Restaurant Review: Jano's Italian Pizza Kitchen

Restaurant: Jano's Italian Pizza Kitchen
Address: 31 Brookline Blvd., Havertown, PA 19083 
Rating (3 out of 5 stars): ★★★
Food: Good
Atmosphere: Neighborhood pizza shop
Parking: Relatively easy street parking and lot nearby
Service: Casual and accommodating
Price Range: Inexpensive
Unique Feature: Fantastic selection of beer including local microbrews.

Jano's Italian Pizza Kitchen in Havertown is your typical neighborhood pizza shop with a large screen TV blasting ESPN, cavernous booths, friendly service and high counters. What is most compelling about the shop though is the ridiculous selection of beer.

In a state where rigorous liquor laws make buying a six-pack of beer much more difficult than it needs to be, I am always on the look out for places to buy beer a la carte rather than by the case. Some pizza shops are legally allowed to sell beer but it’s usually mostly domestic brews or great beers priced at a premium.

Jano's Italian Pizza Kitchen has a wonderful selection of local microbrews, old favorites and everything in between at reasonable prices. Since I went in on a weekday afternoon I didn’t think it was wise to enjoy an alcoholic beverage but now I know where to go for a six pack.

Onto the main event—the food was good. I oscillated between the cheesesteak and spinach calzone but I ended up going for Popeye’s favorite. The calzone was enormous. Cut into four gigantic pieces, the half moon of dough, spinach, mozzarella and ricotta emerged from the oven steaming hot with a delightfully crisp exterior and pillowy soft interior. The excellent staff brought out a small tub of warm tomato sauce.

Though the calzone was delicious enough on it own, a dip in the tomato bath made it even better. I actually kept eating the calzone even though I was full because it was so tasty.

The salad I ordered with thousand island on the side was remarkably fresh. The tomatoes, cucumber slices, red onion and green bell peppers sat atop a mountain of crisp iceberg lettuce.

The salad was large enough to be shared between two or could easily be a meal for one if topped with grilled chicken or tuna salad. The dressing was too sweet for my taste. Yes, I realize thousand island dressing is sweet by nature but all I could taste in this version was sugar. It did have a nice chunky consistency though.

The service was great. I was offered a newspaper when one of the staffers saw that I was dining alone.

I already mentioned the tomato sauce which had been warmed and my leftovers were neatly and promptly wrapped to go. I also appreciated that I got to enjoy my food before having to pay for it. Next time I visit, I’ll go in the evening and get that cheesesteak and one of my favorite beers. 

Click here for the Jano's Italian Pizza Kitchen website.