Anna's is looking over the quaint town of Vandergrift and has been there for many years. The name says it all - Anna! She's the spark of the dining experience with her homemade everything! Gina was our server and was excellent from cocktails to to-go boxes. We are what one would call Italian food snobs but I promise being in her Authentic Italian kitchen was as good (great) as it gets! We all enjoyed a spring mix fresh house salad. We shared hot stuffed peppers with the amazing rustic homemade bread served with it and more bread was brought because we couldn't get enough of it! We had the following entrees. The on special tonight crab cake was huge and it was all crab meat, no filler but somehow she had it formed in the perfect crab cake formation. Delish. Also with a side of thin spaghetti. Two of us had the braciole atop a thin pasta. Out of this world delicious. And finally the veal Parmesan with a side of thin spaghetti was fabulous. We missed out on some of the homemade pies offered earlier in the night and shared two spumoni sundae looking creations! Anna came out to meet us which topped off our fabulous evening and we chatted about our Italy roots. She is absolutely beautiful and we said you look so fresh after preparing all this for us - she has an Italian secret I am sure! Class, kindness, and warmness accompanied by delicious cuisine keeps her patrons coming back. All staff were wonderful and we thank Gina for her attentiveness and fun. We'll be back! Anna's is on our top list! Price reasonable and worth more than the dollars spent. Thank you. Buon appetito! read more

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Mediocre at best. Left very disappointed and underwhelmed after dining at Anna's. I had hoped for an upscale and exceptional dinner, but that never materialized. Extremely expensive (for example: $22 for plain spaghetti & 1 meatball) and a very kind, but extremely overwhelmed waitress. One waitress trying to serve 6-7 tables at the same time. A party of six, no appetizers, no drinks/alcohol, no desserts, and only 1 soda (everyone else has water only), and our bill was over $200. Even the salad that came with your entree was quite bland (only 2 tomato slices, nothing else). Sauce was not mixed in the pasta dishes (spaghetti & gnocchi), just lumped on top. Extra meatballs were $4 each! I strongly believe a meal at Flavio's in Apollo would be a much better Italian dining experience. Anna's really needs to strive to do better, especially with such highly priced entrees. read more

Fabulous find. The wait staff was prompt, friendly, professional and attentive. The food was fresh and flavorful. We were not disappointed at all. Our daughters roommate at college recommended this place to us and we drove an hour and a half to get here. You could tell that the chef went above and beyond with every dish. It was clean, quiet, spacious and romantic. A hidden gem. Enjoy!!! read more

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Anna's is such a gem! If you're looking for an excellent traditional Italian meal then go to Anna's!The hostess and waitress were so welcoming and helped get our 2 year old settled with some delicious fresh bread and something to drink. Our waitress was quick to get our starters in to ensure a steady stream of food for our little one. The food was delicious and the portions were generous. The meatballs and meat sauce were incredible! The chicken Romano was flattened out perfectly with just the right amount of breading and lemon. The gnocchi melt in your mouth like butter. Anna came out to check on us at the end and was very cordial. We'll be back soon! read more

Anna's Cucina Rustica - Gnocchi and meatballs in meat sauce - Italian Near Me - Vandergrift, Pennsylvania

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First let me correct something. I don't think yelp is right about the $$$$- it's more like $$ I don't even recall anything on the menu over $20. I've been here a few times with my family and heard that this places has been around for a long time. Anna, the restaurant owner and head chef, is wonderful and incredibly nice. This restaurant is very Italian. Everyone who works here is very nice and the food is delicious! To start, we had the stuffed peppers. It comes with three large banana peppers STUFFED with ground sausage. It was so good that I didn't want to share. The spaghetti and meatball (one big meatball) is a classic and you can't go wrong with that. The meat sauce was just right. Not too sour, not too sweet. Steak Braciole! It is a thin steak stuffed with pine nuts, raisins, and Romano cheese over a bed of spaghetti and meat sauce. Cheese ravioli's are HUGE!! They're stuffed with cheese and look like pillows! Don't bother asking how many you get because you get plenty. Plus you get one big meatball! The rustic bread is crusty yet soft and makes plate clean up easy. The restaurant might seem very quaint but on a week night, this place can get busy. I love this restaurant, it reminds me of Italy. From what I hear, Anna does not have any recipes or measurements but simply cooks from memory and feel. That is impressive! Can't wait to go back. read more

Local favorite to be sure. I have been bragging on Anna's for years to my friends from out of town. If you are in the mood for Italian, and for whatever reason, find yourself here in the Kiski Valley, Give Anna's a try. Gnocchi is what they are famous for... Portions are ample, you will have lunch the next day too! read more

A MUST go to when visiting family in Leechburg as it evokes great meals I have enjoyed over the years with family. The staff is amazing and welcoming while paying attention to every detail of your dining experience. This trip brought me and three cousins to dine on a Friday night. The place was bustling and yet the staff kept up with the pace of serving while welcoming new diners. Our meals varied as I order their FAMOUS lump crab cake that is mouth-watering and delicious which came with a house salad I enjoyed and green beans. Born and raised in Maryland I know my crab cakes and this was a gigantic puff of savory melt-in mouth NOT FILLER just crab. I know it is a favorite of my cousins who live locally. One cousin opted for wedding soup and salad as she wanted to have room for their delicious chocolate cake. Another cousin opted for the Braciola which he said is one of his favorites, delicious, tender, and good to the last forkful. Next up was the breaded shrimp which was enjoyed by the recipient. All meals included a side salad and I recommend their house dressing. An unlimited bread basket makes the Italian genes in this family very happy. My grandfather immigrated to Leechburg as a baker from Northern Italy so we know our bread and can't resist. Although I didn't have room for dessert I watched two cousins enjoy the chocolate cake with chocolate icing down to the last crumb. Once again I enjoy Italian food and the menu has a variety of choices to please every palate. Happy when I am visiting to know Anna's is always a dinner option for our family to enjoy together a great meal without all the work. KUDOS to the owner and staff for making everyone welcome, filling them with good food options and long may you be around. read more

Anna's is one of my favorite Italian places when I'm back home in western Pennsylvania. The entrées are amazing, and the portion sizes are VERY filling. I recommend the antipasto salad (the portion size of this salad is huge!) and the linguini with clam sauce, which is by far my favorite menu item (we've tried quite a few). Having been raised in a northern Italian (Genoa) family, I can attest that the food here is completely authentic. Anna is also a very congenial host. We've been really luckily to have been personally served by her every single time I visited, but it's probably because the close friend I always go with is on a first-name basis with everybody there. You can't even get Italian food this good in San Francisco! Lastly, having dined at fine restaurants all over the world (some with multiple Michelin stars), I think some of the other reviewers must have broken taste buds to accompany their impossible dining standards; you'll also notice that the star ratings are perfectly correlated with the reviewers' abilities to form complete sentences. read more

While on a business trip I ended up here with a customer who lives in the area. The food was excellent and had a "home made" feel to it, like something from my grandmothers kitchen. The best part about it was our waitress who's name escapes me but she was the sweetest person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. The food isn't fancy, it's just a good "soul warming" meal. I'll be back next time I'm out that way. read more

Had such high hopes after reading some of these reviews, but being Italian I did not like the spaghetti sauce at all as it tasted more like tomato paste with limited spices. I don't get the raves at all, have had ten times better sauce. And the chicken parmesan dinner I ordered was honestly the worse I have ever had in a restaurant. Possibly the night we were there the real chef was not there but I have never had chicken parmesan prepared like this in my life. Usually it is beaten flat, breaded, fried crisp with plenty of seasonings. This piece of chicken was clearly baked in an oven or possibly boiled, it was thick, tough and completely tasteless and definitely not fried like good chicken parmesan should be. I took the leftovers home and then thru them out - could not eat it the next day the chicken had gotten even tougher. And $27 YIKES!! for a chicken parmesan dinner in a place that has not changed decor in 40 years.... sorry I will never return. I don't get the hype... at all. read more

Been here a few times over the years. Service keeps deteriorating. Food quality ok, portions ok. Prices little high. People talk about their sauce being one of the features. My Italian mom made better, most Italians have their family recipe probably better. Ok for people who don't know a really good sauce. I'm over 80, in my moms day there weren't any store bought sauces. read more

I had never eaten at Anna's before I went to work for her in the kitchen. I was her kitchen assistant cook for almost a year. Her food is amazing, and everyone that works there is like family to her and to each other as well. I never ate anything I did not like! I should say LOVE! I get cravings for her sauces. I get angry that some people come on here and say not such nice things about her food because she is truly a wonderful cook and a great person on top of that. I miss working in the kitchen beside her, she truly has a great love for cooking and is one of the most genuine people I have ever met. Don't ask for her opinion unless you really want it. She will tell you. And not to be mean, just direct. Love you Anna! I tell everyone I meet that hasn't been there to go. For those of you that do not like her prices, you should be ashamed of yourself. Anna uses only the best, and the freshest ingredients and makes everything from scratch. Her portions are comparable to other restaurants in the area, and I gained 10# when I worked for her. ; ) Not complaining though. It was worth it! read more

Ordered shrimp scampi for dinner and gave me pasta on the side with meat sauce! That's not what the menu says and not how it should be presented! Also the sauce for the shrimp scampi all leaked out of the to go container! Just trying to help a local business with takeout only during the Coronavirus! read more

We contacted Anna to ask her if she could prepare a luncheon for our family after our mother's funeral. She was very accommodating and provided a lovely lunch with gnocchi, macaroni, chicken, vegetables, salads, and all served family style. It was just right. read more

Very pricy for the area! I asked the waitress if I could get a cup of soup instead of the salad that came with my $26 entree. She said; "Yes." Notice the period, its very important. Also, note that a cup of soup is $1 cheaper than a salad on the menu. The soup came and had no flavor to it. I tried to jazz it up with parm cheese, salt and pepper, but nothing helped. Finally gave up on it after eating less than half of it. The bill comes and there's a $2 up charge for the soup. I explain in a polite manner that I got the soup instead of the salad, thinking there was a mistake on the bill. The waitress says; "No, that's right. It's a $2 up charge. It says so on the menu." Ok you pulled a gotcha over me for $2, but I'll never be back and I'll tell everyone on here about it. Enjoy those $2! read more

Pricey for the area, and I do believe they have one cook for funeral lunches, and one for the restaurant. I have been here many times, both after funerals, its the local choice for post funeral dinners for some reason, and, in the restaurant proper. The funeral menu is simple, but the food is MUCH better, especially the meat sauce, and meatballs. I swear that when you go down to the actual dining area, you get different food, I am an Italian purist, and that means pasta, meat sauce, and meatballs, if they can't get that right, then, the upper tier Italian menu items are probably going to suffer. Salads are NOT impressive with the dinners, and the pasta and sauce are just OK, akin to dumping a jar of ragu in a pan, seriously, and at over 10 bucks for a dollars worth of pasta and sauce, ummm, no. My wife once ordered the shrimp scampi, and to this day, we talk about it, because I warned her, the most expensive item on any menu, is usually disappointing because the people who order it, want to feel they spent the most and got the best. Well, four medium size shrimp, in this say and age, doesn't cut it, at least when shrimp is 5.99 a pound, and so is beef. It survives by being local, with a local group of people who remember what it was in years past. read more

The price for the quality is just ridiculous. This is the worst meal I ever had in Vandergrift.The service was horrible. We were met by a very rude staff. The owner kept trying to up charge us on EVERYTHING! At one point my father asked for an extra meatball. The owner said, why not have two. She proceeded to charge them for both. After spending well over $1000 for a huge group to eat, you would think she would show some appreciation. Please go elsewhere. There is way better food for way better prices all over town. This place does not deserve your business. read more

Not very good.. Ravioli was way over priced and not very good.. My girlfriend got spaghetti and meatballs.. Noodles were over cooked and meatballs were under cooked.. Total bill came to 40 with waters to drink... Not worth it read more

We celebrated a family birthday last evening at Anna's. The food was excellent. I ordered the gnocchi, my daughter ordered the meat ravioli and another person with us ordered the spaghetti. All were wonderful. We also got an order of the bocci balls. They are meatballs in sauce. One order was plenty to split between 4 people for an appetizer. We will definitely go back. read more

Place is old and service sparse but you will find the best potato gnocchi here. Just try it with butter. Meat sauce is to my liking on their pasta dishes. There is a slightly odd flavor to the lasagna which I don't prefer. Wedding soup is good. Hardly anyone here for dinner service on a Tuesday. Surprised by that. read more

Food was delicious ...menu is smaller than I remember...had lasagna and it was huge and so good...friend had the clams...also very good..overall very good experience and I will be back! read more

The best Italian Restarant around. The owner also does all the cooking. She is so nice.

We were so excited to go here, but it was such a disappointment. The atmosphere was authentic which was a crowd pleaser. We got the veal and bolognese entrees and the meatballs for an app. The food was not the best. The worst part was that our waitress was wasted. She couldn't provide the wine list, but instead kept repeating herself. Sadly, we left disappointed and grabbed pizza on the way home. read more

Small, local Italian restaurant with the best marina sauce I have ever tasted. Does not matter what I get - spaghetti, lasagna, bricole, ravioli - it's the sauce that make the dish wonderful. If you are ever near Vandergrift, PA, try it. My wife adores the roasted red peppers! read more

I have eaten here many times over the years. I enjoy the lasagna and meat ravioli. The ravioli portion has got smaller over the years. A man would be disappointed in the portion size of these. We ordered the stuffed steak once, but it had too much garlic. The bread is good and the salad is just ok. On Fridays they usually offer good crab cakes. The prices are modest. There is a middle age waitress that is not very personable, but is ok. She brought our bill without asking if we wanted dessert and we had to ask for drink refills. This place looks the same over many years and could use some updates and TLC. read more

Meat sauce is AMAZING! Best sauce I have ever had. Meat sauce is so good that I get cravings for it sometimes. Bread is warm and delicious! Incredible service. Everyone from the hostess to the waiter/waitress were very impressive. They were down to earth, yet professional. It was evident that they would do anything to make our experience top-notch! No free refills- be aware of this because your beverage bill could add up quickly. Alcohol pricey. But the great food and the excellent service is extremely worth the price and a visit to this Italian restaurant!!! read more

Service very slow and food was okay. The fresh bread was very good. Price is good and not bad for a small place in Vandergrift.

This is the BEST home made Italian restaurant out by The Mills/Natrona/Plum in West Vandergrift (near Kmart area up off the highway). OUTSTANDING.."everything";bruscetta,salads,bread,ravioli,lasagna,bolonese,smooth marinara,(alfredo sauce:by request-if they're not busy=10x better than the original in Rome-as i just returned from Italy)--even simply penne with melted butter(for the kis)tastes like no where else. In the summer..be sure to taste their home grown tomatoes=these CAN'T be beat! You WILL enjoy! read more

Absolutely horrid. Went to a rehearsal dinner here, was astounded at the terrible service. I had two small children, which they knew about in advance of our arrival and yet no high chair in sight. The mother of the groom ended up having to haul a few over while the wait staff serviced the downstairs restaurant and did not care. Then I had to have my daughters sit on paper towels on the high chairs because the chairs were so filthy that I would have had to use 20 wipes to get them clean enough. For approximately a half an hour, my family, which included two children and my husband and I and my husband's parents were at a table that had no silverware, no water, no napkins, no bread, nothing. I had to ask the one waitress the restaurant lent to our private party several times for any of those items. Disgusting food. Ridiculously rude bar service. read more

I cannot get over my shock from how bad this place was, particularly for the price. The server was slow, rude and incompetent. The food was mostly inedible, none of it appetizing (we had a family meal with spaghetti & meatballs). The bar service was terrible. If you're looking to spend a few bucks on a good meal, Anna's is among the worst choices. read more

My family and I have been going there since it was called Carpenteri's. We are done. The service is terrible. The food is way overpriced - $15.95 for 5 homemade ravioli and a meatball? Granted, the ravioli are homemade, but still. My kids got the chicken tenders with fries. The fries were the worst fries I've ever tasted and they only got 3 tiny chicken tenders. They were asking for more after they were done. It's also so noisy in there that you can't hear people talk even though you're sitting right next to them. And lastly, don't go there in the winter because there is no heat in the place, unless you want to hang out in the bathroom. read more