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You don't necessarily expect to find an Italian-American restaurant sharing an address with a bowling center. But that's part of the story at Stefano's, on Chestnut Ridge Road in Morgantown, where brothers Jerry and Gregg Lorenze have built a family-owned restaurant around a straightforward idea: good Italian traditions deserve a place at the table.
You can see that philosophy in the pasta. Stefano's makes its pasta and gnocchi in-house from durum flour, and the ricotta gnocchi brings that handmade tradition together with the family's own meat sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano. It's a simple combination, rooted in the kind of cooking that doesn't need much explaining.
The same family sauce finds its way onto the house meatball, stuffed with fresh mozzarella. It's another dish that connects the menu to the people behind it, with a familiar Italian-American combination at its heart.
Then there's the Chilean sea bass, served over asparagus and lobster risotto, with house-made lobster broth and crisp parsnips. It's a different direction from the pasta and meat sauce, showing another side of the menu without losing the thread that runs through the restaurant.
In a college town where the scenery changes with every new semester, Stefano's has a more enduring focus: family ownership, handmade pasta, and recipes that carry the family name. Sometimes a restaurant's character isn't found in a grand story. It's found in the things it chooses to make, and the traditions it keeps at the table.
Menu Highlights
- THE Meatball: House-recipe meatball stuffed with fresh mozzarella and topped with the family meat sauce. The most consistently praised item.
- Chilean Sea Bass with Lobster: Seared sea bass over asparagus and lobster risotto with house-made lobster broth and parsnip crisps.
- Ricotta Gnocchi: Made in-house, finished with the family meat sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Often ordered with the stuffed meatball.