My spouse and I dined at the Landis Store Hotel for a late
lunch on a Sunday afternoon in mid-July 2017. The restaurant is open for dinner
on Wednesdays through Sundays, and for brunch/lunch on Sundays (closed on
Mondays and Tuesdays). On Sundays, the chef does not offer the dinner menu
until 4:00 pm, so we ordered from the lunch/brunch menu. On their website, only
a sample dinner menu is posted, so we had planned to order a full formal meal
similar to what we had read about. We were disappointed to be restricted to the
abbreviated lighter menu, even when we questioned our waitress as to whether we
could order off the regular menu (it was about 2:30 pm when we arrived). (As
the only customers dining when we visited, ordering from the dinner menu would
have meant a much bigger tip for our server and more revenue for the
restaurant.)
The restaurant is located on a country road in a tiny
village in Berks County, near the small town of Huff’s Church, and larger towns
of Barto and Alburtis. (The official city name is Boyertown, the location of
the nearest post office.) The restaurant dates back to the mid 1850s, when
Samuel Landis opened a post office in his general store. In subsequent years,
the property also operated as a hotel, bar, and coal and feed business. In
1952, a family purchased the property, housing their children upstairs and
continuing to run the general store downstairs. In 1970, the family converted
the general store to a restaurant.
The multi-level terraced garden is surrounded by gorgeous permanent
landscaping, seasonal patio pots, a water feature, and a small fire pit. The
brick patio offers seating for about 50 people at regular-height tables in
various sizes and configurations, and at a small bar. Tables are well-shaded by
three enormous custom-made permanent umbrella structures, with additional small
portable umbrellas covering other tables to provide an almost completely shaded
space. A matching fabric awning over the bar visually connects the spaces.
Because a unisex restroom for outdoor diners is housed in a renovated
outbuilding near the patio, we have not ventured indoors in years, but we
recall a country theme, hanging quilts, and seating in various rooms, including
a bar area.
The Landis Store Hotel offers upscale and creative American cuisine. We
ordered the tuna tartare (coated in sesame seeds, lightly seared, and served
atop seaweed salad, with wasabi, soy, and ginger on the side) and the crispy
Brussel sprouts (with bacon and an aioli sauce) as starters. As main dishes, we ordered the meatballs (served
three to an order, the chef incorporates pine nuts in the meat mixture, tops it
with mozzarella cheese melted under the broiler, and serves it on a bed of tomato
sauce) and the pulled pork sandwich (served on a brioche bun and topped with
cole slaw and pickles, served with a side of French fries). For dessert, we
shared a slice of the coconut layer cake, which was deliciously homemade except
for the canned whipped cream garnish. Service was mixed: our waitress did a
great job of keeping our water and beverage glasses filled; however, she rushed
us every step of the way, despite telling her that we were in no hurry. (For
example, she removed my spouse’s starter plate when I was still eating, and later,
she pressed us to order dessert when we were still holding our half-eaten sandwiches.)
We enjoyed our outdoor lunch at the Landis Store Hotel,
despite the service and limited menu – it offers one of the prettiest outdoor
dining spaces in the Lehigh Valley!
September 2017:
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