Allentown PA: Centro (October 2015)

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.