Amante’s Pizza and Pasta
3345 W Greenway Rd,
Phoenix, AZ 85053
(602) 358-8445
Phoenix, AZ 85053
(602) 358-8445
Amante’s (http://amantepizzaandpasta.com/) is a Washington state based Italian food joint offering a pretty comprehensive menu with some outrageously large portions. I am not sure if they opened a location in Phoenix, Arizona due to proxy to Washington, but I am thankful for their decision…their food is pretty darn good. According to their website, there is also a location in Maryland. I guess they have to start somewhere (in regards to the East Coast expansions).
The Menu
Amante’s has a very detailed but fairly common menu for an Italian food restaurant that specializes in carry out and delivery type orders.
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| Amante's Take Out Menu |
The menu is broken into separate categories ranging from hot oven grinders, pizzas, salads, appetizers, deserts, etc. The descriptions of the items are fairly basic, but the team at Amante’s has no problems making substitutions or accommodations for specific requests made on their menu items.
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| Amante's Menu, Categories |
One of the little features that Amante’s extends to their patrons via the menu is the “Create your own…” form of dining. In my experience, I have found that no matter how great you might thing your meals are, people tend to like things the way they like them. Having a custom pizza and custom calzone option makes it very convenient for consumers who are less inclined to select a pre-prepared item.
The prices range from $3.99 up to $15.99 depending on the item and the variety and capacity of what is being ordered.
Finally, Amante’s does have a “Low Carb / Healthy” option on their menu, which is par for the course on modern restaurants but still a welcome addition for the healthier among us that wish to delve into those options.
Location
As I mentioned, Amante’s is a Washington based restaurant, with one location in Arizona and one location in Maryland. Having only one location limits them slightly, but they do have a great carry out and delivery option…though I cannot give my opinion of the delivery as we have never used it.
Amante’s is located on Greenway, halfway between the I-17 and 35th Ave. The restaurant sits nestled in the back of an old strip mall and shares the space next to a Goodwill and a K-Mart. It’s apparent when pulling up to Amante’s that the strip mall (not necessarily the restaurant) has seen better times. The economic downfall has taken its toll and the strip mall has obviously seen better days. Several areas remain vacant and for rent and a few businesses in the parking lot are already out of business and boarded up.
Right near the Amante’s is a popular Mexican food restaurant (which I will review) called Top Shelf. Usually, they are commanding a large percentage of the parking spots in the strip mall.
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| Amante's Exterior |
Interior / Ambiance:
Amante’s is…misleading. From the outside large stone columns and old broken down brick and concrete lead their way up to the beaten down doors of the restaurant, but the interior is…actually quite exquisite.
Fine linen table cloths made of pearl white soft cloth drape over the large tables. Bright shining tile floors lead the pathway up to a small staircase. Against the wall is a bar, which is unusual because I seem to recall Amante’s not serving alcohol. Still, the bar is well maintained and the large plasma TVs complement the experience.
I find it hard to paint an accurate comparison picture – but picture the ambiance is actually better than Olive Garden, quiet and calm, yet still exciting enough to get your attention when you sit down and glance at the TVs.
One thing I feel like mentioning is the fact that when we went in Amante’s (and almost EVERY time we got carry out) the restaurant is virtually empty. There have only ever been two occasions that we have witnessed other people dining at the restaurant. After a brief conversation with the waitress, I’ve found that this is actually because their carry out and delivery service is SO popular, very few people take advantage of the dining in option.
It’s a shame, really, their interior and waitresses are quite nice.
The Service:
We have only dined inside Amante’s one time (those are the pictures provided) and when we were there, we were treated like kings…that could also be because we were the ONLY people in the restaurant the entire time we were there. There were literally no other people besides the employees of the restaurant and us.
That being said, our interaction is usually with the waitress when we get carry out, who is always very quick to retrieve our order and prompt in ringing us up.
The Food:
Amante’s serves a very wide variety of food. I naturally gravitate toward the sandwich genre, and more specifically, the chicken sandwich genre. I really am trying to expand, but…baby steps.
I ordered the chicken parmesan hot sub/grinder. It is served with marinara sauce, onions, parmesan and mozzarella cheese on French bread.
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| Chicken Parmesan w/Marinara on Side |
The only change I made was to have the marinara sauce served on the side. I do this because I find that most restaurants that prepare chicken parmesan prepare the sandwich first, and they apply the sauce too soon prior to serving it. When the sandwich is served the bread becomes soggy which really kills the experience for me. As a result, I have become accustomed to ordering the sauce on the side.
The sandwich was very, very good. In fact, I would actually rate Amante’s as having one of the best chicken parmesan sandwiches to be ranked with some of the greats like DeFalcos, Meatballz or Yo Paulies.
The chicken is prepared grilled and then diced and topped with a generous amount of parmesan and surprisingly sweet red onions. Occasionally the French bread housing is burned or over-cooked, but not to an unacceptable level. The sandwich really does hold up to the price tag and I usually finish the entire thing, leaving me quite full.
My father ordered the same as myself and it was prepared the same way.
We also ordered a pizza for the table. We didn’t go bold or try anything special – straight cheese pizza.
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| Straight Cheese Pizza (as opposed to a crooked one) |
It arrived piping hot and we found the pizza to be standard fare, nothing ultra impressive but still good enough to keep us wanting another few slices. One thing we noticed was the size. The photographed pizza is actually a medium, which serves a hefty 6 slices of pizza.
My wife ordered the spaghetti and meat sauce.
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| Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce |
The spaghetti was pretty standard, nothing fancy – big fat tasty noodles. The meat sauce was what I would also consider average. This was the first time we have ever ordered pasta at Amante’s and my wife’s initial reaction to the sauce was that it was too thick. The taste was alright, but the consistency was very…pasty. The presentation was great and the fresh parmesan and garlic bread compliment the overpowering sauce.
The Price:
The prices at Amante’s are standard for most Italian food restaurants of their quality. While they do provide good carry out and delivery service, I would not for a moment suggest that Amante’s is “Fast Food Italian” – there is enough care and thought put into each dish that you really do get what you pay for. Prices range from the lower $1.99 for sides and can climb to an upwards of the $100s for catering dishes. I would say that the average is ~$8.99 for most dishes.
- Lunch or Dinner for two people: $19-26 (depending on if you each order your own entre, or share a pizza)
The Verdict:
Amante’s is one of those “fall back” places we rely on when we don’t feel like cooking and don’t particularly want to spend the time to go out. We’ve had Amante’s probably 10 times since we’ve moved into our new house and we have done the carry out option 9 out of 10 of those times. It’s fast, convenient, and tasty. We’ll definitely continue to eat at Amante’s…and there will be a few future reviews for there because there are some things that we have tried which I have not gone over such as:
Amante’s is one of those “fall back” places we rely on when we don’t feel like cooking and don’t particularly want to spend the time to go out. We’ve had Amante’s probably 10 times since we’ve moved into our new house and we have done the carry out option 9 out of 10 of those times. It’s fast, convenient, and tasty. We’ll definitely continue to eat at Amante’s…and there will be a few future reviews for there because there are some things that we have tried which I have not gone over such as:
- Outworldishly large calzones
- Amazing breadsticks
- Some of the best baklava I’ve ever had
Stay tuned for that at another time.
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