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| - The only people who don't like late night pizza are sociopaths. And that comparison may be a little bit mean to sociopaths. So the fact that this place serves amazing pizza every day of the week until two A.M. should be enough to justify five stars right there. Not only is the pizza passable for two AM though, it's knock-your-socks-off, voted one of the best pizzas in the nation good. So Bar Cento means business people! This place elevates late night noshing to a glorious noble art.
Décor: Large space filled with hewn wood, interesting parasols hung over the bar, and a pretty cool pressed metal ceiling at the entrance. The décor fits with the general Cleveland Craftsman aesthetic while elevating it ever so subtly.
Food: There's not only pizza available til late. The menu has helpful boxes drawn around the stuff you can order into the wee hours, which includes salads, sides, sandwiches, fries and desserts. And, seeing as every time I ate here I was stone cold sober, I can say utterly assuredly the food here is of very high quality at any hour. The kitchen is consistent, updates the menu with creative seasonal specials, and uses fresh greens prepared surprisingly lightly for a beer centric bar. I've been amazed often by things you don't normally hear in reviews of late night pizza and beer joints: beautiful plating, great French technique, deft saucing, and creative garnishing. Bar Cento, though, breaks many molds. While many would recommend getting the fries and burgers here, I would argue you should try to stretch out of your comfort zone and try many of the plated dishes here.
A sampling of the menu one of the last times I visited:
Local Mixed greens with Castelvetrano olives, parmesan, oranges, almonds and white balsamic ($7). It was a fresh heaping of greens lightly dressed in vinaigrette with large segments of juicy orange and a nice scattering of nuts. The only detraction to the salad was the olives were not pitted, so that was a little awkward to eat around.
Squid Ink Gnocchetti with baby octopus, ndjua, and sausage tomato Bottarga ($16). Squid ink is a tricky ingredient and I've never seen it incorporated into a gnocchi, so major points for creativity. The dish really melded though, and was a joy and surprise to eat.
Ohio Beet Pizza with Bull's Blood beets, Prima Donna Cheese, arugula and lemon ($12). Bear in mind, this is a pizza you can order at 1 30 AM! And it tasted incredibly refreshing for a pizza, with a nice thin crust, heaps of arugula and a bright red minced beet sauce. Very original, and once again darn tasty.
Ohio pawpaw panna cotta with mint gel pumpkin seed oil ($8). Oh, come on now guys, you're just showing off at this point! Paw paws on a dessert menu?! Fantastic, unique and delicious.
The menu changes seasonally, so there's always something new to tickle the taste buds.
A small minor detraction is sometimes the crowd here can be a bit loud, obnoxious and drunk, but that comes with the territory of W25th. Weekdays are quieter and recommended.
Overall: A Cleveland favorite! I love this place. It caters to many palates, can work for both bar food, a great fancier date and late night insomniac binging. You must try the pizza here, but you will not regret branching out and trying their many unique plates.
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