Lakeland Restaurant Guide

Just had dinner at this wonderful restaurant! It was fabulous. Wake up Lakeland, this restaurant is very under appreciated. On a Friday nite only 2 tables were taken. The food is worthy of 5 stars. The smoked salmon appetizer was to die for. I have frequented the restaurant for lunch but have not visited for dinner until now. I intend on dining here more often. One suggestion for the restaurant is to brighten up the outside - when we arrived at 7:30 it looked like you were closed, Need to add some lighting - maybe some miniature lights around the doorway or something to light up for evening. The desserts are fantastic too.

I was excited to be asked to celebrate a friends' birthday tonight, along with several couples, by dining at the Antiqaurian. We had a wonderful evening. We all started with the house salad.. which has several unique touches. I enjoyed the special.. shrimp, scallops, and crabmeat in a crepe with a tarragon creme sauce. It was light and delicious. Those in our party also enjoyed the salmon, duck and lamb. Our service by Diane was excellent. She was very attentive to our needs and pleasant to interact with. She is also willing to share her opinions on the choices available when asked.
The sideboard of desserts is well worth saving room to enjoy. There were a variety of options all served with fresh whipped cream.
Overall this was a wonderful evening and I look forward to returning to enjoy the Antiquarian again.

My husband and I visited Antiquarian for the first time this summer and we can't wait to go back. We had the most lovely experience. The restaurant was not busy so we had the full attention of the staff and even enjoyed visiting with the owner.
The food was outstanding, melt-in-your mouth from beginning to end. I can't decide if the highlight was my fabulous fillet or the amazing dessert plate they served. All desserts are homemade and my husband and I agreed that they were the best we'd ever had...topping anything we've enjoyed in Manhattan or elsewhere.

Contrary to the listing here, the Antiquarian Restaurant IS open for business. Excellent restaurant for a special occasion. Prices are above average, but the quality of the food is also above average. Wait staff is knowledgeable and caring. Menu is varied and unusual. Added bonus - you can view the desserts on display on an antique sideboard before ordering ... and do order a dessert!

SEAFOOD CREPES WERE SERVED COLD TO 5 IN OUR PARTY AND THEY SHOULD BE SERVED HOT. THIS WAS A PARTY OF 22 AND THE RESTAURANT HAD GIVEN US CHOICES. THEY WERE ADVISED WELL IN ADVANCE OF THESES CHOICES, BUT RAN OUT OF THE SALMON DISH WHICH HAD BEEN ORDERED AND SUBSTITUTED FOR AT LEAST HALF OF THE ORDERS. WE WERE NOT ASKED IF WE WANTED TO ORDER ANY BEVERAGE BEFORE DETERMINING WHICH ENTREE HAD BEEN ORDERED BY WHICH DINER. SERVICE WAS HANDLED BY 2 VERY INEXPERIENCED SERVERS. NOT A PLACE I WOULD RECOMMEND AT THE PRICES CHARGED.

The Antiquarian is unequivocally the best restaurant in Lakeland. I have seen some negative reviews of it and I simply can't understand what they are talking about. If you want a chain restaurant experience, The Antiquarian is not for you. However, if you want a unique dining experience with wonderfully prepared food (the best desserts anywhere - homemade and marvelous) and friendly and attentive staff, then The Antiquarian is tough to beat in Florida. Go with the prix fixe option and it is a wonderful value for the money.

I'm from Chicago and have spent time in New York and LA, so I am not bringing a provential view point. However, if you go into a restaurant looking for something to complain about, you can probably find it. For example, I was not fond of the way the Antiquarian did their tables, with glass covering the table cloth. But that is about the only thing I would change.

Last Saturday night my wife and I visited the Antiquarian in downtown Lakeland. We had reservations for 7. We showed up about 15 minutes early and even though the restaurant was full we were accomodated right away.

The service from beginning to end was prompt, courteous and professional. We were greated almost instantly by a very pleasant server who spent alot of time going over the specials.

We asked about wine and the server had the owner (who is an apparent wine expert) come talk to us about a possible selection. He did job and paired our wine with our dinner.

I had the lamb with a sweet current sauce - it was perfect. My wife had the salmon - it was crusted with sesame seeds and was perfect as well.

The portions were perfect in that we did not finish too full, but just satisfied enough. After the mean we splurged on a dessert. The dessert menu changes so its always a pleasant surprise. We had a spectacular chocolate dessert. The owner recommeneded a port wine to go with it that just hit the spot.

By far one of the best restaurants we've been to. We highly recommend it to anyone who has a mature pallet for great food, who appreciates superior wine, and who knows how to relax and enjoy good company.

My husband and I are new to Lakeland and had visited the Antiquarian a few times for lunch. We decided to try it out for dinner this past Saturday evening and all I can say is that it was a DISASTER! Our waitress came over and started rattling off the "specials" (she didn't ask us for want we wanted to drink before she started her speech. She could not remember the names of the dishes or how they were going to be presented. My husband opted for the lamb and must have told her three times that he did not want anything with cheese or a sweet sauce. I had the rib steak on polenta. before i ordered I also told her I did not care for sweet stuff on my dish. We both had to stop her before she left to tell her what we wanted to drink. When our dinners came my husbands lamb had goats cheese and a currant sauce 9sweet & cheese)and my beef was so hard to cut i could not get my knife through it, plus my sauce was also sweet. I told her i could not cut my beef and she took and and said she would bring me the salmon (did not offer me to look at the menu again - I didn't even remember what the salmon was made with). My salmon was awful. Not fully cooked almost raw) with a burned poppy seed crust (sweet). Before my salmon came out the manager/owner came out and was making excuses for the meat not being tender (he said if I would've cut more towards the inside it would've been OK -- for $25 a plate it better be easy to cut all the way around!). The waitress came back to see how my salmon was and i told her it was OK -- so she got a little upset and said that in her 27 years there I was the first person to not enjoy the salmon and took off in a huff! I have never been so upset at a restaurant in my life. i was made to feel that it was all my fault - n one EVER apologized for the bad food, they were just offering excuses. We were shocked and will NOT ever return there again. Both of us travel extensively and have eaten all over the USA and abroad and this was the worse experience we have had anywhere. I cannot imagine how these folks stay in business. I will tell everyone I know about this horrendous experience.

This resturant was a very big disappointment for a friend of mine who is in her 90's. She brought her male friend with her as well as her driver for a birthday lunch. She had been dreaming about an entree she had had before that she really enjoyed. She waited at least 12 minutes for a server to come to the table with a menu. She told her what she had been dreaming of is what she wanted and was told that they do not serve it anymore. She was disaapointed and ordered something else. When the food came about 25 minutes later the portions were very small, somewhat cold, and tastless. She spent over 100.00 for lunch and walked out disappointed, hungry and told her party that she would never go back there again and she has not.

My wife and I dined here, Saturday 6PM, December 22, on our wedding anniversary. Our waitress, Diane, was wonderful and the food was delicious. We loved the appetizers, the salad, and the entrees. The deserts (we tried several) were out of this world. The Antiquarian provided the romantic evening for two we were hoping for and we were not disappointed. Near the end of our meal, a large party of twelve came in, changing the cozy atmosphere to a more lively tempo. My recommendation would be to call ahead for a reservation, describe your evening (a "date", family dinner, casual meal, celebration) and expect a dining masterpiece. We look forward to returning for another quiet evening together soon.

My friend and I stopped by on a Friday night last month about 8:30, just after the dinner rush. What a pleasant surprise! The waiters/waitresses were wearing formal tuxedo shirts and pants and were very polite and professional. The entertainment was a jazz trio: baby grand, bass fiddle and singer.They were great! The food was wonderful: the duck is to die for and the homemade dessserts were sinful. I'm definitely going back!

Our table was not ready for the time of our reservation. We had to wait outside on the sidewalk because there is no seating area. The staff apologized, but didn't offer anything other than a quicky apology. The menu is limited and they ran out of one of the entrees someone in my party wanted to order. Each of the four people in our party commented on how salty the food tasted. In addition, one of the desserts we wanted to order couldn't be prepared because they were out of whipped cream. We were very disappointed in our experience at a so-called "5 star restaurant."

The Antiquarian in Lakeland FL. enjoys a great reputation among the locals, thou I am not quite sure why. Maybe that is due to the fact that the regulars receive preferential treatment right down to be served on different and better quality, china, glassware and silverware. We were served on dinner type dishware, the thick, off white plates that were so old the glaze has worn off. Our flatware was the stamped out stainless steel kind that was so thin it bends if you push on it too hard, the steak Knives were those plastic handled, thin bladed knives they give away at grocery stores and our wine glass were as thick as the jelly glasses we use to use as kids. When you are drinking $50 a bottle wine, and eating $40 entrees, this certainly detracts from the experience. This is a converted storefront and as such is small and over tabled, you know the kind of seating where your chair is hitting the person behind you! The noise levels from the kitchen and dishroom are so high it is hard to hear the person across the table from you. They advertise a Jazz Quartette, this turned out to be a piano player who preformed for about 20 minutes. The staff is not in any kind of uniforms, thou our waiter was very attentive, and the Hostess was attired in an outfit that would have been more suited to a waitress at your local bowling ally. Needless to say the ambience of the Antiquarian leaves a lot to be desired for a supposed Five Star eatery!

Lets talk about the food. Let me tell you that I was the Master Chef at Rumza Night Club, a very upscale operation on Lockrum Bay in Anguila in the British West Indies before retiring as a chef. The menu is bad; it offers a nice selection of upscaled items. There are a couple of items that are not as stated on the menu, the Pate appetizer is more of a Hunter Style Forced Meat item. The Veal Chop came out as a Rack of Veal and I must say poorly butchered and poorly presented with no choice of doneness being offered. The Breast of Duck was good, but I would think that most customers would think the portion size was far too small. Again no choice of doneness was offered. The entrees all come with the same vegetables, fresh asparagus spears sitting on top of a potato puree. Just is not an appropriate side for all entrée selections. The culinary techniques used to prepare the sauces were good; however the flavor profiles were non-existent. Without a doubt the food and presentations were far better that the ambience.

The Antiquarian was a disappointment. One should expect and get great tasting food that is well present on fine china and accompanied by appropriate fine appointments. Patrons deserve more for the high prices being charged and the supposed Five Star rating. You can have a much better dinning experience in Lakeland at other restaurants there.

The first gourmet restaurant in Lakeland: Terrific lunch dishes, pasta, seafood, duck, and most of all, desserts. The service is attentive, but not intrusive. Prices seem high for Lakeland, but not excessively so, and especially in light of the high quality of the food. This is the one restaurant I always visit when in town.

Very nice restaurant. I moved to lakeland from California and this place was just what I was looking for. The duck is magnificent. But who the heck is James?

We have enjoyed the cabaret nights very much. The service, especially James. And of course the food and the wine. We are looking forward to the wine dinner in December. Harvey & Phyllis Turpin

perfect little hidden restaurant, great live jazz on saturday nights.

Over all tops. This includes James.

Atmosphere was very original and inviting. Location is somewhat hidden, which makes this the perfect spot for a nice, quiet, romantic dinner. Reservations a must.