Romano's Italian & Mexican Food

Romano's Italian & Mexican Food is a restaurant at 501 Lancaster Ave in Reading, Pennsylvania, serving a menu that combines Italian American standards with Mexican dishes prepared in house. The kitchen turns out pizza, pasta, sandwiches and baked dishes alongside tacos, quesadillas, huaraches and other items built on fresh tortillas and slow cooked meats. It is a casual, family run operation with counter service energy and table seating, open for both lunch and dinner, and it handles dine-in, takeout and delivery orders. The restaurant can be reached at +1 610-370-7328.

The dual menu format is unusual in Berks County. Most places pick a lane: a pizza shop, a taqueria, a red sauce Italian kitchen. Romano's runs two cuisines from one kitchen, which means a group can order a deep dish pizza and a plate of tacos in the same visit without compromise. That flexibility is a large part of why the restaurant draws regular neighborhood traffic from the Lancaster Avenue corridor and the surrounding South Reading blocks.

Location and Service Area

501 Lancaster Ave sits on one of Reading's busier commercial arteries, a stretch of small storefronts, service businesses and residential side streets that runs southeast from the city center toward Shillington and Kenhorst. The address is easy to reach from Lancaster Avenue itself, with access from nearby cross streets and parking available along the surrounding blocks.

The restaurant primarily serves South Reading and the nearby neighborhoods, with takeout and delivery orders drawing from the broader city. Its position on a main route makes it a practical stop for people traveling between downtown Reading and the southern suburbs, and for workers picking up lunch during a short break. Because the kitchen handles both quick items and full plates, the pace suits a fast midday order as readily as a sit down dinner.

The Italian Side of the Menu

Pizza is the anchor. The restaurant is categorized as a pizza restaurant and produces both standard pies and Chicago style deep dish, the latter being the item most often singled out by customers. Deep dish is a different discipline from the thin, foldable slices common in eastern Pennsylvania: the dough is pressed up the sides of a steel pan, cheese goes down first, toppings follow, and crushed tomato is spread across the top. It requires a longer bake and a kitchen willing to commit the oven time, which is why genuine versions are uncommon outside Chicago and rarely found at chains.

Beyond pizza, the Italian half of the menu covers the familiar range of pasta plates, baked dishes and sandwiches. Bread is baked on site, which matters for sandwiches and for the bread served alongside pasta. House baking is labor that many small restaurants outsource, and doing it in the building changes the texture and freshness of anything built on a roll or served with a side of bread.

The Mexican Side of the Menu

The Mexican portion of the menu leans toward dishes that depend on technique rather than shortcuts. Birria, beef or goat braised slowly in a chili based broth, appears in quesadillas and related preparations, served with the cooking liquid on the side for dipping. Huaraches, the long oval masa cakes named for their sandal shape, are griddled and topped with meat, beans, cheese and salsa. Tacos round out the selection.

These are not simplified versions. The attention to proper cheeses, masa handling and braise times is what customers tend to notice, and it reflects a kitchen staffed by cooks working from their own traditions rather than from a generic supplier spec sheet. House made beverages, including fresh juices and traditional aguas, are also part of the offering.

Family Ownership

Romano's operates under family ownership, and the current owners took over the location and reworked the operation. Customers who knew the address previously have remarked on the change in food quality and service since the transition. Family run restaurants of this size tend to have the owners present in the building, cooking, taking orders or checking on tables, and that direct involvement shows up in consistency and in how guests are treated.

The staff is known for being approachable and accommodating, including with newcomers unfamiliar with the Mexican side of the menu who want a recommendation or an explanation of a dish. Solo diners are common here, which is often a reliable indicator that a place is comfortable rather than formal.

Atmosphere and Who Eats Here

The dining room is casual. There is seating for guests who want to eat in, and the room accommodates families as well as individuals eating alone. A kids' menu is available, and the restaurant is set up to handle children without fuss. The crowd skews local, drawing from the surrounding neighborhoods rather than from tourist traffic.

Dessert is served, and the menu includes smaller plates and quick bite options for guests who want something light. The overall category of food is comfort oriented: filling, warm, recognizable dishes from two culinary traditions that both reward slow cooking.

Practical Information

• Address: 501 Lancaster Ave, Reading, PA 19611
• Phone: +1 610-370-7328
• Service options: dine-in, takeout and delivery
• Meals served: lunch, dinner and dessert
• Seating available in the dining room
• Kids' menu available and the restaurant is suitable for children
• Payment accepted by credit card and debit card
• Casual dress and casual atmosphere
• Comfortable for solo diners as well as groups and families

Ordering Notes

Deep dish pizza takes considerably longer to bake than thin crust, so calling ahead is worthwhile when ordering one for takeout or for a group on a schedule. Phone orders can be placed at +1 610-370-7328 for pickup or delivery within the service area. Larger orders for gatherings are best arranged by calling the restaurant directly to confirm timing and availability.

For first time visitors, the practical approach is to treat the two menus as genuinely separate options rather than as a novelty. Both sides are prepared with the same attention, and ordering across them in a single meal is common among regulars.