Boyertown: Landis Store Hotel (July 2017)




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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