Any restaurant that goes through a half-wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano—that’s 40 pounds of cheese—every two weeks is a restaurant worth returning to again and again in my dining guide. In the case of Easton’s Bar Torino, that’s exactly what owner Marc Devlin intended.
“A nice neighborhood restaurant,” is what he set out to create, he says, and this wine-bar-concept eatery hits that mark in spades. Its approachable, quality fare and unique, name-dropping beer, wine and cocktails at affordable prices mean frequent visits with friends and family won’t require a constitutional amendment to balance a budget.
Bar Torino opened in May about a block and a half from the city’s Centre Square in the first floor of the five-floor Seville Apartments building. The spare contemporary décor feels especially appropriate—like a blank canvas onto which the energy of conversation and conviviality will paint the color of life.
The clean lines of the Pennsylvania ash wood bar back, ash wood tables with black chairs and the stained, polished concrete floor set an industrial-style, minimalistic tone. Brilliant color punctuates neutral walls in a few bold, modern Bar Torino posters. In the center, a pizza oven—surrounded by a terra-cotta bar that invites watching the pie-making action—hints at one of the restaurant’s specialties. Sidewalk tables invite al fresco dining, underlining the urbane urban vibe.
Alison Conklin Photography
Minimalism follows in the menu, which features less than two dozen selections. Based on small plates, charcuterie and artisan pizza, the contemporary cuisine with a twist shows European influence. It’s perfect “gathering place” fare. Who says “no” to spending an evening with friends gathered around a pizza?
Chef consultant Lisandro Pucciariello, from Argentina, comes to Bar Torino with broad experience in different cuisines. After growing up eating a lot of Spanish dishes made by his grandmother, he worked at Jean-Georges in New York City and a Four Seasons restaurant and Peruvian-Japanese restaurant, both in Europe.
Quality of ingredients is “paramount to who we are,” says Devlin. That’s obvious from Bar Torino’s use of the preeminent Italian Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano. The pizza, too—made with the best flour and tomatoes available, says Devlin—proves the restaurant’s commitment to quality ingredients.
Pucciariello and Devlin spent a lot of time developing the pizza crust, finally discovering the sweet spot for fermenting the dough at 48–72 hours. After much research, Devlin settled on the Italian Pavesi hearth from Modena, Italy, that sits at the restaurant’s center. The gas-fired oven with its rotating deck reaches 625 degrees Fahrenheit.
White pizza features porcini powder, oyster mushrooms, tender hon shimeji mushrooms and ricotta on a super-crispy crust. It’s earthy, smoky flavor notes overflow with umami. Fresh mozzarella adds lovely creaminess to arugula pizza and its fresh marinara sauce. The arugula’s texture is lovely contrast in this pie, topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano and finished with olive oil.
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Must-try pies on future visits include the Veg (fresh tomato, broccoli rabe, avocado and basil) and Potato (ricotta, Yukon Gold potatoes, truffled mortadella and rosemary). Also on the list is Bushwick pizza—fresh tomato, mozzarella, speck, jalapeño, hot honey and basil—developed in homage to Roberta’s, the famous Bushwick, Brooklyn pizzeria.
Small plates are every bit as worthy as pizza for noshing with a gathering of friends. Bar Torino’s asparagus is a great way to get a delectable daily dose of antioxidants. The al dente spears, served in citrus cream sauce and topped with shaved purple asparagus vinaigrette, tart pickled shallots and chives, are a delight. A final touch of frizzled shallots adds crispiness galore.
Sun-dried tomato tartare is a meal unto itself. Long pieces of rich, dense, house-made focaccia feature a savory tartare of sun-dried tomatoes—made with black olives, truffle oil, Dijon mustard and egg yolk. Stracciatella, a combination of fresh cream and mozza-rella shreds, brings creamy neutral balance to the tartare’s complexity.
Catalonia Spain’s romesco sauce serves as a robust flavor base for a pair of Yukon Gold potato croquettes with Manchego cheese and cilantro aioli. Smoky flavor notes from paper-thin slices of speck on top are a perfect flavor foil.
Pork Milanese is a revelation. A pork chop pounded, and pounded again—so thin you could probably see through it if it weren’t coated in panko—then pan fried in guanciale fat is über-crispy, yet tender inside. Fennel salad on top is a stunner: crunchy with fresh dill, mint and capers; its textural counterpoint to the pork is brilliant. A side of chimichurri adds a bounty of complex taste.
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A dish of meatballs, neighborly comfort fare, for sure, makes an especially appropriate menu staple for Bar Torino. The mix of 60 percent pork shoulder and 40 percent beef with sourdough bread yields moist and tender, meaty balls with funky flavor notes from sharp provolone cheese. Served in from-scratch marinara, these meatballs “have a following,” Devlin says, and I understand why. I would follow these meatballs anywhere.
As a wine-bar-concept restaurant, wine is, of course, an important part of Bar Torino’s modus operandi. In fact, the restaurant’s name comes from Devlin’s favorite wine region in Italy: Turin, the capital of Piedmont, known as Torino by those who live there.
The restaurant serves wines from smaller-production boutique wineries, wines from around the world that you can’t grab off the shelf at a Pennsylvania state store. Ninety percent are organic or biodynamic, and the wines change every six weeks or so. Devlin, who’s been in the wine business for three decades, says he is “pushing [wine drinkers] out of their comfort zones.”
Boutique beer is available as well. Four taps featuring beer from breweries in the U.S. northeastern states change weekly; one tap is always dedicated to a Vermont brewery. Devlin says when a tap featured Vermont’s Hill Farmstead Brewery beer, a customer drove two hours to taste it, after seeing an Instagram post about the restaurant serving it.
House-made cocktails, and classics, feature boutique alcohols, says bar manager James Coleman. Attention to the details of quality ingredients is evident in the bar program, for example, in the use of freshly squeezed juices and Maldon salt on the rims of margaritas.
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A refreshing Bar Torino prosecco spritzer—with gentian amaro, fresh lemon juice, house-made honey syrup and club soda—sparkles like a ruby in a garden with its fresh thyme and mint garnishes. Fernet-Branca and Cynar with fresh-squeezed lemon juice, Angostura bitters and Tempranillo make up Johnny the Baptist, but it’s the touch of Coleman’s Coca-Cola reduction and its deep syrupy sweetness that brings a flavor layer of mystery to this drink.
The classic New York Sour—with bourbon, egg white, fresh lemon juice and house-made simple syrup—becomes a study in color with its layer of Montepulciano floating between the lemon-colored base and a thin layer of froth on top.
A great addition to any neighborhood, Bar Torino’s bottle shop sells bottles of beer and wine to go, and Devlin plans to add wine education events and wine dinners to the restaurant’s offerings.
There’s something especially inviting about a neighborhood bar, a gathering place “where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came,” as Gary Portnoy sang in the theme song of the late 1980s sitcom Cheers. That’s the vibe I felt at Bar Torino.
Add in the good food and the unique and interesting wine, beer and cocktails, and that’s why customers are visiting the restaurant two to three times a week. As Devlin says: “Everyone leaves happy and that makes me feel good.”
As well it should.
Alison Conklin Photography
Bar Torino
56 N. 3rd St., Easton | 610.438.4460 | bar-torino.com
HOURS
Tues.–Thurs.: 4:30–9:30 p.m.
Fri. & Sat.: 11:00 a.m.–midnight (pizza until 11 p.m.)
Sun.: 4:30–9:30 p.m.
Cost: Small plates: $10–$14
Pizza: $18–$22
Parking: On street; one-minute walk from N. 4th Street parking garage
Reservations: Accepted only for groups of six or more
WHAT TO ORDER
Pizza! Any and all. But start with the arugula pizza, and get veggies with your carbs. The meatballs. Do. Not. Miss. The. Meatballs. You’ll follow them anywhere, too. New York Sour: the balance of rich bourbon and tangy citrus is perfect.
Published as “Inside Dish” in the October 2024 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
