My spouse and I dined at Centro for the first time on a Saturday evening in late October 2015. Centro opened in early October 2015 on Hamilton Street in Downtown Allentown, not far from the PPL Center. Centro is open for lunch weekdays, Sunday brunch, and dinner Mondays through saturdays. The restaurant accepts reservations by telephone and via the Open Table reservation system. Centro (named after the Italian word for "center"), is operated by Greenwood Hospitality Group, which also manages the nearby Renaissance Hotel and Starbucks.
The restaurant is
large, and it is split into two parts: one area offers dining near the open
kitchen, and the other area offers seating in the bar/lounge area. In one
corner of the bar area, comfortable chairs are arranged in front of two modern
gas fireplaces (which heat both the indoor and outdoor spaces). Dark floors, brick
walls, wooden beams, shutters/gates suspended from the ceiling, and a mural
from the movie “Roman Holiday” add interesting decorative touches. The quartz
bar serves at least 20 wines by the glass, in addition to beer, cocktails, and
non-alcoholic drinks. In warmer weather, seating is available on a large patio,
and the restaurant also features retractable glass doors that open to the
sidewalk.
Centro serves
rustic Northern Italian cuisine, including pasta, stone-fired pizza, meats, and
desserts. We shared the meat and cheese board as an appetizer, followed by a
pasta dish (wild boar gnocchi) and the meatball (polpetti) pizza, with a mini cannoli
for dessert (only regular cannoli are on the current menu). Service was
professional, although as the restaurant filled to capacity with patrons who
had tickets to the hockey game, it slowed to a crawl. We thought that the menu
was reasonably priced, with no item exceeding $20 (our app, pizza, and pasta
were all $14). Complimentary olives are offered as you peruse the menu (but it
you want bread, you’ll have to order the cast-iron focaccia).
We will return to
Centro, because it is another great dining option in Downtown Allentown. We
just wish that it were open for Saturday lunch or brunch.
