The 5 Best Italian Restaurants Around Steubenville

A great plate of pasta tells a story that stretches back centuries. From the rustic kitchens of southern Italy to family dinner tables across America, recipes built around tomatoes, olive oil, fresh herbs and carefully prepared sauces have become enduring favorites. In the Ohio Valley, generations of Italian-American families have helped establish a dining tradition that includes homemade spaghetti, baked lasagna, regional pizza and classic seafood dishes. The Best of the Best Reader's Choice Awards recognizes the local restaurants that make the most of this rich culinary heritage, where familiar recipes and distinctive preparations continue to bring people together.

Naples Spaghetti House

Naples Spaghetti House brings traditional Italian-American cooking to Steubenville, Ohio, with a menu built around pasta, sauces and familiar family-style dishes. Diners can choose from vermicelli, angel hair, rigatoni, gnocchi, ravioli and fettuccine, pairing their selections with tomato, marinara, meat or mushroom sauce. The restaurant also serves baked homemade lasagna, ricotta-stuffed shells, eggplant parmigiana and an Italian platter combining rigatoni, ravioli and gnocchi. Appetizers include fried cheese ravioli, stuffed hot banana peppers and breaded zucchini, while salads offer additional choices. Naples supplements its regular menu with rotating lunch and monthly specials, featuring preparations such as pasta purses with cream sauces and stuffed shells. Customers can dine in or order meals for pickup.

Mario's Restaurant And Lounge

Mario's Restaurant and Lounge traces its roots to 1955, when Mario DiCarlo brought his pizza-making experience to Weirton, West Virginia. He expanded into the restaurant business in 1970, establishing a family enterprise that now continues under his son, Dan DiCarlo, and daughter, Vivian Pagley. The menu combines traditional Italian dishes with the family's DiCarlo's pizza, offering homemade spaghetti, imported pasta, ravioli, fettuccine Alfredo and linguine with clam sauce. Entrées include chicken, eggplant and veal parmigiana, along with seafood pasta prepared with shrimp, mussels and scallops. Customers can also enjoy stuffed hot banana peppers, Italian sandwiches and desserts such as cannoli and tiramisu. Beyond its dining room, Mario's operates a lounge serving wine, beer and cocktails, while its carryout window and catering services provide additional ways to enjoy the family's cooking.

Pastaio Cucina Rustica Italiana

Pastaio Cucina Rustica Italiana brings Sicilian culinary traditions to Wintersville, Ohio, through the cooking of chef Giuseppe DiGristina. Drawing on his Sicilian heritage, DiGristina emphasizes fresh, local ingredients, house-made pasta and recipes inspired by Italian family kitchens. The restaurant's featured dishes include Sicilian arancini, golden risotto croquettes filled with meat, cheese and peas and served with marinara sauce. Its mafalde al sugo di carne pairs wide, ruffled pasta with a slow-simmered sauce combining veal, pork and beef. Another specialty, tortellini Benigni, features four-cheese tortellini with Italian sausage, peas, pancetta and sage cream sauce. Tiramisu made with espresso-soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone rounds out the experience. Pastaio also offers a chef's table, private event spaces and catering for special occasions.

Giovanni's

Giovanni's has served Weirton, West Virginia, since 1974, maintaining a family-owned restaurant built around recipes developed by its founder. The restaurant draws inspiration from Giovanni's hometown of Bagnoli del Trigno in southern Italy, particularly in the preparation of sauces made in-house daily. Traditional pasta dishes anchor the menu, with rotating specials that include all-you-can-eat spaghetti and rigatoni, homemade lasagna, hand-breaded chicken and beer-battered cod. Customers can dine in, order carryout or purchase quarts of the restaurant's homemade sauces to enjoy at home. Giovanni's also provides catering for business meetings, family gatherings and wedding celebrations. Its banquet hall accommodates groups of 20 to 80 people, while a separate private dining room serves smaller parties.

La Cucina Italian Grill

La Cucina Italian Grill is a family-owned restaurant in Weirton, West Virginia, specializing in traditional Italian dishes prepared with fresh ingredients. Its menu spans homemade potato gnocchi, cavatelli, lasagna, pappardelle with beef sauce and linguine pescatore featuring shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari. The kitchen also prepares Sicilian caponata with roasted eggplant, olives and capers, along with arancini, stuffed meatballs and eggplant meatballs served in basil sauce. Pizza selections range from traditional Margherita to white pies topped with mushrooms, prosciutto or four cheeses. Seafood, chicken and veal entrées provide additional choices, while cannoli, tiramisu and other Italian desserts complete the meal. La Cucina also offers gluten-free pasta, catering, carryout and a selection of wines and beers.

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