Anthony's Pier 4 Cafe

I went there with an out of state visitor to the area. She was more than impressed with the view of the ocean and landscape.
We both had grilled scallops which were amazing !
The popovers and marinated mushrooms were delicious. Our waitress was very attentive.

The ambiance is very comfortable and classic New England. The service is friendly and efficient. The food was well prepared and delicious. It just took a long time to serve the food. We waited quite a while for 4 orders of chowder and 45 minutes between courses. The restaurant was only half full and it seems it was the kitchen that was slow.

Service was outstanding
Bar was great
Customers were fun and engaging
JXD
Windham NH

Great dinner. Table by the window overlooking the ocean. Our server,Sarah was terrific. Food was beyond excellent. I was surprised that it wasn’t busy. This is a great restaurant

View amazing but food quality especially for price was pretty bad. Service was slow, we felt ignored. Place was empty, should have been the sign

Great food, great service and great location. Very pricey but good.

Great views! Wonderful service and delicious food.

Visitors from California.

One of the very few remaining classic Boston seafood restaurants, possibly the last real one. The room sits high on the rocks in Swampscott, and has a sweeping view of the Harbor and the Boston skyline. The food was fresh and perfectly prepared, with minimal seasoning, which allows the natural flavor to be enjoyed. Our server was an experienced professional, who missed nothing, and made a great wine recommendation. Don't be wary of the short drive from Boston. It's only 15 minutes. The prices are not cheap, but it is a real bargain compared with the overpriced and overcrowded Seaport, where there is no longer a genuine seafood restaurant to be found.

The staff is experienced and knowledgable. The bartender really, really knew his craft and took the time to confirm with me exactly how I wanted my "citrus vodka martini" made. It was perfect.

Food of course was fabulous, I got the baked stuffed lobster a lazy lobster lovers dream dish - succulent and sweet and full of lobster. Our sea view table had a terrific view of both Nahant AND the Boston Skyline - spectacular.

Great dining experience.

Siting high up on a rock on the water's edge with great ocean views of beach and bay plus easy large free parking lot and great food and service makes Anthony's a top choice for a great meal. My cocktail was served perfectly made by an obviously knowledgeable bartender. Our waitress was there when needed and our order was just as we'd expected. Very good food and for the view and the food and the service the price is just right. We didn't have any wine that night, but the wine list is very extensive offering a good selection of bottles and a few by the glass. We'll be back and I think I've found my go-to romantic dinner spot.

Excellent, high quality seafood. I’ve enjoyed Pier 4 restaurants for more than 40 years.

Anthony's is a great place for dinner, especially during the warm weather months. We love Anthony's Pier 4 and it's one of the first restaurants we call when we have friends and family visiting!

Food was great and so was the service, would come again if we are here.

Excellent location, food and service. I came back after 10 plus years, and still one of my favorite places!
Thank you!

5-star view, 4-star service, 3-star food, 2-star ambiance.
This place is quite dated and stuffy; seriously needs a facelift. Extensive wine list, but could use some good beer. Our crab cake appetizer was good and my husband loved his smoked salmon, but the homemade bread was really undercooked and my lobster ravioli was heavy. The location is a gold mine. With the right updates on the decor and menu, this place would be fantastic!

Our annual pre-Fireworks dinner did not disappoint. Food was very good to excellent- antipasto, crab cake & fried clam apps, prime rib, crab cake entree & swordfish. Service could have been better but we were not in a rush so worked out fine. Would have liked to have been asked if we wanted dessert and coffee tho’!

First impressions: classic New England dining institution with waiters in uniforms and clientele that have been going for generations.

Reality: we were served outside. Having researched that there was both a tavern and a cafe, we chose to dress up and eat at the cafe. Dress didn’t matter, diners in the cafe were just as schlumphy as in the tavern. Our waiter was so new that he was wearing tuxedo bottoms for the black pants on his uniform. This is where the problems started.

We had to ask for bread with our appetizer. The pimply-faced kid who was filling these tiny 8oz plastic water glasses kept on interrupting our conversation. The waiter didn’t know the menu and forgot to bring items. He argued with my wife over his mistakes or the kitchen’s error.

We had a question on the bill and the manager came out and insulted us, when all he had to say “our error, we’ll gladly remove the $8 charge off your $200 bill.”

Food was generally ok. The salmon was over cooked and the rice was old and crusty. The special pie was soupy and not even luke-warm.

It was like Durghin Park goes north.

Waiter was friendly and attentive.

This is still my favorite seafood restaurant on the North Shore. Always consistent with the food and the service.

This was once our go to restaurant for over 30 years. Sunday, Father's Day was horrible from beginning to end. We had a 4pm reservation, the restaurant was 1/4 full and they made us wait 15 minutes. Ordered drinks, the old Fashioned was sent back because it was made wrong and the waiter brought the bartender to our table to discuss. The bartender didn't understand a word that was said.
One of the appetizers (clams casino) had to be sent back because it was cold and the cheese on top was hard as a rock (obviously microwaved) Popovers were like bricks and the app dishes were never taken off of the table when the main meal was served. As a matter of fact, the table was set for four but there were 3 for our reservation. The fourth place sitting was never removed. I can go on and on but I won't because we're never going back again. GOOD LUCK

My husband ordered the bake stuffed lobster and I ordered the filet. For whatever reason it was taking forever to get the food. After about 30 minutes after our salad, the waitress came over and said that there would be a $10 surcharge on the lobster. The price of the lobster was listed in the menu. I can understand if it was market price but it was clearly marked 39.00 for the small lobster. Think we should have been informed immediately when he ordered it.

Always enjoy the baked stuffed lobster. Yummmmmm,,,y

Perfect place, meal, view - love it very much!

Anthony’s was amazing. We were visiting from Chicago and a friend who previously lived in Boston recommended this place. Everything we ate from the appetizers to the main entree was excellent. The waitress explained everything well to us. A little on the pricey side but we knew that going in. It was for a special occasion. The view was beautiful. I wish we would have made our reservations earlier so we could have seen the full sunset. I’m sure it would have been spectacular!

We wondered why the restaurant was so empty on a Friday night considering the magnificent views but soon found out. We parked at the restaurant and were almost chased off by the attendant who said parking was only for those eating at the restaurant without asking us if we were! We ordered two fairly simple meals that took a long time to arrive considering the lack of other patrons and each one was missing items that had been listed on the menu (for example, my husband ordered a fish special dish that should have included jasmine rice but only a piece of fish on a plate was presented to him). When we questioned this with our waiter, he was not able to answer and said he’d have to check with the kitchen. The place looks run down - carpets are stained etc. I bet it was magnificent once upon a time but not anymore.

When Anthony's was Hawthorne's By the Sea, I had my wedding reception there. I've been back a few times, mostly due to nostalgia. This last visit was for my birthday and the views were exceptional. It was foggy and kind of stormy but not so much that the view was obstructed. It was fairly quiet for a Friday evening, but it was early. By the time we left, business had picked up. The food choices were interesting and I got the lobster and crab cake with a creamy sauce. This was mostly outstanding, but a few pieces of lobster were so over cooked, they were tasteless and dry. My husband got a fish dish that he really liked. They had an apple pie special for dessert that was over cooked, tasteless and cold. I was truly disappointed since apple pie is one of my favorite desserts. Our server was new and nervous, but a real good guy trying hard to do things right. Several things stood out: the decor is in desperate need of updating and this includes the bathroom; grout is dirty and missing in places. The carpet is stained. The bridge across an empty pond is silly and outdated. Either fill it with fish and plants or get rid of it. There are too many people standing around doing nothing. A door man who is super polite but had to be bored out of his mind. There were 3 gentlemen standing by the host desk. Only 1 is needed unless it is ridiculously busy. This is a lovely property with outstanding views but next door's Mission on the Bay is going to attract more clientele (and the food isn't that great there) since it is new and takes advantage of its location. Anthony's needs to update its outdoor space as well. The whole vibe is one of the 80s. Many of the clientele were elderly when I was there and that may have been due to the fact that I was there fairly early around 6:30. Anthony's has the potential to be a beautiful location with terrific menu choices...they just aren't there right now.

Great food, service and view. Highly recommend! Great for a special occasion.

As usual, excellent service and food. Best restaurant on NorthShore!

Great spot and perfectly prepared food. Diverse menu and great service. Will definitely return!

Our party of four went the day after Valentines Day. We were one of about 6 parties in the restaurant. We were seated at the window overlooking the incoming tide and view of Boston skyline. Our attentive waitress said they were very crowded on Valentine's Day. We have been coming to this restaurant for over 40 years and are never disappointed. A great place for a special occasion! Love the popovers! Fish was fresh and expertly prepared

Jerry, our waiter, was so attentive and courteous. He took great care of us and made us feel so welcomed.
The food was fabulous, too. Perfect for Valentine's Day!

ordered one of their specials and the meat was so tough it was not edible--I could not cut the meat even with a steak knife! we also waited 40 minutes for one course when the restaurant was half empty. we could never get the waitress's attention and when she finally noticed us, it took another 5 minutes for the manager to come over. at least they were nice about taking the dish back and I ordered another dish for free. However, this place has not changed their menu (including the daily specials!) since my husband and i moved to this town in 2009! they are not flexible with any substitutions even if they know you have certain allergies. it's a myth this restaurant can sustain all these years. it's time to get a new chef and change the menu!!

I was disappointed with our visit on a friday evening dinner. They ran out of the beer that we preferred (only had two left when we arrived). It was overpriced. I ordered the rainbow trout special, and was delivered a *very* small portion. Overpriced and not what we were looking for.

Cari our waitress was very attentive and pleasant. Much better than the waiter we had last visit there. Food was a bit over cooked but still enjoyable.

New Years Eve dinner. It was a great dinner with a beautiful view!

Popovers were excellent! My Filet Mignon came lukewarm and the Bearnaise Sauce came COLD! Requested the sauce be heated... and took 10-15 minutes and returned lukewarm. By then my Filet was no longer warm and Baked Potato cooled as well. Kinda spoiled a Christmas Eve dinner.

food great, view great, waiter wanted to order to fast, side vegetable was not served on separate plate, did not wait to see what starch one order wanted think waiter needs some training made reservation for dinning room but tried to seat us in lounge

We had a wonderful dinner with great service!

It was very nice and the server was amazing