Aster Pantry & Parlor

I wish I could have given more stars but I was extremely disappointed with both my first and second visit. I arrived at 8pm on Thursday and sat at the bar the restaurant was very slow so I was expecting a better experience. The bar tender had a demeanor of someone working in a stuffy Five star hotel somewhere in a big city quite pompous took him a while to acknowledge me he had only two other guests at the bar, no smile absolutely no hospitality whatsoever !! I inquired about the specials he had told me the had sold out of everything including the flatbreads? There were two tables in the restaurant quite surprising at 8pm he did however, mention sunchoke soup and proceeded to ask me if I knew what sunchoke was I did indeed and said I would have the soup and the salmon medium rare, and was looking over the wine list to make a selection. I tried a white blend which was not good and two Chardonnays none of which were oaky and the simi is way overpriced for $ 13 dollars and the green truck is awful ! $ 13 for Rombauer ok, but not simi !!! I ended with the simi anyway, as I was having my wine I noticed a long time had elapsed and NO bread, or no soup arrived I asked if they did bread service and he said no ! Absolutely rediculous !!! Every good great restaurant has good bread and so should Aster !!! I didn’t tell him he forgot my sunchoke soup at that point I was starving waiting 20 plus minutes for my medium rare salmon to arrive and when it did it lacked flavor and substance and was way over cooked !!! $ 58 dollars for this ?? What shame !!! In a nut shell Aster is striving to be something it isn’t ! It’s Syracuse not Manhattan !! Streamline your wine list, hire hospitable staff than can engage properly with people that can smile and engage properly with people, and offer Bread service or a salad with dinner prices are overpriced for the quality you are putting out my salmon wasn’t even wild it was farm raised !!! Food lacks substance and portions are skimpy ! Unless changes are implemented I my second visit will be my last !!!

Had lunch with a friend — first time there !
Had a very delicious mushroom bisque and a salad–
Soup was pretty amazing — salad nice —
Little fingerling potatoes in bottom– dessert was cobbler — very good
Service was good — atmosphere nice
Would go back to try some of the other dishes !

Drinks were delicious! Definitely check out their signature cocktails, great place to stop for a quiet drink before the dinner/​downtown rush!
Planning on coming in for dinner soon to get a more complete picture, but for now a solid ⁴⁄₅ stars.

I went during lunch. Maybe four tables had people. There were three Waitresses. Five minutes to get water and ten more before I ordered. A couple came in 20 minutes after I got there and they got thier food first and one of them ordered the same thing I did. After taking an hour out of my day, I am left with this horrible after taste in my mouth and $ 20 poorer. Go to Darwins for a much better sandwich.

My wife and I had dinner tonight and it was a great time. We started with cocktails which were imaginative and delicious. The food was very good. I had a homemade papardelle with mushroom which was delicious. Unfortunately, my wife’s steak came out cold. We mentioned it to our waiter, and he gladly took it off the check, and a manager came to personally apologize. The service is excellent. Looking forward to next time.

Incredible customer service at Aster! Drew is first class! Thanks Drew for making my moms birthday dinner a hit!

What a great night we had at Aster’s for my birthday dinner. Our waitress Katie was attentive and personable. The food was well– presented, unique and delicious and the owner and a chef both stopped by to see how everything was going. We will definitely return and bring some friends. This restaurant would be well-​suited for a big city– reminded us of several places we visited in Chicago. Hope Syracuse will be able to support this upscale venue! Also very reasonably priced.

Three stars is being generous. my fiancé and I walked in thinking it might still resemble small plates, but under different name/​management. We were obviously very wrong. We didn’t quite understand the menu so we ordered the cheese plate… which came with extremely little cheese and crackers for $ 13.
It will seemed a bit forced, and trying to be far too «hipster» and «cool».
But, I did really enjoy the décor and atmosphere. I ordered a Moscow Mule, which I frequently order downtown and it wasn’t very good.
I might go back just to try an actual entrée. But it wouldn’t be my first choice in Armory.

My wife and I were so excited to try Aster, given our recent move to Syracuse from Seattle. We miss the abundance of farm to table restaurants on the west coast and couldn’t wait to try this place. Our overall feeling was that Aster is trying too hard and just missing the mark. Our server was extremely attentive, although a little nervous throughout.
For appetizers we had the honey nut squash soup and the red oak salad. When the runner dropped the soup, he called it something else (sunchoke?), and it tasted like something else too! We were told they were out of lettuce for the salad but could sub kale. It then came with romaine! The salad itself just wasn’t cohesive — felt like a whole bunch of random items thrown in a bowl with too largely chopped leaves. Just awkward.
For entrees we had the scallops special and the brick chicken. The scallops were supposed to come with brussell sprouts. Instead they came with a few brussell sprout leaves! Combined with the small size of the 4 scallops and the presentation in a very large bowl, again, just awkward and reaching. I had to order a leek side dish because there wasn’t the promised veg with the meal itself. That dish was tasty but a soggy mess to look at and eat in how it was prepared.
The brick chicken was somewhat flavorless and served with broccoli rabe that was literally too sour to eat. I see this in other reviews, so not sure what they are trying to achieve here. The salsa verde was more like a parsley sauce — very bitter and only made the broccoli issue that much worse.
For dessert we had the apple cobbler, which wasn’t actually a cobbler, more like an apple cake over melted (melted!?) ice cream. So strange. The decaf was great! And the renovation of the space is incredible. A great place to have a drink at the bar I think.
So, overall, I feel like Aster is really reaching to be something it isn’t. They need to really master the flavors and presentation before trying to serve small or creative dishes that cannot stand on their merits at this point. For the price, we won’t be trying again.

I got the beak & skiff 5 course meal. Short & simple it was amazing. I was more than full. & had enough on my plates to give a tasting to the rest of my table of 6. The server was awesome & got a sample of the sunchoke bisque, and apple fritter for my table of 6!!! Definitly coming back! Was an experience to remember! And i am usually meat & potatoes guy.

Short and sweet… this place offered clean fresh flavors with farm to table offerings. If i could give a 3.5 i would as they deserve more than a 3 but not quite 4 stars. This place leaves you well satisfied without the guilt.
We started off with the one minute ceviche which unlike usual ceviche that’s cooked from the acidity of lime/​lemon juice this is boiled for one minute, hence the name. I prefer the latin way but no doubt about it this was fresh, tasty and clean.
We also ordered the squash soup with basil and crema. Very thick, hearty and definitely made in-​house. Perfect for cold nights!
For the main courses we ordered the bowtie lamb neck pasta which was tasty but not succulent enough for me. I certainly ate it all but a lot of the ingredients were raw that i think would have taste better if cooked i.e. raw garlic in pasta, chopped raw carrots, etc. The other main dish was the brussle sprouts with foam butter. The guy loved it but i thought it packed more grease than flavor. The best part of the fish dish was the black bass which was fantastic with the mild green curry. The rice offered was also too crunchy for me but my guy enjoyed it with fresh chunks of raw or prematurely sauteed garlic.
For desert he had the apple cobbler (nothing special just buscuit topping over sweet apples) and I had the paña cota which was very good. The jelly taste like a deeply rooted oh so sweet prune!
So far we have been here twice. Last time we tried the tuna cappacio (nothing special), the pork ragu which was also mild with Meditteranean flavors and fresh paperdale pasta. The rainbow trout with beets was interesting but more filling than meat. The filling was a tasty mix of spinach and sauteed onions. We skipped desert that time.
Overall, the décor is a bit tastier than their food. The daily specials change so you can try variety. The food is fresh and clean. Nothingout dated or old there. The cocktails are great too and prices are reasonable. They do take out as well!

Cool spot! They did a nice job reviving it and changing up the décor. We came here twice– once for drinks and once for lunch. The drink menu was good and they had a nice selection of wines to choose from. The bartenders were also very nice.
We came for lunch on a workday one afternoon, again, the service was friendly and prompt. Food was yummy too– we ordered the broccoli soup and you could tell they used fresh broccoli, we also had a burger and the aster (which was an egg salad sandwich), both yummy.
The dinner menu does look a little scary though for picky eaters, so I’ll have to check that out.
Overall, a nice spot for a drink and for lunch. We’ll be back to try more.

I came here for lunch with a co-​worker and was wow’d by how delicious the food was! We both had their house grapefruit soda which was super lite and refreshing and everything I wanted to go with my lunch. I had their take on the cuban and it was absolutely wonderful. And their fries are great too! Our waiter was very polite and quick with our food.
I can’t wait to take my husband back with me! :)

I’ve been wanting to try the new place, and I am so glad I finally did. The inside remodeling and redecorating is absolutely beautiful. It feels so much lighter and relaxing with all of the wood and lighter colors.
We came here for lunch and got the cheese plate to start and then split the burger. The cheese plate was great. It came with 5 cheeses (goat cheese, parmesan, bleu cheese, and two other cheeses I couldn’t quite place), some sort of tomato jam, apple butter, and crostini pieces. I have an issue with things that are too crunchy, and they were more than happy to provide us with some soft bread pieces when we asked. I liked all the cheeses aside from the bleu cheese which I found to be too strong. The tomato jam was really good with a variety of the cheeses, and the apple butter paired well with the goat cheese.
We ordered the burger medium-​rare, with cheese, and asked for the sauce and pancetta on the side. The burger came out cooked medium, which would usually bother me. However, the meat (a short rib/​brisket blend) was so flavorful that it didn’t ruin it for me. It was also so flavorful that it didn’t need the cheese and would stand wonderfully on its own. The bun that it came on was also perfect. The sauce came out on the side as we had asked, and I’m glad we did. I don’t like mustard or lemon flavors in my food, and the sauce was a mayo/​mustard/​lemon flavored sauce that I just didn’t like.
Service was great, and although we only got beer and champagne, I really appreciated their wine selection. It is a bit pricey and the menu is slightly limited, but the food and the atmosphere are worth it if you are ready to spend a little bit more. I am looking forward to trying their dinner and perhaps updating to 5 stars.

My husband and I came here for our anniversary the inside is beautiful! The food was amazing! My husband ordered the steak and said it was one of the best steaks he ever had. It was cooked perfectly and had a slight taste of bacon!
I ordered the lamb with bowtie pasta and goat cheese YUM!
For appetizer my husband ordered the grape leaves and I was a little hesitant (not a big fan of dolmas) BUT they were cooked perfectly and only looked like dolmas. Only problem was I could have eaten 8 orders of them they were so good
Our waiter was perfect extremely friendly and seemed to really love his job. He was honest and descriptive about the food!
The prices are not too $$ it’s worth every cent!
Ps. We got the funnel cake for desert. Large portion great as a shared desert and soooooo goooood

Went here for the soft opening and had appetizers and drinks. Since we did not try the entrees, I am holding off on giving it more than 4 stars, and also because the menu was limited to a only handful of entrees. (Miss the selection when it was Small Plates.)
But the appetizers were very tasty. We had the Pizzette and NY Deli Toasts. Good craft beer choices on tap. We sat at the bar and enjoyed it. But there were many available tables in the dining area.

We met another couple for dinner and started with drinks in the parlor. The first glass of wine I had was just turning (it was likely a bottle that had been opened) and the bartender replaced it without question.
My husband had the ceviche and I had a quinoa tomato salad as starters. Both were good but I thought the ceviche might have been a tad «over cooked.» It may have been sitting in the acid a tad too long. The texture of the seafood was a bit too firm for my tastes.
Each of us got different entrees and we loved them. Our only suggestion is to either offer bread on the menu a la carte or just bring it! We had to ask twice.
We had the cobbler for dessert which was delicious but it have used a few more apples. The waiter brought us the Lana cotta to try and it was out if this world!
Hands down — we will be back.

We went here on a Friday night and it wasn’t too packed. The atmosphere was great– you almost forget you’re not in NYC!
We got the oysters appetizer and I had the polenta for my main dish. I think the polenta could’ve had a stronger flavor but overall the meal was great. Will be coming back!

Excellent Reboot in Amory Square
Aster Pantry is a redone Small Plates — which is a good thing. While we liked Small plates a lot, there are a lot of good tapas places and Small Plates was not a huge standout among them.
Aster Pantry is however a standout — Amory square has a lot of good causal dinning choice but few real fine dinning places. Aster Pantry is clearly trying to fill this spot. And at least on the first visit it succeeded. We came here on ⁹⁄₁₂ with a few friends — all of us transplants from larger cities and one visitor from NYC. Only point of that — is everyone is a critic. And we tested the restaurant hard. The first test — was the cocktails — we ordered a couple of odd ball things, for which we gave recipes — the bar tender was very very accommodating and got most of them on the first try — only one had to be redone.
The food was good — and not the usual fare either. They have branzino on the menu — which I remember seeing on a menu in Syracuse before. It is a fish I love and missed since moving here. The version at Aster is wonderful and very different from the greek places in Brooklyn. The ceviche is also great — and very very different from the wonderful Peruvian places in Queens. Aster’s ceviche is served warm so it is lightly cooked which is good since it has mussels. The pork ragu was a real palate pleaser. The grape leaves were wonderful and served warm — also not the most usual — but the temperature enhanced the flavor.
All in all — it was a great experience and worth more tries. I will certainly be bringing out-​of-​town guests here in the future.

Went here tonight for a soft opening. Had the crudo and oysters for apps. Both were fabulous. The crudo had great flavor and the oysters and serving sauce were fabulous. We had the chicken and rainbow trout both which were very divine. The sides such as the broccoli rabe, potatoes and beets all had great flavor. We had the cobbler for dessert which was also good. We finished the night with some after dinner grand marnier and a White Russian. The owner even ran out to get the half and half so that they could prepare it for me. Overall a great experience and we will be returning !