We arrived at 6pm, the restaurant was almost empty, a few people sitting outside. We ordered our food around 6:15pm. The waitress brought our drinks and didn't once come back and ask if we needed refills or anything else. One of us had a question about the food we ordered, she got the waitresses attention she said she would be right with us and several minutes later sent over another employee. When the waitress was asked questions about the menu she didn't know the answers, she had to go ask. She was asked, can I get angle hair instead of spaghetti and what is the steak of the week. When she found out what the steak of the week was she couldn't pronounce mignon. After waiting about 40 minutes we asked the bus boy if he could check on our appetizers. I must say, the crab dip was excellent, the cheese with the pretzel twist was tasteless but the pretzel itself was really good. I ordered shrimp scampi that was described as being placed over spaghetti but came out with some nasty spiral noodles. When we brought it to the managers attention he told us "I don't think we have spaghetti on our menu". We actually had to have him get the menu to see that he in fact does have spaghetti on the menu. Never once during our meal did anyone come back to our table and ask us how anything was or if we needed anything. Three out of the four meals that were ordered were bland. During our conversation with the manager another customer came up and told him they had drank 3 beers and no one had taken their order. This place was far from busy. Only thing I would recommend about this place is to avoid it all together. read more

Dinner was great service fabulous. I had the crabcake sandwich and it was perfect willl come again

Very disappointed- we have been here before and were expecting the a good meal but we were not happy at all. The steak ordered medium came out raw. We sent it back and all they did was put it back on the grill again. It was not a good steak at all. Tough and not easy to chew, we will not go back and don't recommend. read more

My family and I were on our way to a band competition at Conestoga High and decided to stop in for a bite before the show. The outside seating was an absolutely beautiful atmosphere, located right beside the creek. Our waitress, Savannah, was wonderful and the food was delicious. We highly recommend the crab dip appetizer and the figgie piggie sandwich. We even had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with the owner of the establishment. An overall great experience. Hope to be around the area again so we can stop in for another meal. read more

Only 2 stars because of disappointing service. Waitress forgot to put our main coarse dinner order in. To an hour to get our meals. A family of 4 came in 20 minutes after us and was done eating and left before we got our meals. Management told us that we ordered after them. Like NO. We ordered at least 10 minutes before the family of 4 was even there. Overall the food was pretty good even though some of the lobster in the Mac and cheese looked more like shrimp. The ice tea tasted a bit like it was sitting around for awhile and was not super fresh. The view of the river would be better if the bushes were not blocking the view. But it was nice to sit outside until it rained read more

Cheese steak empanadas, tiny and hollow in spots, this was $11.00 for these two babies read more

Conestoga Restaurant - this was $11.00, supposedly cheese steak empanadas, very tiny, and hollow in spots. I wouldn't buy them again. - Bars Near Me - Lancaster, Pennsylvania

My boyfriend brought me here because it's close by for both of us. I've always wanted to stop in because the menu looked pretty appealing. I'm not usually one to complain.... I am super understanding... but my food was literally terrible. I got a steak, asked for it done medium rare. Half of it was well done, the other half rare. It smelled and tasted BAD. It wasn't cheap and it was absolutely not worth what it cost. We joked about how bad it smelled. I ate about half of it, maybe less, because I worked all day and didn't have time to eat at all so I was starving. I couldn't stomach the whole thing despite being so hungry because it was so terrible. I won't eat here again, but I'd come back for drinks! Service was very polite, no issues there! read more

I couldn't believe how bad our service was the last time we decided to dine at the Conestoga. Honestly, the only good thing about our dining experience was the pleasant view we had at our outdoors table. To give a quick summary, our table of four ordered drinks and five appetizers (chicken wings, a spinach dish, cheese fries, and a quesidilla). It took over an hour for us to be served. We had to ask for ketchup three times. Our waitress would dissapear for long periods of time. Other tables around us were also frustrated. A family arrived 30 minutes after us, and as we were finalizing a check, a waitress approached their table and asked "has anyone taken your drink order yet?" They had been sitting patiently at their table for those 30 minutes. If that was me, I would have left. The food wasn't anything to write home about. This place has seriously gone down hill. It used to be an alright place to dine outside. Now I know better..... read more

Went back into the Conestoga after nearly a year of them being closed (for various reasons). The Conestoga was always a great lunch-time escape for me an my fellow co-workers and it was with much anticipation that we awaited their re-opening. With much ado we ventured back to the Conestoga today for their "Grand Re-opening." We went in smiling at all the possibilities and left in utter disappointment. I hope it was just first day jitters and they still have some rust to shake off, but everything was out-of-whack. The food seemed less than spectacular and they failed to let people know that they were, in fact, still around and officially open (they placed a small hand-written sign outside that said "We're Open"). While the staff was super-friendly, there were too many onhand today for a less than Grand Re-Opening. Most were seen standing around or chit-chatting with one another. I gave the Conestoga three stars based on nostalgia and the fact that they may be shaking the rust off. I can only hope they can shake it off fast. One last point... I could not take my eyes off the desert display case that was located in the one seating area, but not because the deserts looked delectable. A desert display case in a seating room makes the place feel more like a roadside diner than a casual dining place. They might want to re-think that decision. read more

Two restaurants cling to the banks of the meandering Conestoga River east of Lancaster. Both have big parking lots, spacious outdoor decks and tacky interiors. The Waterfront offers a "waterside dining experience of casual elegance"; Conestoga makes much of the fact that an inn stood there in 1741, even though the current building is cinderblock and formstone. Both serve mediocre food that they pretend is haute cuisine. And yet, after six years of sampling, I have a clear favorite: Conestoga. 1. Better river views. Where the Waterfront sits low on a bare mud bank, the Conestoga overlooks a landscaped yard that slopes down to the arched East King Street bridge. In the spring, there is constant entertainment from swallows darting to catch fat mayflies rising from the water. In the evening, the deck is ringed by gas torches that make it cozy and sheltered from the street. 2. Less attitude. I'll be honest: the service is not great. If you go during the 7 p.m. rush you'll probably wait forever to be noticed, and again to get your food. But just an hour later and you might have the deck to yourself. 3. Surprisingly good food. It's all about managing expectations. Conestoga promises less than The Waterfront and delivers more than expected. The thing that I often order is a gyro sandwich with a small Greek salad. The salad is fresh and comes with stuffed grape leaves; the gyro is pleasantly warm and spicy. Conestoga has a funny thing about putting meat on burgers (consider the Lumpy Bleu Burger which includes fresh lump crab meat and house smoked cherry bacon) but none of sandwiches are bad. I wouldn't recommend the spinach pie or the "specialty drinks." read more

Great job on the remodel nice atmosphere food very good and reasonable . Definitely Going back read more

This is obsoletely the worst restaurant I have ever been in my life. Staff is horrible and very unprofessional. We had reservations for about 30 people who were celebrating a wedding at a nearby venue previously, It took them a long time to figure out how to seat us, there was not a single person in whole restaurant besides us, we had to wait 10 mins before sitting down on the patio. If we were actually an annoying group of people I would understand, but everyone in the group is professional people who attended the wedding with their SO, we just wanted to drink a couple of beers and had some munchies. So I dont know exactly why but I assume it was because it was a late Sunday night staff was not welcoming at all. Even though most of us took an uber there from the wedding and the hotel, they told us they are not going to serve alcohol to people whom they think are drunk. I understand they have the right to not serve everyone. When we ordered food, they didnt bring all the food and forks and what not at once, some of our friends had to go inside and bring silverware for each table. Then kitchen stuff came out of nowhere like a gang, and told us to leave the premises when we asked what is going on, they told us our friends were being rude to waitresses and calling them names, not tipping them but writing rude stuff on the checks. NONE OF THIS HAPPENED. We asked them to point out who were being rude to them, or show us the "rude" stuff our friends wrote on the check, they didnt even wanted talk to us, they basically kicked us out. On the side note Bride and the Groom gave kitchen stuff $40 to compensate missing tips.... This Staff looks like full of incompetent people who are looking for some drama, wouldnt go there ever again. read more

A bit disappointed in my chicken sandwich. I sure hope it was a fluke! About the last third of the fried chicken breast was inedible (cartilage) "meat". I couldn't even cut it easily with a knife! The sandwich and fries were otherwise good, so hopefully this was just a problem with this specific cut of meat. The waitress was less than concerned about the issue which was probably more of a problem than the food issue. read more

Much better than the last time I ate there about 6 years ago. Good service, really good food and cold beer. Nice to sit outside overlooking the river. read more

See all

Although the water is delicious and their chips are todie for they put straws in my party's cups and ketchup comes in individual plastic packets which creates much more plastic waste than if they used bottles. I asked for Mac and cheese without meat since they only serve it with meat and I'm a vegetarian and I was told that was possible to be done but when my food came out it tasted like bacon and I kept finding pieces of meat in it, when I told my waitress she had no empathy and my food took forever to come out, would not come back...except the bathrooms are pretty read more

I almost don't want to review the Conestoga because I want it to stay the unknown local spot...but they deserve it more than I need a quiet spot :) Conestoga has super good food with more interesting flavors than most spots on Lancaster. I love this spot because it is delicious, consistent, unassuming, friendly, and affordable. I'm not sure what else you could be looking for...perhaps a cozy atmosphere, which you won't really find inside here..BUT you will find a pretty awesome deck during the spring/summer months. It is an unassuming place & the family that owns it is super nice, too. I just love this spot. It is one of the few restaurants that I will willingly return to in Lancaster. We live down the street and they also do takeout if you give them a call, pick it up in the bar. Keep it up Contestoga, see ya soon! read more

Stopped in at the Conestoga Inn tonight. I think if you are looking for anything other than family dining. ..,Go to the bar. The bar tender was not super chatty but was friendly and knew his stuff. He made great cocktails. We tried to give him a true thumbs up as connoisseurs of fine cocktails. And if you want food--get some of their own smoked meats. We had the wings and then a pork sandwich with fresh fries. Both very good. Don't go for the ambience---while clean and acceptable its a little sterile--another reason to dine at the bar if you are sans kiddos. The place has far more of a local establishment feel than a swanky tourist draw. So, keep that in mind when deciding whether or not to go. read more

I just visited the Conestoga and thoroughly enjoyed it. I had the Taco Pizza (I couldn't resist), and I heartily recommend that dish. Yum. My dining cohorts had the Beef Stroganoff special, which was great, and the Chicken-and-Waffles special, which was pretty darn good for chicken and waffles, including some carrots, celery, and parsley into the usual mix of things. The service was good and the people were friendly. I didn't make it over to the bar area (we had a child with us), but it's a great restaurant. read more

After visiting Amish Country for a couple of days, the family began to yearn for something other than family-style meals. We drove into Lancaster for the sole reason of finding somewhere for dinner. We came across Conestoga, and decided to try it out. Conestoga Restaurant and Bar is the site of an inn built in 1741. The exterior is rustic, the interior is somewhat dark, and overall is fairly nondescript; just a family-type restaurant/ townie bar vibe. I had some of the best crab cakes ever here; fresh, crispy on the outside, fat and stuffed with crab on the inside, little breading, perfect seasoning. Oh yeah. Husband had the chicken parm, which was tasty, but they committed the sin of not draining the pasta. Ugh. The sauce got all watery, the chicken got a little mushy, and Dan got a little pissy. (Justifiably, I would say.) The kid had mozzarella sticks. She just wanted cheese. (They tasted like every other mozzarella stick ever fried.) We were on vacation, so the "vegetables not required at dinner" rule was in effect. The dinners came with choices of potato and veg, and a nice fresh salad. We all left pleasantly full, and enjoyed our dinners. I'm a little stuck between 3 and 4 stars, as our experience was good, but other than the crab cakes, nothing really stood out. Definitely more like a solid 3.5 stars. read more

Overall a great local find - newer to the area and already in love with this place. Definitely a unique place as far as location and design (cowboy western?). Food is varied - everyone is sure to find something on the menu that strikes their fancy. Lots of options - seafood, sandwiches, hot roast beef or turkey - food is all fresh and tastes great. Definitely looking forward to going back again soon! read more

Very good food and pretty nice employees. Also a very relaxing and mellow environment. Great place.

Beef brisket! Oh my. Piled high onto of some delicious mashed potatoes and topped with an awesome bbq sauces and onion rings. Been there three times and can't bring myself to order anything different. read more

My wife had a great salad and loved it while eating there with her friends...she got me a Gyro to go and when I tried it noticed no Tzatziki sauce at all...a little disappointing considering they are still celebrating Greek week... read more

This place is awesome. Food is really cheap for how good it is. Place is cool looking and has a great environment and large bar. Great service. Had Jason as are server. He was sooo good. read more

Been there 2 times in the past month and greatly dissatisfied. May as well take NY strip off menu - never available (instead offered the much pricier prime rib). The fried fish I had was disgusting - the fish was strong and all the breading fell off as well. Last night I am angry after receiving the poorest customer treatment by a manager I have ever encountered. We brought guests along whom we had purchased a Local Flavor coupon for as a gift. We couldn't get a regular table but agreed to sit at a high "bar" table. We did request separate checks because we each had a prepaid coupon. When checking out we were told IF we had set at separate tables we could have used the coupons. Seriously?!?! You would expect people to do that? The manager did point out it was in the fine print so without regard refused to honor our coupon which we had. Who would have suspected that? He was not the nicest person I ever met either. That cost him all future business from us and our guests. Too bad they needed that extra $15 after we collectively spent well in excess of $125! His loss - we only frequent local businesses that will treat us with cordiality and that can use common sense. read more

Awesome food, good drinks, and nice atmosphere. Definitely a must try for lunch when traveling in and around Lancaster. Perfect mid-day pitstop to refuel with a sandwich and cold beer. We will definitely be back next time to have the cheesesteak which was incredible and made me want to order seconds. read more

Wonderful view and will definitely return for the cocktails and drinks. Gentleman serving us was great. The desserts are out of this world. A bit disappointed with the food though. Too bad as the view is one of the best in Lancaster county. read more

Visited the Conestoga a few weeks ago for lunch with a girlfriend and ate at the bar. WOW! I was totally amazed at the transformation of the bar and restaurant area. It is truly an amazing renovation that bumped up the status of this great place to eat! We ordered Bacon Cheeseburgers that were on special for ONLY $9.00 with their great homemade chips. We also ordered Calamari for an appetizer. I am very pleased to say that they still have a great Bartender (Jason) and that the service was great!. The food was excellent as well. I always enjoyed going there in the past and look forward to going there again in the near future. I think that if more people revisit this place and see the changes they will be happy that they did! Congrats to The Conestoga on the great re-opening and awesome start! read more

Have been here a couple times and have never been let down! Food is amazing and have no idea how their review could be so low. Great local bar and eats read more

We had high hopes for a relaxing late Sunday evening dinner on the patio. Unfortunately, we became agitated with the waiting to take our drink order, food order, and watch every table around get served with their food including 2 tables that came in after us. Finally, when the the food came, it was NOT worth the wait. We had thought about leaving when it took so long to get our food order to save ourselves the additional aggravation. So much for a relaxing evening! read more

3.5 stars... Not the greatest restaurant in the area, but it is still pretty good. The restaurant is situated on the water, on a small river. When we went, it wasn't too crowded, although there was a huge table. The service was efficient, since they constantly came over to refill our water and ask us how we are doing. The decor is basic, although I didn't really enjoy the layout that much. The menu is interesting, since they had creative options with numerous ingredients. There were only a few entrees, which were a bit expensive. We started off with a bacon bruschetta, which is pretty self-explanatory. It was pretty much bruschetta, with tomatoes and onions, along with some succulent bacon. It was just what it sounded like. It was made properly, but it sounded more interesting than what it actually was. The French onion soup was good, except for the cheese. It wasn't just parmesan cheese. There might have been brie, or some other cheese, which altered the taste of the whole soup. We had a Caesar wrap, which was great. I had a pulled pork and chicken sandwich, which was lot of food. The chicken was okay, but the pulled pork was delicious. The fries were good, not too greasy. We also had a burger with crab, which was good, but wasn't as good as it sounded. The flavors didn't really match, although the burger was great and the crab was good. The flavors didn't really go well together, but individually, they were great. read more

See all

Food was good. Service was beyond slow. We were one of two customers here and we rarely saw our server. We had to wait 10 mins to pay the bill and had to send someone to find her. The hostess reeked of cigarette smoke when she ran up behind us outside. This should have been a tell tale sign to go somewhere else. I should have listened to my gut on this one. Much better choices in the area. read more

Don't be fooled by the cute pictures of the outdoor deck. Our waitress didn't even try to make it look like she liked her job, she took forever to bring our drinks and forgot my water. The menu was limited and the food was something I could have made at home in half the time it took there. Our bill was way too high for what we got, we both said we won't come back. read more

The conestoga is situated right on the conestoga river and in the summer months their deck is open and has an excellent view when you eat outside. The food is delicious, and they just unveiled their new menus and there are so many more options now as well. The bartenders are friendly and the drink prices are great. Whether it's a family night or an evening with friends, the conestoga is without a doubt the best option in lancaster. read more

My bill came to $34.00 and they charged me $42.41 without authorization. The food took 45 minutes and a bottled beer took 30. The restaurant was empty at the time of this slow service. To top it all off, the restaurant did not give any kind of warning that their credit card machine was down. So when our checks came they advised us they would have to write our credit card information down on slips of paper to run them at a later date! This is against PHI compliance, we should have been made aware of this before placing an order. The food was good, but not work the time or headache. The staff from our server to the owner are incompetent to say the least. I will not be returning, and now I have to dispute my charge with the restaurant and the bank. In addition to all of these problems, when initial incorrect check and needed to be reconfigured the owner, who was sitting at the bar getting drunk, started to argue with my fiance about the invalid charge! read more

Dropping the rating by a star for saying that the breakfast special was fresh peaches on a waffle or pancakes, then serving canned peaches. Not very special at all. read more

It's really only worth coming here in the spring/summer when you can sit outside on the beautiful deck which overlooks the Conestoga River. Food here can range from excellent to awful. I've had great meals such as the pulled pork sandwich, to ones which were disgusting (they used to have an open-faced turkey sandwich years back, which was just gross). Appetizers are pretty good though, and drink prices are not too bad. Like I said, if you just want to grab drinks, apps, and maybe a sandwich, you can't beat the atmosphere outside. Just have to know what to order. One solid plus is them being open late in the Lancaster area where restaurants usually close pretty early. read more

The ambiance definitely needs something to be desired!!!!!!!!!!!! Very Weird/Awkward setup to say the least. Quiet, not very busy, no music, bright lights, tables felt cafeteria-ish! The food was GREAT!!! Server read the specials, nothing memorized. Had the calamari appetizer and the avocado and crab salad which were excellent. read more

Had a Cobb salad. One of the best I've had a awhile. It was prepared with everything a Cobb salad should have. Including freshly grilled bacon instead of just bacon bits. read more

Went here for lunch. Had not been there since the renovations. Nice atmosphere, prompt and friendly service. Food quality good. The only negative was the price. read more