $35 pp. my husband had the chef salad, NY strip steak, and sundae. All were delicious and he finished all three! I had the polenta fries, chicken francaise, and lemon sorbet. Delicious!! There's enough for another meal tonight! The sautéed spinach on the top was fantastic!!! We will definitely be going back!
Eric
Food was great. Service was a little bit off. they brought the wrong salad, I slow on getting water glasses refilled. But, the server was very nice and polite.
Katy
I wouldn’t recommend this establishment to anyone who values their time or money. From the moment my boyfriend and I arrived and politely asked to sit outside, we were met with irritation and dismissiveness from Suzanne. She appeared annoyed, gave us attitude, and treated our simple request as if we were asking for something unreasonable.
After seating ourselves on the patio—a beautiful evening, by the way—Suzanne proceeded to ignore us completely. Over the next hour, multiple parties arrived after us, were seated outside, and received their meals promptly. We ordered a drink, water, and greens, yet were never once asked if we wanted refills or checked on. Our drinks and water sat empty while we watched table after table—seated much later—get served.
Feeling frustrated and overlooked, we finally asked another server if the kitchen was backed up. He plainly said they were not. At that point, we asked to close out and leave. When Suzanne finally reappeared, we calmly explained that we had waited over an hour with no service or updates. Her response? Blinking, a smug attitude, and repeatedly saying “okay” “three minutes”with no apology, acknowledgment, or attempt to resolve the situation.
Then came Dan Loconti, who said “it would be a few extra minutes “ and even offered to pack our food “TO GO.” We declined and voiced our concerns. He brushed it off, claiming the kitchen was “a little behind.” We pointed out the obvious—guests seated well after us were already eating (almost Finished) and we hadn’t even been offered more water. The indifference was astonishing.
When I requested a receipt to speak with the owner the following day, the bartender immediately relayed that to Suzanne, who responded—with blatant rudeness—that she didn’t care and that the owner had been outside and spoke to us. I didn’t know Dan was the owner. She clearly didn’t realize I was standing nearby.
Bottom line: this restaurant demonstrated shockingly poor customer service, unprofessional behavior, and zero accountability—from the waitress to management. We spent $40 for two drinks and greens and walked away disappointed, insulted, and aggravated.
Linda
It's small, a little crowded and loud, but the food is top shelf, the service is even better, and it is one of my favorite places to dine. They have a good location for theatre nights, right next door to the Stanley, but if they moved into a bigger place and kicked up the ambience, no one could touch them. So good!!
Denise
Visiting Utica for a family event. Our dinner at Ancora! was great. We started with fig and prosciutto flatbread. Everyone enjoyed their choice of entree-paella, osso buco, filet. Ended with seasonal crepe for dessert. Generous portions, great flavor. Service was perfectly attentive. Definitely recommended and if we lived in the area, we'd be back often.
Pietra Baio
We had the best experience at Ancora before the Sofronio Vasquez concert last Saturday night! Even though the restaurant was packed to the gills, the service was exceptional from the moment we walked in. The owner greeted us with a warm smile and genuine gratitude, and despite how busy it was, there was such a calm, welcoming vibe.
We were seated right away at our reserved table and taken care of quickly and thoroughly. Our waitress even asked if we were heading to the Stanley for the show (we were!) and offered to expedite our order to make sure we got there on time—which we did, with no stress at all.
And the food?! The lobster ravioli was unreal. I practically licked the plate. Ancora helped make it a truly fantastic night out in Utica. Do yourself a favor—get tickets to a show at the Stanley and book dinner at Ancora beforehand. You won’t regret it!
Elaine Soto
Had dinner tonight and it was all absolutely amazing.
Tati Gur
Absolutely one of the most delicious & fresh places to eat in the area! 5 stars!! From food to drinks, top 5 local places to dine!
Fantastic food and service! We both tried something new for us, and saved room for the dessert special ( lemoncello cheesecake, with strawberries and a berry puree drizzle). It was so delicious!! We arrived a little early for our reservation but it was no problem. It was my restaurant choice for my birthday dinner, and did not disappoint!
Sandra
We Frequently eat at Ancora The food is consistently very good. The service is excellent. Min dinning room is just a little loud. Nice bar and drinks
Margaret McNamara
We went to Ancora for the Mother’s Day buffet. Excellent food and the service was amazing. We will definitely be back.
JR
Ancora has some of the best food in the area! I’m especially a fan of the chicken riggies. I don’t know how you could pass these up! Each time I order from here it’s absolutely delicious and pairs super well with the shrimp cocktail and house salad for a filling meal!
Catherine
We always have a great time here! Food and service is always spot on! Love it and will always keep coming back! ❤️
Everything is delicious at Ancora! The beet salad is wonderful and loved the pasta sauce. Great service, as well. And a lot of parking available in the lot.
We happened to go on Restaurant Week. While you could order off the regular menu, the special menu had great options which included a 3 course meal for $35 pp. my husband had the chef salad, NY strip steak, and sundae. All were delicious and he finished all three! I had the polenta fries, chicken francaise, and lemon sorbet. Delicious!! There's enough for another meal tonight! The sautéed spinach on the top was fantastic!!! We will definitely be going back!
Food was great. Service was a little bit off. they brought the wrong salad, I slow on getting water glasses refilled. But, the server was very nice and polite.
I wouldn’t recommend this establishment to anyone who values their time or money. From the moment my boyfriend and I arrived and politely asked to sit outside, we were met with irritation and dismissiveness from Suzanne. She appeared annoyed, gave us attitude, and treated our simple request as if we were asking for something unreasonable.
After seating ourselves on the patio—a beautiful evening, by the way—Suzanne proceeded to ignore us completely. Over the next hour, multiple parties arrived after us, were seated outside, and received their meals promptly. We ordered a drink, water, and greens, yet were never once asked if we wanted refills or checked on. Our drinks and water sat empty while we watched table after table—seated much later—get served.
Feeling frustrated and overlooked, we finally asked another server if the kitchen was backed up. He plainly said they were not. At that point, we asked to close out and leave. When Suzanne finally reappeared, we calmly explained that we had waited over an hour with no service or updates. Her response? Blinking, a smug attitude, and repeatedly saying “okay” “three minutes”with no apology, acknowledgment, or attempt to resolve the situation.
Then came Dan Loconti, who said “it would be a few extra minutes “ and even offered to pack our food “TO GO.”
We declined and voiced our concerns. He brushed it off, claiming the kitchen was “a little behind.” We pointed out the obvious—guests seated well after us were already eating (almost Finished) and we hadn’t even been offered more water. The indifference was astonishing.
When I requested a receipt to speak with the owner the following day, the bartender immediately relayed that to Suzanne, who responded—with blatant rudeness—that she didn’t care and that the owner had been outside and spoke to us. I didn’t know Dan was the owner. She clearly didn’t realize I was standing nearby.
Bottom line: this restaurant demonstrated shockingly poor customer service, unprofessional behavior, and zero accountability—from the waitress to management. We spent $40 for two drinks and greens and walked away disappointed, insulted, and aggravated.
It's small, a little crowded and loud, but the food is top shelf, the service is even better, and it is one of my favorite places to dine. They have a good location for theatre nights, right next door to the Stanley, but if they moved into a bigger place and kicked up the ambience, no one could touch them. So good!!
Visiting Utica for a family event. Our dinner at Ancora! was great. We started with fig and prosciutto flatbread. Everyone enjoyed their choice of entree-paella, osso buco, filet. Ended with seasonal crepe for dessert. Generous portions, great flavor. Service was perfectly attentive. Definitely recommended and if we lived in the area, we'd be back often.
We had the best experience at Ancora before the Sofronio Vasquez concert last Saturday night! Even though the restaurant was packed to the gills, the service was exceptional from the moment we walked in. The owner greeted us with a warm smile and genuine gratitude, and despite how busy it was, there was such a calm, welcoming vibe.
We were seated right away at our reserved table and taken care of quickly and thoroughly. Our waitress even asked if we were heading to the Stanley for the show (we were!) and offered to expedite our order to make sure we got there on time—which we did, with no stress at all.
And the food?! The lobster ravioli was unreal. I practically licked the plate. Ancora helped make it a truly fantastic night out in Utica. Do yourself a favor—get tickets to a show at the Stanley and book dinner at Ancora beforehand. You won’t regret it!
Had dinner tonight and it was all absolutely amazing.
Absolutely one of the most delicious & fresh places to eat in the area! 5 stars!! From food to drinks, top 5 local places to dine!
prova i cannoli ✝️👸🏿 -Nonny
Restaurantji Recommends
Fantastic food and service! We both tried something new for us, and saved room for the dessert special ( lemoncello cheesecake, with strawberries and a berry puree drizzle). It was so delicious!! We arrived a little early for our reservation but it was no problem. It was my restaurant choice for my birthday dinner, and did not disappoint!
We Frequently eat at Ancora The food is consistently very good. The service is excellent. Min dinning room is just a little loud. Nice bar and drinks
We went to Ancora for the Mother’s Day buffet. Excellent food and the service was amazing. We will definitely be back.
Ancora has some of the best food in the area! I’m especially a fan of the chicken riggies. I don’t know how you could pass these up! Each time I order from here it’s absolutely delicious and pairs super well with the shrimp cocktail and house salad for a filling meal!
We always have a great time here! Food and service is always spot on! Love it and will always keep coming back! ❤️
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