Ovalon — Restaurant in Hazleton

The food was outstanding--in our party of 3, everyone loved what they ordered. The house balsamic dressing is particularly outstanding. I'd go back just for the bread and salad! My steak was cooked perfectly and seasoned very well, served with plenty of au jus. I'd say their ribeye rivals every steakhouse in the area. The veggie medley was perfectly cooked and very fresh.

The service left a bit to be desired. The bartender was friendly when we went in and seated us promptly at a table (there was no hostess, probably due to it being a rainy weeknight.) Our waitress... eh. She was very pleasant and polite, but just was not service minded at all. Drinks sat empty for 10-15 minutes at a clip, and she was so engrossed in her conversation with another waitress at the bar that we couldn't even get her attention to ask for refills. The chef had to pop out from the kitchen twice to call her back to take plates out and had a similarly difficult time getting her attention. At no point were there more than 5 tables in the entire restaurant--none larger than a 4 top--and there were 2 waitresses and a bartender working. Had it been a busy night, I'd be more forgiving... but at $100 for 3 people, I expected better service. No complaints at all about the food though. Everything was hot, fresh, and delicious, and the kitchen was excellent with their timing.

I've heard that service at the bar is better than at a table--and from what I could see while we were there, it is. The bar manager seems to keep drinks flowing and could be heard calling back to the kitchen (on a phone, there's no yelling here!) asking to rush orders for people who were eating at the bar.

I'll update my review if the service has changed next time we go to The Ovalon. Hopefully this was just...

This restaurant is a local legend. I've been coming here since I turned 21. I've celebrated, wedding and baby showers here as well as birthdays etc. it's a great place to sit in the bar area in a booth for informal get togethers or a more formal area in the dining room. The food is mainly Italian and it is one of the best restaurants in a 50 mile radius for it. The prices are a bit higher than the last time I was here ( +/- 15 years). I don't live in the area but it was my birthday and I treated myself to takeout. I got the surf and turf salad and although the price doubled the portion was a hefty size. My only dismay was you always get a bread basket when dining in so I was looking forward to the homemade bread with my salad. I got the end slice approx. 1/4 inch thick,hard and quite frankly should have been thrown out! Not served with $35 salad. The s/alad was very good however without that warm bread was a birthday bummer. By all means if you're looking for Authentic Italian cuisine be it formal or with a beer after work and a meatball sub you won't be disappointed. Parking has improved by being able to use the postal lot across the street. They have so many choices for meals that even vegetarians will not...

Stopped in Thursday the 13th! I haven’t been there in forever. Lots of new faces, the only person I recognized was Karen. Her Pear Martini’s were excellent. A young gentleman named Devin (I think) was our server and he was training someone. Service was excellent. Bruschetta appetizer was the best you could ask for. I had chicken Marsala for dinner. It’s one of my favorite dishes and I’ve tried it just about everywhere. It’s literally one of the best I’ve ever had! The sauce was absolutely perfect! It had a slight sweetness that hit just right! My only negative comment would be that the Caesar salads were average at best. They used to have some be of the best Caesar’s in hazleton, so much so that I would recommend friends to try one there. For the price of the Caesar I expected the same quality as they used to be. The price of the salad was outrageous! $12 for a small salad?? How is a house sale $4 and Caesar $12 when it has less ingredients? The entree prices are high enough that it should have been included. All in all I’d highly recommend Ovalon for dinner and drinks, but don’t waste your money on the extras like soups and salads because it’s sadly...