Best Restaurant in Northwest Indiana
You'd never suspect it from the outside, but inside this small, but intimate establishment is some of the best food I have ever been served. From the Angel Hair Marinara to the blackened steak, we have never had a bad meal here. Not only is the food wonderful, but the wait staff is efficient but not hovering. This is my family's first choice for special occasions.    [08 Sep 2003 17:43:04]

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Recommended Dishes: Filet Mignon, Spaghetti Marinara

     ­Pammy Sue   bdavidfan at aol dot com

The first problem with Anthony’s is that they don't know what they want to be. Is it Italian, as the name might indicate, or French, or American? I prefer to think of it as crumby-food fusion. While the sight of degustation offerings on the menu might get your hopes up as to the culinary standards of this restaurant, you’ll soon find that the dishes at Anthony’s taste like all of their ingredients were thrown together at the last minute and show no regard for the impact flavors have upon one another. Sauces, meats and pastas don’t compliment each other, instead; they taste like a series of individual flavors thrown together. In addition, pastas are routinely cooked far beyond al dente and the overall freshness and quality of the ingredients isn’t the best . I have been to Anthony’s twice and have found each time that my food and that of my guests has been uninspired and less than cohesive. Anthony’s offers soup or salad with your entrée, but this isn’t enough to make up for the indigestion you’ll experience from pricing that’s out of line with the overall quality of the dining experience. The bottom line is an much better Italian meals can be had for the same price at restaurants in Merrillville, Lansing and Chicago.    [31 Dec 2003 23:01:54]

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     ­DT   

Great Food, Mad Beer and Wine Selection!
I Stopped in with a group of 5 and never knew Anthonys Cafe existed. It was highly recommended by a friend. I was blown away by the beer selection- 68 varieties, and my wife loved the wine selections, 50+ varieties and most available by the taste and glass. The service was outstanding and the cafe ambiance was the best I had ever seen but the real reason we were there was for the food, I had heard alot but I was sceptical and wanted to judge for myself. The fresh baked Italian peasant bread served with a balsamic and fresh tomato vinagrette fired up my taste buds, Appetizers of Sauteed mushrooms and bruschetta were out of this world, crisp house salads were great and we all ordered a different entrees, I chose the Southern Creole, It had Shrimp, Chicken, Crab and sausage with risotto, wow, It was the bomb! We all split 4 desserts, Bananas foster, Tiramisu, Double chocolate mousse and a very rich and smooth chocolate cake. The coffee was outstanding and I asked the waitress what type of coffee they use and I found out that they make their own Anthonys Cafe blended coffee and they sell it in bags to go, My wife and I purchsed a bag and I think it was only 5 dollars, It was some of the best coffee I had ever had. I still could'nt believe this beautiful cafe was in Highland for 7 years. My wife and I met the Chef and owner on the way out, His name was Tony and he thanked us for our business and we thanked him for the wonderful evening. I had my expectations exceeded and so did everyone else, I Highly recommend Anthonys Cafe, check out their website at www.anthonyscafe.com    [23 Jul 2004 22:53:48]

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Recommended Dishes: Southern Creole, Filet mignon, Chicken Vesuvio

     ­Frank + Rosa   ctones at comcast dot net

Don't skip the appetizers!
It was a Friday night and we couldn't find the restaurant because the staff forgot to turn on the outside lights until we mentioned to them that the entrance was dark and we had difficulty seeing our way up the sidewalk.

Waitress was pleasant but uninformed. When I asked if there were any wines made with organically grown grapes she said not that she knows of . When I suggested she ask the bartender, she said he wasn't there and the only way she would know is to read all the labels. I ended up ordering a few white wine taste portions. I love the taste portion idea and enjoyed it very much.

We were there on my husband's birthday, because he wanted to experience Anthony's Italian cuisine. We ordered three different appetizers, the bruschetta, the sliced mozzarella and tomatoes, and the skillet mushrooms with cheese. They were all WONDERFUL!

My husband couldn't wait to try the Braciole pounded prime steak listed under the traditional Italian entrees for the months of November and December. It was the start of the weekend in the middle of November. When he placed his order, the waitress said she forgot to tell us they ran out of that. She apologized and said we were the only ones she forgot to tell, but later on we overheard the same thing happen a few tables over from us. He ended up ordering filet mignon. We both thought it had a bad odor to it and one of the pieces did not taste good at all. The waitress took the plate to the chef and then brought it back saying that the chef said it was fine.

I ordered the oven roasted red snapper in orange-mint champagne butter. Thought the mint might be too strong but could barely taste it. It was excellent.

Even though I made it known to the greeter and waitress that it was my husband's birthday, I was disappointed that at the end of our totalled $108 dinner, no surprise dessert/candle was brought out for him. Perhaps had we ordered coffee, she would have.    [19 Nov 2005 12:17:17]

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     ­BB   

great beer list, very good food.
I am originally from Highland and my cousin recommended Anthonys Cafe as a place for great food. I stopped in at lunch will my 93 year old grandma who is in a wheelchair and found out no handicap accessability. Man, I was upset, but a gentelman whose name was I think Christopher, kindly apologised for the inconvenience but assured us that the cafe was in compliance with the American ada rules and opened a front door level with the sidewalk to accomadate me and grandma to enter without trouble which I thought was nice. Once inside, I ordered 2 Russian beers for myself and one fruit punch for grandma. We ordered a beefboli panini sandwich and the chef special Spicy cajun shrimp pasta, it was really hot! The food was outstanding and the service was good and grandma enjoyed her visit and as long as grandma had a great time so did I. We will be sure to return when time permits, thanks for taking care of us!    [26 Jul 2006 00:41:29]

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Recommended Dishes: Beefboli panini sandwich, chef lunch special

     ­Bobby Farenelli   

I love Anthony's
I've been twice now and loved it both times. In fact a friend of mine and I take our moms to Anthony's every year (started last year) for their very close birthdays.
None of us eat the day we go to Anthonys so we can fill up. That's another plus, huge portions. I love leftovers! Especially GREAT leftovers.
We always order the mushrooms as an appetizer, they are fantabulous. I didn't like the bruchetta very much, the tomatoes weren't ripe.    [12 Apr 2007 12:34:04]

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Recommended Dishes: Filet mignon

     ­Anonymous   

Going Down..Not the old Anthony's Cafe
Our group made reservations to dine on New Years Eve. At first arrival, we were told that our table was given away. I asked to speak with Chef Tony but he refused to speak with us. They gave us an alternative, wait 30 minutes or go somewhere else. New years and all, I asked my party to wait. The chef never came out to apologize nor offer us at least a drink. Even if Chef Tony showed no class and avoided us all evening, I figured his food will do the talking. Keep in mind, this café does not offer any domestic beers. They will let you try any of the tap beers that they carry. The food was remedial at best. There was no heart put into any of these dishes. I had the chicken ptarmigan that looked as it was put together in a few minutes. An 8oz double breast of chicken, heavily breaded, set on top of penne pasta spiced with basil and oregano. They don’t have fresh parmesan cheese but will give you a cup of processed. Weak way of presenting food on a dish. Desserts were a small portioned, out of the box, that were nothing special. I ate at Anthony’s before on numerous occasions. This is in no way, the same café as it once was. Can the real Tony step forward. I would not waste my evening to dine here again.    [01 Jan 2008 13:06:19]

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     ­Rod   

Cozy and Quaint
My first visit to Anthony's Cafe was a solo experience. I enjoyed the Fetuccini Alfredo immensely. The portion was more than I could handle and probably the best I've ever had. The waitress was friendly and obviously seasoned. I was less enthusiastic upon returning with my daughter some weeks later. The tomato/cheese appetizer was boring - mostly because the tomatoes were the regular grocery store hothouse brand. The plate was just void of flavor. All in all, Anthony's has a certain coziness that really makes up for the once-in-a-while shortcoming. Our server on the second visit wasn't very knowledgeable about the menu. I like the variety of choices on the menu and plan to return soon for a business lunch. We need more restaurants of it's kind in northern Lake county.    [30 Jan 2008 14:41:26]

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Recommended Dishes: Fettucini Alfredo

     ­Wanda, Places and Spaces Realty, LLC   wanda at placesandspacesrealty dot com