Lancaster Brewing Company — Restaurant in Lancaster

Where to start.. Our server first approached our table with waters, at which time we ordered our beer. The beer was fabulous (although we waited about ten minutes for it), no complaints there. We made our appetizer and entree order when the beer arrived. We ordered the calamari appetizer, as well as the mussels. We each ordered a burger (one lamb burger and one LBC burger). The appetizers came very quickly and looked great, served by the food runner. The mussels were mediocre (we can make better ones at home), but the calamari was literally terrible. I always order calamari as an appetizer when and where available, but this was by far the worst calamari I've ever experienced. The squid itself was overcooked, and the breading was beyond bland and under-seasoned, not to mention falling off of the squid. It was also served on top of a layer of nearly plain mayonnaise? And with a really bad marinara dipping sauce. Everything about it was bad. Our burgers with fries arrived soon after, again brought by the food runner. We had yet to see our server again at this point, except for him schmoozing with another table. The burgers and fries were OK, the bottom bun on the LBC burger was soggy. We didn't see our server again until we were finished eating, we actually sat there for over ten minutes after we were done eating and waited. He wasn't even available to be flagged down, he was just nonexistent. He finally showed up and I asked for boxes and the check, which he brought quickly. I had wanted another beer and dessert, but we decided not to spend any more money there as we were unsatisfied with both our meal and the service. Mostly the service, that was the most dumbfounding. I really wanted to like this place, I did. But being ignored for close to an hour while eating unseasoned, overcooked seafood kind of killed it for me. I've never been ignored like that at...

12 July 2019**

Very Disappointed.

302 Plum Street Location

Food My wife had the fish taco’s. The fish was either overcooked or had dried out prior to being cooked. It was tough and chewy. The accompanying tortilla chips tasted stale. The meal presented ok.

I ordered the lamb burger, to be served rare. The burger presented well. However, the lamb came out raw, like lamb tar tar. It only needed a raw egg on top to finish off the presentation. The fries being a bit large in portion seemed to only have one inch log potatoes. It was either the end of the bag or the smallest fingerling potatoes used for fries.

Beer I had a flight and the wife had a different beer. With the addition of a mistake sour beer we had a good cross section of flavors to try.

Both the milk stout and the double stout were pleasant and nicely balanced. The other six were ok to less than average. They lacked either balance, crispness or a good finish.

Service We were seated promptly. We asked to have the table wiped, which was done promptly. However, the table was still sticky which tells me the table towels had not been raised or the water with sanitizer they should be placed in was of insufficient strength to do the job properly.

The server, which I think was also the acting manager since no other person around looked like a manager, was ok. The establishment being about half full had her tending bar and waiting tables. She handled the meal problems promptly for both my wife and myself. I ate elsewhere for lunch.

Atmosphere At first it presents well until one starts to look around. It is an old building with larger beams and character. The atmosphere leaves much to be desired. The cushions on at least four seats were torn or cut so the stuffing was hanging out. We did not check out the restrooms to see there condition.

In all, a very poor meal experience. We will...

In business for nearly thirty years, Lancaster Brewing Company has the brewpub concept down pat. The atmosphere is casual (albeit potentially fairly loud), and the dining area offers a view of the brewery tanks. Speaking of the beer, there are quite a few varieties to choose from – everything from nitro stouts to peanut butter ales — and LBC offers flights for those who want to try it all. The food selections are equally impressive. While you can find the requisite wings/burger/pizza here, LBC also defies expectations by offering up white chili or a chicken, leek, and lager pie.

My wife and I split an order of teriyaki fried cauliflower, a braided soft pretzel, and a burger meister and found the food to be very good. The cauliflower featured thick breading and a sweet teriyaki glaze. I could have eaten an entrée’s worth of it and have been satisfied. The pretzel was warm and pulled apart easily. Rather than being accompanied by separate cheese and mustard dips, its partner was a blend of beer cheese and mustard, strongly flavored but tasty if you don’t mind mustard. The burger featured fresh ground bratwurst, something that will leave you wondering where it was all your life. The accompanying fries were natural-cut, salty, and crisp.

While our server was friendly and helpful at the beginning of the meal, she vanished toward the end, and we were in for a wait to get our checks. LBC isn’t cheap for what it offers - $13 for the cauliflower, $16 for the burger – but the portions are at least sizeable.

If you want good beer, good food, and a dash of the unexpected, Lancaster Brewing Company is a very appealing option as long as you have the patience for high volume and a...