El Serrano

Wow… Love this spot. Friend recommended and hit expectations. We had lunch specials which were delicious, but the dinner meals look expensive. The enchiladas were good, but a small portion for lunch. My friend recommends the fajitas. The margs were delicious. make sure you try one. or three.

This time around, on 5÷6÷16 I ate here with friends and I was greatly disappointed. My food came cold, looked like the lettuce was not very fresh. Worst of all, there was something that tasted very bitter. I was very disappointed because all other times before that, I had great meals there.

I’ve gone here a bunch of times. This place is the best Latin American restaurant around. I normally get el ranchero combo which sometimes they add a sauce to each item that tastes delicious. Even when they don’t add the sauce, they’re still decent. I love el bandito also. I would recommend this for people who love spicy food. The servers are very good, some are excellent. I would also recommend the blue margarita! It’s to die for!

Checked in here last night for dinner. I had the Pollo Fundido, which was amazing. I loved the atmosphere, their salsa was so fresh and unlimited refills is a huge plus! Will definitely be there next time i crave Spanish/​Peruvian food.

They have good lunch specials, and my Peruvian margarita was delightful. The upstairs tapas me units quite good too. But it can get loud.

My wife and I have been here several times in the past, however after today’s lunch there I feel as if I should write a review.
Our waitress, although polite, failed to visit our table to make sure our drinks were fine. We ended up visiting the bar together so my wife could refill her Diet Coke. She also failed to bring certain condiments to the table, which therefore made our appetizer go cold while waiting for her to return.
I have a pollen and dust allergy. Unfortunately for me, I began sneezing because there was dust all over the booth, the lamp above us, and the photographs on the walls. It was, sadly, a disgusting environment.
The food finally came, and I shortly found out that when ordering the chicken fajitas, the topple the skillet with onions rather than chicken. I had enough chicken to make only two fajitas.
Overall, I give this place two stars. We’ve had positive experiences here, but after today’s visit I’m not sure we will be returning. If management ends up reading this, please feel free to respond.
I took three pictures of the dust to show management that my complaints merit themselves.

I went here on a Saturday night with my fiancé to try some different (Peruvian) food. The building itself is very impressive and not what you’d expect to see for a restaurant (check out some pictures of it online). It gave off a classy Latin American vibe and had a very unique design. It looked like there was even a courtyard in the middle that had potential seating for outdoor eating in warmer weather.
Shortly after we were seated our waitress brought us some free chips and salsa to get started on. I love when they are a part of your meal and you don’t have to pay extra for them. Some of the menu items were similar to what you’d see at a typical Mexican restaurant. My fiancé not being very adventurous went with the taco salad and a pomegranate margarita, and I ordered the Guiso de Diablo (Stew of the Devil) with shredded beef. Oddly the taco salad had most of the ingredients on the bottom of an edible dish which surprisingly seemed like an easier way to eat the salad. I tried a bit of her margarita and it was on the stronger side and didn’t taste like it was soaked in artificial sugar… perfect! My meal was on the spicier side with rice, beans, chicken and some spices/​sauces. I love spicy food and this one really hit the spot.
Neat place to check out and their dinner menu has a wide range of prices depending on what you want to spend for a meal. I was really pleased with this place and if it weren’t so far away I could see coming out here more often. You definitely get a nicer meal than your typical Mexican restaurant and the Margaritas are exceptional.

Very good. Green spicy sauce is tasty, not simply hot. Our dishes (fajitas, chicken enchiladas) were both superb. The service was friendly, helpful and prompt. We will be back!

This is our favorite restaurant in the area. When you combine the absolutely beautiful architecture and furniture, providing a South American estate atmosphere that is SOOO romantic, with the delicious food, amazing wines and cocktails, and surprisingly reasonable prices, we feel like it can’t be beat. We go to Clementina’s upstairs for special occasions. Only con is that there are a lot of tables crammed together in certain parts of the restaurant, so depending on where you are seated, it can be crowded.
But the food is truly amazing.

Came here after hearing my family rave about the pollo Saltado, but was really disappointed. There were only 5 – 6 pieces of chicken in the whole dish, the fries to meat ratio was completely off. For $ 16 that’s a total rip off. The sangria was definitely a redeeming factor, along with the nice décor, ambiance, and music.
Tip: order the fajitas and a side of fries if you don’t want to feel ripped off

My boyfriend and I randomly found out about El Serrano from a couple we had met at the Thistle Finch Distillery. They were moving from Lancaster and we asked them what was on their ‘Lancaster Bucket List’ and El Serrano was on there. So we took their recommendation and decided to check it for ourselves the very next day.
It was a Sunday and it opened at 11 am. We got there at around noon and there were already plenty of people waiting/​dining. It’s a huge place and they have live music and dancing on Friday/​Saturday nights so you could tell this was probably the place to be on weekend nights. Plus it helped that the décor is really beautiful. It made me feel like I was transported to a Latin American country. Everything looked authentic and not your typical tacky furniture you’d find at other similar restaurants. The restaurant itself was really nice too — it looked like a villa.
But onto the food. To start off your meal, they bring you complimentary salsa and warm tortilla chips. The chips tasted a tad stale and greasy to me, so I’m thinking since it was still early, they probably just tried to refry last night’s leftover chips. But hey, they’re free so can’t really complain.
We also decided to order a few appetizers. Here is everything we ordered:
Gambas al ajillo (shrimp sautéed in garlic sauce, served with French bread slices) — I did not like this at all. They used frozen shrimp so it was flavorless. The garlic sauce was more like garlicky water.
Ceviche (Tiradito style, slices of Tilapia cooked by contact with chilled citrus juices) — this was amazing. I’ve only had ceviche a handful of times and all those other times, they were super small cubes and really citrusy, so you couldn’t really taste the fish. So you could tell they were definitely trying to hide something. I liked that they give big slices at El Serrano. You could taste the flavor of the fish and it was fresh. Plus, they didn’t overdo it on the citrus.
Lomo saltado (strips of beef tenderloin grilled Peruvian style with red onions, french fries and tomatoes, served with white rice) — this was really good. It’s also their most (or one of their most) popular dishes. The beef was perfectly cooked medium. And it was actually how medium should be cooked — still slightly pinked. Most places tend to take medium to mean medium well.
Pollo fundido (marinated, grilled chicken breast stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese, folded in a flour tortilla and grilled, topped with our special cheese sauce served with Spanish rice, beans, lettuce and pico de gallo) — the description made me think it was more of a quesadilla but it was actually more like a burrito. I guess that’s what I get for assuming. There was very little chicken in it and the few pieces that were present, were dry. There was a little too much cheese sauce on top, and the beans were basically just a dryed up layer of refried beans. The best part of the dish was probably the lettuce and pico de gallo, so you can probably skip this one.
I guess not every single dish can be good so whatever you order could be hit or miss here. If I’m ever in Lancaster again, I wouldn’t mind checking it out on a night they have the live music and dancing!

One of the finer restaurants in the Lancaster area. If you enjoy Latin cuisine, you won’t be disappointed. I’ve never had a bad meal at El Serrano. Service has always been good. Enjoy the sweet sounds of Dante on the weekends. Bueno!

Come here for a bachelorette dinner and everyone had a blast! Drinks were delicious and strong! Food was out of this world! By the end of the night we were well fed, satisfied and entertained by the live music. The food is authentic Latin American, not your typical over priced burritos or tacos in restaurants.
— Complementary chip and salsa for the table woohoo! Good, but nothing amazing.
— I got the highly reviewed Chicken Lomo Saltado. Its a Peruvian grilled chicken with vegetables and french fries mixed in! The french fries was a weird combo, but it works! This dish has a vinegary taste, which I thought balanced well with the savoriness. Good portions too, two of my friends had to take some leftovers home.
— The drinks are great! Pomegranate margarita was strong! I barely taste the pomegranate. Sangarita was delicious, can barley taste the alcohol.
— High recommend the ceviche! Taste very similar to the ones I had in Peru, except not as spicy.
— Dessert rum cake was better than I expected! Served warm! Great for sharing!
Dislikes —
— Fried ice cream was not fried, more like covered in crumble and topped with whipped cream. Would not get it again!
— When brought the check, waitress insisted that I got the sangarita, when I know I ordered a margarita. It was fine because its the same price.
The restaurant’s architecture is gorgeous inside and out! Would definitely come back again for date night or girl’s night or birthday! Be sure to sign up for their loyalty club on the website and receive $ 10 off coupon!!!

I’ve been here twice both times for a work function and both times I was somewhat underwhelmed. The first time was for lunch and the food was meh, I have eaten in some really good mexican/​peruvian restaurants having lived in south Florida and Northern California. This place would go out of business in these locations imho. In central PA it’s a destination place, go figure. I had the peruvian chicken for dinner with french fries mixed in, it was ok but nothing special. All and all ok but nothing to rave about. Both times it took a long time to seat my party, both times we had reservations but they seemed surprised to see us.

This place was great. I had a late dinner there with family I hadn’t seen in years. We made a reservation for 7:30pm and they were ready for us right away. They close at 9, but they were friendly about it and didn’t pressure us to leave. The food was great — my aunts raved about their fajitas, and I had a wonderful Pollo Fundido. My nephews had the shrimp appetizer and another shrimp dish that they said were amazing. It’s got a great atmosphere. A bit dark for reading menus, like most other places these days.
Oh, and I highly recommend the fried ice cream dessert. With honey. Save room, you won’t regret it.

Beautiful atmosphere in this gorgeous restaurant. Service that can’t be beat. And very good food. Lots of variety on the menu, albeit mostly Latin American and Peruvian style. On the down side, the live music is well done but way too loud, making it difficult to hold a conversation with your table mates and the prices are definitely too high for what you get, but it’s all still an experience you’ll probably enjoy.

Had a wonderful meal with my children, they took me out for my birthday the food was excellent, although the space was a little cramped

Very nice Latin find in Lancaster, PA. The salsa that came with our meal was very fresh, and very flavorful. I ordered the Lomo Saltado with beef. It was quite frankly the best meal that I have had in weeks. The seasoning brought this dish so much life (I definitely detected some cumin). I was so excited for every bite. The next time I come to Lancaster, I will return for this dish.
My wife had the Pollo Fundido. It was good, not great. I had to try and conceal my enjoyment while eating my ridiculously awesome plato de comida.
The service was great, everyone was very friendly. The restaurant itself was gorgeous both inside and out. There was also some live music which was nice. When they went to the canned music, it was too loud. That was my only real complaint.
Come to El Serrano, and have a nice night out!

Excellent excellent excellent!!! The host staff was friendly and inviting. The server was also super friendly and knowledgeable, and the food is absolutely outstanding. The salsa is a beautiful red and has just the right amount of onions and cilantro. I was absolutely blown away by the beef Lomo Saltado. I will remember that dish for a long time.

This is my favorite mexican restaurant in Lancaster. It goes beyond your basic burritos, enchiladas and chimichangas. It has them, but it is so much more.
I usually get their beef tenderloin fajitas but everything I have tried has been good.
Shrimp with garlic sauce is my favorite appetizer.
Good margaritas, good deserts and reasonable prices for the quality
If somebody ask me where to to for Mexican in Lancaster El Serrano is what I tell them.