Best Restaurants in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
A guide to Jim Thorpe's downtown restaurant scene, from an Irish pub and steakhouse to a brewpub and a fine-dining option on Race Street.
Introduction
Jim Thorpe's dining scene is compact and almost entirely concentrated on Broadway and Race Street, the two main streets of the historic downtown. Based on current business listings and the Pocono Mountains dining directory, it skews toward pubs, brewpubs, and a couple of more ambitious kitchens rather than a wide spread of cuisines.
Downtown Broadway Dining
Broadway Grille & Pub, at 24 Broadway inside the Inn at Jim Thorpe, covers breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a Victorian-era building, with a downstairs venue called Broadway Underground adding live music and a full bar in the evenings. Antonio's Pizza, at 43 Broadway, is the town's go-to for straightforward Italian-American food — pizza, hoagies, and dishes like veal marsala — and is a reasonable choice if you want something quick between attractions rather than a sit-down meal.
Race Street's Pub and Brewery Scene
Molly Maguire's, at 5 Hazard Square inside the Hotel Switzerland building, is a family-run Irish pub and steakhouse that current listings describe as having been open more than 25 years, with what's reportedly the largest outdoor seating area in the county — a detail worth knowing if you're travelling with a group and want to avoid a wait. Its name nods to the 19th-century Molly Maguires, a piece of local labor history tied to the Old Jail down the street. Mauch Chunk Brewery, on Race Street, is the town's brewpub, with a casual menu and outdoor seating alongside its own beer.
A Step Up: Moya
For a more composed meal, Moya on Race Street is consistently described in current listings as the town's fine-dining option, with an emphasis on elegant, seasonally driven cooking rather than pub standards. It's the kind of place worth booking ahead for on weekends, particularly during the fall foliage season when the town's small restaurant capacity gets stretched thin.
What to Book Ahead
Jim Thorpe is a town of a few thousand residents that can see a significant surge in day-trippers on October weekends, and its restaurants are sized accordingly — small dining rooms rather than large capacity. If your visit lands on a fall festival weekend, reserve dinner at Moya or Molly Maguire's in advance rather than assuming you can walk in.