We visited this little joint last Friday evening. We were lucky enough to get a booth before the crowd came in. We ordered two beers, split an antipasta salad, tried the infamous thin crust pizza, and finished with a slice of peanut butter pie! The atmosphere is just a small, old bar. Don't come here on a first date! Much "prettier" atmospheres downtown. Not a "cafe" -per say! The salad was fresh and the house dressing was a typical Italian. My husband raved over the pizza. He's from the coal region and a pure bred Italian who knows and loves his thin crust pizza. He agrees with the majority that it is the best pizza in the city. I, on the other hand, wasn't quite as impressed. The pizza was very tasty, don't get me wrong, but it was so tiny! Ok, ok, I am a Sicilian fan so I'm biased, but when my pizza was gone I was still hungry! My husband half joked about ordering another one. The crust was very thin and buttery, the sauce was just right, and the provolone cheese was a unique touch, so overall, it was nice! Maybe it's just me, but when I buy a pizza, I expect to be full. This is a personal pan, bar pizza, so if you're hungry, order the salad first! The peanut butter pie was very good, smooth, cool..mmm! We even brought a slice home for the sitter. Overall, yes, the pizza is great! The atmosphere is just an old bar, and the prices are a little salty for central PA. For two of us (2 beers, 1 salad, 2 pizza, 2 slices of pie, and the babysitters pie), we spent about $50. I confess, I could have downed another personal pan, it was cheat night after all! Of course we'll be back, the hubby loved it and it was different from the regular pizza around here. read more

The only reason really that this wonderful little spot doesn't get five stars would be due to the fact that they often seem to run out of lasagna before I arrive! But that is testimony to the fact that cooking here is done in smaller batches, everything is handmade and damn good! I've never been one to order something as plebeian as spaghetti and meatballs anywhere ever, yet I find myself doing so here time and again, because it is just that delicious. They've been rated best local pizza for many years, and I can attest to the scrumptious wonder of their thin crust and unique take on sauce placement (it's on top of the cheese)...please order the meatball pizza -- it's simply outstanding. Drinks are great...they offer fish bowls of beer, something you don't see very often anymore, and mixed drinks are made old-man-style: strong! Decor is reminiscent of a 50's diner, casual yet special. The staff is warm and welcoming and they take pains to remember your name after a few visits, a rare and delightful touch these days. You'll often hear Sinatra playing in the background. Great date spot, great neighborhood location. Enjoy this local tradition! read more

First-timer. Came for the pizza. Tickled pink by the look and feel of the place. Excellent service at lunchtime, even when the place was packed. Felt welcomed. Got a fishbowl of lager, to boot. Fabulous. Would spring for toppings next time. Crust was to die for; plain pie didn't have enough pizazz for me. Will be back. read more

ATMOSPHERE: Unchanged since the 1950s which is neat at first but once you look around you realize how DIRTY this place is inside. All the lights and shelves have tons of dust and dirt on them, gross. PROS: If you are vegetarian, NONE. Prices seem fair. CONS: Besides being dirty, the all-female wait staff was rude and slow. There are almost no vegetarian options on the menu as they put meat in everything, including the pizza sauce. My "house salad" was pathetic and horrible but was the only thing on the menu I could eat. WILL I GO BACK: Absolutely not. Note to all vegetarians: avoid this place like the plague! read more

Came back to try the pizza, can't say I was overly impressed. It is different than most other pizza I've had, but not really my style I guess. It was a small personal sized pie with a sweet sauce on top, and a thin crust underneath. I like the place, it definitely has character and I recommend trying it out! read more

Awesome awesome awesome!!!!!! So great! Every time I go here I get double cheese, black olives and bacon! So amazing! I haven't had many other menu items besides their chicken tenders and calamari. Their calamari was hand rolled, so good! read more

Subway Cafe - My order double cheese black olives and bacon - Pizza Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

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The best pizza, lasagne, antipasto salad, peanut butter pie, and iconic bartender, Scotty!! Ate at Baltimore Little Italy-Chiaparelli's recently, found myself wishing their sauce was as good as the Subway Cafe's!! We've been coming here for 35 years! Gotta have a "fishie bowl" while you're here too!! read more

Subway Cafe - You just can't beat this place! Best pizza, lasagna, antipasto salad, peanut butter pie, and iconic bartender, Scottie!! - Pizza Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Great spot for a quiet bite to eat. Staff are very friendly and quick. Definitely recommend for people who want to be regulars!

Went in to have lunch for the first time after hearing about how good the pizza is. Excellent! The pizzas are personal size, have a unique crispyt crust, and are delicious. I also got a side of the special of the day soup, which was hamburger macaroni. Added a touch of tabasco as suggested...delicious. The service is top notch. Very friendly and welcoming. Not sure if I'd say it's the best pizza I've ever had in my life, but it's pretty darn good...and different. read more

I knew this was going to be good when we pulled into the parking lot. The vintage neon sign in good repair, the glass block near the entrance on the corner and the metal awnings, how could this not be Shangri-la just east of downtown Harrisburg? I almost didn't want to go inside. There is something to be said for stopping and savoring the moment before knowing - the moment when the possibilities are endless and undefined. But you can't live there forever and through the door I went. I'm not sure how to explain the interior. Imagine your favorite uncle sent back in time to the late 1950s or the early 1960s. Imagine him working at someplace like IBM and getting a nice bonus and deciding that he wants to turn the unfinished basement in his post-war ranch into a happening hangout for him and his friends. So he paints the walls a light green, maybe does a mural and definitely sets up a mirrored bar along one wall. And how could I forget the funky light fixtures from the dropped ceiling? The Subway Cafe serves food - thin crust personal pizzas, lasagna and mysteriously named specialty cocktails that I've learned to ask in advance regarding the ingredients - but it's the atmosphere that really makes this place. It has been underwater, twice, according to markings on the wall from previous storms. And so have some of its patrons after a couple of fishbowls of beer. read more

Easy to pass by this spot, but it is worth looking past the exterior and stopping in. The pizza is good and the staff is friendly. I haven't tried the drinks there, but a "fishbowl" sounds interesting. Check out their menu here - http://midtowneats.com/subway-cafe/ read more

Wonderful all around! Perfect pizza and delicious homemade lasagna. Pizzas are perfect personal size with tons of options and the crust is perfect...thin and crispy!!!! My family and I will be making this a regular spot for pizza & Italian. Great peanut butter pie too. read more

Homemade italian, and you can tell it's all fresh. Everything I've had here has been excellent. The house made dressing on their salads is tasty, fresh pasta is always good, and I can't resist their "single serving" pizzas. The eclair is especially tasty as well, but I am usually too full and have to box it up for home. If I'm not splitting pizzas with a friend, I'll order whatever the special is and I have yet to be disappointed. The best part about the place is the price, everything is cheap and tasty. Win in my book! The only downside is it can get pretty tight in there, so bigger groups might be hard to accommodate (comfortably, at least). read more

What a gem! Little hole in the wall. We've been eating here forever. Established in 1948 by an Italian couple right off the boat. Best pizza AROUND. read more

Subway Cafe - Sausage and cheese pizza EXCELLENT - Pizza Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

I took my picky eater son here yesterday, and we loved it! Pizza was great, server was great. The building doesn't look like much on the outside, but I like a good "dive". We were there on a Saturday afternoon, soon after they opened at 4. The service was prompt and friendly. read more

The pizza was very yummy and the fishbowl beers were super fun!

Super pizza! This is kind of a dive bar, and I mean that in the best possible way. 32 oz "fishbowl" beers and some damn good pizza. The pizzas are small, almost personal size. They must have a wood fire oven because the pizzas are slightly charred around the edges which I personally love. Calamari & cheddar poppers were average at best but pizza & overall value easily made up for that. Going back for sure. read more

The owners of the story, are our close friends. They are amazing and they are always welcoming with all customers. Since the restaurant offers alcohol, they always watch out who comes in and they are controlling, for the safety of the rest of the costumers. The food is AMAZING. Everything is clean and they have vegetarian options. Totally recommend that place. read more

I came with a large group for a HBG Ugh one Monday. Place wasn't overly crowded but seeing that it is fairly small and cramped inside, finding a table for a large group was downright impossible - we had to split between the I think one larger round table in the place and two booths. But I won't knock them for that. The staff didn't really handle that well - in fact it terribly confused them to a point where they didn't know where checks / food went. When we came in, we organized the tables and sat people while they stood their staring blankly at us. I was told the pizza was good, but I wasn't in the mood for it after eating some not so great pizza the night before. Plus I'm not a huge fan of sauce on top pizza. So I went with another "specialty", the ravioli with meat sauce. I think I ate 3 little raviolis before I decided that it really wasn't worth the total hatred I would have of myself if I ate anymore of it. First, for a little over 7 dollars, I got maybe 10-ish ravilolis on a dinner plate with a meager amount of sauce - I won't call it meat sauce because I think I saw two pieces of meat in it. The ravioli was chewy (like rubbery....if you have had bad pasta you know what I mean) and the cheese inside was a)nearly non-existant b)bland and c)a weird gritty texture - like the texture of cornstarch and water almost. Not good. The sauce was super watery (is that a thing here?) and nothing special - no good spice or taste to it - just tomato sauce. I would have been better off going home and making store bought raviolis - which was much, much better than this place. Only plus was my bread was fairly decent. Still, it was REALLY over priced to me (for pasta), most other Italian places (I'm talking about small, non-chain Italian places but NOT in Harrisburg) give me about 2-3 times the pasta for the price of what this place is - and it's good. I'm just getting the feeling I don't like Italian (ish) in Harrisburg. Maybe I'm wrong. Probably not. I felt service was lacking. I spilled some water and our waitress kind of just threw a towel down while me and another woman dining with us tried to scoop the ice cubes into the trash can. I don't mind cleaning up after myself, and I spill stuff a lot, but it just wasn't the right way to handle it and was a huge hassle for me to get to the trash can while they were trying to serve food. It's kind of just an old bar inside. I'd be okay with it if I felt something read more

This is a small Italian restaurant with a lot of style. They offer smaller thin crust pizzas with 4 slices that are made to order, delicious and cheap. When I visit with a friend we will usually split two pizzas as an appetizer and whatever the daily special is... or get three or four pizzas if you don't plan on getting a main dish. They also offer "fishbowls" of beer if you're feeling particularly thirsty. Small Pizza, Large Beers. A+ in my book. The place is small so I wouldn't recommend going with a group larger than 4 people as seating may be difficult depending on how many people are there. read more

A great little hidden spot outside of Harrisburg. The wife and I enjoy their Chicken/Veal Parmesan not exquisite quality food by any means, but great if you are not wanting to spend 20 bucks a dish for the same thing elsewhere. I will agree that the bowl of beer is something I haven't seen anywhere else around which give this place a little leg up on being set aside from the rest. Fairly small menu and the service for all of it is pretty quick. Servers are pleasant to deal with and answer all our quandaries without getting flustered. I always like seeing the markers on the wall for the different water levels at different times this place has been in business and flooded. read more

This place is a hidden gem in Harrisburg. Central PA has a lot of good pizza shops, but not many bringing anything unique to the table. I haven't had another pizza like this anywhere. Super thin pie-like crust with the sauce on top. If you're looking for something out of the ordinary, come see what's up at the Subway Cafe. read more

This place is a real time capsule, in a good way. If you want to avoid the overprice trendy restaurants on 2nd street, this is the place. Food is good, the sauce-on-top pizza is out of this world. Vegetarians? Move to California, You don't belong in Harrisburg, meat capital of the world. Joking-try the Pizza with just cheese it's sure to please. read more

I heard about this place 24 years ago when I came over from Germany. Which, that alone, sets the tone. Today I gave a friend a ride for his doctor appointment of Union Deposit Road. Afterwards I invited him for lunch. However, the place I drove to existed on the GPS but not in real life. Nothing knew. So I headed towards Harrisburg and had the brain idea to give this place a try. I mean 24 years ago it was great, right? But today, who knows. This place is outstanding. Not only did I have a friendly chat with the owner who's wife is from Germany but the Pizza is what Pizza is supposed to be. Now I know, many believe Pizza is an American invention. If it is then only the different sizes. Pizza in Europe and Italy specifically is never bigger than the size of your plate. It's thin crust unless you are in Sicily which is the inventor of the deep dish pizza. But traditional pizza is not pan and all that. It is thin and loaded. And tasty. This place is it. And it is more fun than eating your usual American Pizza fare. It's the top! read more

Doesn't do any good if you don't post. Most disgusting lunch this past week with filthy cooks cross contaminating food with no gloves and handling raw meat then touching other food. Believe it or not cook observed standing in prep table with shoes to retrieve items from shelf. Sat right outside the kitchen in back booth and saw it all. read more

the star here is their sauce. very good sauce. the pizza is good, different, not NY style but is a very thin cracker like crust. they use provolone, not mozzarella so if you do not like provolone, not the pizza for you. the pasta dishes were ok, veal not the most tender but breaded well. lasagna ok, little bit mushy and not much taste in the cheese per my dinner mate but the sauce fixes everything. this is not great italian food but good food. friendly servers is a plus. if you have a large group, over 4, this is not a good place as the seating arrangement is limited. read more

Everyone has to experience the pizza here atleast once in their lifetime. The pizza is so amazing and unique. The crust is super thin almost like a cracker and the staff is always super friendly. Highly recommend! read more

Love the pizza and fishbowls. We have been going there since the 60's. The owner has a great bartender but seams to have a hawk eye. He has a pencil line on the bar to measure the poured wine . Seams to be strange or maybe a little cheap when there is no problem with the pour ! read more

Had the pizza since I heard it was what they "do" here. It was mediocre. It has a bit of a dinner atmosphere, but I liked that it was cozy. I'd like to return for some of the Italian dishes that I saw walk by on the waitress's arm. Not good for a group, and it's likely going to be busy. Try it out on your own to decide. read more

First trip back in almost 2 years to this Harrisburg landmark. Got in on a Friday morning right before the lunch crowd hit. Service was prompt and accurate. My pizza with anchovies and onions was exactly what I expected, and I devoured it in no time flat. However, my guest was not impressed with her rigatoni and meatballs. She said that the meatballs did not taste homemade and there was too much sauce in her bowl. Also, it was a little slow getting our check, especially after we'd already asked for a doggie bag to take the pasta home. read more

Took in a great lunch here with a mess of friends. They had lasgna on special and it was good. Seating is limited so get there early. The bartender is a riot. The pizza looked amazing and everyone finished theirs before I could get a taste. It's thin crust so keep that in mind. I'd go back in a heart beat. read more

To celebrate a gal pal's birthday, we looked forwarding to chowing down the newly crowned best pizza. Not knocking on the pizza, but to us, it's not the best, not even close to the best pizza in the area. We were so confused. It might be the most unique pizza, due to the unusually thin and crispy dough, but certainly not the best. However, the cafe's humble ambiance and the loyal patrons allowed a special evening nonetheless. read more

Doesn't look like much from the outside, but don't judge this place by that! My wife took me here for lunch recently after a trip to PENNDOT. Very cozy atmosphere, friendly service, reasonable prices, and great food! I suppose it could get cramped in there if it gets really busy, but it's worth it! Definitely recommend this place for those who have never been! read more

Pizza King? Step back from the ledge, people. My faith in the Pennlive foodies was misplaced. The pizza is novel and decent, but not gourmet nor phenomenal--especially at the price of about $11-12 for a small, personal sized pizza. My total bill for two pizzas and a bottled beer was $28 before tip. With every bite, as I reflected how much money I dearly paid for this food, I experienced a terrible psychosomatic gastro-intestinal reaction. I held back from violently retching, which admittedly diminished my enjoyment of the food somewhat. I couldn't help myself as a cost conscious consumer, and yet somehow I willed myself not to gag on each bite. The service was very, very good at 4:30 pm on a slow weekday. A first timer, I felt welcome immediately and the pizzas I ordered came quickly as I drank a Troegs Hopback--one of two non mass-produced beers on the menu (and in bottle at that, not draught), by the way. I ordered two pizzas. Pizza 1 had pepperoni, anchovy, and extra sauce. Pizza B had pepperoni, bacon, sausage, and extra sauce. A pizza snob and former pizza maker in the biz for $13 yrs, I realized suddenly today like never before that cheese on the bottom of the pizza prohibits the cheese from properly cooking, which unleashes cheesy aromatic oils born when high heat meats galactose, casein, bovine growth hormones, and antibiotics. These flavors are enhanced when cheese is browned slightly--you caramelize the galactose and add smokiness and textural crunch. I was surprised the crust wasn't crunchier for being thin. The bottom seemed underdone... wait... seemed? It was slightly underdone. I wonder f they have a conveyor oven, which could, in the hands of an inexperienced cook, will under cook a pizza with extra or cold/frozen toppings or crust if not slid back into the oven a little further at the end. They charge for extra sauce as a full topping. The pepperoni was ok. The anchovies were anchovies. The sausage was spongy, salty, and mostly flavorless. The cheese was not cooked fully. The sauce was very good, but it was a mistake to get extra. Here is why: when you put sauce on top of a pizza, the flavor of the toppings are masked. The magic of a normal pizza is when you can experience different flavors and textures of the toppings which have been deliciously transmutated by high heat... the gooey bubbly cheese which is slightly browned and has a slight patina of a mantel protecting the ooziness... The first thing you taste are the toppings, followed by cheese... and as your teeth break through the mantel, the sauce spurts like lovely red lava onto your tongue, bathing it in acidity, saltiness, and sweetness and aromatic herbs and spices like garlic, basil, and oregano. Finally, your teeth penetrate through the dough, which hopefully is crunchy, crispy, and yet slightly chewy... The bite is masticated in your eager mouth, chew after chew melding the flavors in your little wet mixer, the spatula your tongue, tasting and moving the pizza mash constantly, until you swallow the bite--the flavors once separate, now one, and mighty. You go back for another oral explosion... You don't experience that when the sauce is on top and the cheese is on bottom. You get punched in the mouth with sauce upfront and you can't really taste the cheese or toppings. :yay: Fortunately, the toppings were skimpy and pizzas very tiny, so we were saved from having to eat too much of it. My wife could only eat two and a half pieces of Pizza B before surrendering. I ate all of Pizza A and the rest of Pizza B because I wanted something that tasted like pizza and spent more than an hour of my labor to get it. The pizza, despite my possibly overly harsh review thus far, was "good." It is better than most* chain pizza, but I'd rather have Pizza Hut, Domino's, or Papa Johns at a low, honest price than overpay for just "good" pizza. I agree with the Subway Cafe's advertising their 1940's roots. Food science and restaurant management has progressed since then, as has people's taste in food and beer. Three stars for the pizza. Two stars for the price. Five stars for service. My advice is to go with one or no toppings. If I had done so, I would have given the pizza a better review as the price would have come closer to reality and it would have probably cooked better... but not that much better. But will I go back? Probably not, especially as the beer selection is sub-par and likewise overpriced ($4 for a bottle of Troegs? At $35 for a case, or $1.46 per beer, that's a hefty mark up). However, I cannot speak for you. If you want some "good" pizza at more than double you should pay for it, with some apparently very good service, the Subway Café has your pizza! Go get that thing! Oh, and did I mention how outrageously expensive the pizza is for what you get? If not, I apologize. It costs a lot for average quality skimpily portioned toppings *Uno's is one example of a better tasting chain pizza. read more

Good pizza, good specials. Friendly service. Best dive in Harrisburg.

Wouldn't know it existed if I didn't get a job a 1/2 a block away. Cool little place to hangout with a couple people. It's pretty small so not a place to go with more than a group of 4. Pizza is different (thin and crispy) but I kinda like it. Used to stop before HYP kickball games to get extra strong Jack & Gingers. That bar tender has since moved onto another job and the new bartender (older guy) just doesn't make them like she used to. Decent place, but lost the WOW factor when they pumped the brakes on the spirits. read more

Best pizza ever!! I'm not even a sauce person but everything about their pizza is great! If it were up to me I'd eat here allllll the time!

I have been coming here for over 40 years. The last of the "Harrisburg Spots" (Harry's, Maverick, Piccolo's, etc.). The food is amazing, but the pizza is what you get. And don't get chintzy with the toppings, get what you want, load up! See if you can make out the words underneath (oooo...a puzzle) The salad dressing is great! If you want your dinner to be about the food and not the window dressing, this place is it. read more

This is the place to be if you like pizza and beer! Known for their huge "fishbowls" of beer and thin crust pizza! It's a small restaurant and it gets very crowded, so be prepared to be close to your neighbor. It definitely has a dive-like appearance, but don't let that fool you, the food is excellent. I would recommend the antipasto salad, chicken parm, and create your pizza! The service is sometimes hit or miss, but to be honest, you don't come here for the service. It's all about the food. Plus, did I mention the prices are very reasonable. read more

First timers.. Went because of the hoopla on Pennlive... I had pizza burger and fries, it was just ok.. Hubby had cheesesteak pizza, he said he's had better... the selling point was the attentive and friendly waiter/bartender.. Tall gentleman... He made us the special drink of the week.. A 16oz Vulcan!! Omg that drink knocked me out... Delicious and very well made.. Vodka, Rum, Gin, Southern Comfort, grapefruit juice and splash of sprite... Drink was only $4.75... We'd come back just for drinks!! read more