Olde Lincoln House

Fri. 73 115
Went for dinner for my wife’s birthday.
Surprising there was no crowd at all except outside in their tiki bar.
The dining room was very nice with Lincoln memorabilia in every corner. Very attractive overall. I had an order of wings that were a little too dry. The Italian sausage sandwich was very good. My wife enjoyed her prime rib and my MIL enjoyed the crab cake. Service was fantastic and prompt. I would go back.

This is only for the summer Tiki Bar that sits behind. Nice concept but a major flaw has hampered my experiences. AWFUL bartenders. Having been a bartender for 6 years, there are some do’s and do nots. A major do not is lack of personality. I would rather talk to a light pole. Pretty girls are one thing but those pretty faces mean squat, if the effort is minimal. Last time, she made a Mudslide and skimped on the Baileys. It was weak. I called her on it and was shrugged off like she could cared less. There was no offer to make up for it. She spent the rest of the time on her phone and flirting with a guy as he hooked him up with free drinks. Tisk Tisk. That also falls on the establishment for not training properly.

This place is hit or miss. We used to enjoy going here, but our last visit really left us disappointed. My Chesapeake chicken sandwich was dry with minimal amount of crab dip on it. It was missing the cheese that I specifically requested on top. The potato chips are cheap and definitely out of a bag. My fiancé ordered a steak and it was inedible. It appeared to be old meat. He took one bite and couldn’t eat it. He sent it back and the bartender easily agreed to take it off the bill. It’s one of the few bar/​restaurants in Ephrata so we will probably be back to try it again. Our previous experiences were fine, nothing over the top memorable but they were satisfactory.

LAZY! Hostesses and waitresses are rude and impatient. They seemed concerned with talking with each other rather than working. Will not be going back here.

First, I would suggest that you call ahead and make a reservation, especially on Friday or Saturday night, as this is only one of a few «nice» restaurants in the Ephrata area.
You can look at their menus on line to get an idea of what’s available. We the Crab Sauté to start. It was very good, a fair amount of jumbo lump crab meat, but there was a little to much sliced red pepper and there could have been more sauce. My wife had the Autumn Chicken, which was very tasty. I had always wanted to try ostrich, so I had the Rosemary Rubbed Grilled Ostrich and was pleasantly surprised with how good it was. My only issue was that I felt the portion was a bit small. The dessert menu was rather small (I.e. 4 items) and unimaginative.
We would definitely go back again.

Three stars mainly for the service. The building itself is charming enough, the décor is all Abraham Lincoln which I understand. It was the food that actually surprised me and not in a good way. I started with French onion soup which was very good. For the main course I had the prime rib and added a crab cake. Prime rib was just ok nothing special but the crab cake was a huge disappointment, very watery texture and had a strange taste. Admittedly I not a expert when it comes to crab cakes but I have had some that were very good and this wasn’t one of them. My wife said dont waste it so I gave it to her and needless to say she didn’t make it pass the first bite. The bill with tip was an even hundred for three of us (my son had a burger) so not the best value. Service was excellent though and that’s where the three stars come from.

Much like the Brickerville house, I often find myself driving by this place on my way to Shady Maple or the Green Dragon thinking «I ought to stop in there some day.» Well I did. And I am glad.
While returning from one of our excursions, my aunt, cousins and I were looking for a place to stop and refuel. Eureka! This was my chance, and we weren’t too far away. So I navigated them blindly to the parking lot where they were somewhat surprised by my choice. Still, once we were inside and could smell the kitchen we couldn’t wait to see the menu.
First round was soups; French Onion, Snapping Turtle, and two others I can’t seem to recall (shame on me for not having an account here at the time). What I do remember however, was the high volume of traffic on the table caused by spoons and sliding bowls from person to person saying «You have to try this!» With the exception of the turtle soup they were all delicious. And then out came my entrée; Elk Steak. I never had elk, never before saw it on the menu, never really even though about it before, but boy was it good!
What can I say? I liked the setting, I liked the service and I liked the food. There really isn’t much else to judge about a restaurant other than location, but I already mentioned how often I drive by. Now I’ll just be stopping more.

I had an old fashioned open prime rib sandwich with gravy on fries and it was amazing. I seriously wanted to lick the plate but couldnt. LOL my daughter had a duck leg on a potato cake made with brie and gouda. it was amazing. it was delicious and served hot and the spices were amazing! I had the best dinner in many years and I changed my favorite place from Quentin Tavern to The old Lincoln house. the waitresses were sweet and charming and let me taste this wonderful wine. I am very choosy about wine but it was perfect. the salad was so good and there was color and fresh vegetables and the dressing was wonderful with fresh blue cheese lumps. I dont know how anyone can not absolutely love this place. the lighting was romantic and its the only place any place near Ephrata (besides maybe Lillies) that serves a 4 star dinner with skilled chefs preparing and plating the food.

The service is absolutely garbage – it ranges from apathetic to hostile, and you get the sense that the people bringing you the food and the drinks don’t care in the least. Questions about the food bring disinterested «I don’t know“s and rolled-​eyes.
The building itself is historic and impressive, but suffers from an identity crisis. The owner is going for some weird hillbilly ambience, which really detracts. The «tiki barn» behind the restaurant is tacky, dirty, and is like drinking in a redneck’s parking lot with a palm tree nearby.
Get carryout, and avoid the bad attitudes and crappy ambience.

We stopped by the Lincoln House for dinner while we were in Ephrata for Columbus Day weekend, and the entire experience was lovely and charming. The server was pleasant and helpful. The food was delicious. We had the crab dip, Chesapeake chicken, stuffed salmon, and crème brûlée. All four items were presented beautifully. If we ever visit Ephrata again, we will be back for sure.

My husband and I ate there about two weeks ago. I had a blackened fish sandwich, and my husband had the «Black Russian» hamburger. The fish sandwich was OK, but my husband said the hamburger was tasteless, greasy, and undercooked. He said he would have been much happier with a Five Guys hamburger. The dishes came with chips, and we were offered substitute fries or onion rings. We both asked for onion rings, we were charged four dollars extra each, and we suspect the onion rings were frozen. Other than that, service was good.

I, too, moved away from Ephrata but no trip back to PA is complete without a visit to the Lincoln House. The tomato bisque is amazing. Everything I’ve ever ordered there has been super delicious. We’ve done the banquet thing upstairs a couple times too, and the service was outstanding. The ambiance is great-​quiet, cozy, and intimate. It’s on the pricier side but, hey, you get what you pay for. And the Lincoln House is worth every penny, er, quarter :)