Passerine — Restaurant in Lancaster

The food is wonderful. The best roasted potato ever, I'll be attempting them for Thanksgiving and will try to figure out that amazing sauce! You could hear how good they were from the crunch and the loud mmmm sounds.

I never order steak when dining out unless I'm at a steakhouse, I also never order NY Strip. The chocolate sauce pulled me away from the Lamb Ragout which is what I really wanted.

The strip was perfectly prepared, and sliced. The sauce was good but it didn't make me want to lick the plate and I should have followed my steak rule. I just had to know what chocolate on steak tasted like and I think the ragout would have been the better choice. The mushrooms it came with were also perfect, but too tangy for me to eat them all.

My friend's half chicken may have been the best she's had, if it had only been plated on something larger. The vintage plate was not more than 10" and too small for a half a fat chicken sitting in squash puree.

She didn't get more than five bites. Had it been in pieces it would have been easier, but not nearly as beautiful. The rectangle platter for the steak would have worked better, as the trendy Laguiole knives just didn't "cut" it on such a small plate. Trust me, it went home with her and was devoured.

Contrary to numerous reviews, the portion size and price were generous and reasonable and actually could have been just slightly less without notice. Maybe they're adjusting, or maybe we have too many smorgasbords.

When the potatoes came we both said no way could we eat them all. There were easily 12 if not 15 large, beautiful, crunchy potato wedges surrounding a bowl of lemon creamy goodness! We did eat every one and ALL the sauce.

Same with the carrots that were equally beautiful and laying in some kind of puree that was also devoured. There had to be 10 baby carrots, more than enough for two.

The NY Strip was 14 ounces, for $40. I don't know if there is less expensive downtown? It was big.

The desserts were creative, delicious, and normally priced for this caliber restaurant. The Panna Cotta was the only dish of the evening I wished was larger. I'm laughing as I type that but serious.

The service was excellent, no problems. I'm being cruel with my stars only because it was painful for me to sit through the meal seeing how painful it was for my friend to try to eat her chicken without wearing it.

I wished someone would have noticed and intervened. I'm sure they would have handled it perfectly had we requested help.

They were sold out of Crepe Cake and there are a few others I want to try so I'll be back.

But I'm not sure this a good dinner spot for me. I'm getting old and restaurants are getting louder and smaller. It was hard to have conversation and we both felt very cramped in our seats.

If I'm eating food this good I want to be more relaxed. I think the front may be quieter and perhaps have roomier seating.

Thankfully they have brunch, which looks equally wonderful and being less expensive, my comfort standards can drop a notch.

We're lucky to have such good...

There are meals that satisfy. There are meals that impress. And then there are meals that change you.

Passerine in Lancaster, PA, is not merely a restaurant — it is a sanctuary of intentionality, a place where food becomes philosophy and service becomes soul. Dining here is like stepping into a living poem, each dish a stanza, every moment curated with purpose, beauty, and grace.

To begin with Octavia — Words fall short. This is not just a server. Octavia is the very embodiment of hospitality as an art form. She glides through the space like a conductor, anticipating every note of your evening before you even hum it. Attentive without hovering, knowledgeable without pretense, warm without performance — her presence alone elevated the evening into something unforgettable. She doesn’t serve tables. She holds space. And in that space, something deeply human and rare is allowed to happen.

And then there’s Phoebe — To say she cooks is an understatement. Phoebe creates with a kind of reverence that’s felt in every bite. Her food is composed, expressive, and deeply alive — each dish a meditation on texture, memory, and emotion. Her work doesn’t demand attention; it earns it, slowly and deliberately, inviting you to listen. There is wisdom in it. Stillness. Art.

Working alongside her is Olivia, the sous chef — whose steady hands and quiet brilliance are woven through every plate. There is a kind of grace that comes from collaboration when it’s built on mutual trust and clarity of purpose, and you can feel that here. Olivia’s presence may be behind the scenes, but her touch is unmistakable. This is a kitchen where intention flows freely from every corner.

And anchoring it all is Chef Kevin, owner and visionary. The atmosphere, the balance, the unpretentious elegance of it all — none of it happens by accident. It is the result of a leader who cares deeply, who cultivates talent and lets it shine. Passerine doesn’t just serve food. It tells a story. Kevin makes space for that story to unfold with integrity, care, and heart.

The dishes I tasted were unlike anything I’ve had — and I say that without exaggeration. There was tenderness in the presentation, restraint in the balance, and intimacy in the execution. Even in a full dining room, the experience felt personal, even sacred.

Passerine is not simply a restaurant. It is an act of devotion. To eat here is to remember what food — and service, and artistry — can be. That there is still beauty in the world. That a meal can hold you, and change you.

I am blown away. Humbled. Grateful. I will carry this with me for a...

Passerine: Beauty, Ego, and the Erosion of Hospitality

After two decades of dining across the country and watching restaurants rise, fall, and sometimes transcend, I’ve learned to spot the difference between confidence and hubris. Passerine, Lancaster’s most talked-about newcomer, walks that fine line—and lately, it’s begun to stumble.

Let’s begin with the good: the space is stunning. Thoughtfully curated, Passerine’s interior invites you in with a warm modernism that feels worldly yet rooted. It’s the kind of design that hints at great things to come. But, sadly, the promise ends there.

From the moment you step in, the service exudes a sense of superiority that borders on condescension. The staff, though polished in presentation, project an air of detachment, as if the very act of hospitality has become too pedestrian for them. There is a palpable sense that the accolades have gone to their heads—and that attitude bleeds into every part of the experience.

Most dishes arrive with fanfare but, frustratingly, not with warmth—literally. Cold plates, both in temperature and soul, come overly worked and conceptually convoluted. This is food with something to prove, not something to share. The menu leans into complication for the sake of ego, not flavor. There’s a chef’s hand here, but it’s a clenched fist rather than an open palm.

Of course, much of this newfound bravado stems from Passerine’s inclusion in The New York Times’ list of 50 favorite restaurants in the country—a distinction worth celebrating, no doubt. But there’s a difference between being a favorite and being the best, and the team behind Passerine has twisted the narrative to serve their own myth-making. What could have been a moment of collective pride for Lancaster’s dining scene has become a vessel for self-congratulation.

Prices have risen. Quality has dropped. And perhaps most disappointingly, the humility that once defined the Lancaster hospitality ethos has been replaced by a kind of performance art that leaves the guest cold—both emotionally and literally.

Lancaster is a community that values hard work, warmth, and authenticity. Passerine has the bones to embody all of that. But until the ego is checked at the door and hospitality is let back in, it risks becoming a monument to its own reflection rather than a beacon for the...