Volpe's Sports Bar

Came to Volpe's last night for the first time ever and had a great time. The bartender was extremely friendly and it was a fun and light atmosphere. This is my new go-to place in the Lehigh Valley.

Football season is back and this place is the best.  Great staff, 20 HD TVs and fans of all teams ....no obnoxious jerks (at least not for long).  Very good food - a great sportsbar!

Sadly, this was my worst experience in many years. Wanted to try out a new Buzztime t location even though this was nearly an hour's drive away. Called in advance and informed that while Allentown Volpe's location was all smoking, there were two rooms here, with the nonsmoking entirely closed off from the smoking area in Emmaus. Also that happy hour specials were from 4-6 p.m. with all appetizers half price.
Upon arriving, found that the two rooms were connected by an open foyer and (perhaps with the help of the ceiling fans) residual tobacco smoke odor reached even the extreme corners of the nonsmoking area. The bar seating was uncomfortable with either a backless stool or a rotating highback seat on casters. There was no footrail at the bar to rest feet. I eventually sat on highback chair moving the stool next to it for its footrail to add some stability.

The barmaid, who continually called me ''hon'' didn't know how to operate the TV screen remote and twice lost the Buzztime games when another patron requested some sports channel on an adjacent screen. She also couldn't fathom how to activate closed captioning feature. A manager did turn up volume of TV, but that wasn't too helpful once both nearby conversation and the blaring jukebox drowned out the commentary on MLB network.

The restroom was extremely uncomfortable to use, matching the Lilliputian standards of an airplane lavatory in coach class. I actually had to keep
the stall door open to sit down.

Finally, the icing on the cake of this awful experience was the ''bait and switch'' tactic on food pricing. While I am used to the frequently poor quality of bar type food ( an example here was the room temperature, dry tasteless steamed clams and the overbreaded chicken fingers) if the server has made a mistake normally the manager will adjust or remedy the problem. Neither the printed menu itself, nor the website notifies you that not all the listed appetizers are half price during happy hour. The barmaid also failed to inform me of this, apparently either ignorant of any exceptions herself, or such exceptions being done by management on an ''ad hoc'' basis. When I received the bill found that my tasteless clams were lasted at full price. The manager who responded to my complaint acknowledged that the exception for clams (and quesadillas) wasn't published on the menu and that the barmaid hadn't informed me, but still wouldn't adjust the bill, citing the narrow profit margin they made on clams.
All told, I would not recommend Volpe's.


 

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Rita W

Emmaus, Pennsylvania

Reviewer
5 reviews

"Nice place"

Reviewed June 26, 2012 by a local

Been there several times for dinner - good food. Don't miss their soup - made from scratch and excellent.


Visited February 2012

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gummybear6

1 review

"Great place in snuggly Emmaus!"

Reviewed November 3, 2011 via mobile

The bartenders are the ones responsible for such a high rating. They're wonderful and extremely personable, they take care of every customer as though they are regulars, and they are sure to bring you a smile, if not a full-on giggle.

The place has a classic, pub-type feel with two separated bars... you guessed it, one smoking and one non. The non-smoking side has a pool table and more space, but both have a generous amount of tvs with all your favorite sporting events.

The food I've had here had always been fantastic!! Definitely not your regular, boring bar fare. Try their tacos!!!!

I've never been in the Volpes on Tilghman, but like I said, I love my bartenders here at home, so I'll probably never stray. :)

Value
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Food


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MrsKruse

Emmaus, Pennsylvania

Top Contributor
134 reviews
Reviews in 68 cities

208 helpful votes

"Good food."

Reviewed August 13, 2010 by a local

I've never been inside this restaurant, but I had a chance to sample their cusine at the Emmaus Summer Fest this weekend. My husband went straight for the Burgery tent, and while I love Burgery anything, I wanted to try something else. I'd never even heard of Volpe's, so it was time to try it!

I went for the pulled pork barbecue. The bun was super fresh, and the bbq was okay...the meat was high quality, but the sauce was a bit sweet for me. Overall it was a good sandwich.

I don't do much for sports bars, but the next time