Amanita — Restaurant in Lancaster

The concept that I should be asked to tip first and then do all the work but the cooking, then suffer poor service is simply put: theft. There is ZERO that's sustainable about asking your customer to value your service before they receive it. The Menu is limited. You are asked to stand at a counter and decide what you want when frankly little of what is presented on the plastic placards offers any wiggle room for someone oriented to a more traditional menu: The menu is all about them and just not too much about the person on the other side of the counter asked discern with no traditional breakfast footholds being given, all while customers wait behind and the usual noise in a restaurant distracts. Did I want to spend $15 for a bagel sandwich? Um, no. I would reserve that for a bagel restaurant where I knew it was hot and fresh. Could I get an omelet? No. Was the only traditional breakfast entre a waffle that 76.6% of the public should not be having? Yes. Neuro-divergents (26%) and diabetics (11%), and the obese (39.6%) are not looking to start their day with a sugar rush much less the wad of carbohydrates. Besides the sides of bacon or sausage, The best source of sugar free protein on the menu appeared to be the Shashushka a dish consisting of eggs boiled or roasted in a tomato sauce traditionally served in the middle east. So, we chose the Shashushka for two and had a coffee and a large OJ. With coffee, BEFORE TASTING IT you are asked to decide if you want a bottomless cup or a single cup. My advice is DO NOT take the bottomless cup until you taste it. We were given a stand with a number on it to place at our table which was in a well designed dining room with a mix of 10 four tops and two tops in the center and a long table level bar along the west wall. The east wall was reserved for a built in featuring "merch" and what looked to be bottles of essential oils that the backlog of guests can peruse while waiting to endure the torture of menu decisions while standing in noise. Sun shone in from the large southern storefront windows which overlook a small sidewalk dining area. Pissed by tipping and coffee decisions inherent in the BAD square, collect tips first model of business, we got to the table. I crossed the room to put cream and sugar in my coffee noting four pendant lights over the long and low west wall bar. A two top bar in front of one of the front windows was at bar height with a pair of stools. Back at the table. the dark roast was acidic with an incorrigible odor of burning carrion: mustard gas & roses. Orange juice was delivered in a clear plastic solo cup. It was $5.50 and unremarkable in taste. The Shashushka arrived and was cooked and served in a 6" cast iron skillet: four eggs in a bubbling sauce on a platter with four hunks of sourdough bread which did not at all compliment the sauce, though the bread was drizzled with a very good olive oil. Alas, where is PITA traditionally served with this dish when you need it? Our platter was plopped on the table wordlessly with no silver or plates provided. THIS is why the tip-first model is insulting. The Amanita version of the Shashushka featured a tomato sauce showing a few thinner strings of onion and two hunks of surprising potato devoid of the traditional green peppers. The dominant taste was acid, though a slice of garlic clove was found in the skillet as we dipped our bread. Along with the bread and skillet were a nest of alfalfa sprouts and Romaine holding fewer than 6 small Kalamata olives, and an orange cut into 3/8" slices. A poke with a fork revealed a well cooked yoke with just a hint of yellow moisture remaining. Eventually a staff member discovered we had no plates & helped us. I then got a cup of the light roast coffee which was uninspiring. Disappointed, we got up TO BUS OUR TABLE!: something not told us at tip time! They say you get one chance to make a first impression and simply put, someone did not think through the customer experience: Staff are very nice people who can't see they have made it...

UPDATE: The owner did reach out and try to make plans to meet up and talk about accessibility. Unfortunately my schedule through no fault of the owners. I would like to go again soon and see if it is any different.

For all my disabled friends I need to tell you about my experience with Amanita in Lancaster PA this morning. This establishment is the only place I have had a very unwelcoming experience due to my service dog. They are clearly not firm on their rules and the staff is confused about what they should do when a service dog enters there establishment. The first time I ever took my service dog here I had a woman question me as to why I needed a service dog. While it is illegal to ask what the persons disability is I answered that her tasks were Mobility Support. That time we were not kicked out, I was allowed to by my products and leave. Then a multiple times after that with different staff I brought my service dog in and she was given water and stayed the whole visit in the store while I ate my food. This last time I had my service dog sit before entering, opened the door called for her to heal and she sat next to me as a closed the door. She followed me to the product shelf and sat by my side as trained not making a sound. The same lady as my first experience came over and asked in I had Certification. I have no idea what certification she was talking about and tried to tell her that service dogs don’t have a statewide certification and that I have a card in my wallet that explains her rights but I left it in my car in my wallet because I happen to be paying in cash this day. She asked me to go back and get it in order to stay in the store. I was so upset by this, I tried to explain she’s not self taught, she’s in a professional program (shoutout to 4 Paws 4 A Cause), she has the same rights in training as a service dog who has finished the program (probably because of how long it takes to properly train them) but she was firm and I couldn’t buy any products. If you know me, it’s hard to get around. I schedule my day ahead of time based on how my body is doing that day. To walk to the car and then walk back (we had street parking not in front or near the store) would have been a lot for me physically. I told her I don’t want to support an organization that makes you fight for your rights to have a service dog in their establishment.

I want to point out that as an employee or an owner you have every right to kick a service dog out if the dog is acting up or disturbing other customers. This was not the case with us.

So, if you are the owner of Amanitas please let me know what certification your staff requires in order to bring my service dog into your store. If there isn’t one please train your staff equally as to the rights of a service dog. Unfortunately, they have lost my business unless they can...

Y’all. Im not typically the type to take the time to write reviews. But - my partner and I have been driving almost once a week from Harrisburg (~1hr) just to go to Amanita for about 2 years now, even before they moved to their new location. But I just have to share about this place, though I barely know where to begin! Their Salmon Lox bagel has been our weekly staple for years, but recently we have started branching out a bit. Since they’ve opened their new space, we’ve had the burger - incredible, literally the most perfectly cooked burger I think I’ve ever had, and it’s local beef! Seasonal salad - with peaches?! - was maybe the only salad I’ve ever salivated over, and then it exceeded expectations, and the bagel sandwich on an everything bagel (with 1 extra egg) with cheddar and aioli was literally the best bagel sandwich I have EVER had. The drinks are incredible, coffee is amazing, tea selection great, organic ceremonial matcha!!!!!! Where they do DAT AT?!?! You can get an assortment of medicinal/adaptogenic tinctures added to your drinks (a little cordyceps in my morning beverage??? Why thank you!). And the staff is personable, bright, and you can tell take great pride in their craft, service, and environment. And, speaking of which, crazy that I’ve written this much and said nothing of the actual space - which is incredible. Beautiful high ceilings, plants all over, exposed brick walls, a truly stunning nature-scape mural along the whole right wall, complete with plants, animals, mushrooms - it truly elevates the experience in the setting. Even the bathroom I was like, “wait, why do I feel like I just wanna chill in here?!” Anyway, this place is absolute top tier cafe vibes, quality, and experience. You’ve already read this far, don’t look elsewhere, just go....