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Louie's
Categories: Restaurants Italian Restaurants Pizza Italian, Pizza [Edit]
2071 31st St SWAllentown, PA 18103
(610) 791-1226
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am - 11 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
11 reviews for Louie's
11 reviews in English
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Review from Holly B.
Allentown, PA
1/23/2012
I was here for my friend's birthday on Saturday evening. We were seated quickly, probably because of the bad weather. I had the Prime Rib and it was excellent!! I never would have thought of Prime Rib at an Italian Restaurant but it was outstanding. My friend had the Chicken in Wine and it was really tender and flavorful. We had a great time with the server and the Martini's didn't hurt either.
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Review from Melissa D.
Bethlehem, PA
3/28/2011
I went here for dinner last night for a belated birthday dinner (not mine).
A glance at the menu is a little disheartening. There are very few options that don't involve bread or pasta (read: salad). Most places offer different choices of sides instead of pasta but...not here. I opted for an Antipasto salad while the rest of the table got a standard entree. For the price of the entrees and the perceived quality of what was served (pre-fab Italian food), I'd say the place is overpriced. My salad was awful and soggy. I ate several bites and pushed it away.
On a positive, the waitstaff is nice.
Bottom line here - you can get insanely better (authentic) Italian food in the Valley from places which charge far less than this place. -
Review from Andrew T.
Macungie, PA
6/21/2010
I was to Louie's several times in the 12th St location as I used to work in the area and the food was OK. I recently tried thew new location off of Lehigh St and was disappointed. We ordered a thin crust pizza and was brought a deep dish with barely melted cheese. As others have said, the crust was not made fresh, it tasted prefab. Neither my fiance or I could stomach finishing a slice.
The garlic bread we ordered was OK, however, nothing to right home about. I'd suggest staying away. -
Review from Joe L.
Allentown, PA
7/3/2008
Most certainly an Allentown institution. I do miss the old place, which was crammed into various meandering hallways in downtown Allentown, but it's nice to have more floor space and a brick oven here. Plus, there's ample parking.
Now, on to the food. It's very, very, good. Your typical Southern Italian staples, like lasagna, baked pastas, and pizza. All of it is very good. I highly recommend the lasagna.
Two other must eats: the garlic tomato bread (or just the garlic bread, if you must), and the house salad with gorgonzola. You will be pleased, trust me.
There's also well apportioned lunch buffet.
Haven't had a bad meal here yet. -
Review from Julie S.
Philadelphia, PA
4/15/2010
My pizza arrives at the table. The sauce, excellent. The toppings, alright. And then I bite into it.
It's a prefab cracker crust.
An Italian restaurant that can't make its own pizza crust is the lamest thing I ever heard. It's like the chef doesn't want to cook. At least buy some dough and bake it. Trader Joe's sells a ball of it for 99 cents.That flat cracker thing was so lame.
My mom had eggplant parmesan, which was perfectly tasty. But for $16, it should have been over the moon fabulous and perhaps come with a $4 rebate.
The salads were way overdressed. Tasty garlic dressing, but it was way over the top heavy. More is not always better.
One bright spot though: our server was adorable and extremely competent. Thumbs up, server gal. -
Review from Stephen H.
Coopersburg, PA
8/30/2008
Have to give this one a "Meh" even though Louie's reputation is well know. I have not been to Louie's for a long time as my wife never really enjoyed traveling into the "Hood" of Allentown. The other day she said, "Let's go to Louie's they have a clam bake special!" So, we went and had two "clam bake specials." Nothing special or "Louie's" about it!
A dozen clams, frozen 1/3 piece of corn (even though we were in prime fresh corn season!), 1-small red potato, and 2-pieces of "diner" chicken for $12.
Advice for Louie & customers...Stick to the Italian food!
I am sure that I will go back for Italian another day, -
Review from Matt R.
Oakland, CA
8/12/2008 1 Check-in Here
I don't remember the date, but I remember the first time I went to the original Louie's on 12th St. I think it was around 1985. The neighborhood was a little safer back then, and I was really impressed by the place. Finally, we found some good sit-down Italian-American food in the Valley (I knew at age 14 that red sauce wasn't made with tomato paste and green peppers and that you were supposed to drain the water from the pasta before serving). There was a quiet atmosphere with a level of friendly and competent service I hadn't seen or felt much since I was a little kid tagging along to the last few classic Allentown eateries that remained (not for long) in the depressed and depressing days of the 70s and early 80s. We came back a lot after that, always bringing our own bottle of Italian table wine (chianti in a basket!) and getting similar dishes. Antipasto shared for three, or the salad with gorgonzola and black olives (I copied that recipe myself for years). Maybe the calamari appetizer (sauteed). Usually one veal dish, one lighter pasta, and something with seafood (scallops parmigiana?). Through high school, visits home during college, and even a few stop-offs on the holidays when I lived in Boston.
By the late 90s, though, the 'hood got sketchier and my family got older and a little less tolerent of the city's long downward spiral. It wasn't a place to park on the street and walk around at night. There was a particularly gruesome murder nearby. The owners opened a short-lived spinoff outpost in redeveloped South Bethlehem, which wasn't quite the same, and I moved to the West Coast and forget about the place, assuming it would fade away like most of the other bits of old Allentown. The future of new development and the middle class was in the suburbs, and it looked subdivided, homogenized, and increasingly middle-American. (The Lehigh Valley's location at the fluid edge of New England, Northern, midland, and southern culture is an interesting subject best left to Wikipedia)
But Louie's stayed in business, and left 12th St. a few years back for the safer and more spacious southwestern corner of the city (not the suburbs, but you can seem 'em from there). The new place is a bit more corporate-Ital in decor and in the menu page layout (I expected trademark symbols next to the entree names), but the food is familiar Louie's, with the addition of wood-fired pizza, a substantial bar (they now have a liquor license), and an expanded menu. There's a happy hour with free pizza. The oven cranks out decent foccacia, which is served with a garlic and oil dip, replacing the white Italian loaves of years past.
We went for old favorites, but tried the "new" fried calamari instead of the sauteed. The new twist involved a cornmeal breading, which tasted great but needed some additional preparation to deal with the grittiness of the grits. The gorgonzola-topped house salad was as good as ever (and a bit larger). Veal parmigiana--the ultimate in Italian-American comfort food--was as good as I remember. The specials were a little fancier, and a soft shell crab pasta was a decent attempt at dishes you find at pricier places. They went with a white sauce, however, which was unexpected for this kind of place but appropriate for the dish. Plain spaghetti and meatballs made everyone feel at home.
The wine list had reasonable bottles and a good selection (Pennsylvania's finally catching up in this regard). Oh, and the low-end chianti came in a basket. Prices seemed reasonable even after ten years of substantial inflation. Service was friendly. The dining room wasn't too noisy--no forced chain-restaurant background soundtrack. Just a nice neighborhood restaurant that escaped from the 'hood.
Sometimes it's nice to go home every now and then. -
Review from Vanessa W.
Bethlehem, PA
12/12/2007
Louie's has been an Allentown institution for decades, so why, I a local yocal never made it over there I'll never know. I recently visited them at their new location. All I can say is phenomenal. From the soups, to the salad, to the entrees to dessert everything was absolutely outstanding. The sauce was nice - nothing overdone like you commonly find at other Italian restaurants. It's BYOB and prices are reasonable making it a great night out. Two thumbs way way up. I'll be back!
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Review from Katie S.
Allentown, PA
2/4/2011
I love louie's pizza, salad and sandwiches. The pasta, however, is so bland. I am the kind of girl who rarely meets a carb she doesn't like, but Louie's has some of the few. Not the best Italian in the valley.
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Review from Ethan A.
Allentown, PA
8/16/2009
I have only ever been to Louie's for lunch. Which means I've only ever had the buffet. I can tell you that it's worth every penny, though. Everything is very fresh, very simply prepared. There's no overthinking here, just good, simple, Italian food, like I think my Italian grandmother would have made, had I had an Italian grandmother. Unexpected favorites include: their potato salad, made with a little mayo and nicely savory spiced, not mustard and Miracle Whip; and their roasted chicken, really simply herbed and roasted until it's falling off the bone, just like it should be. Throw ravioli and sausage and peppers on top and you can't lose for lunch.
-
Review from Eric C.
Englewood, CO
1/31/2010
I was at Louie's many years ago when it was still on 12th street and the food was great. At the time you could tell the food had been made from raw ingredients.
I finally had a chance to try the new Louie's and was rather disappointed. I ordered the chicken parm. and I could tell the chicken was a frozen breaded perfectly round portion. I suspect it was a standard SYSCO item and although it was not bad it tasted like your average local diner fair.
In addition I could see their pre-purchased deep dish pizza crusts in the kitchen and unless they shrink wrap their crusts after they make them I suspect they arrived frozen from some institutional baker. Finally I watched one of their pizza's come out of their so-called wood burning pizza oven. Well the oven was a small electric Blodgett. Nothing wrong with it, but they should advertise honestly.
The positives are the staff is very nice, however I don't plan on going back. There are way too many authentic Italian restaurants in the Lehigh Valley.
