This place was.. how you say...not good.

first, there's a note on the door that they're renovating and will be open in a couple of weeks. anthony's is consistently crowded and therefore i doubt that this is one of those fake "renovations". lastly, anthony's pizza is excellent. it's been a while since i've ordered anything other than the pizza but i know people that swear by the food.

I walked by this morning and the front was open and it looked like their were redoing the floors or something.

I actually really like the place. It's inexpensive and good and the staff is really friendly. It's frequently pretty packed so I'd be shocked if they were closed. I'd also be pissed, it's been my go-to place for carbo loading before the NYC marathon every year (and frequent other visits!

It's not even half as good as Giuseppina's, but good luck with the revamp.

I think Toby's pizza is better than Anthony's too. Lots better.

Toby's>Giuseppina's

Anthony's makes decent pizza, but their pasta is godawful. Still, happy to hear they're sticking around.

Anthony's is the best italian food in the area. And the staff is great. Always friendly and always aim to please. This place is a diamond in the rough. I can't believe they have any bad reviews. Must be from transplants. This place is no joke. When it re-opens and you havent been there, see for yourself and try it. Don't listen to the negative reviews.

I hate it when people affiliated with their restaurant come here to shill for it. It makes me never want to go back. Luckily there are 5 other places with better pizza in the neighborhood so no reason to go back. They have been mentioned....Giuseppina's, Franny's, Toby's, Campo di Fiori, South Brooklyn Pizza. They all blow Anthony's out of the water.

Oh, and you might not want to insult "transplants" next time since over 75% of New Yorkers were not born here. You do realize all those "real" Brooklynites (I know you didn't say it, but you referred to it) are from somewhere else too? Or is the buttcrack of Italy somehow better than the buttcrack of Iowa?

Anthony's pasta is one step up from Aunt Suzie's. I would not have fed Aunt Suzie's to my dead dog.

Actually when I said transplants, I meant not from New York. Frankly, I can't take advice from a midwesterner regarding Italian food, sorry. And I have nothing to do with the restaurant, just a big fan of the food and staff. And if I didn't like a place, I wouldn't post on a blog to hate on it. That is pretty obnoxious. Keep going to other places. Less wait to get a table.

If you were to take advice from a midwesterner on Italian food, you'd wind up eating mastacholi noodles.

I was born in Italy and I know what pizza should taste like. I had dinner at Anthony with friends a couple of months ago. I had never been there before and was skeptic. Their pizza is actually good. I don't know why people here say that Giuseppina's is better. I had Giuseppina's pizza and actually it is equally good. Not great, but good.

75% of Brooklynites are not from here? that seems like a high amount. I know born and bred NY'ers are becoming more and more a rare breed (myself and my family are some). But, 75% seems high, where do those stats come from?

First of all, I wasn't aware that being from New York gave you some kind of special Italian palate. Most of the hard core New York style "red sauce" joints I've been to frankly suck. I suppose they excel at making New York-style Italian food, but it ain't anything authentic.

That being said, Anthony's pasta is terrible. We've been there three times and each time the pizza has been great and the pasta inedible. Every time. As someone else has said, there's better to be had in the neighborhood. Piccoli, for example, has the best pasta and risotto I've had anywhere, including New York.

ParkSlopePerson: Those stats come from the same place Lisa's observations on parenting on the other thread came from: straight up the ass.

I've walked by this place a couple of times. Just assumed it was some non-descript pizza place.

I'm not affiliated with Anthony's; am not originally from NY but I've lived here for more than a decade and I've been to Italy dozens of times. My family IS Italian, and we're pretty mean cooks.

I like Anthony's pasta, pizza too. I disliked Aunt Suzy's. I like a lot of places. I dislike a lot of places. Wahooo for me!

I also don't know why some folks think being from NY makes you a better judge of Italian food. Does it make you a better judge of Chinese food too? Cuban Food? All foods? People here can't even pronounce Italian words -my friends/family living in Italy certainly don't say Pra-szoot or mut-zah-rell. It's a joke to them when Americans try to pronounce words like they're Italian. You look like a goomba from Sopranos. Watch less TV; travel more.

Every restaurant will have mixed reviews. If they tried to cater to EVERYONE, they'd be... Olive Garden. The great thing about NY is, if you don't like the place, go somewhere else. If the place truly sucks, it will close.

FWIW,

According to the census, 62% of NY'ers were born in America. Of those, 49.5% were born in NY. Which translates to about:

68.5% of the people living in NY were born elsewhere. (haven't seen Brooklyn-specific stats, or Park Slope-specific stats, which I suspect would both be different).

What does any of this mean for Anythony's... nothing.

Mutzahrelllllllll

I think when people say that true NY'ers know what real Italian food is, is because in NY, we have true Italians. In other states, Italian food is mainly chain restaurants such as Olive Garden and not mom and pop restaurants as we have here with real Italians cooking in them or real Italians eating in them. Now, I'm not saying that every Italian restaurant is filled with Italians in the kitchen and out, but, this is the reason why people make the comments they do.,

I have had friends come from other states who thought the only Italian food in the world was spaghetti and meatballs or ravioli. show them anything else (say braciole, or potato and eggs or eggplant parm for example) and they had no clue!

My friend Tim was addicted to their rigatoni for a couple years...then, two times in a row, he ordered it, and the pasta was undercooked. He switched to another joint. We ordered from Anthony's for a few years, generally solid. It is possible they slipped some...

Can anyone tell me if they have finished renovating and reopened? Thanks!

Peeked my head in yesterday. Place looked great. They said they will be open right after Labor Day.

They are open again guys and the place looks great! They were doing renovations which was why they had the windows papered in August. . Ate there with my boyfriend Dave last night. Food was divine as always service spot on.

I can only speak for their pizza. It's simple, fresh, and pretty pretty pretty good. I suggest trying either the house pie or margarita with red onions and pepperoni.