Dining at Noviello’s Sunset Café

Feasting with the family in downtown Greensburg 

  

The Noviello's Sunset Café's Sunday
Family Feast: bowls of salad and
pasta combine with a large pizza
to satisfy even the hungriest family

I can’t think of a better way to end the weekend than enjoying a feast at one of Greensburg’s most traditional local restaurants. On Sunday, I took my fiancée and her parents to Noviello’s Sunset Café on 302 South Urania Avenue. In a recent interview, I had learned from Anna Jo, co-owner of the restaurant, that it has been family-owned since 1933 and was the first to serve Italian cuisine in Greensburg. A quick visit to the website brought an exciting discovery: A family feast for just $44 on Sundays that serves up to six people, including salad and bread, pasta, and pizza. Our choice for the evening was easy.

The Sunday Family Feast is only one of many specials listed on Noviello’s Sunset Café’s website. In addition to its regular menu, the restaurant also offers a seasonal summer menu. Specials include the Family Feast on Sunday nights, Spaghetti night on Wednesdays when a dinner of spaghetti with meatballs, salad, and bread costs only $6.95, Wine Down Tuesdays where all wines are half off, and Pizza Lover Tuesdays and Thursdays when a large 3 topping pizza costs only $11.95. Newly added to the specials, Godfather Night on Thursdays includes the classic movies playing in the bar, traditional Italian music in the dining area and a specific food menu based on the ‘Godfather’ movies.

Anticipating a busy Sunday night, I called ahead to reserve a table. When we got to the restaurant, easily finding a parking spot in one of multiple parking lots close by, we were guided to a table in the newly renovated dining area.

The newly renovated dining area
at Noviello's Sunset Café ensures
more space and a calmer dining
atmosphere.

Anna Jo had noted that the recent renovation actually reduced seating capacity by 20 to ensure more space for customers, better quality of food, better individual service, as well as a calmer and quieter atmosphere. According to my fiancée’s mother, who had visited the restaurant before its renovation and had been unimpressed by its lack of space, she believes that the change was noticeable and drastically improved the dining experience.

After ordering drinks, our food was served in quick succession. A big bowl of antipasto salad with bread and dipping oil was soon followed by an even bigger bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, as well as a large three topping pizza. Hungry as we were, we bravely attacked the delicious food, starting the feast. In short, one can taste the tradition of Noviello’s Sunset Café in every bite. The pizza is among the best I have tasted in the Greensburg area, and the pasta sauce – while less sweet than in many other Italian restaurants in the area – tastes as close to original Italian sauce as I have tasted in the United States.

The history wall at Noviello's Sunset
Café serves as a symbol for the
restaurant's long and rich tradition

During the renovation, the owners of Noviello’s Sunset Café ensured that none of that tradition would be lost. Every old item found by contractors and workers was preserved and is now part of the restaurant’s history wall, which can be found on the right entrance by the bar. The wall includes old match boxes, restaurant menus, bottle caps, a bottle stopper, old posters and Steeler football schedules, and much more – documenting the rich history of the Sunset Café in downtown Greensburg.

Even with four hungry people, we couldn’t come even close to finishing our food. While the desert menu sounded delicious, there was simply no way of getting any more food in us. Our server was helpful in packaging our left-overs, which will be enough for another family meal. While walking out of the restaurant, we agreed that we would recommend the Sunday Family Feast at Noviello’s Sunset Café for any family looking for reasonably priced Italian food on a Sunday evening in Greensburg.

This article was written by Simon Stuchlik, intern at the Greensburg Community Development Corporation. For more information about Noviello’s Sunset Café as well as its specials, visit the restaurant’s website.