Bites Near Us: Lo Bello’s Spaghetti House

Lo Bello’s Spaghetti House is old school Italian dining at its finest. And owner Rose Lo Bello may as well be the Italian grandmother you never had. She’s personable and friendly and she does it all – she’s the cook, the server, the dishwasher, and most importantly the face of the restaurant. When she’s not cooking, she’s walking around the restaurant talking to her customers and telling stories of years past.

Located on Fifth Avenue in Coraopolis, the restaurant seems to be a time capsule. The wooden booths show generations of customers who carved their names into history. The restaurant is quaint and quiet. Black and white pictures hang throughout the eatery, giving the dining experience an old-world Italian feel.

Lo Bello’s has been open since 1944 and not much has changed since. The homemade pasta and sauce have stayed the same over the past half century. There is only one server, the menu is simple and the made-from-scratch food is delicious.

Everything on the menu is good. The best-selling favorites include the ravioli, which comes in meat or cheese versions in tomato sauce, and gnocchi, both $10.95 for a small order and $12.95 for a large. The fettuccini and melt-in-your-mouth lasagna are also customer favorites.

Dinners are accompanied with a basket of bread and butter as well as an iceberg and tomato salad, topped with Rose’s homemade Italian dressing.

The menu also offers pasta figioli soup, hot sausage and meatball sandwiches, and spaghetti, springs, rigatoni, angel hair, meatball and fish dinners, all ranging in price from $7.95 to $10.95. Be sure to save room for the dessert of the day, priced at $3.95.

Lo Bello’s was featured on The Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri in 2009.

The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday from 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.