Porch & Pantry — Restaurant in Mount Gretna

Update 3.23.25: we returned after hearing of new ownership. We made a reservation for 5 to avoid the issue we had previously with not being seated. We were immediately seated in the front room which made us feel like a spectacle for everyone walking into the restaurant. Our server came out and asked "are we coffee drinkers?" While setting out 2 pots. We took the coffee without actually asking for any and were then charged $18 for 4 cups. Qhen we tried to order they were out of brioche, which meant no French toast for my wife, and somehow also out of salted caramel for the cold brew... wow.

We ordered pancakes, and enchilada, a scramble, and SOS. The serving sizes were laughable for the SOS and the scramble. The enchilada was a nice size but the egg and bacon were more of a suggestion as the entire thing was just potatos and it was barely warm. The pancakes were delicious, but the syrup included may as well have been served in a thimble.

We did not complain as someone even came to ask if everything was fine, but we kept quiet because we were on display in the front room with a crowd of people. $111 before tip for our meals is wild work for the portions and quality. We won't be back, sadly.

TRIED to come in for breakfast today because their menu looks great, honestly. we waited 30 minutes only to find out the young girl at the front crossed us off the list. she then lied, saying we were next, and sat other tables who also complained about being crossed off the list. when we finally sat down, we saw that NOBODY had their food because the kitchen was so backed up. we left after almost 45 minutes hungry and irritated. thanks for wasting our morning, and making it impossible to enjoy brunch...

I have so many great memories here. This use to be my favorite spot. Before porch & pantry switched hands, they use to be the go to spot for people with dietary restrictions. A vegan/gluten free breakfast menu is such a rare and special thing to find- a huge selling point. Their vegan gluten free chocolate chip pancakes were legendary. They had vegan cheese steaks, vegan tuna melts, vegan breakfast burritos, garden fries, vegan coffee cake, vegan caprese grilled cheese- all the comfort foods that are so hard to come by as a vegan. The first time I went, i was in disbelief that over how many options there were. The vegan menu was so impressive and unparalleled that my friends and i would frequently pile into a car and drive nearly an hour for it. We would order as many different items as we could cram onto the table and we'd share so we wouldn't miss out on anything. Sadly, we no longer have any incentive to go because the new management has removed all the worthwhile vegan options and replaced them with the three most common vegan items- impossible burgers, portabello burgers, and grain bowls. Not bad but definitly not worth making a special trip. I can get those...

Overall a disappointment. We came for breakfast and got a main dish and “grilled sticky buns” to go after our meal.

The breakfast poutine was a let down. Mainly, the quality of the “brisket” was one of the worst I’ve ever had. I’m a brisket fanatic. I was expecting brisket gravy to have tender shreds of meat in a delicious breakfast gravy. It was actually in brown gravy (which we were okay with!) and the “brisket” was in large, dry, chewy chunks. The consistency was closer to ham or overcooked roast. A big let down. As a side note, do NOT get your eggs over easy for this dish. Your runny eggs infuse with the brown gravy and you lose the taste of the yolk completely. Scrambled is the way to go.

The $6.50 grilled sticky bun was a fail. I almost feel like it wasn’t grilled but it was cut in half and slightly warm inside so maybe it was. But the inside was dry dry dry dry dry. Only trace amounts of “sticky” on this bun, and only on the outside. It was like eating a solid brioche roll with minimal sticky goodness on the outside. I added butter and maple syrup at home to make it...