Only two experiences here,and they were spaced out by 1 1/2 years, but I am confident in this 4 star rating. I'd really call it more like a 4.5. This has got to be one of the best in Utica. For one, we had the same server both times. And both times he juggled a crowded, tight packed room with an admiral deftness. I wish I had grabbed his name so I could shout him out here...there's always next time! The food and service was excellent both times. Don't get me wrong, I love Chicken Riggies and all the authentic Upstate NY Italian food you can find in Utica, but this is definitely a good choice if you're going out to a show at the Stanley, or want to show a date something a little bit different than the standard Utica Fare. Preview the menu, and I think you'll see what I mean: http://www.cafecanole.com/startancora.html Tapas style is great for sharing, and allows plenty of room for the great cocktail and wine selection. And for what it is, prices aren't too steep. For a more sophisticated bite in The U, I'd highly recommend stopping in to Ancora. read more

Just had dinner....I.m here visiting family and its my 4th time here. We ordered the paella for 2 at $46.00 there were 4 shrimp 8 mussels and 1 lobster tail split with sausage....with a TON of rice. Never order this dish VERY over priced for a dish of rice! Service was far from the norm. So sorry to feel I must post this review but truly disappointed. read more

I have never been disappointed by Ancora! From the awesome food and drinks to the great staff. I highly recommend ordering off the specials menu but literally everything is delicious. Don't forget to order a crepe for dessert. read more

The service was not great but not horrible. I was a little surprised when the bus person asked us to pass our plates to him when we were finished. The bread that we got for the table was a loaf of store bought sliced italian - probably not from the area despite our having great bakeries here - it was not warmed up. it was served with olive oil that had red pepper flakes in it and no other flavoring. the olive oil was not very good, actually not a dipping oil but rather a cooking one so not yummy at all. for first course i had the shrimp bisque that was very good - a bit too spicy for what i really like and a bit heavy on tomato but very good. I ordered the chicken francaise - too much lemon with the slices cooked and laid on top of the chicken but under the spinach. the breading on the chicken was a bit slimy. not good at all. the desserts were absolutely delicious. I do not see myself ever going there again. read more

Food was excellent, as usual. Well packed to go and held up well in transit. Love the flatbreads & salmon and the shrimp cocktail was excellent. read more

Ancora is certainly a gem in Downtown Utica. From the amazingly crafted cocktails to the generously portioned meals to the heavenly desserts. The owner & the staff are attentive and super friendly. I highly recommend checking them out. I love their bruschetta, riggies and creme brulee just to name a few. read more

Ancora! - Specialty Salad: Bruschetta Salad with grilled Shrimp - Tapas Bars Near Me - Utica, New York

Five s all around! The food, service, and atmosphere are on point! The bruschetta is to die for along with other menu choices! This is a must try! read more

Sat down at 6:08. Was waited on at 6:22 and got my first glass of water (that I asked for) and my Malbec at 6:33. That math = 25mins. I'm patient, I have nowhere to be (traveling from TN), so I wait it out to see what the rest of the night is like. They were busy and looked like only two servers working the whole place. It's funny another person on Yelp said something about the loud locals at the front, and there was the stereotypical businessman in his tight, teal polo telling a story at the top of his lungs, spilling his drink. Again, I don't mind - makes for a fun atmosphere if your people-watching. Malbec is fine, was hoping for more body/bite. Got the crab croquettes - were good. You get three with a wangy mustard sauce. See pic. Main dish was Beef tips (servers favorite). Beef with big chunks of red and green peepers, mushrooms, onions over a Parmesan risotto. Meat and veggies were in some kind of ragu-sauce. Beef was good, tender. Plenty of food. Passed on dessert but looked extensive. Left at 7:20. Giving it a four and not three, because i'm giving the waitstaff the benefit of the doubt. read more

Easy parking on the street with no metered parking. Appetizers were large: we had the greens and the calamari. Shared the paella and there was plenty leftover for lunch the next day and then some. Paella and greens were amazing. The calamari wasn't bad, but I've had better. Not s lot of flavor, but they were large, crunchy rings with sauce. Not too crowded. Good service. read more

Wow, what a lunch! I had the Chicken Riggie which was out of this world, such great flavors with just enough kick to send it home. Yum. The girls had panini and they were delicious as well, what made the lunch perfect was Maya and especially Tyler- this guy regaled us with fascinating stories of the brewery around the corner and managed to never let my beer go unattended. Great time, food and service. read more

Here on a Saturday night. Pretty busy but service was still good. Excellent food - loved the pressed brick bistro chicken and the angora salad. Generous portions. Outside seating available. Well worth the visit. read more

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In the top 5 best meals out I've ever had. I don't say that lightly as I come from a family of cooks, but this meal was incredible. My grandparents have been going for years and I joined them last time I was in the area visiting. The bread to start of the meal was very good, we split the arancini and the greens. The greens were what I was most excited for and ended up being my least favorite of the things we ordered, but still good. The arancini was incredible and the chicken francaise was the real show stopper. Proportions, flavors, everything was spot on. I'm excited to try the dessert next time I visit. The whole menu looks incredible but I don't think I could ever go and not get the chicken francaise now. read more

Amazing service, amazing food. As a large group, we tried a variety of appetizers (the crab croquettes were a standout!) and several of the main dinner dishes. The paella was flavorful, thick, and had plenty of delicious chorizo and shrimp. Likewise, the steak was near-perfectly cooked and tender. The dessert was just as outstanding as the main meal- crepes bursting with warm fruit or Nutella and topped with rich gelato were truly the "encore", as the restaurant's name would suggest. Our waitress was very friendly, and the food was served with minimal wait. Definitely a unique spot worth visiting! read more

Such a wonderful place. The food was fantastic! Server was very attentive. Glad to bring all the leftovers home! read more

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Brought a friend last night from Mississippi to get riggies and greens on a Monday night. Not many places open on Monday. Got polenta fries, meatballs, greens, riiggies, sliders and chicken franchaise. I will preface this that the service was great! The meatballs were inedible. Overcooked dry and literally empty they were so over cooked. The sliders were the same like burned charcoal. Since that was for me 3 year old I didn't care much. The Greens and riggies just so bad. I know it was restaurant week but I just wanted my friend to have real local favorites. Awful awful awful. The service was great again. Perhaps you should avoid this place on restaurant week. read more

This place is pretty good. The bartender was very nice and made excellent drinks. The service and the food was amazing. Specially the gorgonzola potatoes, if you haven't tried them you need to. Overall the place was great. read more

This was an excellent restaurant from the moment we walked in to when we left! Servers were very friendly and helpful in describing dishes. If you like Risotto, you definitely want to try this place, the paella risotto was terrific as was all of the dishes at our table. And don't forget to save room for dessert. Their home made crepes are to die for!! Definitely put this on your list of places to try. read more

Great food and great service. We were there with regulars and the owner came and said hi and welcomed us. Once again, food was amazing

Have been here multiple times. Seating can be a little tight but the food and service does not disappoint. Highly recommend the Filet or Paella. read more

Horrible service. Our food took over 2 hours. We checked in with the manager after 2 hours and he told us our food would be a little longer. At that point we cancelled our entrees. He still charged us for our drinks, apps and salads. The waitress never came in to check on us either. I do not recommend... read more

I had a Cuban sandwich with fries and ice tea. My wife had Penne with Prosciutto, peas, fresh basil tossed with Parmigiana crema. Both delicious and served hot and quickly. Large portions. Very nice atmosphere. Outside seating. Very clean place. Next to Stanley Theater. Trendy - really nice. We heard it was expensive, but we found the prices to be very reasonable especially for the quality food, the nice presentation and service. read more

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I went here on a Saturday night and the place was semi-crowded. There were three people working behind the bar that looked at our party of four when we walked in, but not one of them said anything to us, like "Do you have a reservation?" or "The waitress will be right with you." We stood there for a few minutes waiting for a waitress. When she finally came out, she asked how many and I told her "Reservations for four" and gave her the name. She walked away and then looked back, and with a little attitude she said "Follow me." We followed her to a table next to the front window, which was situated with the backs of two of our chairs in the walkway. As soon as we sat down, someone walked by and pushed into our chairs. This was a bad place to put a table. I asked the waitress if she had another table because this one was in a bad spot. Again, with the attitude, she told me "That's it." I stood up, and our party of four walked out and we went to a different restaurant. I can't give an opinion about the quality of the food, but as far as the service goes I would have to say it was awful. Between the bartenders and the waitress, I was disappointed. I will not go back to this place. read more

With a reservation, we went to dinner before a concert at the theater next door. We scored a great table right in the window. The restaurant was busy when we got there, and the bar was standing room only before we left. Like other reviews have noted, the service was very slow. Although I believe the kitchen was slow too, our server was slow herself. Slow to come to our table, slow with drink orders, etc. I only saw one other waitstaff in the whole dining room, so I think they were understaffed. You'd think they would be better staffed on a Friday night, next to the theater. Our food was absolutely fantastic. I had a crispy pork and beans, my husband had the beef tips with risotto. Both were amazing and cooked to perfection. But my favorite was the mixed berry crepe I had for dessert. I wish I could eat that every day! So I do recommend this restaurant, but maybe not on a busy night, so you might actually get decent service. Because I still made it to the concert on time, I'll say that it was worth the wait. read more

Had the haddock special and a glass of wine. Wine prices are a little steep, and food was pre-packaged (not fresh-made on-site). OK, but not worth the money. read more

you can not go wrong at Ancora. Every time I am in Utica, I always head here for dinner. The bar is great, and I always order the "pork and beans, Our Way". It is the most creative pork and beans ever. All the meals I see go pass me look terrific. This place is a must try read more

One of my favorite restaurants in Utica while I lived there. Excellent tapas, wine, and delicious entrees. The entrees are big, so you'll definitely have something to take home unless you are quite ravenous. Favorite tapas are the potatoes (amazing.. drool) and the arugula salad. Always sat on the patio and the service was great. Would definitely recommend for anyone in the area. You can make reservations but walk-ins always get a table as well. Also, try the crepes! You won't be sorry. read more

Ancora was recommended by our hotel bartender; apparently they only have one server for the whole place (bar, tables, to go's) on Monday nights, and when he did finally get to me (after I sat for 10 mins and decided to find my own menu), he wasn't in the least bit friendly. Because of all of this, I decided to just take my food to go... I ordered from the tapas menu: the fried meatballs, mini-burgers and the tomato & mozzarella salad; the fried meatballs were very good, spiced just right; the mini-burgers were also good, but you only get two, and for the price you really should get three as they are pretty small; the tomato & mozzarella salad was good but nothing special... I am rating it a two primarily because of the service (or complete lack thereof). read more

Felt more like a hostage crisis than dinner. 2 hrs and passed on dessert. Had to go to the bar to pay the bill. Come on Utica, we can do better. Great food, but I sat so long I think I have DVT in my legs. read more

Birthday dinner was here, I wasn't a huge fan of the evening in general. It took a very long time for any service. Even to get water seemed like forever. And it took an hour by the time we got someone to put in our food order. But the food itself was good. read more

I got the bistro style chicken with greens and roasted potatoes. While the chicken was seasoned well and quite tasty, some of it was very very dry. The potatoes were undercooked, some bordering on raw. The greens were ok, but nothing extraordinary. My biggest problem was the raw potatoes. Has the potential to be a wonderful dish if executed appropriately. read more

This place is fantastic! Service is wonderful, and the food couldn't be better and they are open on Mondays!

I chose Ancora when I was in town for business, and I am so happy that I did. I loved the food and the service experience. The bartender, who acted as my server, was incredibly nice, knowledgeable and interesting. The menu was interesting -- Italian and Spanish combined -- but who is complaining? I was a bit disappointed in the wine list given that the restaurant markets itself as Spanish, but only a couple of Spanish wines on the wine list. The arugula salad was beautiful in presentation and memorable in its taste. I requested the paella for one person, and it arrived in substantial portion. I enjoyed everything about Ancora, and I wish it much success. read more

This was our second visit. The restaurant is inviting and welcoming. The menu offers unique choices and none are disappointing. Great food, great service, great place read more

Came here with a group of 7, so we were able to try most of the menu. Service was the right amount of attentiveness without being intrusive. Menu was definitely hit or miss. Paella, NY strip, "Pork&Beans", Gorgonzola Potatoes were all excellent. Gnocchi, fried meatballs, mussels and bread were complete misses. Gnocchi was store bought/stale. Meatballs badly needed a sauce, and most of the mussels were dead. Still a Solid restaurant and would come back. read more

I'm pretty new in town, but considering the limited options in the Utica area, this place is really good. Mix of Italian and Mediterranean influences - everything was delicious and the portions were a good size. Service wasn't exceptional but it was fine. read more

Amazing service, the pork and beans where out of this world, shrimp and calamari was perfectly cooked and the sauce was outstanding

This is my go to spot. I'm there at least once a week. Dan has a great personality to make people feel comfortable. Dan N. and Mike P. make great drinks and are attentive servers. I bring all of my out of town guests here and I recommend this place to everyone. If you haven't been, what are you waiting for? read more

My husband and I have been here many times and we've always loved our meals. Their drinks are always made well, and the service is great. It's one of our favorite spots in Utica. read more

My wife and I went for an anniversary dinner last night and it was spectacular. It was a Monday night so it was quiet but not dead. Tim was our waiter and did an excellent job from start to finish. Be sure to try a crepe at the end, they are top of the line. All of the specialty drinks are unique and delicious. Wouldn't have changed a thing about my experience. read more

Love, love, love Ancora! From the calamari to the penne pasta to the Chicken Francaise. Always a favorite and never disappoints!