Molinari’s

My wife and I are drawn to Molinari’s because of their pizza and the fact they offer gluten-​free pasta. I’m a pizza nut and my wife has celiac. Last night was our 10^th or so visit to Molinari’s and the food and service were excellent as usual. We had wine by the glass, each of us a different one suggested by the waitress. Both were excellent. But I wanted a good beer to go with my excellent pizza. I am not paying $ 13 for a 12oz bottle of beer from Italy, no matter how good it may be.
The reason for only 4 stars and the reason for this review is to tempt the owners into overhauling the beer list. I understand why they carry hard to find italian beers on their beer list, and why the only tap beers are from Italy. But I don’t like it. The days of drawing customers because you have an extensive list of exotic beers from abroad are over. The average American craft beer lover (me included) Is also a bit of a student of beer and brewing and one of the first things you learn is that beer is best fresh. We want local beer. Why? Well, because it’s fresh and, in most cases, better! America is the promised land of craft beer. This isn’t just me saying this. Ask any beer aficionado. Why would you forsake all of the great beers brewed in the valley and in the Philadelphia area for a bottle of Italian beer that’s spent who knows how long in transit and is by definition not fresh and probably wasn’t very remarkable when it was first bottled? Not to mention the fact that a beer lover wants his or her beer on tap when dining out. We can always go to the store and buy ourselves a six-​pack of exotic beer if that’s what we want to do.
In the spirit of farm-​to-​table, Molinari’s menu lists the local providers that supply them. Elevate your restaurant by adding local brewers to that list!

Best dining experience ever! Last minute decision to go out on Valentine’s Day & even sitting at the bar was a delight. Love the handlebar mustache on our bartender!

Very enjoyable. Food was great. Servers very nice n just enough interaction. Great vibe. Pulls a nice crowd of people. Been many times. Very consistent. Def will be back. Bravo!

The restaurant uses some unknown online reservation system that required registration and didn’t allow me to change reservation times without first canceling the reservation. When an upscale restaurant tries to save some money and get around paying the fees Open Table charges I am always skeptical. Also, Molinari’s website is poorly designed. What should be intuitive menu viewing turns into a lot of squinting. The wine lists are completely illegible even on a 15″ screen due to how small the font is– did anyone ever test this?
The seating was awkward. Where we sat we felt like we weren’t even in the restaurant but instead in a hallway. We had salad and a meat & cheese platter to start. It was all quite good and I’d recommend it. Our server was fantastic.
I got a salami pizza that was just alright. The mozzarella and Calabrese hot pepper were nowhere to be found, and the person dining with me was the first to comment on how little sauce there was on the pizza. Just an off day in the pizza department I guess.
Like others, you have to give this Molinari’s the «South Side pat on the back» for trying to do this in South Bethlehem, but to me the concept is lost. In this price range, of course the food will be fresh! Of course the ingredients should be high quality. I don’t see why every reviewer has to mention this as if sourcing local food is some utopian concept. If I’m paying this much I would rather go sit in Corked or any number of restaurants across the river where I don’t get shoved in the hallway across from the server’s station.

I hate to say it, but this restaurant is horrible! I had a pork special. when it came it was still very pink inside, and very tough! My husband had a pizza, that he said taste like a piece of cardboard with sauce! We had chosen to try them for our Birthday dinners, needless to say, we were very disappointed!

Consistently fresh food which has always been served by friendly, helpful staff. They also vary the menu to incorporate seasonal veggies. We live in Bethlehem and eat here regularly. It would be even better if they were open for lunch.

I visited for the first time last night and experienced creative, tasty food, delicious cocktails, and awesome service. Jesse, the server, was wonderful — very personable and accommodating. I truly enjoyed my Fungi al Forno pizza which was topped with mushrooms, fresh ricotta and fingerling potatoes. With the addition of a farm fresh egg, the pizza morphed into a unique Sicilian treat. So delicious! Will definitely return.

Excellent farm to table cuisine. The interesting pizza and über fresh pasta is not to be missed. Very well executed wine list as well.

Excellent find. Locally sourced and highly inventive menu – an unexpectedly sophisticated place in Bethlehem. Try the Italian beers!

We were there for the first time last night.
The food was good. In house made pasta and pizza. We enjoyed our food but it took a very very long time to get. We had a reservation. I think it’s unreasonable that we sat for 2 hrs and 15 minutes and still did not receive our entre. We did not get desert because we did not want to be there another hour. .
Also the ambience did not meet expectations. Specifically the reataurant was freezing. We kept going to the bathroom to warm up. For the price I expect better ambience (I.e. Heat) and better service.
Lastly, while Management stopped by to acknowledge the issues in the kitchen they did not offer anything free for the ridiculous wait or ask how they could offer anything to improve our experience.
In the end, the whole experience was ruined. My advice I would go elsewhere rather than chance an iffy dining experience.

Wow is this place great! Such friendly nice people too. They are happy you are there as a customer and the service is top notch. I had the Burrata and it was fantastic. My colleague had a pasta dish she loved too. If you are staying at the Sands Casino, DON’T eat at the smoky smelling middle-​of-​the-​road Emeril’s restaurants and try this quint little very nice place a half mile away.

Love the food here! Wine selection always is on point. Love getting recommendations from sommelier. Food is fresh, local, and seasonal. Menu is not huge, but in my opinion, that’s a sign that they have fabulous dishes that they stand behind. Love the gelato, and the grappa! Molinari’s is a treat!

Really nice dining experience. If you enjoy a nice glass or two of wine — be sure to talk to Lee for his recommendations. The menu is somewhat limited, but everything on it is fresh from local farms. Pastas are made on the premises, as are a unique selection of gelato and sorbettas. We tried a trio of sorbettas — orange/​ginger, lemon and a cucumber/​lime — amazing. Nice bar featuring cocktails, wines and beers — al fresco dining on nice summer evenings. Try it — you’ll enjoy your experience!

People were nice, food was good, service was bad. Long stretches between food, as other diners have mentioned. When we came in they seem unsure where to put us although the restaurant was pretty empty. I requested a window which they accommodated. As we we started to follow her she asked us to please wait. She then put the menus down on the table and then got us. It was rather strange… couldn’t we have sat down and she could put the menus down rather than stopping us mid-​walk?
Teenage son ordered a plain fettucine sauce with pasta and it was $ 15 for about 20 of them. I looked at that plate when he got it and thought ‘oh please don’t be more than $ 10.’ I got the carbonara pizza and it was more like naan than pizza. The crust was soggy, not crispy. Kids and spouse got gelato and the waitress seemed annoyed I did not want to get a scoop myself. I had the red sangria and pink sangria and I will say they were good, although $ 22 for two drinks yikes! With my 2 sangria’s, spouse’s beer, one ‘shirley temple’ drink for one of the kids, and gelato for 3 of them, with tip it came to $ 135. Ouch! Not what we expected to spend for a family of 4.

My GF and I go to the Steel Stacks quite often and have always wanted to try this place, so after catching a movie at Arts Quest we stopped in for a late night snack.
Sat at the bar and were immediately greeted by Jessie our bartender. Very attentive and knowledgeable on their drinks and menu.
We both ordered salads, Roasted Beet & Ricotta for her and the Arugula for me, both were outstanding!!!
We then opted to split the pizza on special that night. Pancetta, Spinach, Mozzarella and Roasted Parsnips… It was fantastic!!! Thin crust baked in a wood-​fired oven done to perfection.

My husband and I ate here for dinner on a Friday evening. The service was incredible in the beginning. They were wiling to switch us from a table to a booth upon request. The rosemary foccacia bread and olive oil from Seasons was the perfect way to start. The waitress was incredibly friendly and was willing to offer recommendations for wine and appetizers. We had the formaggio and the arancini (made with butternut squash). It was incredible!
I think that is what makes it hard to write an unfavorable review. After our appetizers we waited an exorbitant amount of time for our entrees. The restaurant did not seem overly crowded, and while I like a slower pace to a meal, thirty minutes between courses felt excessive. The waitress came by once to check on us in this time. When dinner finally arrived they brought my husband’s first and it wasn’t until five minutes later that mine came out. Further adding to my disappointment was the dryness of the pasta.
I was surprised with the lag time between courses and between our own meals coming out that there wasn’t an attempt by a manager to explain or apologize.
I think we would try it again because the beginning of the meal was so promising, but I can’t say I would recommend it.

This review isn’t just about amazing food, drinks or even restaurant service, it’s about a restaurant that clearly goes far above and beyond of any reasonable expectation. There are restaurants with good service, and then there are restaurants — like Molinari’s — that have great service, but more on that later.
Firstly, the drinks and overall beverage options. Molinari’s cocktail menu was a huge surprise. It featured several classic cocktails, as well as an impressive selection of signature and seasonal cocktails. For the first time in a long time, I found myself wanting to order every drink on the menu. Both cocktails we ordered were from the seasonal menu, and were delicious. A quick browse of the beer list was also quite comprehensive, as they offer quality options from across the beer spectrum. They even had 2 sours on the menu, which I’m a huge fan of.
On to the food. Molinari’s has been on the top of our must-​do list for quite some time now, and we would’ve come sooner had we known what was in store for us. The complimentary toasted focaccia and olive oil (from Seasons in Bethlehem) was delicious. We ordered a handful of items across the menu…
From the Sputini/​Antipasti menus, we ordered: marinated olives, butternut squash arancino with basil pesto, a 60-​minute egg with wilted spinach, garlic, bread, crispy speck and chicken sugo (which was brand new that night, and an instant crowd favorite according to our server), and burrata with black garlic pesto, truffle salt, lightly pickled cauliflower, topped with watercress. Order the egg now. Thank me later.
From the Pasta menu, we ordered the Rye Pappardelle with braised duck leg, cocoa, parsnips, rosemary, parmesan and foie gras butter.
Simply put, each item we ordered was phenomenal and was presented beautifully. The standout from the night was the 60-​minute egg, which was just knockout delicious. The amount of flavor they’ve put into that dish is mind-​boggling.
As for the service, we couldn’t have expected anything better. We made dinner reservations at 5:15 on a Wednesday. Our server was perfectly attentive, and the pacing of the dishes was timed extremely well. As soon as we finished one course, the next was out within a minute or 2. If they’re able to replicate this during a heavy weekend dinner service, even more kudos to the staff.
But the one thing that really made our night was a simple, kind gesture from one of the members of the staff. My girlfriend and I were seeing a show immediately after dinner at the Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University. Right smack in the middle of our dinner, we realized we had forgotten the tickets to the show. A member of the staff (I now wish I had gotten her name) overheard us discussing this, and offered to call Zoellner for us, to let them know we were dining at Molinari’s and had forgotten our tickets. After she called, all we had to do was drop by Will Call to pick up replacements.
Obviously, this was something we could have done ourselves, or something that the girl could’ve suggested we do ourselves, but instead, she offered to make the phone call so that we didn’t have to interrupt our dinner.
And that, on top of the amazing food and drink, is why we’ll be back soon.

Five stars for great food and great service midweek.
For those of you who only dine at restaurants on the weekends, you’re really missing out. Molinari’s is one of those places that gets packed and loud during prime time which, for some people, is energizing and others is stressful. Stopping by mid week really allows you to enjoy your meal and interact with your fellow diners and your servers.
Visited last night and had a terrific pasta dish, saffron fettuccine with shrimp. Service was fast, friendly and the food was delicious. We’re hosting an event there in a few weeks which I expect to be fantastic.

Pardon the pun, but the «little town of Bethlehem» has a nice spot in Molinari’s. The service was exceptional. I’m from out of town, and service where I’m from is getting worse by the minute. The service here was friendly and GENUINELY SO.
I luckily got the last spot both at the bar AND at the restaurant when I happened in to eat before a show. The bartender was happy to serve me at the bar (which doesn’t always happen). There were many unique but appealing menu items. Short on time, I went for the pizza funghi (mushroom)j. I was still served some home made foccacia bread (even though I only had pizza as opposed to an entrée) and some very nice olive oil. The pizza was delicious. The crust was thin and the cheese and mushrooms were delicious.
I would highly recommend this restaurant if you’re in town for dinner! Reservations are probably recommended.

We are in town as vendors for a show and were looking for a new dinner destination on a late night and Molinari was an easy drive, parking and had good reviews.
Because we arrived at 8:30 (late for us to eat anything but a light dinner) we did not try the meat or pasta dishes. We were able to call ahead to be sure of a table.
The staff was attentive and friendly.
The interior is a rustic sleek. The wine list, beer selection and cocktails were perfect! I ordered a ginger & rosemary infused gin sipper. Loved.
Local farms and businesses are represented on the menu. Seasons olive oil & vinegar taproom arbequina CA olive oil was on the table. The house focaccia was toasted… That was odd.
We kept it simple and quick (late to eat for us) I loved the arugula salad with apples, roasted hazelnuts, shaved celery, fennel, onions, parm. It may be strange but I adore a big fresh salad that’s no nonsense but I’m not a meat eater.
We shared a local broccoli white pizza. It was just right, thin crust.
Next time we’ll have more time to play!