Tanti Baci Caffe

When I moved to Lake Mohawk, I was hoping for an awesome Italian restaurant. Having been a regular at Zia Maria in Little Italy, I thought I may find the same at Baci. I did not get that at home feeling here with a warm family atmosphere that includes delicious food and service beyond words. I thought to myself that if Lake Mohawk had a top notch Italian restaurant, it would be a gold mine. I won't be back.

This was my first visit here. It's nice place with a nice ambiance. Nothing too fancy and not too casual either. Unfortunately we could not eat our meal because the waitress spilled it all over my girlfriend. She basically caught the Osso-buco with her hand and burned herself in the prices. Clearly it was an accident and accidents do happen. The owner oferred a burn ointment which she applied. My only issue after that was that they should have cleaned the entire table (there was food even in the floor) or simply move us to a new table which did not happen. Also, my dish came out at the same time as hersand since they took that mess back they should have taken mine back too so to keep it warm. I obviously was not going to eat while my girlfriend is dealing with a burnt hand and no food. For those reasons I give them 2 starts. Again, not because if the accident but on how the handled the whole situation overall.

I drove an hour away from the poconos to come here, and it was very well worth it. Coming from the poconos I've been to my fair share of restaurants, and this one takes the cake! My waitress was Emma. And she was the most courteous person I've met, friendly, fast, very helpful in deciding what I would prefer. The owner sam is amazing, greeting customers at the door. Conversing with the customers. Which is surprising since the owners are behind closed doors counting the money they are making. Now the food. To die for. The calamari melted in my mouth. Cooked to perfection. Not chewy or rubbery like most places cook it. And my lasagna entree felt like I was in a cafe in Italy tasting a 5th generation family recipe cooked from the heart. Needless to say I will be traveling from the poconos at least once a month to try this amazing restaurant once again Thank you Sam for this amazing restaurant and thank you Emma for the wonderful service. Please keep it up and for anyone going here, definitely send in a request for her as well. More than well worth it coming here whether from sparta, the poconos or anywhere else

After being treated very rudely by the hostess at Il Porto, we left & wound up at Tanti Baci Caffe. What an excellent choice! The atmosphere is very Italian as is the music. Everything was absolutely delicious! The bread is home made & to die for! The meal from start to finish was perfect! The server, Maia, could not have been more helpful. Run to Tanti Baci's. You will not be disappointed!

Because of the good reviews here, I made a reservation for my moms 71st birthday. Upon walking in, the atmosphere was beautiful and the Italian music was lovely. That’s when things took a turn. 1) I saw this was byob so we brought our own wine and beer. The waitress saw we did bring our own but did not put anything on ice or offer to keep it in the fridge. Sorry mom, it’s warm Santa margarita for your birthday :( 2) the food was pretty good for everyone at the table. My veal on the other hand, looked and tasted like raw chicken cutlets. I never send back food, but when the waitress asked if I wanted it wrapped, I said no thanks, I think there is something wrong with it. She apologized - but did not take it off the bill. 3) at the start of the night I told the waitress it was my moms birthday. After we chose our desert, she brought out everyone’s desert first and my mom had to wait till Last to get her cake. It felt very weird - the person of honor is supposed to get their special moment first. Atmosphere and food (except for my veal) was pretty good. Service was horrible.

Granted, this was a very busy night, but our "reserved" window table was not and, although there were two suitable ones nearby, we were instead offered a wobbling one directly in line to the kitchen, because the others were set for four, not two. Finally, at my husband's insistence, we were allowed to use a suitable one at least. Our room-temperature bread was burnt on the underside, but would have been good otherwise Although we received an appetizer within half an hour, our dinner was served two hours and ten minutes after our reservation, and then it was just barely lukewarm. It's a shame, because the food would have been good. Can't say it was a pleasant birthday dinner...