Lombardo's Restaurant, Lancaster PA

This restaurant was a very nice place and I had a great time. They had someone playing the piano the whole night and it was lovely. They had a nice wine selection. They made an accommodation for me to have a vegan option. It was a delicious mushroom pasta. Also their bread is vegan and they gave me olive oil to dip it in. As well as, they gave me Lombardos salad without the pepperoni. I will gladly return again.

Divine, you must go! The live music and the atmosphere makes you forget about everything else going on and only focus on the company you keep. Please go you will not regret it.

We love to come here and sit at the bar. Won't be going back anytime soon. Bartenders are too worried about talking about the staff than being attentive to the needs of the people at the bar. First time ok, second time well maybe, third time was the charm, we will not be back. Very sad to say that being a business owner it is often times the customer service that ruins the business. Unfortunately will miss the food.

Exceptional from start to finish.

Our server Grace was attentive and on point. She was friendly, knowledgeable, and didn't skip a beat. We had the Four Roses cocktail on their menu called "Chai a Little Tenderness" and it was full of seasonal flavor and well balanced. We also enjoyed a lovely four roses old fashioned. Compliments to Katie May behind the bar. Bread service was accompanied with fresh parmesan, herbed olive oil and roasted red peppers. The caesar salad, linguine and clams and baked ziti were all outstanding (and I don't like clams). Portions were appropriate and well priced for the quality.

Our experience speaks volumes to the longevity of this establishment in Lancaster and the newly remodeled feel makes for a cozy and inviting setting with a touch of elegance. Thank you to Meredith and her staff! I am looking forward to visiting again soon!

Went for my wife’s birthday with some friends. The appetizers were excellent, entrees were good as well. Very impressed with their cocktail menu and the service was great. We will definitely return.

Dinner was fantastic, the service was amazing, and they were so accommodating of our big group to celebrate my grandfather’s birthday. One of our favorite restaurants!

A Mix of Hits and Misses at Lombardo's

This was our first visit post-redesign and it left us with mixed feelings. We had high hopes for an exceptional dining experience, but the overall impression was somewhat underwhelming. Lombardo's left us yearning for a more diverse and imaginative cuisine.

Let's start with the positives. The ambiance is a plus; it's tastefully decorated, albeit a bit on the dark side. The improvements from the previous decor are noticeable and appreciated. However, it's not enough to overshadow the other shortcomings.

The service was decent but didn't go above and beyond. It was a standard dining experience, with nothing particularly memorable to highlight.

The pasta, which is often an indicator of an Italian restaurant's quality, was cooked al dente as it should be. However, the flavors left a lot to be desired. The lack of seasoning was apparent, and our entire group felt that the pasta itself was under-salted, which was disappointing.

It was frustrating to find that nearly every dish relies on some form of Lombardo's sauce, and the overuse of red sauce makes you question the lack of culinary diversity. For example, the standard cheese ravioli lacked the excitement of a unique or seasonal filling, or better yet the ravioli could have been dressed with crispy sage to enhance the browned butter. The gemelli with wild mushrooms missed the opportunity to showcase the mushrooms, despite the promise of a compound truffle butter, which barely registered. The "crispy" veal parmigiana was anything but, and could more accurately be described as breaded.

We had hoped to discover unique, inspired dishes, especially since we made a reservation during restaurant week. Sadly, the menu offered nothing noteworthy. There were no seasonal changes or exceptional dishes that would warrant a return visit. Instead, we found ourselves with a very generic selection of American-Italian dishes that lacked the creativity we had hoped for.

In summary, if you have a hankering for straightforward American-Italian fare, this might be the place for you. But if you're seeking authentic, inspired Italian cuisine with refined flavors, I'd recommend looking elsewhere. Lombardo's has potential, especially with its improved ambince, but don't expect any culinary surprises.

Was very disappointed! Live in NC and was back for a visit Lombardo's was on the top of our list. Was very disappointed with new menu. Won't be back next visit.

Upon walking into the dining area I noticed 2 things.how cold the room was and dark the room was. We sat next to an exterior glass wall, from which a constant cold draft poured onto us. (After dinner, when I got back in the car, it was warmer than the restaurant, so I don't know if they are playing the "keep them cold and they'll eat faster" game to turn the tables faster or not.
Ironically the outdoor seating had heaters.) I immediately become suspicious when restaurants make you eat in the dark. What are they trying to hide? Does the darkness justify high prices? Fortunately I bring a small pocket flashlight for reading menus in dingy establishments. I did notice others using their phone flashlights to read the menu as well. The décor was nice, modern, and clean, but I did not enjoy listening to the rock music. There was an electronic keyboard disguised as a piano in the room, which I cannot imagine does not have MIDI, that could have played some nice background music, or they could have at least had some classic Italian music rather than rock. The first course was bread, which came with infused mid-grade olive oil, grated parmesan, and roasted red peppers. This was essentially fine, my wife had to ask for butter, which they happily provided. We both got the Caesar salad which was quite nice. The dressing actually resembled Caesar that was not prefab. I don't know if it was prefab or not, but it was good. BUT, being the "classy", "high end" Italian establishment they claim to be, the concept of offering the salad with a few anchovies was not offered. I would certainly understand "anchovies available upon request" due to the nature of the item.but no such option was available. The salad had plenty of shaved parmesan cheese.overall, great salad. Our entrees consisted of BOLOGNESE PAPPARDELLE and CRISPY VEAL PARMESAN. The Bolognese was more beef than anything and it was like shredded chuck roast. It was okay, but the wife said mine was better! A red flag went up when the veal parmesan arrived for me. It was a perfect oval.meaning it was prefab. It was not bad, but certainly not homemade. I did not care for the tomato sauce that much, but I understand that is a subjective thing and everyone's interpretation is different. The pasta with both dishes seemed fresh and was done perfectly. There was no vegetable served with the meal. Finally, we split the classic chocolate cake with buttercream icing. This was acceptable, however the cake was a bit dry and the icing neither buttery nor sweet, and the ratio of cake to icing was off.not enough icing. Three thinner layers would have been more up-scale and provided a better ratio. The service was excellent, prompt, and efficient. The clearing of the table was also done well. So many times we go out and the staff has not ben trained to remove plates as they are no longer needed. There is a parking lot, which is a big plus. The bathroom was bright and clean. Some of the prices were pretentious. We did not order the $9 garlic bread, but for that money it would have to be life changing. Likelihood of going back: 50/50 maybe.

Somewhat disappointed as we stressed it was an anniversary dinner and we were seated the bar area. People coming in in shorts and so forth. I just felt the classy atmosphere wasn't there like it was in years past. However, our waitress was outstanding. To make it worse, instead of taking us from the lobby directly into the dining room, the hostess made us walk the whole way around and directly through the bar to get to our table so that just compounded the less than wonderful experience.

We were a group of six. We were seated promptly and the service was exceptional. I had a fantastic calamari and a great lobster risotto. The bread dish was very good. Overall this was a great Italian restaurant and this is coming from an Italian from New York. Well done!

Haven't been to Lombardo's in 15+years. The renovation was outstanding. More importantly, the bartenders, service, and food were amazing. If you like Italian this is absolutely the place to go in Lancaster.

I was so disappointed in my meal. I ordered "The Special" Pasta with lump crab meat, asparagus, and cherry tomato in a lemon sauce. Omg, child sized portion, had to dig for the 3 bites of crab, the asparagus was shredded. It was flavorless. I cook better than that at home. The drinks were delicious and the bartender made them right but they were very expensive. The waitress was slightly grouchy as well which dampens the experience as well.

Our party of fuve had reservations at 5pm to celebrate a birthday. First time back since the renovation. We were so pleased with everything. Two of us had Ceasar salad, yes - you can get Anchovies! Two had the Lombardo salad - both salads were fresh & delicious. Two had the special, Scallops wrapped w/Dover Sole, toasted orzo and pickled red onions-beautifully presented scrumptious and light dish. One of us had the gnocchi, one had veal parmesan and one had chicken parmesan. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed every bite. Bread service was excellent, skip garlic bread w/the meal and enjoy the bread service. Small freshly baked loaves of airy Italian bread served with seasoned EVOO, roasted red peppers and fresh aged parmesan. Three of us enjoyed three different wines, all good. I recommend the house blend of merlot, skip the pinot grigo. We topped off the meal with cappuccinos and one in our had black tea - nice touch with a generous infuser and a perfectly balanced loose black tea. The portions were nicely moderate, quality v quantity. The prices were as expected. We had a memorable evening! We'll be back.

The service was good, price is affordable, but the food was disappointing. This place had a lot of potential, but the quality of food is way lesser than the service and atmosphere. They admittedly use frozen pre-prepared food for some dishes. The pizza was low quality, it was not fresh, tasted like a frozen pizza you can get at grocery store. The chicken parmesan was decent, but left a lot to be desired. Left dinner underwhelmed, there are better Italian options in the area.

Don't usually eat veal but when I do I go to Lombardo's for crispy veal Parm. Delicious! Birthday meal for my buddy GR

Just so happened to be right around the corner from here at the clipper magazine stadium. Came over for dinner with some friends. Everything we tried was very delicious. I would definitely come back again to try some of the other things on the menu. Also our waitress was very friendly and helpful.

I ordered Caesar salad and had to flag down my waiter to sprinkle fresh pepper. He should have offered. Salad was good after that. I ordered eggplant parmigiana with rigatoni. Eggplant was ok but rigatoni was not edible. Too hard. Definitely not al dente. I know how to cook pasta. Had to wag my waiter again after a bit as he did not check back. He did take it back and I was given another dinner of course. Also my reservation was just for 2 and tables were too close. Even the people next to us complained about the closeness. I have been going to this restaurant as a kid. Am 69. Bar with a few tables. Then again later in life when before the “new upscale Lombardo’s”. Been there before with upscale version and Lombardo’s salad was awful with the scwishy tomatoes. (Sorry about the spelling). Bread was better though than the old days. Won’t be going back

Great service. The piano player was a pleasant touch. Wonderful food for the most part. The crab bisque really needed some sherry. Truffle fries excellent. Lasagna excellent. Reservations strongly recommended.