DiAnoia’s is one of Pittsburgh’s newest restaurants, and since their opening in November of 2016, they have become one of the most popular as well.
The owners, Chef Dave Anoia, and his wife Aimee DiAndrea modeled the restaurant after the casual dining scene in Italy. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and on Sundays they offer brunch. Their daytime menu emulates the cafes one would see everywhere in Italy.
“We also pulled in influences from both our home towns. I grew up on Long Island and when I moved to Pittsburgh the thing I missed most were the Italian delis and the egg sandwiches. Dave's hometown is Lebanon, PA and growing up, they always ate old world pizza, which is the style of our pizza here at DiAnoia's. Dinner service here is still casual but we shift to full table service and we take reservations. We make all our dishes from scratch in house, so we make all of our bread, pastries, pastas, etc,” said Aimee.
I had my first (certainly of many) DiAnoia’s experience rather recently. Their online reservations system was easy to use, and we were seated immediately. Our server Brandi was very kind, and patiently helped me select a wine from their list based on my taste.
We had the roasted asparagus which came with provola, bagna cauda, hard boiled duck egg, and crispy proscuitto. The buttery sauce offered a melt in your mouth taste, while the crispy prosciutto balanced that with a crunchier texture. It was complicated, but in the best way.
For my entrée, I of course had to try the coveted gnocci breadbowl. It was rich and creamy, and because the potato gnocchi is so rich, the Sorrentina Style with light tomato and mozzarella was the perfect balance. This dish was made for the restaurant goer that loves leftovers. There is just so much of it that it was my breakfast, lunch and dinner the following day.
Through the entire dining experience, our server Brandi remained tirelessly helpful with the menu, and offered us wonderful casual conversation following the meal. Amiee herself even stopped over to see if we were enjoying everything.
The price point is truly great for the authenticity of the food, and you can’t beat the experience. With most dishes ringing in between $15 and $20, you can spend the same for a trip to Olive Garden.
This truly was one of the most pleasant dining experiences I’ve had since living in Pittsburgh, and I’m so excited to see what new growth this brings for DiAnoia’s.
They said, “As new first time business owners, I don't think we could see ourselves being able to do this in any other city. The affordability of being able to open a business here made it possible.”
The two are hoping to expand their horizons with their current Strip District location.
“We have been in talks about expanding in our current space in the Strip, [perhaps] expanding to the rear of the building with our pizza. We currently are limited to the times we can offer our pizza and we definitely hear that people want more, so we are exploring that right now. We also want to expand our catering and event offerings.”
We are so excited to see what the future holds for this new business. It is well worth it.