Europa's hours have changed and the on-site menu has changed, with an emphasis on American-style favorites.
LUDLOW – People in South Hadley were disappointed when the Europa Restaurant closed up shop on Route 202 in their town a couple of years ago, but the good news is that owner-chef Michael Rodrigues has kept his business in the Pioneer Valley.
This summer the eatery re-opened, albeit with changes, as the Europa Cafe on West Street in the chef’s native Ludlow.
He wants people holding gift certificates from Europa’s South Hadley days to know those cards can still be redeemed – with the caveat that the holder must also produce the receipt that came with it.
That’s because the card itself does not have a record of what it’s worth. The receipt does.
Europa now has the distinction of being one of the few restaurants in the world located next door to a jail.
The chef revels in the unique address. In fact, one of the items on the lunch menu is the Correctional Club Sandwich.
Europa’s hours have changed, with breakfast and lunch served seven days a week and dinner Fridays and Saturdays only. The on-site menu has also changed, with an emphasis on American-style favorites.
Rodrigues said he kept the name Europa because the full-service catering part of the business is still producing the upscale cuisine for which it was known before the move.
Rodrigues said he moved to Ludlow “when the economy got worse” because the space he was occupying in South Hadley proved to be too big.
Portuguese cuisine is still available on all his menus. Rodrigues is “full-blooded” Portuguese, as he describes it, on both sides of his family.
Find out more about Europa at www.myeuropacatering.com.