Paese Mio

I am torn about this place. The setting is outdated and has a weird smell when you sit down. The plastic plate given for pizza is heavily old and had hundreds of scratch marks. However, the pizza was decent, not the best but okay. The prices are reasonable and service is good. I just wish they would upgrade the settings a bit

I had takeout, pizza, and sat in at different times.
First the takeout was really good! I had penne pasta in vodka sauce, my mom had eggplant rollatini, my brother had the veal pram with a side of spaghetti, and my dad had the veal cacciatore. Everything was really good! My vodka sauce was perfect. It was smooth and had good texture from the chopped upped onions and dice tomatoes. The tomatoes also gave it a nice burst of freshness. It also had stripes of basil in it, which was nice. The eggplant rollatini was amazing! The cheese to eggplant ratio was perfect. The eggplant itself was melt in your mouth tender. The sauce, and dish overall was flavorful. The veal parm was tender, which in a lot of places veal tends to be tough. The crust was good and the side of spaghetti was good. It was in a slighty spicy marinara sauce. It had just enough spice for a little kick. The veal cacciatore was awesome with it’s brown sauce. It had a light vinegar taste to it. We all had a salad with ceaser dressing which was good. All of our meals were huge which is a plus. It had different vegetables in it and the dressing comes on the side, which was delicious and plenty of it. They gave us plenty of free bread. It was a huge pile of bread! The bread was soft and tasted fresh. It came with melted butter filled with garlic.
The pizza was great. We had a cheese and a margarita. The cheese was a good cheese pizza it was better than the pizza chains and better than the other pizza places in the area. The margarita’s sauce was one of the best tomato sauces I ever had, and had a lot of it. It had plenty of basil and cheese as well.
When we sat in the resturant it was the best experience. The waitress was great; she was friendly and attenitive. As soon as we ran out of the bread she filled it back up. The protions of the food were again big which is always good for a resturant. I had the crab cake special, my mom had spaghetti in vodka sauce, my brother had chicken parm, and my dad had veal marsala. The crab cake special was spectacular! It was two crab cakes in a pasta dish with cavatelli pasta, sliced cherry tomatoes, small pieces of garlic, scallops, and shrimp in a white wine lemon butter sauce. The carb cakes had no filler just the sweet carb and breading. The cherry tomatoes taste like they were sauteed and add a freshness to it. The were big enough to notice when you ate them but small enough to not over power anything. The scallops were super tendered and some of the best I had. The shrimp were cooked perfectly and tasted great in the sauce. The sauce was great almost like a glaze, with a nice lemon accent on it. It may have been a weekly special but each week they have different specials that always look good. The vodka sauce was just as great and plentiful as the takeout. The chicken was tender and NOT dry. The veal marsala was tender with a nice dark sauce. We also shared dessert. We had a coffee flavored gellato cup thing which was smooth and had little coffee flavored chocolate crispy things on top that looked like coffee beans. We also had maraschino cherry (the kind that goes on top of ice cream) flavored gellato. The flavor was not overwhelming I think they use vanilla ice cream as a base. I don’t remember if they had one or several cherries on it either way it was good. Finally we had a triamisu which was soft and creaming like a good triamisu should be. Overall the food is great at this place no matter what or how you want it. Definitely will be back.

Delicious affordable food.
Everyone within 10 miles recommends Paese Mio. Chicken Francaese, simply amazey!
Best Marinara sauce in the lehigh valley.

Wow. Just wow! Why not five stars? Read on.
I’m traveling, alone, and needed dinner. Unilocal sent me here. Hooray Unilocal you did very good!
After a short wait where pizza, fresh garlic rolls, and wine were served (why wait if you can’t imbibe?) I was seated at a delightful small baquet in the main dining room. The ambiance is all about the owner who seemed to hover over the whole place. I felt like I was in his dining room at some sort of family dinner. There are two other dining rooms: one inside which seems very cozy and the «patio» which I would avoid in the winter but it might be delightful on a warm summer night.
After ordering another glass of the delightful and forgettable red wine (some sort of Cabernet I suspect) I was given a huge plate of fresh buttered rolls with a side of garlic. Rolls +. Garlic not so much but that’s me and maybe you love garlic.
The simple salad was fresh with romaine, tomato, cucumber, and onion with surprise olives and commercial croutons. Lose the croutons and relish the rest. Very fresh. I’m partial to blue cheese dressing; this was good institutional dressing. But I rate the salad well above average.
My dinner was fettuccine with ham and broccoli in cream sauce. This gets six stars. The pasta was fresh and I suspect home made back in the kitchen. It was delightfully thin and light not at all like the stuff you buy at the store. The cream sauce was the exact consistency needed and the brocoli was cooked to perfection; not too raw but not mushy either. The ham was forgettable but did not detract from the dish. I did not need it, but there was fresh parmesan cheese on the table.
I loved this place. I would seek it out if I were here again. But why did I only give it four stars and not five. Here are the nits; some of these might be important to you and others not.
I don’t like paper napkins in a resturant of this calibre. They need cloth napkins. The salad croutons need to be made in the kitchen not purchased from Sysco. The ham was some sort of sliced sandwhich ham which detracted from the fettuccine. Leave it out or upgrade the hame to something you prepare youself.
But my biggest complaint is the size of the servings. Except for the salad, the bread and main dish were way way too much. Half would have been sufficient; one third even better. (I know it’s hard when there is only one diner but I overheard another table also complaining about the portion sizes.)
But I’ll be back. The food was fantastic and the owner obviously has a complete hand in the kitchen and keeps this place under his wing.

Great find! Really good Italian food, friendly staff, quick service. The garlic rolls are to die for! Have had several items on the menu, all were very good and huge. My favorite is their seafood special, shrimp, mussels, clams, fish in a red or white sauce over your choice of pasta. Very tasty pizza as well, several crust selections, the thin is my favorite, the perfect combo of crisp and soft at the same time, great sauce and just the right amount of cheese. My favorite lunch spot. Gets really busy for dinner, plan on waiting.

Went with my Sister & Brother-​in-​Law on 12−26−15. I had Penne Vodka w/​chicken, Sister had the Raviolis, Brother-​in-​Law had the veal. All our meals were perfectly prepared and beyond delicious! The waitress was very pleasant. The homemade bread, served with olive oil & garlic was delicious! It was also nice to receive a complimentary glass of wine with our dinner. The tables are nestled close together. Your place setting comes with paper napkins. They should supply you with cloth napkins for a better dining experience. Over all you will not be disappointed & will come back over & over for their fine food. I highly recommend this place!
Dave the photographer from NJ

One of my favorite Italian restaurants. If you love garlic and Italian food this is the place to go! Love love this place. Whenever I am in Pennsylvania I always visit!

I normally really like this restaurant and have given it great reviews in the past. However, this Sunday my family and I were very disappointed. Maybe, it was because it was a Sunday afternoon and the regular chef wasn’t there, but it was sorely lacking. The service was awesome. We were seated right away and out came the drinks and bread. The waiter was excellent. We all got the normal fare, nothing fancy. Just meatballs, sausage and spaghetti. First of all, and my biggest annoyance is when food is served room temp not hot at all. In fact the center of the meat was cold. This tells me it was made in advance and heated thru. But the flavor was lacking. We chewed it like it was mush in our mouths. Everybody left their plates to be boxed but when I got home I heaved it in the trash. Even the sauce was crappy. No flavor no garlic or oregano, nothing! Flat and unimpressive. Like I said, normally this is a go to restaurant with big portions and excellent food. But, wow what a difference today.

I got the angel hair with vodka sauce and it was delightful. It comes with a regular salad and of course the bread with garlic and oil. So much food! The price is fine, flavor is great, service is kind. Just a yummy comfort food place to eat.

Met a colleague there last evening for dinner. It really rates no stars. To begin with the waitress was stupid and clearly not trained. We got our salad, first course and second course within 3 minutes of each course. I had a pasta dish that was just horrible. Tasteless, no eye appeal and looked like a dogs breakfast! My colleagues veal dish looked even worse. Ordered coffee which came out luke warm. Served with no spoon or sugar. By the time we could find Ms. Stupid it was cold. When I asked for hot coffee a spoon and sugar she responded oh you said you did not want cream so I thought you did not want sugar.
I do not know if it changed owners but what it was is not what it is. So if you want a really wretched meal you came to the right place!

We found Paese Mio unremarkable at a recent dinner. The bread was fresh, but the garlic/​oil-​butter combo was served in a plastic container. (If I’m paying $ 20 per entrée, something glass or ceramic would have been nice.) Salads were pedestrian and unimaginative. I tried the lamb chop entrée; they were overcooked and smothered in a thin, mostly tasteless brown sauce. The accompanying sage ravioli were excellent. My wife’s salmon dish was bland and swimming in at least a cup of cream sauce — overkill. If we come next time, we’ll stick to simpler dishes like the pizza and traditional Italian entrees. Service was a bit rushed. BYOB, which was nice.

Hands down best pizza in the area! The complementary bread is to die for if you love garlic like me. Staff is always nice, but there is sometimes a long wait to be seated and the waiting area is very small and crammed. However, they will sometimes serve bread if the wait is really long. I recommend eating in rather than taking out because the pizza is way better when it is hot and fresh. There is also a nice outdoor seating area, but I sometimes find it to have slower service because the server needs to go inside to get your food and drinks. It’s my favorite restaurant, but be careful because you will probably smell like garlic afterwards!

Great family style restaurant. Portions are generous, staff is very friendly. Garlic knots & accompanying garlic butter is highly addictive. Definitely worth stopping by if you are in this neck of the woods.

If your sign on the door and website say you are open till 11:00…then stay open till 11:00. I called on a Friday night at 10:34 p.m. to order a pizza and the girl that answered the phone said that they were closed. When I asked why did it say they were open till 11:00, she said her boss said they were closed and not taking any orders. If your running a business don’t be lazy and inconvenience your customers that keep the place open and make you money. That will be the last time I order from there.

I’m not Italian but love good Italian food… I believed the hype of Paese Mio and was sorely disappointed. First time and sadly, probably the only time i’ll be going… The amount of garlic was fine with me but the sauce was wayyyy to watery.

Quaint stand alone building that was formerly an ice cream shop.
Sauce (gravy) was not acidic enough, and somewhat sweet.
Low grade meat in the lasagna with no crispy top, although, it was supposedly baked.
Complimentary wine and good dinner rolls with fresh garlic dip.
Décor could improve (I.e. plastic plants in vaulted ceiling, low pile carpeting, and formica walls).
Friendly young servers.
(3 ½ stars.)

I’ve eaten here twice and both times were outstanding. The staff is friendly and the food is excellent. The is by far the best Italian food I’ve had in the valley.
We have eaten eggplant rollatini, chicken piccata, pizza and cannoli. The eggplant and chicken were outstanding. The pizza was great, but not the type I prefer (I like thinner). The cannoli was also good. Lastly, the garlic knots are awesome! Loads of fresh garlic! They also have complimentary wine.
The restaurant is small and very busy, but it is well worth it!

Excellent food. Delicious Italian food. Great bread sticks with garlic and oil. I highly recommend this place.

We’ve been enjoying this place for 10 years. When we desire Italian cuisine closest to what grandma would make, this is our default, no reservations choice for the Lehigh Valley area. This is saying a lot given several pretty darned good Italian restaurants around. The complimentary red wine to go with the knots + garlic/​oil while waiting for the main course, surely starts any meal off with a huge immersion in things Italian. Portions can be a bit much. Always taking leftovers home. Try the Quatro Gusti pizza: thin ham, artichokes, garlic, mushrooms, high quality cheese. Their pasta with home made sausage is grand slam good. It gets crowded after 5pm. Small venue so it gets cozey. Little mom-​n-​pop place with great expectations.
I raised this to 5 stars. I don’t like being too liberal with the stars but seeing this is one of the few places my wife actually likes, even suggests, certainly adds that star.

Thank goodness I do not live nearby Paese Mio since I would eat here every week and gain lots of weight from the delicious bread and Italian food. We came here at 3:30pm which was the end of the lunch period and beginning of the dinner time. The owner of the restaurant was nice and gave us the lunch menu. Nice!
Everything was great. We were so full at the end of the meal. Here are the reasons why I miss this place.
+ Huge portions and great prices.
+ Service was excellent. Our waitress always checked on us.
+ Complimentary bread and knots with the garlic olive sauce was amazing!!! The bread was warm with the garlic deliciousness. It was so hard to resist and not eat the entire basket before the meal arrived.
+ Garlic knots — Another winner! We received 6 pieces stuffed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil and garlic. This bread will keep the vampires away.
+ Pizza — My husband ordered ½ Paese Mio and ½ Meat Lovers. We didn’t realize how big the pizza was going to be, so we had leftovers. Crust was very sweet.
+ Mix seafood in red sauce and whole wheat pasta — I substituted the regular pasta with whole wheat. Huge portions and lots of seafood. Every bite had clams and squid. There were also mussels, clams, and shrimps.
Including tip, our meal cost $ 34. Good deal.