52 in 52: Antonia’s in Hillsborough, NC

52 in 52 is a weekly series that I publish on Friday afternoons where the hubs and I visit / try out a new restaurant in the area that either one or, preferably, both of us have never been to. Then we review the restaurant! The goal: 52 different restaurants in 52 weeks of marriage. 🙂

Antonia’s Restaurant | 101 North Churton Street | Hillsborough, NC 27278

(919) 643-7722 | Website | Facebook | Yelp

So, last Friday, husband and I finally got to try the little Italian restaurant in our town. It opened a little while ago and it’s a LITTLE on the fancy side and we just hadn’t been able to try it yet.

Well, we had both hit a lot of milestones and we both had pretty big and successful weeks at work (and I made my first big sale!) – there was a lot going on – and, needless to say, we decided that it was a night to just celebrate.

*Above is what I wore out to dinner. (You may have seen this outfit earlier this week). Hubs snapped a pic of me in this little alley way… I really do love our little town. Downtown Hillsborough is so quaint and awesome and has so much character.

Another shot of downtown Hillsborough.

Welcome to Antonia’s. That lady right there… in the photo below… that’s Antonia. Sweetest little Italian lady. She even sat us at our table. Love it.

The menu at Antonia’s changes depending on what’s in season, with the exception of a few “staples.” They also have a separate, printed Dinner Specials menu with a ton of REALLY good food. The specials were a little on the pricey side, but the “staples” on the menu were VERY reasonable! Pasta ranged from $9-$14 a plate.

Since it was a special celebratory night out, we opted to toast with a glass of the house prosecco. I don’t honestly know much about wine or really, any bubbly, in general but it was very good.

For an appetizer, hubs got a bowl of the gumbo and I got bruschetta. SO. GOOD. Ah those tomatoes were so fresh and the basil was just right.

For dinner, we each opted to go with a “staple” – I got the lasagna bolognese (pictured below) and hubs got the linguine al ragu. I LOVED my lasagna – seriously. One of the best lasagna’s I’ve ever had (only second to the lasagna my mother-in-law makes (now THAT is good lasagna…). But seriously, the cheeses were perfect, the sauce was delicious, and with the bread they brought out for dipping? Perfect.

Hubs liked his meal, didn’t love it. I tried his linguine and the sauce was great, but the noodles were cooked a little too hard, in my opinion. They weren’t quite… al dente. Is that what you say? It was good, not great. My lasagna was definitely the right choice of the night.

We were so full after dinner we didn’t do dessert in house… we went to Wendy’s and got a Frostie. Don’t judge us.

Anyway, all in all I really loved Antonia’s. I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be a “regular” place for us – but it’s perfect for a special occasion or when you’re craving fresh, local ingredients and a big ol’ bowl of pasta. 🙂

Overall Stillman Grade: 3 out of 5 Stillman Stars 🙂

So, where should we go next?

all for now.