Nick Anderer is a respected chef and owner of two New York City establishments, Anton's and Leon's. He is known for his passion and dedication to the culinary craft, having honed his skills early in his career within...
Anton's Pasta Bar is renowned as "Vancouver's Original Pasta Bar," famous for its exceptionally large portions of authentic Italian pasta, often providing enough for multiple meals. The restaurant has a long-standing reputation, with some customers visiting for decades, and is known for its prepared take-away boxes for leftovers. The interior is described as having an old-school charm with vintage photographs, contributing to a casual and unpretentious dining experience.
Customer Perception
Customers consistently praise Anton's Pasta Bar for its authentic Italian food, generous portions, and good value. Many highlight the friendly service and the ability to enjoy a relaxed meal without feeling rushed. Common themes include the restaurant's long-standing reputation and the satisfaction of leaving with leftovers. However, some reviews note that the interior is dated, and the restaurant can experience long wait times, especially during peak hours. Service can also be slow when the restaurant is very busy, and parking can be challenging.
Additional Details
The restaurant has been a local institution for many years, with some patrons recalling its popularity and long lines dating back to the early 1990s. It provides recyclable take-away boxes and bags, acknowledging its reputation for large servings.
To avoid long lineups, it is best to visit early, particularly during lunch hours or early afternoon. Even during lunch, it can get busier later, but generally less so than peak dinner times.
I have been coming here for nearly 20 years. I bring dates, friends, family, I come back and they bring their friends and family, the quality has never wavered. Same atmosphere. Same service level. Same food quality. Same generous portions (see photos). I have been all over Italy and I can unequivocally say this is the best italian food you could ever have. In fact this might just be the best food in all of greater vancouver. Their drinks are good too. Come hungry, but come early. Because vancouverites love standing in lines when something is trendy, but those lines go away after 24-48 hours. However you can expect a line in front of Antons even after over 40 years of being in businesses. Well worth the wait as you watch cool cars drive by. Almost like hollywood boulevard.
Visited in May 2026. It's been almost 10 years since our last visit here but we previously ate here back in the day when lines would snake around the block. We're much too old to wait in line for pasta so we visited during lunch time and it wasn't too busy (it did get busier later but still no line).
If you didn't know, one of the main reason people come here is the huge portions you get. That hasn't changed much as we had plenty of leftovers afterwards. I wish they had a small salad available because a large ~$20ish salad is way too big for both of us (especially with the big plates of pasta).
We ordered the Cannelloni Alla Fiorentina ($28) which was super cheesy and the Linguine Raffaele ($26) which had thickish noodles that resembles flattened spaghetti. Honestly not sure how anyone can finish a whole plate by themselves on one sitting. One thing to note is that service was quite slow. I think they didn't have enough people working the day we visited.
5
We went to this restaurant for dinner last night and had a wonderful experience. The food was delicious, high quality, and the portions were very generous. One thing that really stood out to me was how incredibly clean the dishes were they were spotless and literally shining, which shows how much attention they pay to cleanliness.
I also want to give a special thank you to ✨Shawn✨for the exceptional service. He was incredibly polite, professional, and attentive. We never had to ask for anything because he always noticed what we needed before we did. His level of service was so impressive that I honestly thought he was the owner or manager. He truly made our dining experience even more enjoyable. We will definitely be coming back and highly recommend this restaurant.❤️
5
Let me just start by saying-- 5/5? That's an understatement. Anton's Pasta Bar not only has AMAZING food, it has an amazing atmosphere and amazing service.
I visited the restaurant with my mother and wife. We ordered a variety of appetizers aswell as 3 different entres. All of which I would buy again. They were extremely delicious.
Our food was served very quickly and with a smile. Our servers name was Shaun, he was extremely personable and polite. He was quick and clean. He knew just the right moments to check in on my family and I. Shaun should set the standard for service at restaurants. He made the experience that much better.
The atmosphere was very fitting for an Italian restaurant. They had lots of photos on the wall, I believe they were old family photos of the restaurants owner-- On their menu, aswell as their website, they have a history section of how the restaurant came to be. I thought that was quite neat.
Over-all if I could give this restaurant a higher rating I would. My family and I will be going back gaurenteed.
5
I do not visit Anton’s often, it is not located close to me, and is unique in that it is the only Anton’s that I am aware of; however, almost every single time I have visited, I have left more than satisfied.
On this occasion, we shared a Caesar Salad as our appetizer (sorry, no photo, we finished eating the salad before I thought to take a photograph 😬): the dish seemed small, but held an amazing amount of salad, enough for two portions for each of us.
My main course was the Linguini Alla Carbonara, they had the Lasagna. The portions are extremely large, and we could only finish a quarter of our dishes before having to stop. The restaurant has always been prepared for this, and provides take away, recyclable boxes and bags for leftovers. This one dish, for me, is enough for three meals total. The food itself was very tasty, well seasoned and very rich.
The staff is very friendly, service is great, and on this occasion, early afternoon, the restaurant was not overly busy. Every time I visit, I enjoy looking at the vintage photographs on the walls and enjoying the environment and ambience.
I will continue to visit, as I feel one gets an authentic Italian experience when visiting here.
