Asti Ristorante & Bar

My wife and I tried Asti for the first time this past weekend and the over all experience was sadly under whelming. We are both on a paleo diet and Asti is one of the few restaurants in town that have a paleo menu so we decided to give it a shot.
When we arrived we were greeted by our server who was very friendly and attentive our entire visit. This is the only reason I’m giving two stars and not one.
We ordered the shrimp Salerno appetizer which was prosciutto wrapped shrimp topped with mozzarella that came out in no time! Unfortunately it was over cooked two time over and was difficult to cut through let alone eat. I know this is an appetizer but It also only consisted of 3 shrimp, at least give a couple more for the price at $ 13.
I ordered the Sicilian skillet chicken at $ 19 and my wife ordered the pan seared tilapia at $ 21.
My chicken was a split breast pounded to oblivion that was under seasoned and white with no color whatsoever. They may as well have steamed the chicken. It was placed over a medley of crushed plum tomato, sweet peas, onions and cherry peppers which was under seasoned as well.
My wife’s tilapia was a small piece of fish maybe a 3oz piece that was placed in a jungle of «wilted» arugula. The arugula looked as if it were pulled straight from the bag and meant for a salad. The fish was under seasoned but cooked nicely.
I have no problem paying the price to dine out in fact, we enjoy eating out very much. The fact of the matter is the food that was served to us was not restaurant quality food and we payed for it as if it were. Our bill came to just over $ 70 with tax and tip. We will not be returning to Asti as in the foreseeable future, hopefully they can turn around and make some changes.

My BF and I tried it here last week and it was phenomenal! We sat in the high top table in the bar section (they also have a dining room). Our waiter was also the bartender, Ben was awesome! Great drink recommendations, very knowledgeable on the menu, prompt service, super professional and friendly! We loved him!
It was Happy Hour so we took advantage of their $ 5 bar bites! Meatballs with Ricotta and homemade sauce and Eggplant Fries with Chipotle Mayo. OMG! JUST KILLER! We were shocked on how big of a portion was given on the eggplant fries! It could have fed another 1 – 2 people!
I had the special, Lobster Ravioli with Grilled Shrimp in a Newburg Sauce which was just divine. My BF had the Veal Asti which was very tender and flavorful. Both came with dinner salads with great Blu Cheese dressing and house made squishy bread.
We shared the Crème Brûlée for dessert! Everything from the service to the appetizers to the dessert was just wonderful!

Ladies night 3 course meal for $ 24.00 and $ 6.00 Martinis! Yummy salad with cranberries and apple dressing, eggplant lasagna and tiramisu ! Excellent glass of Santa Ema Chiliean Merlot! Great atmosphere and good service !

I was so surprised to read the mediocre reviews about Asti. We were excited Asti moved into the former Mangos space. We have been there many times with different friends and have never been disappointed. My husband usually orders the crab sauce (he knows I’ll never make it) and I order something different each time; salads are terrific as is the fish and chicken dishes. None of our friends ever disliked their dinners. The ambiance is lovely and the service is excellent. The staff is friendly and could not be more helpful. I hope those folks who had a bad experience will give it another chance because I truly think Asti is a winner. Full disclosure: never been there for lunch but will try it soon.

I give this place three stars because I’m not sure they are fully at their potential quite yet. There is room for improvement. Some things I enjoyed which classed the place up for me were the bread and olives with olive oil, the calamari was delicious, and the server was very attentive once she arrived at our table. We sat outside and it was a prefix for ladies on a Tuesday… the food was mediocre as far as the entrée was concerned and the cocktail was a bit weak in my opinion. It was a mango martini with great mango purée but not much alcohol so it tasted like a virgin mango daiquiri. Service was slow in the beginning but really picked up once we were actually addressed. It’s good to try and greet your customers within two minutes and not ten or more. Also, we dined outside on the patio and it would have been lovely to have some light tunes playing so we didn’t have to overhear all the conversations around us. I will try this place again with hopes they have made some improvements.

Hidden gem. Ask for Amy’s Pistachio Ice Cream shot or Jeff’s beer/​whiskey combo. Love this place!

This is not only an amazing restaurant with great food but one with a huge heart! They opened their doors for a former employees friends and family after her funeral during non working hours.
It’s not like the family asked, the restaurant insisted as they have huge hearts and really care about the people who they work with.
My friend loved working there and to her they were family. It’s rare now a days a business not only cares but goes out if their way like they did today.
Don’t walk run to there to eat. Bring family and make it your weekly place to eat.
I feel when a place like this has heart the already outstanding food, tastes even better and you can trust your hard earned dollars are going to amazing people.
Niki is smiling down at you guys right now thank you!

It’s rare that I give a 2 or 3-​star review, but someday I will give this place another chance.
We dined there for a special event, and had never been there before. Everything started off great. The service was exceptional, and the salads were terrific, with an apple cider vinegar dressing.
However, neither the boyfriend or I enjoyed our meals at all. I really wanted to enjoy mine, but it was a mess, to be honest. It was the shrimp and scallop off of the Paleo menu, and the shrimp was a different temperature than the sauce. While the sauce was barely warm, the shrimp and scallops were blazing hot. The kale it was served over was chewy and not very good at all.
My boyfriend did not enjoy his meal either. Also off of the Paleo menu, I believe it was called a Sicilian Skillet. The menu did not express how SPICY the pepper in this dish was. He does not like spicy food — I do, and tried his. But, it was even too hot for me.
Soooo. everything about this place was great but the main course, and that’s a big fail. Perhaps we shouldn’t have experimented and tried «neat» things off of the menu, but the fact that both of them were subpar says a lot. We’ll give it another chance someday.

A great find — good food, service, and atmosphere at very reasonable prices. Unlike most restaurants nowadays, they include a salad with your dinner, so you can get a whole dinner for a very good price. I had the chicken Florentine, which was excellent, so my whole meal was $ 16.00!!! But it’s classy, not a florescent light diner. Please keep going!

I had previously had my first visit to Asti for dinner about December 2014. My bf still raves about his dinner and my friend and husband liked theirs. I was somewhat satisfied but nothing to toot my horn about; but willing to try Asti again.
Well…yesterday, I went to Asti for lunch. Possibly because it was a Monday at 1 pm (and hour after they opened) and we were the only ones in there, the cooks weren’t on their game. My bf ordered the split pea soup and said it tasted burnt and he couldn’t eat it. The waitress felt bad and offered another soup or salad or larger portion of his ½ portion of pasta. He said it was fine, but she did give him the full portion of pasta (thou he said he didn’t like how he meatballs looked and didn’t finish his meal).
Then my best friend said part of the chicken on her salad wasn’t cooked. She didn’t want to tell the waitress until later, and the waitress offered a complimentary dessert but we were all over it by then. My other best friend said the tomato on her panini wasn’t ripe and white and crunchy. My ½ pasta was ok but not a lot of flavor. My ½ panini was ok but the chicken was iffy and the bread was too charred for my liking. I’m honestly sad we went there for lunch especially since my best friend visiting from Florida. I don’t know if I will go back for lunch maybe dinner. On the other hand, I am itching to go back to Brunello’s down the road, THAT place is amazing!

I spent some time in the bar watching sports on ESPN. The server was really helpful and the bar food was fine. We split some NY style calamari and some wings or something. I would say a solid place to grab a bite to eat and watch some sports.

Went with another couple the week after New Years whiz is why the restaurant was probably empty. Only a few people in the bar area. First thing I noticed was the sitting area for dinner reminded me of a fancy diner. It was way to bright in the dining room area. I also was not expecting seating booths. I liked the bar area better than the dining area.
Service was good. No complaints there. Menu selection was good. Ordered the fried calamari. Had no flavor in the breading and was oily — more than usually. Main course selections were decent. I ordered a veal dish. It was tasty but slightly over cooked.
I would give it a second chance but they need to lower the lighting in that place. Way to bright in the dining area.

Went to Asti tonight for my anniversary dinner and it was absolutely amazing. The staff made us feel so special and welcome just like they were our own family. The food was great and portion sizes were more than filling. Oh and the ginger fig drink was out of this world!!! I can’t wait to go back again!

I eat out at least three days a week and without exception Amy and Mariah are the greatest customer service people in the Branford area. GO THERE And you will very pleased it’s excellent!

Why would you erase all the other reviews? I know this restaurant has had more then one review since opening!

Excellent!!! Great atmosphere… server
Lauren was wonderful… food was deicious, good portions and didn’t break the bank… definitely will go back