Eating In Or Taking Out,

The Pizza Palace Is A Newtown Favorite

Whether in the mood for anything from a burger to prime rib, or maybe soup and a sandwich, or a pizza, most dining desires can be satisfied at Newtown Pizza Palace and Restaurant on Church Hill Road opposite Commerce Road. A fixture in Newtown for 46 years, it has been owned and operated by brothers John and James “Jimmy” Antonopoulos for 24 years, and is a family restaurant in every sense of the word.

Family friendly and affordable, either John or Jimmy or one of their wives, Vassi and Effie, respectively, is on premises at all times. When their now-grown children (John and Vassi have three, Jimmy and Effie, two) were in school, they also helped out, serving, cooking and busing tables. And the Pizza Palace has longevity of staff — several have been with the Antonopoulos brothers from the beginning, many others have been around for more than a decade — and tremendous customer loyalty. Customers commonly walk in seeking out their favorite server

The 97-seat restaurant is open seven days a week from 11 am to 11 pm. Customers can sit in comfortable wooden booths, which provide a degree of privacy, or call or fax ahead for takeout. The full menu is available for takeout and can be found online at NewtownPizzaPalace.com. Many of the items are pictured as well. Or customers  can walk in, order and wait on one of the padded benches by the front door, which affords a view of the pizza-making process. All of the dough and sauces are fresh daily on premises and thin crust or white pizza is available for the asking.

For those who enjoy pizza regularly, the restaurant offers a “buy five, get one free” coupon. The Pizza Palace also offers catering services for parties large and small.

The varied menu offers such perennial favorites grilled cheese sandwiches, southern fried chicken and chicken parmigiana as well as Greek specialties like gyros, moussaka, and pasticio — the Antonopoulos  family came to the United States from Greece in 1974. Other choices include omelettes ($3.95–$4.75); salads small and large ($3.95–$9.25); more than a dozen grinders, all priced around $5; two dozen sandwiches ranging from $3.50 to $6.25; a selection of pastas ($7.95–10.95), fresh seafood fried and broiled (from $8.95 for fried clams to $14.95 for the scallops, sole, clams, and shrimp combo platter); and a variety of dinners, which are served with salad and bread and butter.

In addition to the regular dinner offerings such as veal patties ($8.50), eggplant parmigiana ($9.50), and shrimp and chicken scampi ($13.50) — all served with pasta, regular or whole wheat, or potato, fried, baked, or mashed — the Pizza Palace has a large selection of daily specials for both lunch and dinner, leading with a choice of three homemade soups. Dinners can choose between a half-dozen wines and more than a dozen beers to accompany their meals.

Lunch specials, which can number up to 40 on any given day, include a cup of soup, french fries, and a small soda. A like number of dinner specials come with soup, salad, potato (unless served with pasta), vegetable, and hot bread. For those who prefer it, a second vegetable serving can be substituted for the potato. Some of the specials are also tailored for those on various diets.

Lunch specials include such items as grilled chicken sandwich ($4.75), meatloaf ($6.50), sausage rostica ($7.50), and cavatelli with broccoli and garlic ($6.75). Among the dinner specials were breaded or broiled pork chops ($9.95), chicken Florentine ($12.95), brook trout ($10.95), and veal and peppers ($9.50). The Pizza Palace offers delivery of lunch only to local businesses.

And John and Jimmy remind customers, “If you don’t see what you want on the menu, ask for it; if we have the ingredients, we’ll make it for you.”

The Newtown Pizza Palace and Restaurant, 65 Church Hill Road, is open 11 to 11 seven days a week and accepts all major credit cards; phone, 426-6114; fax, 426-9388; NewtownPizzaPalace.com.