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Last Update: Jul 6th, 2020
Anthony's Pompano Beach

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza

1203 South Federal Hwy
Pompano Beach FL, 33062
(954) 942-5550
Overall Rating
2.9
Food
Service
Ambiance
Value
Last Review
04/17/2017

Details

Attire: Casual
Parking: Private Lot
Alcohol: Beer and Wine
Outside Dining: No
Reservations: No

Pros

Decent Italian Grub
Good Music

Cons

Limited Menu
A different kind of Pie
Chilly Dining Room

Insider Tips

BYO Beverage

Critic's Review

I was talking to a woman in a bar who was asking me probing questions about my pizza preferences, and as you can imagine I have some rather strong opinions. It turns out she was a marketing person for Anthonys, and without knowing that I run this site, she gave me a $10 off card, which is enough to get me in the door.

I got here at 2:50, and there were 2 other people in the restaurant. It's self seating at Anthony's, so I grabbed a table in the rear.

Anthony's Pompano

This location, like all Anthony's locations, is one big room. There's a bar in the middle and a few TVs on random channels throughout the venue.

Anthony's Pompano Interior

A server took my order; I ordered an iced tea, and perhaps the biggest news in Fort Lauderdale this year, Anthony's no longer serves Iced Tea in a bottle. The marketing person had mentioned that they were moving to fountain tea. They're pretty cheap with the lemon, but I didn't actually ask for extra.

Anthony's Fountain Iced Tea

I think that the red cup works against iced tea, because you can't see the color. It seemed very weak; but maybe it was just an illusion. You can't actually tell it's iced tea from looking at it.

I've never eaten a pizza "in" at Anthony's, so I knew I was getting one of those. I order the lunch salad, which I've had before, and a "Lunch" pizza with sausage and pepperoni. You can get any of their specialty pizzas for the same price as 2 toppings, but none of them appealed to me.

The music was cranking; The Cars, Doobie Brothers, "Pretty Woman", and I swear I almost stood up to air guitar during the solo in Santana's "She's Not There".

One the negative side, the place is an icebox. It was downright cold in the restaurant. It also would be nice if they had some booths; I've never been in one of these place during a busy dinner hour, but I think it would be loud with no privacy.

The salad came out in a few minutes.

Anthony's Lunch Salad

The tongs are a signature item at Anthony's, but they're a bit clunky to work with. One false move with the spring-loaded tweezers and you can shoot your salad halfway across the room. I was going to eat the salad right out of the plate but decided to use the provided second plate.

Anthony's Lunch Salad

The dressing is sharp and tart and works well with the crisp lettuce and pitted olives. One issue was that everything was ice cold; refrigeration ruins tomatoes and the lettuce was uncomfortable to chew when first brought out.

The pizza came out in 16 minutes.

Anthony's Lunch Pizza w/Sausage and Pepperoni

Whoa, Nelly. That's a lot of stuff on that little pizza. It was actually too much stuff. Far be it from me to complain about getting too much of something, but when you flash cook pepperoni it's pretty greasy. Charge 50 cents instead of 79 and give me a bit less.

Anthony's Lunch Pizza

I'm not a fan of small pizzas; I like a big 18" foldable slice; this was kind if difficult to eat. Tasty stuff. Not a great pizza to me, but tasty. As I was eating this I was thinking of how much better this is that the now in vogue fast food pizza; FlashFire, Blaze, Pieology, Midici; for the same price as Midici and a couple $ more than the other places you get a pizza that's vastly better.

I wasn't offered a refill on my tea and the ice was gone; I tried to get my server's attention but by the time I did I was ready to leave.

When I got the check (using my $10 off) it seemed higher than I expected. $2.99 for the iced tea. I'm sorry, but $2.99 is too much for a fountain drink in a place like this. $8.49 for a pizza and $3 for colored water?

Conclusion

I've been to Anthony's many times, and my opinion of it has softened considerably after 10 years in South Florida. The bar is much lower here; in NY I would never go to an Anthony's, but down here it's better than most of the other choices.

Anthony's attempts to bridge the gap between the pizzeria experience and fine dining, and in many ways they succeed. Over time I've grown to understand why people down here love coming here.

Review 5/25/2012

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza Pompano Beach

Those of you who read this site regularly know that I'm no fan of Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza. The wings are another matter, but I decided to try the Eggplant today.

The location in Pompano is a big room with big TVs, a bar in the center and loud music playing the Rolling Stones and Sting. If you wonder where all of the Goombahs eat; they eat here.

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza Pompano Beach Interior

After taking the picture, real live stereotypes took the table next to me. Guys with gold chains, 2 kids, with one guy verbally brutalizing one of the kids continuously. I really wanted to record it, but thought I might end up sleeping with the fishes, so I didn't.

Apparently, Dan Marino is a big fan of Anthony's eggplant, because the dish is named after him. Better Dan than LeBron. They call it a stack, and they also consider it a side. I'm not sure what it's a side for, since they don't really have any main dish entrees here. Just pizza, wings and a few "sides". I think they call it a side so they don't have to give you any soup or salad with it.

I ordered an unsweetened iced tea, and they don't brew their own tea here; it comes in a bottle. Not bad tea, but not fresh brewed either; and obviously no refills. Service at Anthony's is not professional; little bits of paper from the sugar and tea cap remain on the table for the entire meal. There's no checking on me or asking if I want anything else. It's pizzeria dining; better than a pizzeria; like a really nice pizzeria.

Also, their web site has a "Lunch Specials" menu served from 11:30-3pm, but I received no such menu at 2:30.

Everything is fast at Anthony's, the food came out in minutes.

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza Eggplant

So now we know why they call it Eggplant Marino rather than Eggplant Parmesan; there's no cheese. No Mozzarella anyway. There's a small amount of parmesan cheese and a basic sauce. The eggplant is excellent; with a better sauce and some Mozzarella this would be fantastic. But alas, everything at Anthony's is half-assed. The sauce is slapped together. This is $10.95 and not as much food as you get at Frankie and Johnny's for $9. A pretty good lunch, but it could easily be better.

Review Dec 27, 2009

Anthony's is one of those places with a cult following, mostly by people whose only other experience is Papa John's and perhaps Big Louie's. They advertise their pizza as "well done"; sort of a pun I suppose, but in fact the crust is just short of burnt. They've got it down so that it looks burnt but its not to the point where its no longer edible. I actually like the crust; at least the crust under the stuff; the edges are garbage material which I suppose save calories if you're looking for a positive.

One thing I really don't like is deceipt; and the pictures of Anthony's food are quite deceving. I've been here a few times and the pizzas always look more like a blob than the beautiful, professional creations you see on Yelp and on their web site. Their pizzas are tasty, but they are a greasy mess that makes the crust so wet that it won't even hold the cheese and toppings. If you've ever seen a girl with perfect hair and nails patting a pizza slice with a paper towel as she makes a face; then you know what you have here.

Anthony's Sausage Pizza

This is not throw in the trash can pizza; you could throw cheese and tomatoes randomly on a flatbread and it would taste pretty good. Thats pretty much the way I feel about Anthony's pizzas. There's a bunch of stuff floating on a well-done flatbread. Its not bad; but its not what I'm looking for when I'm craving pizza.

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Administrator
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If you didn't know, BurgerFi bought Anthony's about a year go.
Joseph
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You're spot on with this. Love the site.

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