Pazzo — Restaurant in Jenkins Township

I was recently back in NEPA for a few days, and naturally, a visit to PAZZO was at the top of my to-do list. When I lived here, this was my go-to spot for amazing Italian food, warm hospitality, and excellent service, all served up with a dash of that Agolino family magic.

(Spoiler alert: nothing has changed, and that's a beautiful thing!)

The moment I walked in, I was greeted by Chef Sam Agolino himself, and it felt like running into an old friend. He hasn't aged a day (what's his secret?!). I met up with a buddy--another die-hard PAZZO fan--and we settled in for a night of catching up over some truly mouthwatering dishes.

Our server was top-notch, giving us plenty of time to chat and reminisce without feeling rushed. Since I was driving, I didn't indulge in one of PAZZO's famous cocktails, but was happy to see that non-alcoholic beer was available.

The menu still had some of my old favorites, which made it impossible to choose (in the best way). We kicked things off with salads and two orders of their legendary meatballs. Let me tell you--those meatballs are something I'd order every time I visited and tonight they were just as I remembered them - perfectly seasoned, tender, and absolutely divine.

For the main event, I went with the Vitello Neapolitan: breaded veal and eggplant layered with fresh mozzarella over pasta. The veal was melt-in-your-mouth tender, the pasta perfectly al dente, and the sauce? Chef's kiss perfection. My friend opted for the orecchiette pasta and raved about every bite.

By the time dessert rolled around, we were so full we couldn't even think about it.

Dinner at PAZZO had me questioning all my life choices--like why I ever left NEPA in the first place. But then I stepped outside into the freezing Pennsylvania air and remembered why I traded snow boots for flip-flops in Florida. Still, great Italian food like this is hard to find down south, and PAZZO makes me miss it every single time.

The Agolino family has been a culinary staple in NEPA for decades, and it's easy to see why people keep coming back. Chef Sam, Corinne, and the entire team--thank you for an unforgettable evening! If you're in the area and haven't experienced PAZZO yet, stop reading this and GO.

Would move back to PA (temporarily) for...

We had reservations for my birthday. For a fancy restaurant, I thought they would ask what occasion we were visiting for, but that was never brought up. It was a Thursday night, so I didn't think it would be busy, but the waitress seemed rushed and we waited a long time between courses. We didn't see our waitress much at all. I wanted to try the 315 drink, and in my opinion, it was extremely strong. My husband's drink was too strong and he had to ask for something else (took until we got our dinner before he could ask). The free bread was just okay. The butter spread was extremely garlicky. I didn't like it, but that's just me. The only dish I would recommend is the flatbread pizza appetizer. The crust was absolutely delicious and very crunchy! I ordered the Bolognese with Caesar salad. It was good, but It tasted like something I could make at home. The portion sizes are huge, which I personally am not a fan especially when at a fancier restaurant. If I wanted a larger portion, I would have gone to Olive garden. I also got the cheesecake for my birthday. I asked for a dessert menu but the waitress just named off all the desserts from memory (like I'm supposed to be impressed or something) but I could barely comprehend what she was saying, she was so rushed and saying the options so fast. I probably would have rather had something else but the cheesecake was the only option I heard. It also looked like it was sloppily put on the plate when I got it. Pazzo was okay, but I won't be recommending it to my friends and I won't be coming back. It was a...

Our will rate a three for a few reasons. Our reservation was for 6:30. A few of us were five minutes late . We waited a good 30 minutes for our drinks and 1 1/2 hours for our salads etc. We did have some separate checks and we were telling the waitress who would be on a check. She said she would get that with the food order. The kicker was that at 9:00 we got our checks. We were getting payments together and the waitress was overheard saying we had separate checks but we were not seated together per check. She wanted to get the checks but we were all dispersed . I understand you close at nine. We got our checks at nine. I am a waitress and we close at nine but have tables much later than that at times. We get seperate checks all the time and we dont expect to see them group together per check. Its easy either way. And never ever, ever let a customer hear you complain about them. If you want a good tip earn it. We had friends and relatives there we havent seen in months. We were there for a good meal and a nice time. We had a lot to talk about and laugh about. We heard that the baby was better than the adults. If we were in fact table 36 they were talking about us again. We dont expect to visit this restaurant again. We were not overly loud. Just talking and laughing. We will go to thenotherbfine restaurants we visit with...