My wife and I will be traveling with our 13 month old daughter to Lancaster, PA this October and I%26#39;m looking for good kid-friendly, non-chain restaurants that serve authentic PA Dutch cuisine. Quality is more important to us than quality, although I%26#39;m assuming my options are somewhat limited due to the age of my daughter (who, btw, is fine in restaurants). While a smorgasbord seems ';authentic';, I am worried that quality loses out to quantity (and that we lose out on the ambience/atmosphere as well) -- I have not heard good things about Miller%26#39;s, but have heard some good things about Good %26#39;n Plenty. Any recs would be greatly appreciated!
Kid-friendly restaurants with authentic PA Dutch cuisine
Bird in Hand %26amp; Willow Valley Family Restaurants both have smorgasboard and menu dining, so you can choose what you want. We have been happy with both places. Willow Valley is a bit more expensive. I have read the Dienner%26#39;s on Rt. 30 is also quite good, but I have yet to try it. Bird in Hand has a kids section on their buffet that is designed like Noah%26#39;s Ark.
Kid-friendly restaurants with authentic PA Dutch cuisine
We second the restaurant Dienner%26#39;s at Ronks. You can either have the buffet or order off a menu. The buffet is excellent and includes dessert with very reasonable prices. Everything that we ate on the buffet and off the regular menu was delicious.
My first choice would also be Dienner%26#39;s. Under 2 years old buffet is free. While the buffet isn%26#39;t as large as some, all of their foods are high quality and authentic Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. You%26#39;ll be eating with a lot of the locals, as opposed to busloads of tourists at the ';feeding troughs';. Take a look at their menu on website:
www.dienners.com. Be aware that closing time is earlier in the evening than one might expect. Call for hours. Another kid-friendly choice would be Lapp%26#39;s Family Restaurant on route 30 near Dutch Wonderland--menu ordering at this establishment.
I would go to the Bird in Hand Family Restaurant and Smorgasboard. They offer a large buffet for adults, and a Noah%26#39;s Ark Kids Buffet.This was built by a real amish man, and serves kid-friendly food.
How true, JourneyGuy....if you do go to one of the big smorgasbords that host several busloads at one time, be careful not to get between them and the food...it can get ugly.
I would go to Ephrata to the Cloister Diner. Excellent PA dutch style food and everything made on the premises. just a small family type place........I don%26#39;t think a bus ever went there.
I have been to Millers and Bird in Hand and have to say they both werent that great. The only advantage with BIH was they had a childrens buffet and we didnt learn this until the end after my kids ate. Millers used to be good about 15 years ago but has gone down hill. Willow Valley Smorgasbord was a bit better but I dont know if you can exactly call any of the three authentic dutch food. I made a better chicken %26amp; dumplings then Millers believe it or not.
Maybe the other places the above posters mentioned are good. I heard a bunch of nice things about Dieners, Shady Maple and Good N Plenty.
Our hotel recommended Good %26#39;n Plenty and we thought it was excellent. So much so that we%26#39;re making a second stop (years later) on a trip planned for later this month. Hope it%26#39;s still the same. It%26#39;s family-style, BTW, at community tables so child friendly.
Thanks everyone for their recommendations! Looks like a lot of you liked Dienners -- and its not a tourist trap -- what a bonus.
Make sure to give us report upon your return. I think you%26#39;ll be quite pleased with the food offered, and you%26#39;ll certainly get your money%26#39;s worth!!
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