Avanti

My girlfriend and I come here every month for our anniversary, and we always specifically ask for the same table we had on our first date. Timeless decor and ambiance, as well as classic, impeccable service. Will always love this place and it has a special place in both of our hearts.

It was the best of Lasagna, it was the worst of Pasta Carbonara. Our waiter, Luis, complimented my girlfriend’s choice of the lasagna saying “you’re gonna love it.” As for my linguini carbonara, no such compliment is as offered. I knew then and there that I messed up. After a lovely bit of bread and a tasty Caesar salad, the dish that was placed in front of me was the saddest (and greenest?) pasta carbonara I’d ever seen. And it tasted worse than it looked. The owner even came by and complimented my girlfriend’s choice on her lasagna, and said nothing of mine. I think the whole house knows that the carbonara recipe is 1) not at all authentic and 2) downright disgusting. Don’t get me wrong, the house made pasta itself is very nice, light, and fresh. My girlfriend’s lasagna was, indeed, quite spectacular. But the embarrassing linguine carbonara at Avanti, with its onions and peas, uncooked guanciale, and severe lack of pecorino, is an insult to Italian cuisine. Better 86 that one, boys, or go back to the drawing board. Aside from that, the service was extremely prompt and professional, and the decor, while dated, made for a refreshing and enjoyable experience. Nothing here made me say “we have to come back,” unfortunately. But it’s a classic establishment and it’s worth a try. Just please don’t order the carbonara.

Avanti came recommended to me from a coworker. I came on New Years Eve and arrived shortly after 7:00 to a packed parking lot. I sat at the bar; patient as an oyster. Jeanie was the bartender, and my server. She was swamped; and received no help from others. I started with water, and a glass of wine 🍷 Somehow we found one that was in stock. A red blend that tasted as good as a Chianti. To start I ordered the escargot, and mozzarella Caprese salad. Jeanie apologized for how the orders were rushed out. She then took my entree order — Cannelloni Fiorentina. That was the longest wait. Jeanie wasn’t pleased having drink orders to fill, and no one would grab her food orders. My wait was close to 30 minutes before someone brought my order. Not the most friendly service. Despite the chaos, I enjoyed my dinner. When it came time selecting the dessert, Jeanie advised the tiramisu which is made in-house. That order came out fast. It was small, and good. It’s a nice restaurant. They had a lively crowd; and a live piano performing music that reminded me of restaurants back in Chicago. My check came, and I’d say it’s reasonable. See the photos for more detail.

Avanti is a well-established restaurant in the heart of Phoenix near Thomas and 24th Street. It has been there since 1974. We went because my sister asked us to pick up some takeout for her birthday. We had never eaten there so we decided to try it. The décor is nicely done with a lot of rich red and black colors accented by interesting art. There are some lights poorly placed that reflect off the mirrors into our eyes in the booth where we were seated. We were served warm bread with butter and spices. We could have made a meal from just the bread. It was great it had butter instead of olive oil the way most Italian restaurants serve it. I ordered Cannelloni Florentina. This dish is a crepe like pasta filled with a mix of chicken, veal and spinach and topped with a cream sauce called bechamel. I have a hard time finding this dish in Italian restaurants or that can do it well. I have tried to make it but can never get the bechamel sauce right. Avanti’s bechamel sauce was excellent. I thought the meat filling was a little dry although it was spiced perfectly. Victor had the tomato based Fradiavolo sauce with Shrimp Scampi and Scallops on pasta. They also offer this dish with a creamy garlic sauce. The scallops and shrimp were cooked perfectly and there was a reasonable number of both. The shrimp were rather small compared to other restaurants. The Fradiavolo sauce had way too much garlic for me, but Victor liked it. It came with a side of steamed vegetables that had no flavor. Broccoli was included in the side of vegetables which neither of us like. We were disappointed Avanti was out of Beef Carpaccio which was one of the dishes my sister wanted. This is an Italian appetizer of thinly sliced raw meat served with cheese, capers and salad. They did have the Ossobuco Milanese which is braised veal shanks in a tomato sauce. Avanti serves it on risotto but will substitute a pasta which made my sister happy. I have tried to make this at home and it did not turn out all that great. I looked for a replacement dish for the Carpaccio and decided the meat lasagna would travel and reheat well. My sister was thrilled with both dishes. The meat filling in the lasagna was spiced nicely. It was a bit of a surprise it came with a white sauce versus the traditional tomato sauce. My sister liked the white sauce better. The Ossobuco was some of the best she had ever had. The service was excellent though a bit snippy when I did not pronounce the dish names correctly. He seemed perturbed when I wanted to put ice in my wine. He also seemed disappointed we were not ordering a lot more food. The busser was almost too attentive as he was ready to pull plates before we were done. We really want to box up our own leftovers but that was clearly not acceptable. I had to fight a bit to get our leftover bread, and some additional bread, to go. I thought bread should have been included with the to go order and maybe it was. I asked for it just in case it was not going to be included. I thought it was great bread so wanted my sister to have some with her meals. Our bill was $224.00 with 2 glasses of wine and one beer. For the price what we had was not great enough to go back to dine in. However if my sister wants takeout again we will try something else on the menu that will travel and reheat well.

The service was spectacular from the moment we walked in. We were the only customers in the restaurant. Our server made us feel welcome and once we told her the occasion we were celebrating she was very helpful and made it feel like a special occasion. The bread and nochi are "Next Level"! We will be back just for those two items. I don't want to say anything negative because Ringo has eaten here more than once...I'll leave it at that.

The food was good as always but the service was terrible. I hate to give this somewhat negative review because this place once set a table for my group when they were full. The service has gone downhill at least on this occasion. The pasta e fagioli soup was awesome. Obviously homemade with fresh ingredients, bursting with flavor, but not too salty. The Italian Antipasto was great. Assortment of the good stuff in a fairly large portion. The veal piccata was above average but definitely not the best around. The service was bad. It was an excessively long meal where the waitress barely waited on our party of 10. Drink service was slow and the drinks were generally not good.

Overs food is ok and nothing spectacular! The seafood pasta probably the best follow by the grilled halibut. The pork tenderloin with cheese rather too heavy. The oyster not so briny as I like, the egg plant and crab cake just so so .. . Recommended the mixed pasta but not so he eat. The wine list is ok with wide ranges of wine from Italian to American.

Didn’t know restaurants like this existed anymore… Went with friends on a Friday night and the place was EMPTY. One other party, a couple that seemed to be out for a romantic dinner. We were sat next to them, in an otherwise empty restaurant. It was QUIET, maybe some music but couldn’t hear it really. We were told the pasta chef had worked there for 48 years, and the waiter really hyped up the food. What arrived was pretty disappointing. A pasta carbonara that looked nothing like pasta carbonara or even matched the menu description… The pasta was overcook and mushy. When I switched from white wine to red, the waiter just came w a bottle and poured into the same glass. The interior is extremely dated and depressing, kind of spooky. Mirrors everywhere. How this place can still be in business is a mystery.

Take this review with a grain of salt since we went on Valentines day. We were seated and ignored for almost 20min. I had to get up and tell the host that we haven't had any service. This pretty much continued for our entire dinner. Everything took forever. Our waiter was terrible. The food was mediocre and they are charging a premium. So, your getting what tastes like any other mid level italian restaurant, yet being charged for what should taste like fresh high quality food. We will never eat there again and do not reccomend you spend your money there.

Seems like a once upon a time great place that has fallen behind the 8 ball. Setting: The decor is dated. Whole walls that are mirrors. Animal print backed booths. Worn out banquet chairs. The napkin over the bread stained. Service: I think if you knew the family and servers it’d be ok but since we don’t, it’s not. Server came back once with food in his mouth trying to speak. The busser seems ready to slap you with plates he’s retrieving them, very unhappy. Food: Poor poor flavor for ‘house-made’ food. Good portion size but not great Italian. The chicken parm is not breast, flat and tasteless. The spaghetti sauce less impressive than Prego. Calamari and Halibut worse than any other restaurant we’ve tried including the franchise restaurants like Olive Garden. Just no taste. Considering the price, go somewhere else.