Restaurant Review: Melt

Name: Melt

Location: 2880 Center Valley Parkway

Center Valley, PA 18034-9034

(610) 798-9000

Hours: Monday- Thursday 11am- 11pm

Friday- Saturday 11am- Midnight

Sunday: 11am- 10pm

Atmosphere: Melt can be described with one word; cozy. Dim lighting, flickering candles and plush spacious booths all combine together to create both a chic and warm dining environment. The restaurant is two floors and the third floor is available to rent for private parties and events. Inside the front door is one of three good-sized bars and just behind it is the main dining room, which is lit from above by a gigantic candle-like chandelier. A large staircase leads up to the second level of the restaurant which houses plenty more tables, a private dining room and the second bar.

Score- 5

Service: Immediately after being seated on the second floor of the restaurant, our waitress greeted us and tended to our drink orders. She explained the menu, spoke about the night’s specials and also made some suggestions based on her personal preference. She was friendly and knowledgeable and answered all of our questions with ease. When it came time to place our orders she was more than accommodating. I was skeptical of trying pizza but she reassured me by promising that if I didn’t like it, she would bring me something else. She also allowed some replacements and substitutions with other dishes ordered at the table. In general, our waitress was attentive yet not annoying and more than willing to grant any request we may have had.

Score- 5

Food: Melt is primarily an Italian restaurant and the menu obviously reflects this. The meal begins with olive oil and a fresh basket of bread filled with multi-grain slices, olive bread and white bread. The menu offers crostinis, appetizers, salads, pizzas, pasta, house specials and sides that can be ordered a la carte. Appetizers include dishes such as beef carpaccio, tuna tartar, calamari and mussels. The pasta portion of the menu is lengthy offering spaghetti carbonnara, rigatoni with sausage, fettuccine Bolognese and pappardelle. House specials vary depending on the night but include dishes like chicken parmesan, tuna steak, halibut, lamb chops and filet mignon.

I chose the arugula salad with shaved parmesan and a lemon and white wine dressing to start followed by the pugliese pizza (broccoli rabe, sun-dried tomatoes and sausage). The salad was simple yet very refreshing; however, the starter was practically big enough to be an entrée, keep that in mind when ordering. My pizza was just okay. The crust was tasteless, the toppings dry and the flavors blah. I definitely won’t get pizza next time; thank goodness my salad was so oversized.

The rest of the dishes at the table were a hit. The rigatoni was flavor packed and served steaming hot with an abundance of sausage and creamy tomato and red pepper sauce. The chicken involtino, boneless chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto, spinach and fontina cheese, was tender and flavorful but, like the salad, was too big of a portion of food to finish.

Score-4

Pricing: Melt has a very reasonable price tag for the amount of food and the quality of food you will receive. Appetizers range from $8 to $18, pastas cash in at around $19 and entrees range from $19 to $40. For one person, a drink, salad and entrée will cost you around $30. The atmosphere, the service and the quality of food make the moderate price well worth it. This restaurant appears as if it would cost a small fortune but the prices are a sweet surprise!