Hershey Farm Restaurant — Restaurant in Strasburg Township

Well we used to love all these Amish food places. I’ve lived around here for 40 years. We have eaten at Hersheys, Millers, Shady Maple, Yoder’s, Deinners, Family Style, Stacey’s/Cactus Willie’s, Williow Valley, WV was the greatest, forced out of the business by the ruling Dutch Mafia, along with Stacey’s, CW, WV. The rest have strong ties to the one of the Boss families from either the Amish or Mennonite sides to keep the lights on even through Covid. Anyway I could literally copy n paste this review on any of these currently open buffets listed above and it would be remarkably similar. It’s Almost like they’re all ran by the exact same people, using the exact same food suppliers…maybe? So the run down would be. Pretty much awful food with the exception of Shady Maple and possibly Millers, IDK haven’t been there in 30 years because of prices. Awful, bland, unappealing, unappetizing food that appears to thrown together, the grill was horrible, I asked for a plain cheesesteak with nothing on it, zero because of allergies. I come back for it and take a bite of pure grill seasoning, onions and garlic (2 allergies). There’s no real meat except the fried chicken which tasted of old burnt oil . Cold soup and warm salad bar. Not one single piece of fruit anywhere other than dirty lemon slices by the old shrimp that tasted like an old aquarium filter smells like. I could mention 100 things if I could write that long. We’ll just say it’s made with it clear that the goal was to produce something that would pass as edible for the absolute minimum amount of money possible. These people don’t take the brunt of rising food costs. They just cut corners, stretch fresh dates ,and still raise the price 15% a year. Not to mention let’s address the Mastodon in the room, the price. Absolutely God damn ridiculous 39$ per person. I don’t even know what they charged for out 12 year old daughter, or how much the locals discount was. I didnt know how much anything was going to be until it was over. 80$ for 2 adults and a child. 95$ with gratuity but the one shining light in the whole night was our server Silvia, she was great and attentive. We couldn’t have asked for a better server and the gratuity was well worth it. It was just everything else that sucked. Like I said all the Amish restaurants are doing the same thing, same crappy food for ridiculous prices. The place just burned down and was rebuilt. Same is happening over at Bird in Hand. I thought restaurants only burned down all the time and got immediately renovated n reopened on TV shows like the Sopranos………..Oh Sh….,, gotta lock my door…. But seriously though don’t waste the money on these places, anymore they’re a total scam. At least goto Shady Maple if you...

We are fairly local, about an hour away and ate at the previous restaraunt many times and always loved it. I'm not saying this was terrible but definitely not the same food.

The remodel is absolutely amazing. They did a fantastic job. As you walk up to the restaraunt the overall look and feel is welcoming with a modern look. Huge windows at the entrance and beautiful landscaping. Walking in, again, it's a very modern farmhouse feel. They have a couple of shops inside also, including a bakery and a kind of upgraded souvenir shop with clothes and random items.

We were seated promptly. Keep in mind as a party of 2 we were seated at a table for 2. The table was adequate but slightly small. But the seat we were at was right across from the hostess station and apparently a short cut to the other part of the dining room. So the servers kept cutting behind my wife. Not a deal breaker but a little annoying.

Our server was great. She consistently kept checking on us and kept our drinks filled and dishes cleared. I will say, as others have said that at no time was the price given for the buffet, a menu offered, or the price posted. We knew ahead of time what the price was so we weren't surprised. We were here on a Saturday, the cost was $39.00 per person drinks are not included.

As for the food. This was a bit of a let down. As I said, we had eaten here before the remodel many times and loved the food. Again, although not terrible, not the wonderful Amish food that is expected. The potato soup was luke warm at best, I had cheesy mashed potatoes that were too salty to eat, fried zucchini that also had quite a bit of salt on them, the fish was way overdone and finally I got the creme brulee french toast from the grille. As I watched the young man behind the grille use the same spatula he used on the cheese steak he was cooking and left the grill press on my one piece for over 5 minutes. So much so the other guy next to him asked him if he was making pancakes.

On a good note for food. I do not eat meat (pescatarian) but the prime rib did look good and if they didn't change their fried chicken recipe that was always really good. The people sitting next to us sounded like they really enjoyed the pot pie (we were sitting that close that we could hear thier conversations). The shrimp was really good and the salad bar was adequate.

Desserts were good also, eclair pudding, cherry cheesecake pudding, cupcakes, soft serve ice cream with toppings, and you must try the whoppie pies.

All in all if you're in the area maybe give this a try but set your expectations...

My boyfriend and decided to eat here this morning due to Dienner's being closed for the winter season(they reopen in February) we always wanted to try it out, and didn't get to before it burned down. We were very dissatisfied with the food selection and quality/taste. The french toast sticks were bland, scrambled eggs were lukewarm, and kind of runny too. You could tell the food was probably not made from scratch. Maybe the omelet was the only thing made from scratch, but everything else seemed like it was boxed/frozen and just heated. The plates were small too. Even the coffee was not good and that wasn't even included with the meal! My boyfriend tried the cream chipped beef over a buttermilk biscuit, and took one bite and was done. He was not sure what was mixed in, but he said it wasn't good. The biscuits were also bland. Even butter and cinnamon butter(also tasteless) couldn't save it. I grabbed some oatmeal and that was tasteless. I got some of the fruit salad and some cottage cheese. At least that was edible enough. The meal for both of us was just over $50.00 because drinks weren't included and were 4 bucks each for coffee and orange juice!

Absolutely not worth it for the quality. The atmosphere is all too modern/high end for a restaurant in the middle of Lancaster County. No Amish flare whatsoever. Too corporate to be honest. We went into the gift shop after and there was definitely a noticeable foul odor coming from an unknown location. Unfortunately, this will be a once and done dining experience. We will not be back. Save your money and go to Dienner's, and/or Bird In Hand Smorgasbord when they reopen.

One last thing. The place wasn't very busy either. My guess is the majority of diners were guests at the resort. Don't get me wrong, the service was good, but too bad the food wasn't. I feel they shoved all the money into the interior to appeal to the tourists with money, and didn't keep the locals in mind who like the PA dutch taste. The atmosphere doesn't match the taste of the food,...