On West Broad Street in downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, sits a restaurant built entirely on a shared love of good food and a favorite vacation memory. 🫒
Twisted Olive opened its doors in 2013 as the dream of a husband-and-wife team who wanted to bring something genuinely different to the Lehigh Valley dining scene.
Discover how Chef Steve and Sherri Kershner built one of Bethlehem’s most beloved restaurants around the idea that good food should never be confined to just one cuisine.
How Twisted Olive won Bethlehem’s hearts
Chef Steve Kershner started cooking as a teenager in the late 1970s, working as a prep cook at the historic Hotel Bethlehem before building a career that included stints at Apollo Grill, the Spring Valley Inn, and the now-shuttered Belmont Inn.
When he and his wife, Sherri, decided to open their own restaurant, they drew the name straight from their favorite restaurant, the Black Olive in Baltimore, Maryland, a place they routinely traveled to seek out novel food.
Chef Steve refused to tie the menu down to a single cuisine, instead building a globally inspired concept that pulls in Italian pastas, Thai flavors, Mediterranean small plates, and classic American comfort food, all under one roof.
What has kept Bethlehem locals coming back for over a decade is Sherri’s steady presence as Steve’s biggest motivator and the restaurant’s genuinely welcoming, casual-bistro energy.
The two built a menu meant to feel approachable rather than intimidating, whether guests are stopping in for a quick lunch or settling in for a full dinner with cocktails.
That same spirit of culinary curiosity, paired with a genuine husband-and-wife partnership behind the scenes, is exactly why Twisted Olive has become a true downtown Bethlehem institution rather than just another restaurant on Broad Street. 🍷
Food Highlights
- Bacon Wrapped Pork Mignon: A pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon and finished with a chili-maple glaze, served alongside bok choy and an avocado-vegetable spring roll.
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Steak on a Stone: Filet mignon served with porcini mushroom sauce and blue cheese sauce, finished with sea salt, garlic, and roasted garlic mashed potatoes.
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Cioppino: A hearty seafood stew built on a tomato-fennel broth, loaded with swordfish, mussels, clams, scallops, and shrimp.
- Grilled Grass-Finished Ribeye: A grass-finished ribeye finished with a hibiscus syrup and red wine reduction.
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BLT Bucatini: Bucatini pasta tossed with roasted cherry tomatoes, garlic, pancetta, arugula, and olive oil.
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Roasted Marinated Chicken: Chicken roasted with tomato, capers, olives, pine nuts, white wine, mushrooms, and smoked spinach over scallion rice.
- Twisted Penne Primavera: Penne pasta tossed with fresh seasonal vegetables.
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Seared Salmon: Salmon seared and set over a parmesan broth with escarole, tomato, cannellini beans, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
Atmosphere
Twisted Olive leans into a casual-bistro feel, designed to be approachable rather than stuffy despite its globally inspired menu. 🕯️
The downtown Bethlehem space works well for an after-work cocktail with friends or an intimate dinner date, striking a comfortable middle ground.
It is the kind of place that feels equally right for a quick lunch or a full evening out.
Bottom Line
Visit for a globally inspired menu that spans Italian pasta, Mediterranean seafood, and American comfort classics, all under one roof.
Add a genuine husband-and-wife story behind the kitchen, a chef with decades of Lehigh Valley culinary roots, and a warm, approachable atmosphere, and Twisted Olive earns its reputation as downtown Bethlehem’s favorite restaurant. 🫒✨
Address:
51 W Broad St, Bethlehem, PA 18018
📞 (610) 419-1200
🕔 Open Mon 4 PM–10 PM, Tue-Sat 11:30 AM–10 PM, closed Sunday