Lombardo’s Restaurant

Unilocal actually suggested this restaurant and it was spot on!
The food was fresh and individually prepared. The staff was seasoned and pleasant.
The owner went above and beyond to help me pick out a nice bottle of wine. He offered me a range of tastes and prices and went off menu. He was engaging and polite and I would recommend this restaurant for locals or travelers that come to Lancaster, PA.
Yum!

I come from an Italian family in upstate New York. I’ve eaten red sauce produced by my grandmothers and aunts (and passed down to me) that has been loved by generations. The simplest, undeniable barometer of any restaurant claiming proficiency in Italian fare is their red sauce. On this level I can’t give Lombardo’s any love. Watery and flavorless. My wife and I have eaten here twice. On the first visit I ordered the lasagna and was less than pleased to find that the middle was cold. Ok, I get that lasagna can be made ahead but serving a cold dish is inexcusable. Dry chicken, greasy fried appetizers, flavorless entrees. I’m blown away that this passes for good Italian food in Lancaster… let alone anywhere.

OPPOSITE of the typical Italian chain, Lombardo’s is a step back in time to the old country of southern Italy. Faint Frank Sinatra songs in the background and clean, dark red carpets and gold panels provide the perfect setting to this classic and homey, authentic fine Italian fine-​dining experience. I feel the need to give a 3-​course review for our amazing 3-​course meal.
INTRODUCTION
Walked in here with my family on a busy Saturday night during F&M homecoming without reservations, and was greeted amicably by the owner, Mike, who said we’ll have a table ready in 5 minutes, despite how busy they were. Sure enough, he personally sat us down and welcomed my everyone in my 6-​person family with a brief and intriguing history of how his family brought the family recipes of hand-​rolled pastas and sugar-​free homemade sauces of Southern Italy into Lancaster, PA. Needless to say, Mike made our family really feel comfortably at home and we immediately knew we had found a GEM.
FOOD
Good food all starts where? Il pane, certamente! Mike immediately brought us amazingly warm, lightly crispy and chewy bread which he implored us to dip in Lombardo’s famous, home-​made garlic vinaigrette dressing. We were all taken aback by the flavor of the dressing with which we happily sprinkled over our fresh salads as well.
Per Mike’s suggestion, we started off with the Fritto Mozze. Without any exaggeration, these were the best mozzarella sticks I’ve ever had. My siblings and I were amicably fighting over the last ones! I don’t think I will every go back to the frozen food aisle again. Fresh, melted mozzarella covered in perfectly buttery and flaky breadcrumbs.
Main courses at my table varied from the HUGE and tender Veal Chop to the hand-​rolled meat and cheese cannelloni and veal parmigiana. Portions were so large everyone left with a doggy bag.
Did I mention each dish comes with a very GENEROUS side of the incredible ravioli?! These were main courses in themselves not just size, but attention to detail and taste as well.
SERVICE
If you couldn’t already tell, it was simply exceptional. Our waitress Kate was an expert of the menu and in timing/​attention to all of our needs. We felt like we were the only ones dining at the place which we were by the end of the night (we wined and dined for over 2 hours!)
Overall, our experience at Lombardo’s exemplifies what fine dining is all about. Good food and good company. We took our time and Mike and his staff made sure that we were treated like we were part of the family. Looking at the smiling faces around, and Mike greeting everyone coming and going, I could easily tell I was not alone in this feeling. I cannot wait to visit my sister again at F&M … and not just to see her!

I absolutely loved this place. Upon getting there, we were seated quickly, bread was brought to the table to myself and two co-​workers. (it was hot and great) Since it was our first time, the owner overheard and gave us the run down. We were OVER THE MOON impressed with the food. Then to top it off, he brought us a sample of his She Crab Soup. It was delicious too…(and we were stuffed but who can turn down a sample from the owner?) Still had food for the next day and it was even better then. love Love LOVE IT!!!

Our family regularly picks up sauce and meatballs from Lombardo’s, can’t beat it! And the garlic bread, YUM! When we eat there we get the chicken parm, best in Lancaster I’d say!

Great find. Authentic American Italian food, fresh, great portions, suave tasted like my grandmothers.
A are find there days serving good Italian food.

If you’re looking for a fancy Italian place this isn’t it. But if you’re looking for some amazing fresh Italian food this is the best place around. Love the Chicken parm. Highly recommend!!!

Went to Lancaster for a war game convention and wound up here for dinner one evening.
Please do not bother going. There were actually 5 of us. Not one of use liked what we got. The food has no taste. They claim to be authentic southern Italian cuisine. I was there in southern Italy for 16 days last year. There is no way that their claim holds. The only saving grace was the French fried eggplant appetizer. All else had zero taste and the tomato sauce was watery. You would have more taste opening a can of chef boy r dee than wasting your hard earned cash here.

A very mediocre restaurant. Our waitress was great and they did try to accommodate our requests, but the food just wasn’t very good. Portion size was on the small size considering the price.
The first problem was the menu. There was no mention that the dinners came with a salad. There are not a lot of selections. There is a lunch menu on one page but no mention that these items could also be ordered for dinner. We heard some ot her patrons ordering soup but the menu doesn’t list soup as an option.
The bread was excellent.
I ordered the fresh veal Parmesan and it wasn’t very good. The veal was extremely thin and had very little flavor. It mostly tasted like the provolone cheese that was on it. The side of spaghetti was OK but the sauce they use is very watery and has almost no flavor.
My wife had the chicken and walnut over fettuccine but she asked for Salmon instead of chicken. The Salmon was tiny, thin slices with very little flavor. They tasted very «fishy» which means it wasn’t very fresh. The pasta was supposed to have been made with olive oil and pesto but the only flavor it had was oil, not olive oil.
So, in summary: Good servers, good bread, but the food is small, expensive, and lacks any flavor. Their sauce is watery.
We’ll never go back

Came here based on recommendations from our in-​laws. Décor could definitely use an upgrade as it’s a somewhat depressing dining room with very outdated furniture and walls. Bad water stains on the ceiling are not very inviting either. All in all a very drab restaurant that could look quite nice with a renovation.
The food was better than expected in some cases, but completely fell flat in what is a signature element for any good Italian restaurant. Marinara sauce.
The bread gave us some hope as it was a very good crusty Italian bread. We had some olive oil on the table so I drizzled some of that on there instead of the butter and it was quite good. Next we all had the Italian salad with the red wine vinegar dressing. Better than expected though I’ve never been to an Italian household (my family is Italian) or restaurant that puts pepperoni slices in the salad. Nothing wrong with it, but different.
Then came my Italian Wedding Soup, only it wasn’t. It was chicken soup with either rice or ditalini pasta. Italian Wedding Soup starts with chicken stock, but includes small meatballs and Acini di pepe for the pasta (tiny pasta balls like peppercorn.) It was a decent chicken soup with many chunks of chicken, but it wasn’t Italian Wedding Soup.
To test a new Italian restaurant I always order something with Marinara. This time I went with the gnocchi with fresh marinara. The waitress assured us the gnocchi was made fresh on the premises and they appear to be quite fresh and made from rolls of potato pasta dough. The sauce, however, was a really good tomato soup. It would be great in a bowl with a grilled cheese sandwich to go along with it. It wasn’t a marinara sauce in the least. I ate a little of it and then took the rest home. I ended up re-​cooking it that evening with some garlic and fresh basil to make it much better.
My in-​laws both had spaghetti with meatballs. They kept saying the sauce didn’t taste as good as it used to.
My wife got spaghetti with pesto sauce and this one was pretty good. A nice fresh pesto that would have been great with a little more garlic and a touch more pine nuts.
All in all, drab appearance and un-​even food. I would suggest somewhere else if you’re in the mood for Italian in this area.

Went last week with my in-​laws. Ordered the FRESH veal parmigiana. Meh. Definitely missing something and very bland. Did not seem like fresh veal. Another at the table ordered steamed clams but I still can’t believe they served them to us as they were most obviously bad — you could smell how bad from across the table. So an order of escargot was made and they apparently were much better. Spaghetti sauce on veal parm was very restauranty if you know what I mean. My in-​laws like the place. I was not impressed.

Good service, mediocre food for the price. Brother got spaghetti and meatballs, said it’s better when he makes it with dollar store ingredients. Mom loved the manicotti made with fresh crepes. My spinach salad had a good dressing and was presented beautifully but the tenderloin tips on top tasted off. There were some good looking dessert options that I did not try. I’d say go for the mozzarella sticks and a salad. Too pricey for the quality and taste of the food.

Our family was visiting from out of town, and decided to try out Lombardo’s even though we were skeptical after reading a few other Unilocal reviews. However, we were so pleasantly surprised that we decided to add one of our own. Family-​owned service was fantastic, food was very good, and atmosphere was nice. Would definitely recommend this restaurant!

Service was good. Family owned traditional Italian food. You won’t find any exciting dishes here like you would at Carrabba’s or olive garden. My wife and i like nonchain eateries so we tried lombardos. I regretted not going to carrabas. Wife got the pesto which was good and I got bracciole (steak wrapped around egg and potato type filler) in red sauce. Sauce was ok and meat was bland. Kept saying it needed something. Restaurant seems to cater to older generation that likes bland food. Average age of patrons was 50 plus. Times have change and it seems like this restaraunt needs a menu face lift to survive and compete against others in the area. It was the only place without a wait on a Friday night. I quickly found out why. I unfortunately will not be back!

I would give this restaurant a zero if I could.
I recently moved back to Lancaster and I was really looking forward to eating at Lombardo’s after a long hiatus. The food used to be excellent. However, this place should be on Kitchen Nightmares and Gordon Ramsey needs to be called in.
The ceiling has many water stains on it and it looks like mold may be growing on it. The food was also terrible. We ordered the mozzarella sticks as an appetizer and they came out overcooked, though I ate them because the marinara sauce helped to mask the slightly burnt taste. I ordered the house Italian dressing for my salad and it came out drenched in red wine vinegar. The final straw was our entrees — the chicken parmesan and baked canneloni. The breaded chicken was burnt and the spaghetti had absolutely no flavor to it. The baked canneloni was dried out and burnt on the edges, had insufficient filling, and runny tasteless sauce.
We asked for the check and left. The wait staff asked if we wanted a box for the food and we obviously said no. I’m shocked that we weren’t asked about the food. I can’t imagine serving food like that to my family at home, let alone in a restaurant. If they keep this up, I can’t imagine why anyone would come back. I’m very sad to say that Lombardo’s is no longer the way it used to be and I will not be going back.
It’s sad when Olive Garden provides a better Italian meal.

As other reviewers have noted, the average age of the clientele at Lombardo’s is in the upper fifties, the service tends to be slower than average and much of their menu is good but not spectacular. The reason my wife and I keep coming back is for their pepperoni sauce. It is to die for. We always get the rigatoni with pepperoni sauce and it never dissapoints.

Great Family Italian in Lancaster. Had the baked Lasagna very good.

I grew up eating regularly at old-​school red sauce Italian places like this one in RI. Seemed like a safe choice for the family.
It was awful.
Antipasto was horrific — most of the stuff was straight out of a can, and it came with celery stalks with the leaves still attached! Yuck.
My kids ordered chicken tenders — what little chicken there was came encased in a rock hard batter.
Can’t remember the rest of the crap we ordered but none of it was good.

I had the opportunity of taking my date, 2 college age daughters and one of their boyfriends there for dinner tonight. My date and I were raised in S. Jersey, a home of small Mom and Pop local Italian restaurants. Having not been to Lombardos the reviews somewhat scared me but we tried it.
The appetizers, not the specials, but the regular ones could easily have been skipped, Calamari and I forget what the other fried food was.
The salads were better than expected.
Then came the dinners, chicken parms, veal parm and Manicotti… all absolutely terrific! My date is a tomato gravy critic… knows how to make Grandmas… ya you get it… she said that was the best restaurant tomato gravy that she can remember. Each of the 5 plates received great reviews and everyone took home food.
The bread was great home made Italian and a lot of it without having to beg for more.
Tiramisu, carrot cake, and cannollis were just as good.
The atmosphere was great. As opposed to the loud hype places, this is a quiet wonderful place to enjoy dinner as it should be… slow and about the wonderful conversation and interaction without going deaf.
The service was quick, efficient, out of the way and seemed to quickly adjust to our no rush laid back attitude as we ended up closing the restaurant.
If you are looking for «unlimited soup and salad».and the chains and an hour wait… this might not be for you. If you want great southern Italian food, service and atmosphere you cant go wrong.
A great way to end out First Friday of the year! — yes within an easy walking distance.
Definitely will be back to find other appetizers and wonderful dinners… Thanks!

I wanted to really like this place. The owner was very friendly and the service was great. There’s a real family atmosphere to the restaurant, lots of folks knew each other, looks like they have lots of regulars — but frankly, the food ain’t that good. I had the fresh veal Parmesan with side of spaghetti. It was just okay. I can do just as well at home boiling some water and heating up some Ragu. My wife had the stuffed eggplant, supposedly stuffed with meat. She hated it so I took a bite… yuck. I wouldn’t feed it to my neighbor’s dog and I don’t even like my neighbor’s dog. On the plus side, they had peroni on tap so I had a few of those to cleanse my palate from the horrid eggplant. I did feel young though, lots of oldsters eating there.