Restaurant in Scranton, United States
Northeastern Pennsylvania Sourcing

AV Restaurant sits on Penn Avenue in downtown Scranton, making it a practical pick for a special-occasion dinner or business meal in the city center. Booking is easy and the address works for a celebration evening, but cuisine type and pricing are unconfirmed — verify the menu directly before committing. Check Ipanema Grille or Stirna's Restaurant as alternatives if you need more certainty upfront.
If you are planning a celebration dinner or a date night in Scranton and wondering whether AV Restaurant at 320 Penn Ave earns its place on the shortlist, the honest answer is: it depends on what you find when you arrive. The venue database for AV Restaurant is sparse — no cuisine type, no price range, no awards on record — which means this portrait draws on what is publicly verifiable about Scranton's dining context rather than venue-specific detail. Approach your first visit as reconnaissance, and treat the practical notes below as your framework for making the most of it.
AV Restaurant occupies a Penn Avenue address in downtown Scranton, a corridor that has seen modest but real restaurant development over the past decade as the city's food scene has moved beyond its traditional neighborhood staples. Penn Avenue puts it within walking distance of the Lackawanna County courthouse district and the Electric City's small but growing arts footprint, which makes it a plausible option for pre-theatre dinners or business meals where a downtown address matters. Without confirmed cuisine type or style data, the safest approach is to check current menus directly before committing, particularly if dietary restrictions or a specific format , tasting menu versus à la carte , shape your decision.
Given the data gap, a two-visit approach makes sense if you are considering AV Restaurant as a recurring option. Use a first visit to test the room, pacing, and service quality , the factors that determine whether a venue works for a birthday dinner or an anniversary rather than just a casual meal. Sit at the bar if available to get a read on the drinks program and staff knowledge without the full commitment of a table reservation. On a second visit, if the first impresses, escalate: book a proper table, go later in the week when kitchens often perform at their most focused, and use the occasion framing to signal to staff that the meal matters. Scranton's better restaurants, including Ipanema Grille and Stirna's Restaurant, reward guests who return and engage , the same dynamic likely applies here.
Scranton is not a deep dining market by the standards of Philadelphia or New York, but it has enough options that a special-occasion dinner does not need to default to the first available table. For a broader view of where AV Restaurant sits relative to other local options, our full Scranton restaurants guide gives you the full picture. If you are building a wider evening around the meal, our Scranton bars guide covers post-dinner options, and our Scranton hotels guide is useful if you are coming in from out of town. For day-before or day-after planning, wineries and experiences guides round out the trip.
Address: 320 Penn Ave, Scranton, PA 18503. Reservations: Booking difficulty is rated Easy , walk-ins are likely viable, but calling ahead is still the smarter move for a special occasion. Dress: No confirmed dress code on record; smart casual is a safe default for a downtown Penn Avenue restaurant at dinner. Budget: Price range is not confirmed in available data , check directly before booking if budget is a firm constraint. Timing: For a celebratory meal, mid-week Thursday or Friday early service tends to give the leading combination of a full kitchen and attentive floor staff across Scranton's dining tier.
AV Restaurant is a reasonable candidate for a Scranton special-occasion dinner, but the absence of public data on cuisine, pricing, and awards means you are taking more on faith than Pearl typically recommends. The address is right, the booking difficulty is low, and the Penn Avenue location works for a celebration evening. Verify the current menu format and price point before committing. If AV Restaurant does not deliver on visit one, Ipanema Grille and Stirna's Restaurant are the two Scranton alternatives most worth considering as fallbacks.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| AV Restaurant | Easy | ||
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Lazy Bear | Progressive American, Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Per Se | French, Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Masa | Sushi, Japanese | $$$$ | Unknown |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.