LIFeSTYLE

We were strolling the streets of Bedford to stretch our legs on a long car trip. Saw this place and decided to get a cappuccino. Once inside we noticed the list of Italian deli meats no longer available near us when we moved homes. Yes, we were greedy enough to take their entire supply of mortadello. The delicious aroma stayed with us over the next hours of the trip.
The owner was generous enough to give us a restaurant ice pack to keep it cold for the rest of the trip.

This was a great experience. Completely authentic Italian dinner. One seating at 730 and a preset menu so you have be willing to be flexible. The owner walks you they each dish and tells you where in Italy it is from. One long table so had a great time making friend with new people as well.

What a great dining experience! If you like a communal dining experience in a really lovely space, make your reservations and dine here. The menu is fixed, though dietary restrictions are accommodated, I believe. It’s BYOB, so bring your favorite wine. We’ve eaten there for the past three years, and it’s consistently excellent! Thank you Stefano…

I’ve been to this store in previous trips to Bedford and have purchased great gifts. On Friday and Saturday nights they serve a 5 course family style meal. We started off with crostini 2 ways (sun dried tomato pâté and prosciutto over brie) but instead of the standard toasted bread it was served on a fruit/​nut bread they sell at the store and was a real treat. Second course (and my favorite) sausage and red wine risotto – I wanted to LIVE in the bowl that it was served in – so good. Third course was eggplant parmesan. Full disclosure: I don’t like eggplant. This dish was okay, the flavor was good and the mozzarella on top was a nice touch, but It just didn’t do it for me, but again, I don’t like eggplant. With these meals they makeup the menu day of based on the availability of fresh ingredients, you roll the dice and take your chances. Fourth course was a cheese plate, hello you had me at cheese plate – wonderful! And lastly desert was a standard white cake with an amazing chocolate and balsamic vinaigrette reduction paired with a creamy sauce that was very satisfying especially with the served espresso. Would definitely love to come back, it’s BYOB, FYI.

I can’t speak highly enough about this place and the owner Stefano.
I’ve got to start with the owner as he deserves all the credit. He runs this place as a shop during the day, and on the weekends offers special dinners. He’s actually from Italy (you can tell, pretty thick accent) and apparently grew up in a family that did exactly this, so he knows what he’s doing. He’s also a great guy. Came in here during the day to go shopping and he spent an hour talking to us about various olive oils, balsamics and pasta, all the while darting into the back to check on the food cooking for the dinner that night. He was more patient and helpful than I could’ve asked for.
We originally had plans to go elsewhere for dinner, but decided to come here that Saturday night to get a different experience, and it was an experience. At night he clears the tables in the shop and sets it up as a big dining room. He serves a 5 course dinner for a group of probably 25 – 30 people at a flat rate of $ 50 bucks (this includes gratuity), which is a great deal. Apparently the dinner changes slightly every time, and is entirely made fresh (including the pasta) that day. When we came our courses were a hot zucchini soup, a pasta with gorgonzola, grilled asparagus and a host of other things (the quality of the noodles was evident), pork ribs (best plate of the night, i’ve never had pork ribs that were so tender) a cheese plate and bread, homemade gelato and finally espresso. It is BYOB, though there is a limit of one bottle of wine a person.
The food is great, better than most places i’ve been to in DC or NYC. But even better is the experience. The dinner was 3 ½ hours long, and was a very social, fun event. We ended up meeting many people that as everyone sat in a group. The entire time Stefano was going around checking on everyone and making sure everything was perfect.
I will absolutely come back. An Italian dinner and experience that is worthy of anything in the major East Coast cities.

Had a unique and wonderful meal here. On Saturday evenings, they transform this Italian specialty shop into a Trattoria. You must make your reservations in advance because there’s only room for 30 guests.
We were served our meal at a long communal table. Each dish featured fresh local produce and meat paired with specialty items from the shop.
The shop owner made recommendations earlier in the day about what kind of wine to bring because LifeStyle, like many places in town, is BYOB.
We met a number of interesting people and the conversation just got more spirited as the wine flowed during the course of this 2 ½ hour 5-​course meal.
You get what you get, so if you’re a picky eater or have dietary restrictions, this might not be for you. We made our reservation just a couple of days before the dinner, and the proprietor was able to tell me what they would be serving.
And how was the food? Very good. The zucchini soup was hot, flavorful and perfectly seasoned. I will be thinking about the truffled pasta with fresh morels for weeks. It was one of the best things I ever ate. The pork was tender and perfectly paired with a salad made with fresh lemon dressing and 15-​year balsamic. The cheese plate was delectable. I found the chocolate salami for dessert to be only so-​so, but that may be a matter of personal taste. Espresso at the very end was perfection.
But this place is as much about the experience as the food. Fun, different, stimulating AND delicious. And did I mention is was just $ 50 per person? When you are in Bedford, this is an experience not to be missed.

Genuine Italian, great hospitality, and a fun experience.
Easily one of my favorite restaurant experiences. I’ll be back. :)

Amazing inventory, high quality products, knowledgeable owner and a lovely staff! A wonderful place to host private parties with delicious food! This place is really a gem in the area.
Stefano Ferrari moved to the town from Italy and is a very sweet host!

Food store by day, restaurant on Saturday nights.
A delicious dinner is served to 22 lucky people Saturday night (and an occasional Friday night). Call for a reservation as early as possible, as it can sell out weeks in advance in busy seasons. $ 50 includes tip, but bring your own wine. They will call you to tell you what is being served and recommend a good pairing!
Stefano is only about 3 years away from Italy, and you can tell he loves to cook. A five course dinner is served to everyone at once (and served well), all seated at one long table, and the food is delicious. Stefano also explains a bit about the food, how it is prepared, and where it comes from. The dinner will last about 2 and a half hours but time will fly by, since whoever you are seated with probably shares your interest in good food and possibly good wine. The people may be a mix of locals and from distances, staying at the Bedford Springs Hotel or other nearby places.
Personally, I guess I’m cheap — I don’t like paying $ 50 for a dinner, but in this case it is well worth it. The next time I am in Bedford I hope to go here again. It is not something to miss!
Tips — Street parking is easy. (Small town pretty much closed up at night.) If you didn’t bring wine on your trip, there is a liquor store a few blocks down the street, and a very nice winery store — Briar Valley Winery — right across the street which I highly recommend. It closes at 6 p.m.

There are two aspects of this place that I would like to review: the products, and the trattoria style dinner on Saturday nights.
The shop is a beautiful mixture of foodstuffs and dry goods that bring a little slice of gourmet Italy to PA. You will not be disappointed with the pasta selection, and though it’s a bit pricey, it’s well worth the investment. There is a selection of honeys that is very interesting, the cheeses are gourmet and change often, and the range of oils and vinegars is wonderful. HOWEVER, if you love your tastebuds… the true gem of the shop is the chocolate. There is a salted chocolate for sale that is made of pure gold — every single bite is a miracle, and you won’t even care that a dozen bars will take you up a pants size. Bring on the spandex, while I use my bicep muscle to bring that stuff to my lips.
Once you’ve dipped into the product side of the store, be prepared for the true magic: every Saturday night, Stefano puts on a true trattoria style Italian dinner for 24 — the reservations sell out sometimes weeks or months in advance, but sometimes you might get lucky and get a last minute spot. Be warned — the dinner is 2 – 3 hours. Be warned — the people you sit next to and across from will probably be wonderful (and probably be staying at your hotel — we went back as a group and chatted for hours after dinner!). It’s BYOW (Bring your own wine, and there’s an ABC store about 5 blocks down on the left in a little blue building), and runs about $ 60 – 70 per person for dinner, bottle mineral water, and all the courses of dinner and dessert. There is a shuttle that goes between Lifestyle and the Omni Bedford Springs, if you are staying there.
I highly recommend a visit to shop, and stay for dinner if you can. It was wonderful.

Very-​very nice authentic Italian dining experience in a unique setting. Very reasonable $ fixed menu. Highly recommended! It is BYOB… chef served *all the homemade Italian bread you want plus the following courses: 1– prosciutto and Spanish olives 2– vodka sauce pasta (excellent) 3– saffron and lemon chicken w/​a very interesting room temp potato carrot mix with herbs/​seasoning (loved this) 4– apple tort type dessert 5– espresso ($ 45 a person). Buon Appetito!