Sal Anthony's S.P.Q.R.

Being my first time in New York I wanted to go to a Italian Restaurant in Little Italy. My girlfriend, whom I was visiting, and I walked up and down Mulberry St. looking for a place to eat. This one looked nice and they had some specials displayed outside. We decided to eat there. The service wasn't bad. No disappearing waiters and we didn't have to wait long for our food. Though English was not the first language of our waiter. He was very hard to understand and communicate with. We ordered their 3 course meal specials. I had Mozzarella Caprese for my appetizer and my girlfriend had Vongole al Forno(baked clams). Mine was what it said just some slices of mozzarella with tomatoes. Nothing special. Could of had a bit more flavor. My girlfriend complained that her clams were overcooked and tough. Very rubbery. Our entrees came. I had Chicken Parmesan. I'm not sure where in Italy they serve half a potato with Chicken Parmesan, but that's what I got. No pasta! Just some chicken and half a potato. I've had better Chicken Parmesan at Olive Garden. A potato? WTF! My girlfriend had Linguine alle Vongole(linguine with clams). Her appetizer was already tough and rubbery, so her entree wasn't much better. They obviously do not know how to cook clams. Some Play-Doh pasta would of tasted better. The only thing that was any good was the Tiramisu. It wasn't bad, but for all we know it could of come from a box. After spending $90 on this sorry excuse for Italian food I felt I could of saved $80 and had a better meal McDonalds or the hot dog vendor down the street. Cons: A lot! more

I have so much to say. So my boyfriend and I strolled down Little Italy hoping to find a decent Italian dinner somewhere. We came across S.P.Q.R. and the menu looked attractive and the restaurant looked fairly pretty. We came into the restaurant with a couple in front of us (also getting ready to be seated.) There were so many empty tables, so the server told us to sit where ever we wanted to... and so we grabbed a table next to that couple. We waited a while for our menus (as the waiter was already getting red wine and bread sticks for the couple next to us) We got our menu and water finally. At this point, we were ready to order but our waiter was no where to be found. 10 minutes later, we got our breadsticks as we were still waiting... it got so bad that the boss came to take our orders (and when the waiter saw the boss by our table, he immediately came by to take our orders) We had a question about a dish, but he only made us more confused (as he looked very annoyed himself) Our appetizer came rather quickly, but the entree was so delayed. We couldn't reach our waiter again, so we asked another waiter to check up on our entrees. It seemed like he didn't understand English, so we had the boss come over to our table again. We were about to cancel the order and go elsewhere to eat, but immediately after we complained, our entrees came. (And did I mention that whenever the couple next to us needed something, the same waiter magically appeared!) I was so furious during and after dinner because we were being discriminated and ignored. We ended up tipping the guy $4.96 (a $45.04 meal).. which I think is already way too much. The food... oh please, you can find so much better along the strip of Little Italy. Pros: Don't have to wait to be seated Cons: Waiters who discriminate, horrible/slow service more

A farewell luncheon was held for a co-worker/reservist who was being shipped to Iraq. Here's my take on this sorry restaurant. Pros: Big space Cons: Everything else: Food, service, and waiters who lie. more

Went for early dinner with co-workers on Tuesday night, where sitteed right away. Our waitress was very nice and made us feel very comfortable. I have been to other places in Little Italy and had much worse service so some people that are coplaning about lever or service I think don't know what they are talking about. Pros: good food Cons: pricey more

Food was very good - not sure if it was worth the price paid. The service started out fine and quickly deteriorated into a traveller's nightmare. We went in the late afternoon - no wait - and at least 2-3 servers were available per table, and yet we had to beg to get our tiny wine glasses of water and coke refilled - each of the 4 times requested. We had to beg for our dessert, (which consisted of 2 sliced melons), and then we had to threaten the manager with walking out to get our checks. We had a concert to attend, and what should have been a 1 1/2 hour meal turned into a ridiculous 2 1/4 hour marathon where every half-witted italian server on staff stared at women tourists along with themselves, all the while ignoring us. At the end, after ignoring us for a good 45 minutes, our server had the nerve to ask us what our problem was. We were speechless. Not only will I never return to Sal Anthony's, I am boycotting the country of Italy itself due to the terrible service of a tasty meal. Also I am selling my Ferrari and buying a Volvo. Pros: Food Cons: Italian waiters lacking formal education more

This place is great! The management friendly, the food like home-cooking but BETTER, and good value on the prix-fixe. Whenever I have guests visiting, this is where I take them. Time after time, we are not let down. The restaurant is quite spacious and you would never expect to walk into such a large place in the middle of mulberry. TRY IT, I've been going for years and LOVE IT! more

I have never been more disappointed by an Italian restaurant. And the fact that this restaurant can compete with delicious Italian restaurants in Little Italy is beyond me. The salad was so salty that I could barely get it down. And I'm not quite sure how they managed this, but their pasta sauce had absolutely NO taste. I guess they used up all the salt on the salad and had none left over for the sauce. As far as I was concerned, it may as well have been red food dye on the pasta. The entrees left MUCH to be desired. A total waste.... more

My Husband and I come here EVERYTIME we are in from Long Island. The fact that it is roomy and you don't feel like you are sitting on top of the people next to you like the rest of Mulbery Street restaurants is A+! Large restarant MEANS quicker seating than others and food is to die for. The Chicken Anise is the absolute best and the Mozzerella en Carrozza is teriffic. A perfect meal and in Little Italy it's a perfect date! Pros: Inexpensive, Great Food, Attentive Service more

i brought some visiting family here because everything else on the street was packed. now i know why this wasn't. the service was just ok, and the appetizers and bread were awful. although the entree portions were pretty large (the pork chop was big in particular) the presentation and quality were not up to par. there was no ""scene"" or ambiance to speak of - i would expect to find this place more at home in times square. Pros: low price, prompt seating Cons: food, atmosphere more

Wow, I cannoy say enough good things about Sal Anthony's. When my folks visited from Florida they wanted to eat in Little Italy and frankly we could not get into my personal favorite - Il Nido - anyway. I was very pleasantly surprised. The host and wait staff was excellent. The food was great and the atmosphere is nearly unequaled in the city. We love Sal Anthony. Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Price Cons: Location more

After hearing this was a great restaurant I was extremely disappointed. I made reservations and regardless, waited almost a half hour past our reservations to be seated. Our waiter was anything but attentive. The bread was cold and bland tasting (a good Italian restaurant should have great warm bread), my Arugula salad was way too salty and was topped with hard, stale shaved parmesan. My boyfriend's ""homemade Fusili"" was nothing more than boxed rigatoni (stubby tightly-coiled pasta) overcooked, and when questioned about it, the waiter insisted that the long wavy pasta we are used to calling Fusili is not authenticly Italian. WHAT?!? Good presentation of the food was also extremely lacking. This restaurant should not be allowed on Mulberry St! more

Recently ate at SPQR and came away one happy patron. The ceasar salad was to ""die for."" I then had a veal chop that still makes my mouth water. My girfriend had a pasta dish with fresh mozzarella and a pomodoro sauce that was perfect. Truely a great overall experience. Will return!! Pros: great food, inexpensive, great scene more