The Ark House Diner opened recently in Leola, formerly Eli's Place serving breakfast, lunch & dinner. The dining room has booths and table seating with tile floors and high pitch ceiling with windows for natural light. The breakfast offerings include eggs, omelets, pancakes, French toast, and oatmeal. The lunch/dinner offerings include sandwiches, burgers, subs, seafood, salads, soups, chili, quesadillas, fried foods, pasta dishes, meatloaf, turkey dinner, chicken dinners, roast beef, pork dishes, and desserts. They offer daily specials too including weekday breakfast & lunch specials I stopped by Ark House on a rainy afternoon. I arrived here and the place wasn't too busy after the lunch rush. I was seated in a booth and given a menu to look at. I requested an ice water and ordered the Shrimp Parm with Spaghetti ($14.99 plus tax) with choice of one side (chose mac & cheese) and garlic toast. The food came out in 12 minutes after I ordered. The portion of food was good which was comprised of 8 breaded jumbo shrimp topped with red sauce & melted cheese with a side of soft cooked spaghetti with a sweet meat sauce. The mac & cheese (orange) was very dense and rich. The thick slices of garlic toast were soft and buttery. After I was done, the check was brought over which was $15.89 with tax and before tip. I paid at the front register. Overall, the food I had was fantastic and I was a bit torn whether to choose a pasta dish or a traditional country homestyle meal. The shrimp parm was very tasty and hot as was the mac & cheese. The service was friendly and adequate. I was glad I stopped here instead of going to a smorgasbord restaurant, which was very packed and pricey. The meal I had at Ark House Diner was pretty reasonable. read more

Cute place, good food, good service, sweet people. Good for families. They gave us more food than we could possibly eat, which is how my family likes it read more

We found the Ark House this past summer while camping in the area and enjoyed it so much it has become a "must dine there destination". every time we are out here camping. So far we have been there 4 times and have had a great meal every time and tonight we are making it out 5th visit. The food is great and the prices are very reasonable and you won't leave hungry. PS They even serve Hag Maw as a special sometimes. If it's on the menu when you are there give it a try. read more

Everyone is so friendly and accommodating. The menu is varied and delicious. We will return! read more

Ark House Diner - Liver and onions - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Leola, Pennsylvania

1st time visiting since they opened. I think the fact they now have a fancy-schmancy LED sign out front finally drew me in. I figured C'mon, if they're willing to spend the 5 figures to get that sign up, they gotta be good, right? We went on a Tuesday early evening - disappointing to see the place was near empty - I think maybe 4 other tables were occupied... no big deal - its Tuesday, don't expect much and they're still somewhat new. So my wife ordered a grilled ham and cheese / fries and I got the Turkey Club. Needless to say this is about the most boring dinner date ever created, but hey, it's Tuesday remember? I have to say it was about the 'skimpiest' club sandwich I've ever seen. The taste was fantastic and I now wish I would have taken pics. My wife indicated that I should have ordered the sourdough bread as her sandwich was huge. Mine, not so much. But again - the taste was really, really good. Bacon, mayo, lettuce and turkey -all spot on. No disappointment at all - we both really did enjoy the food... nothing spectacular, but in a local diner - the last thing you want to have happen, is a 'surprise'. 4 stars given for this trip. The A/C was working... it was working REALLY well as a matter of fact. We thought we were sitting directly under fan blades there was so much airflow. We moved 6 feet to see if we could find a bit less wind tunnel experience....but nope - same effect a the table next to us... Oh well, that'll cost 1 star. But - hey we can dress for the weather - what's important is the quality of the food and the service. Our server was more than kind... we felt bad for her because there just wasn't many people there and we know its tough to keep a smile and positive attitude when you depend on tips, so we helped out a bit on the tip. Experience - 5 stars Food - 5 stars Environment - 4 stars We'll be back for more soon! read more

Our dining experience was exceptional, prompting us to return for a second meal. The staff provided welcoming service, and the owner demonstrated outstanding hospitality and attention to detail with our party, including our granddaughters. We plan to dine here again during our next visit to Lancaster. The establishment offers quality cuisine in a warm, community-oriented atmosphere. read more

Attentive servers. Even the owner came and asked how we liked everything. The teriyaki salmon was moist and perfectly cooked. Homey ambiance with animal art around the room that looks much like the ark might have looked in Noah's time. read more

My friend and I were looking for a place with good food, and great service ... and the place didn't disappoint. I had the stuffed cabbage and mashed potatoes. The cabbage was dense, filled with meat and rice, and wrapped in one, small piece of cabbage. It was laying in a bed of carmelized onions. It came with mashed potatoes and a side. I chose french fries which were crispy steak potatoes. The mashed potatoes were not fluffy, white potatoes, rather dense hard breakfast potatoes with lots of brown gravy. They were a good compliment to the cabbage. The food was hot - and tasty. The owner, Nathan, and the waitress came by several times to ensure everything was to our liking. read more

Great classic American diner. Went for dinner and there was something on the menu for everyone in our party; 2 adults and a two year old. The food was delicious and the portions were plentiful- we left stuffed and happy! The food was very fresh, we got side salads that were crisp and delicious. The fried pork tenderloin with gravy and mashed potatoes satisfied the dinner craving my husband had on a cool fall day. I had the homemade lasagna on special and it was deliciously cheesy. The staff was so friendly and personable and really made our dining experience great. We were just passing through town, but will definitely be back again when we're in the area. read more

Food was good. Service was lacking. At 7:40 on a Saturday morning had one waitress on to do everything and she could not keep up and give good customer service. Establishment looks good. Need some background music playing just to help! May try again just to see if more people are working to give better customer service. read more

Really good, home cooking, dinner type food, generous portions. Great service, clean, very friendly.

We live in Southern Chester County, however whenever we are in Lancaster, we always go to the Ark House. We love the food and Nathan (the owner) is a great host and always takes time to chat with us. We highly recommend the Ark House!!! read more

The food was fantastic! The service was great and the management truly cared about the experience. I will definitely be back!

I stopped on my way home from work to grab dinner to go. The restaurant has a welcoming atmosphere and the staff are very friendly. My husband and I were very happy with the food quality. A few days later, we went there for breakfast. Everything was great! The waitresses asked if we needed coffee refills- not just our waitress but any who walked by with coffee. I saw a sign about rooms they have available for free for parties. I work with adults with special needs. I asked if we could use a room sometime to have a bingo group activity. The manager (or owner?) was very nice and said we could definitely use it for any activity. You could tell that the manager really cares about the customers. He was walking around and checking in with the customers to make sure everything was good. read more

Food tasted homemade and delicious. My son said it was possibly the best chicken sandwich that he ever had. My salisbury steak and mashed potatoes tasted great. All around, a very good meal. read more

This restaurant has very fresh food, served by a friendly staff for a very good pricie. Highly recommendable

Me and my family were excited to go here for Sunday breakfast. We decided to skip Gus's, Oregon Dairy and the Pancake Farm to try this small place in Leola. Very (extremely) disappointing. -Service was fine - friendly staff. This was the only STAR. -My son got sick from the food and had to go to the bathroom . We didn't say anything but here were the issues... *Eggs had a hair in my son's eggs. He saw it right away and only ate a few bites of food. They were sort of unbelievable. Inexperienced cook? Low quality controls? Not sure but it needs to be addressed. Cooking eggs is the most basic thing to do in the kitchen. *Runny eggs- the worst I ever seen. *Eggs were not well mixed and had other stuff in the plain egg omelette. -French toast was inconsistent cooked. One piece was barely cooked and the other overcooked. -Coffee was not good. Burnt (pot) tasting coffee. This tells me the coffee machine is not well maintained or cleaned often. -Just to help out, omelette was spelled six different ways on the menu. Get the little things right. Also the menu had other spelling issues. -Bathroom was gross- the little things that matter. Again, we wanted to really like this place. But we won't be back. Sorry. Brad and Family read more

i went after work for early dinner and was warmly welcomed. i had excellent attentive service even though I was by myself. My Tuna Melty and fries was yummy with plentiful portions. I'm becoming a "regular." The staff were smiling, the dining room was clean. read more

Our party of 3 enjoyed excellent chicken gyros & French fries. Very fresh ingredients, speedy service. We enjoyed interacting with both the waitress and Nathan the owner. They've only opened 5 weeks ago. We'll be returning. read more

My wife and I stopped here for dinner last night. The food was excellent. The desert's were so good, we ordered more to take home. The service was excellent. The owner Nathan was always around to make sure your dining experience was great. The look and feel was very down to earth. They had great music playing at the right volume. You can sit and have your meal while enjoying conversation or just listening to the music. I encourage you to stop by and have a nice meal. read more

Omg the best chicken salad BLT sandwich I ever had from the Ark House diner in Leola Pa chunks of white meat perfect seasoning and bacon too delicious great job guys I am never disappointed with anything I ordered Thank you for coming to Leola Pa read more

Amazing food and service I loved their Fry's and my burger was delicious my waitress was so kind

We tried Ark House Diner tonight for the first time. GREAT GYROS! Friendly staff, clean, and excellent service. Got to meet one of the owners, Nathan, and he told us about his extensive world-wide experience in the hospitality industry. It showed. I plan to go back often as it is near where we live and the prices are extremely reasonable. read more