Suggest an Event
The online Fig calendar is a curated list of community and advertiser events happening in the Lehigh Valley.
Contact Us
Search
If you want to get a bird’s eye view of beautiful Bethlehem in any season, check out ZEST Bar & Grille, located at The Rooftop at 306 South New Street in the heart of the South Side Historic District.
With its floor-to-ceiling glass windows and balcony seating, patrons can enjoy impressive views of Steel Stacks, the Hill-to-Hill and Fahy bridges, Bethlehem Library and City Hall and, of course, a good amount of the South Side itself.
ZEST’s manager, Anthony Trapani, was born and raised in Bethlehem, an alumnus of both Bethlehem Catholic High School and Lehigh University. He also grew up in the restaurant business—his father, John, created ZEST’s sister restaurant, the award-winning Grille 3501 in the West End of Allentown. “I started washing dishes when I was 14,” Anthony says, “and I’ve pretty much done everything besides actually going behind the line and cook.”
“You get a pretty unique view of Bethlehem,” Anthony says. “There really isn’t another kind of location with this kind of atmosphere.”
When his father told him the owner of the building where ZEST is now located asked him about the possibility of putting a restaurant there, the younger Trapani was in his father’s ear right away. “I was one of the drivers behind it,” Anthony says, “because living in Bethlehem my whole life, I’ve seen what’s been going on on the South Side and the potential for it going forward.”
ZEST’s menu highlights the best of New American cuisine, putting a fresh twist on its sister restaurant’s menu, including sea scallops served with parmesan risotto, rosemary-lemon vinaigrette, baby arugula, and burnt onion puree. Opened in January, this spring ZEST will have outdoor patio space that will make the restaurant completely open air, giving the already exceptional restaurant a completely different feel.
“You get a pretty unique view of Bethlehem,” Anthony says. “There really isn’t another kind of location with this kind of atmosphere.”
