I know restaurants don't generally enjoy when guests come in for just dessert- and I totally understand that when it is in full swing and very busy. Those tables would be clogged with people only getting sweets rather than the entire meal. Though while I went it was a slow sunday evening and the facility was not busy at all. Which didn't add up to the sarcastic and stand offish service that we received. Even if we're only there for dessert, on a slow evening, we are still paying guests that deserve the right amount of respect while we enjoy part of a meal. If it was busy, I'd understand more. But it wasn't.
As for the desserts- they were very, very delicious. The toasted almond gelato was very delicious and stood up to gelato standards. The hazelnut ganache was rich and delectable. The drinks were good as well. I'm sure I would have wanted to go back for an entire meal if it had not been for the service.
A very special restaurant! Â We were in Beacon for Dia and a friend recommended Amarcord, and we owe him big because my wife and I had probably the best lunch we've ever had. Â For Starters, she had the Green Bean Tempura and I had the mussels. Both, as good as it gets. Â And I should note that the bread and hummus-esque dip were ethereal. Â We didn't think it could it get any better, but the entrees were sensational. Â My wife had the Pappardelle with Black Pepper Ricotta and she said it was better than anything she's ever had at any of the top Italian restaurants in the City. Â But the real star of the meal was my Salmon Cake Sandwich -- it's not hyperbole to say that it's worth a drive up from the City for this sandwich -- it's almost a week since we've been there and we're still raving about the Salmon Cake Sandwich (Dia, on the other hand, eh). Â Maybe I'm just so accustomed to Manhattan prices, but gotta mention how extraordinarily reasonable everything is. Â Amarcord is the real deal!!!
Review Source:I came here with friends for NYE. We were told they had 2 seatings so we reserved a table for 9pm.  We got in a little early and had a drink at the bar.  The bar was crowded but we got a drink in no time.  We have been to Amarcord before but on NYE they had a special menu.  The server said the menu was a mix of specials the restaurant had in the past year.  They must have been popular specials because everything we had was great.  Four people shared two appetizers: poblano pepper stuffed with veal, goat cheese, pear and raisins and scallops (huge) with corn avocado and radish.  I thought the scallops were the bes tbut most of the group preferred the poblano pepper (both were excellent though).  For entrees I had the pork bellies served over barley.  This was the most amazing thing I have had in a long time.  Everything was great but I may fly back to New York and take the train to Beacon just for the pork bellies.  The other entrees in the group were veal chop with crab, lobster gnocchi,and something else I forgot.  All were excellent and got rave reviews.  For wines the group split a Chilean white  and a Ripasso (both based on the servers suggestion) and they were excellent. I wish I remembered the Ripasso name because it was great. Â
We didnt know what to expect of the midnight ball drop but it turned into a great night. Â We finished dinner before 11 but stayed at our table and the servers brought drinks to us. Â Closer to 12 we ended up near the bar drinking with some patrons (and some of the staff!); it turned into a great night and we would gladly make the trip again (all the way from the west coast).
The barrata dish was served cold right out of the fridge which was a sin to me, to all of  europe and to the cheese. The ravioli were good. The pork belly dish was doused in a totally inappropriate balsamic reduction that made the dish an unjustified caloric binge. The bream was drowned in a greasy, flavorless sauce and at 29 dollars was totally overpriced.
Service was earnest but incompetent. Nice looking place, for all its faults still probably the best option in town for fine dining.
My standards are high. I have been here twice- lunch and dinner, and had an amazing meal both times. Amarcord really stands up to NYC restaurants. The artichoke salad was amazing. I have had the lobster mac and cheese (um.. wow), duck confit with wild mushroom, arugula and avocado salad, veal chop, rabbit and polenta.... everything was very good. This will be my new go-to restaurant  for people visiting from out of town. The best of Beacon. Â
One small critique... the TV (actually 2) in the bar is a little off putting. I get watching soccer in an Italian restaurant, but they had Ellen on.
I was a little wary of Cafe Amarcord after reading some of the reviews posted here, but we were celebrating in Beacon and it seemed like the best "fine dining" option, so we took a chance.  We had a great night and a good meal.  We had a nice corner table in the back, and chose appetizers and main courses.  Probably could have split one app, the portions were large.  The tempura green beans and vitello tonnoto spin were both good, and we enjoyed a really nice pasta dish and rabbit for the mains.  Our service was a little flaky, after giving us "another minute" to decide our waiter disappeared for about 20 minutes, before taking our order.  Since we were enjoying ourselves anyway we were able to laugh it off once a bus boy tracked him down, and the bartender who opened our wine bottle let us know he was new and was apologetic.  Not a big  enough deal to ruin a nice time at Cafe Amarcord. And it was not remotely noisey, I have no idea why someone one think that, unless they like to eat in complete silence.
Review Source:When Cafe Amarcord first opened I was extremely impressed with their cuisine, especially the Lobster Gnocchi which was fantastic but as the years went by they seem to have lost their edge. Â
I went there two weeks ago and Lobster Gnocchi wasn't on the menu anymore, and on top of that, there were multiple flies pestering the heck out of me while I ate. Â I can only describe the food as OK now and having the flies really puts a damper on things.
Best restaurant in Beacon, hands down - they take their food the most seriously. Â Fine, casual dining, if that makes sense. Â Sometimes u get an attitude from the staff (for looking like a schlub, as I most often do:)) but it's worth it if you live ultra locally and want a solid dinner and don't feel like driving anywhere (or dressing up). Â Been here like 6 or 7 times, maybe more. Â It's always consistent...altho sometimes the sun shines on a Beacon restaurant and it's better than others. Â
Only one steak on the menu - and it's real good. Â It's a sirloin that comes presliced (house-style). Had it last week and I'm still thinking about it. Â Real yummy. I remember rosemary. Sort of like Italian influenced.
I don't think anyone would accuse the menu of being extensive...Some folks might say the menu's limited - After a hard day's work, during the week, I'd say it's manageable.
There are 2 rooms to eat in and some outside seasonal dining. Â Both rooms (the barrooom and the dining room) are small and can get very loud Fri/Sat nights.
Cafe Amarcord was just OK. I went for Restaurant Week and got the 3 course meal. My appetizer, crab mac and cheese was deliciious and definitely the best part of the meal. My entree was braised short ribs over papardelle and it was a bit dry and under-seasoned. Â It had potenital though. I then had a chocolate ganache cake which was pretty standard.
We were seated near the bar and it was loud.  The table of people next to us said the back dining area  was even noisier, so they asked to be moved up to the bar area.  It wasn't quite the relaxing atmosphere I was looking for.
The food was fine, but nothing to write home about. Â The noise was a little annoying, but there could've just been loud people there that night. Â I would go to Cafe Amarcord again, but would choose many of the other great Italian restaurants in the area first.
This was a late Valentine's Day dinner for me and my boyfriend, and it was great! We were  seated in the back room in the corner booth.  The lighting was low, it was really nice and romantic.  The bread and dip were out of this world.  The waitress was great, knew all of the specials and made sure everything was great a few times throughout the night.  We had mussels in red wine sauce which were perfect and full of garlic.  My SO had the gnocchi with lobster sauce and loved it.  I had the pasta with beef which was OK-- I'll probably try something different the next time we visit.. which will definitely be soon!
Review Source:This was my second visit to Cafe Amarcord, and the pressure was on as I was taking my wife out for our 16th wedding anniversary. Our first visit, more than a year ago, was extremely underwhelming, with poor service, mediocre food, and high prices. But I was looking for romantic ambiance, and Aroma Osteria and Il Barilotto are both too noisy. You need to shout to make yourself heard. My wife was dubious, but let me make the call.
Needless to say, we were both very impressed. Not only was the ambiance perfect, but the food was great, and the service was good enough. We had the mussels to start, and for entrees I had the veal special, and my wife had the filet mignon. Â Delicious! We had a wonderful time, drinking good wine and enjoying each other's company without straining to be heard. I think Cafe Amarcord may have a lock on the "date night" from here on out.
Had heard mixed reviews, that there are different chefs and it depends who's cooking...but we must've hit the "good" chef because the meal was flawless.
I had the sea bass from the menu, which was divine, and the shaved fennel salad....delish!! A friend had a beautiful bowl of lobster gnocchi which was bowl-licking good! (crass, I know, but I'm running out of adjectives)....
For dessert...the cappucino mousse and the tiramisu-like delight...YUM.
SO...I've been back several times and have consistantly been pleased! Â Very solid place and esp. nice for an evening out close to home.
Whoa - we're still in Beacon aren't we?
Walking into Cafe Amarcord, you may pose that question yourselves. The warm yellow decor, and glowing yellow bar give this restaurant an ambiance reminiscent of some of the finer restaurants of NYC. The service was impeccable - everyone from the hostess to the bartender to our server were all attentive and anticipated our table's requests before we could even make them. Water glasses were refilled immediately, crumbs were wiped up without a word, plates were whisked away without a moment's notice. Definitely great service.
The house appetizer of bread came with a delectable spread - our table finished the bread basked within minutes just because of the spread - and ordered another as soon as the first basket left the table. The entrees however, had mixed reviews.
I ordered the gnocchi with a creamy lobster sauce and was surprised to find it a bit on the bland side. I asked for some black pepper and that added a little flavor - but it was still lacking; unfortunate really because the pieces of lobster in the dish were of good size.
Another of our party ordered the Butternut squash ravioli with sage butter sauce and was even more disappointed as it was rather oily and tasted only of butter. We all tasted it and agreed it was rather bland as well; the butternut could only do so much to zestify the dish.
Not all the pasta dishes were disappointing however. One of our party ordered the special which was a pasta in tomato sauce with filet mignon. Another ordered a spinach-filled ravioli with sauce. Both loved their dishes and stopped only when the pasta had disappeared. The spinach pasta was surprisingly not as filling as would be expected and I was only happy to share my plate of filling gnocchi.
The most appreciated dish of the table had to be the special Chilean sea bass on a bed of vegetables. The head of our party who is generally hard to please, found the dish to be healthy, delicious and refined in taste. (Huge compliment considering who it's coming from).
For dessert - we shared two plates: one was a cappuccino mouse on a cookie base, the other was a chocolate cake with a molten chocolate center and fig gelato on top. Both were scrumptious.
The breakdown, if it could be done, would be as follows:
Ambiance: 5
Service: 5
Entrees: 3
Dessert: 5
Emphasis would have to be on the entrees though... so overall, a 3.5. For being an Italian restaurant a bit more on the pricey side, the pasta dishes could have been more flavorful and memorable. I hope to give this place another try to give it more stars for a pleasant dining experience...
3.5 really.
This was the most upscale place we found in Beacon. Â Some girlfriends and I had a large, post DIa: Beacon lunch here.
For the most part it was very good, but there were some issues"
I go the mushroom soup, with truffle oil. Â How could that not be amazing? Â If you forget to salt it. Â No salt. Â None. Â Did forget to taste it? Â So strange.
The pastas were delish, and I think that the appetizer size is plenty! Â I can't imagine the full size! Â
The service was suitable and there was a late afternoon crew of middle aged locals enjoying wine and beers in the bar. Â It makes for a very cozy location. Â The restaurant is very well decorated.
The tempura green beans were good, though they came with too much "aioli!" Â My friends had lentil soup, and it was good, but not great.
Its a nice spot, but not salting a soup? Â Strange. Â Like significant omission. Â
The prices are fine. Â 3 of us stuffed ourselves for $100, including tip and tax.
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