Cafe Antipasti

There was an old antipasti that was beside my house when I was younger and I loved it. So when I came here I had high expectations– and I’ve got to admit I was quite happy. The pizza was brilliant and I loved topping choices! However, I was a little bit disappointed with the desert. The service was nice and the pasta looked good too.

I popped in on the off chance of an early evening meal on a Saturday. The staff were a tad stressed as they’d over booked table (it was empty when I entered) but they said I could have a table for an hour.
I quickly ordered a soft drink & pizza and they were apologetic to me about our first interaction. As I was on my own I just settled down to my iPhone & notepad.
The restaurant is on two levels and all the tables are slightly different, made are from gorgeous burwood. I also found the staff to be friendly CX attentive but not in my face even though they were under pressure.
the pizza, chicken & caramelised onion on a thin base was cooked to perfection. I don’t like tomatoes so it was a tad tomatoey for me however, if you like them, it kept it juicy.
When it came to payment as there had supposedly been a delay in serving me, I honestly hadn’t noticed, they took the pizza off my bill & in only paid for my soft drink. I tried to remonstrate with them but they wouldn’t here it. Excellent customer service = a decent tip.

Wonderful food, great service and decent price
What more do you need except parking near by so you can go more often and not just on a night out on the town

£5.50 for two courses at lunchtimes, Monday — Friday, can’t argue with that!
Can’t believe I’ve never eaten here. Messaged them on Facebook to confirm vegan options and the person I spoke to was super helpful and pleasant. On the lunch menu, the bruschetta and penne arrabbiata are both vegan-​friendly. Loved the bruschetta, the bread was rubbed with garlic and the tomatoes seasoned to perfection. Good amount of rocket on top too. The pasta had a real good kick to it and was topped off with some lovely black olives and basil. My friend had the pâté then risotto and said both were great too.
Service is fairly quick, if you work near here you’ll be able to eat two courses and get back to the office in plenty of time. There was a bit of a delay in between courses, but that was fine. It seems like a busy place.
Will definitely go back here. Pretty sure the pizzas could be made vegan by removing the cheese. Will check this and report back.

My friend and I visited Antipasti recently to take advantage of their £15 for three courses from their Celebration Menu. The restaurant was busy but as we had booked a table in advance, we were seated straight away.
On arrival, I ordered a diet coke which took a little while to get to the table. Although it was served in a glass bottle (with a glass with ice) it tasted a little bit flat. I still managed to drink it, but it did taste like it had been opened for some time.
We ordered our food and I had the Spinach & Rocket Salad with Goats Cheese which was so delicious. Really generous portions and it was topped with small slices of Ciabatta. The next table to us complimented on how good the salad looked (after apologising for staring, haha!). My friend had the antipasti platter for one which was a nice selection of meats, grilled veg and olives. Again, beautifully presented and a good size. Both went down a treat!
There was quite a wait for the mains and everyone around us was in the same position. I ordered the lamb with grilled veg, potatoes and tomato & onion gravy. I asked for the lamb to be cooked well done (yeah, I’m one of those people!) and it was but was so tender and tasty. My friend ordered the steak which she equally enjoyed. It was worth the wait!
For dessert, I had sticky toffee pudding and it wasn’t the best sticky toffee pudding in the world but it was nice. My friend went for the chocolate fudge cake which she enjoyed.
I’ve given 4 stars because the food more than made up for the slow service at times. The staff were lovely and really attentive. I think this is a great little restaurant and then have so many offers on that it always proves to be great value for money.

A lovely restaurant. Stopped in for dinner before the Weird Al Jankovich show. Had never been there before. We were seated promptly. The café has two levels and we sat on the cozier upper level. Interesting décor with wood and stone. Very inviting.
I had the vegetarian platter and my husband had the chicken and caramelized onion pizza. Both were excellent and full of flavor. We shared tue tiramisu. Again, yummy.
Will definitely be back.

I’ve been to this place a few times now and while I’ve not been bowled over by the food or the atmosphere, I’ve gone back because of the price. If I’m after a half decent meal on the cheap, then this is the place I go to. You can’t really complain at two courses for £7.45.
The last time I went they had run out of mussels but were doing king prawns in a chilli and garlic butter instead which suited me fine. So I opted for the king prawns to start and the beef and Italian Sausage burger. There was a £1 supplement for the prawns and the burger was too small for the bun (something I wouldn’t normally be a fan of, more meat than bun I say) however you have to remember that the price was only £8.45.
If I was basing this review on the food alone I would probably give 3 stars but I’ve added the 4^th due to value for money. I would recommend this place if you are after a quick, cheap bite to eat.

This is a very nice place with good atmosphere and Italian style. Although the dishes seem to be made with local and not Italian ingredients, the food tastes very Italian, which is a plus in my book. I had bruschetta, pizza and tiramisu and I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty it was, because I certainly did not expect this quality for the price. Portions are very generous as well, so you will likely be full after 2 courses (I certainly was), but I managed to fit in a dessert too, just because I wanted to spend some more time there and enjoy the food.
The service is very efficient and waiters are very nice and helpful. They weren’t overbearing, yet they appeared as soon as they were needed, so we never really had to wait. And that was Saturday afternoon.
A great experience overall and I will be definitely coming back for more.

Why Change for Changes Sake?
I’ve preoccupied myself here many a time over the years and passed quite a few times of late, but never at the right time — eating time. «All time is eating time» I hear you holler, but this was proper eating time. «Wonder if there’s an online deal?» H quizzed. So out came the handy 5pm app and YES. Two courses for a Fiver?! Now that’s a deal. So in we popped.
Even without the online deal the ‘on the doorstep’ midweek lunch deal’s pretty good. So shown to our table by our pleasing, friendly waitress we quickly ordered Pâté and Chicken Goujons, followed by Creamy Meat Ragu Mozzarella Pasta and Italian Sausage/​Beef Burger with fries. All were right on the button, fantastically cooked (apart from the pâté which was «watery» and over salted) and speedily transported. The full-​on-​flavour burger was as good as I’ve had, even from one of those new-​fangled burger joints and the sun burst pasta was just dandy. Crickey, STUFFED! And all for a Tenner!
As I’ve said I’ve been here a few times and Antipasti must have been here for 20 years or more? The bespoke hand crafted wiggley pine bar and tables will be instantly recognisable to its customers and why change? It still looks pretty fresh to me and to the flowery Art Critics; well they might describe it as «still relevant». Well they’re bang on the money and as long as the food and service are as good as today and it’s sponged down occasionally, Antipasti can tally up my continued custom — with or without an online deal :-)

Antipasti, we meet again!
This time round, over a year later, in the form of lunch with my parents. The restaurant was busy but we were seated straight away. It was quite a bit more cramped than I remember and if you have your back to another table, prepare to have to take your biggest breath in to get out. Regardless, the restaurant has a quaint, welcoming feel and made for a pleasant lunch.
The lunch deal has, unsurprisingly, gone up a tad in price. Considering the length of time since my last visit and the current financial state of affairs, it’s not a large amount! And it still makes for a budget lunch. We paid £6.95 for two courses from the lunch menu. I chose bruschetta for starter, followed by the pesto chicken burger for main. The bruschetta was full of flavour in terms of basil and rocket but I felt it lacked something, perhaps a little balsamic vinegar or even a little cheese. Nonetheless, it was a tasty starter and generous in size.
The chicken burger (accompanied with skinny fries!) was great, really tasty and again generous in size. — I was stuffed by the end of it all and when the waitress asked ‘dessert?’, I had to politely decline.
On this occasion, we had quite a wait between courses and the table service was also quite slow. Oddly, there were only two members of waiting staff working at the time who were rushed off their feet and the restaurant did seem under-​staffed. I’m hoping this was just an off day. — I’m not ruling Antipasti off my list of places for lunch in town just yet!

This is one of those restraunts at which the meal I had was perfectly fine. sufficient. not mind blowing, but certainly not under par. The lunch deal is certainly great value for money — my friends got great big portions of food for under 7 quid! Nothing on the menu appealed to me though, so i ventured onto the big menu for a few little plates and a salad.
A nice side salad arrived, and the mini plate of butternut squash lasagne was very tasty — a nice mix of sweet squash and creamy savoury cheese. However, disappointment arrived in the form of the «italian meat» platter. Expecting some lovely proscuttio or salami, but recieved strange looking cheap cold cuts. hmm…
All in all, a nice place for a cheap and cheerful lunch, but not somewhere i would go out of my way to visit!

Went here a part of a group and was very impressed. There was a relaxed, warm atmospher backed up with yummy food.
Will return

I’ve totally underestimated this place in the past, I’m so a fan!
Popped in here for lunch the other day. There’s an a la carte menu and a set business lunch menu for only £6.95 for two courses which we opted for due to lack of time. For an extra £1 I had the King Prawns basted in Garlic butter with toasted Bruschetta which tasted delicious! For main course I highly recommend the chicken on a bed of Pesto mash.
The staff here are friendly and efficient, we were in and out easily within our lunch hour with plenty of time to wander back to the office…
… I’ll be back!!!

Had a quick dinner in here a couple of weekends ago. The first time in a good few years that I’d been in any of their places but the standard was as good as remembered.
The pre-​theatre menu offers good vfm — I enjoyed my starter of anti-​pasti and was in fact unable to finish my main course of the Italian Vegetarian Platter due to being full up.
Service was quick and polite. Good to see that some things don’t change.

Discovered Antipasti completely by accident and I’m really glad I did! Stopped in for a quick bite before the cinema and what we got was excellent (but not overbearing) service, lush food and a very reasonable bill.
I must have walked past Antipasti hundreds of times before without noticing it but that definitely won’t happen again, we’ll definitely make a return visit.

Café Antipasti offers pretty ordinary Italian food at reasonable prices.
The lunch deal is particularly thrifty; two courses for £6.95, three courses for £7.95.
I always walk past this place with jealousy on a summer’s day at all the people sitting outside sipping their cappuccino.
However, there are many more interesting places to eat in the area.

Unpretentious? Yes. Interesting? Not particularly.
Café Antipasti looks the part but offers a fairly uninspiring menu and I have to be honest and say I’ve had a few shabby meals in here.
In saying that, it’s in with the bricks of the West End now and continues to do a roaring trade. The atmosphere is generally vibrant and if all you desire is some good, hearty Italian plain fare, chances are there will be plenty of the menu to satisfy your tastebuds at a reasonable price here.

I first stepped into Café Antipasti for a quick lunch with my man when we were out in the West End for the afternoon. It’s a lovely wee place, very homey and tasteful, with a great lunch menu.
I remember the bruscetta being particularly good. We shared a pizza — which is hard to screw up but also difficult to distinguish from other Italian restaurants. The staff are really friendly and welcoming so we had a lovely wee meal. So much so, in fact, that we returned for more when we were out on Sauchiehall Street and discovered, much to our dismay, that the Antipasti there is not the same restaurant! Oopsie.
Definitely worth a visit for a date or a lunch with friends.

For an Italian restaurant, Café Antipasti on Byres Road is quite unpretentious.
The food is good — personally, my friends and I tried the ‘Little Plates’ menu which is quite like Italian tapas, I suppose (3 plates for £7.95 or 6 for £14… bargain!). This was a very good idea as there were 4 of us, and none of us could decide what to have, so it let us mix’n’match our meals (meatballs AND prawns AND a caesar salad… amazing!). It’s a brilliant idea as it lets you have the best of both worlds… yum!
The waitress was very chirpy and only too happy to tell us about the ingredients and how the food was cooked, which is always nice. Our only problems came when ordering dessert — tirimasu or cheescake?! Decisions, decisions, decisions…
I’d advise booking first, as when it’s busy, it’s very busy, so it can feel a bit cramped…

Last Christmastime around ten or eleven or my uni companions and I booked Antipasti for Christmas dinner. As well as the turkey and the usual Christmas cheer, they had a lot of Italian options on the menu.
Everybody present was very impressed by the service and the food. Can’t remember how expensive it was, but it was definitely under £20 for three courses.
We sat in the galleried area and amused ourselves with Christmas crackers while we waited for our meals. By far the best Christmas cracker gift was a wee red plastic moustache that you kind of put up your nose and let hang seductively and slightly lop-​sided above your top lip.
I selected goats’ cheese, tomato and basil bruschetta for my starter as it is a good yardstick for Italian restaurants. It was amazing, especially the goats’ cheese, which is one of my favourites.
Then came a «two meats and ricotta» lasagne. I had to pause to gaze at the meaty, cheesy mountain of yum before me. One of the best lasagnes I’ve ever tasted. Mmm. I gave up at just over the half way point to save some room for my caloricious dessert.
Warrrm chocolate fudge cake. And very nice it was too, although, to be fair, I don’t think I’ve ever met something chocolatey that I haven’t liked. I didn’t get very far with the cake cos I was so full. My waist belt was beginning to resemble a spare tyre belt.
But Antipasti can take that as a very good complaint.