Circle S Ranch House

First time I ate at the Ranch House, I ordered ice cream. Second time, ice cream again. Third time, I was drunk, so it was most definitely ice cream.
But this place offers more than just dairy delights. At first glance, you might get a diner vibe, and I get that — exhaustive menu, dated décor, servers named Maude. But the key difference between this place and a diner is the fact that the hours are pretty normal. It opens early for breakfast (6:00 am), but it closes, without fail, at 10 pm each night. This ain’t no 24-​hour establishment, people, so let’s get that out of the way.
Service is good. It has personality. Even the young servers have that dry sense of humor that you’d expect from the «60-​year-​old-​Maudes», I felt like I was a supporting character in a BBC sitcom with all the wry humor going on. No laugh-​track, just sarcastic wit and delayed, hearty laughs (delayed because the sarcasm is so thick, you really have to think about it for a second). I don’t think this is a schtick. I really think management hires great personalities purposefully. That must be part of the hiring criteria.
Food-​wise — meh. Burger requested rare, came out well done. Listen, I don’t even like my meat cooked rare. But at these types of places, it doesn’t matter how you request it. I’m convinced they ask strictly based on protocol, because it sure as hell doesn’t make a difference on how the cooks. prepare the meat. Honestly, I like my burgers medium, but even if I asked for the burger cooked «alive and bloody», it would still come out well done.
Let’s look at the name of the restaurant for a second. «Circle S Ranch House». No one knows what the hell «Circle S» means. But «Ranch House»? I would expect some southern style dishes. There is no deep-​fried okra on the menu, or country fried steak, or shrimp and grits… the closest thing they had to any «southern» cuisine was the Ranch Burger. Apparently «ranch» means adding an onion ring and BBQ sauce. Come on, you can do better. It’s a southern-​themed restaurant. Develop your menu with that in mind. I can’t get chicken & waffles just anywhere. Put that on the menu, and I’ll be your most loyal regular.

Don’t bother going if you aren’t a «regular.» The cashier is SOOOO loud, you can’t hear anything but her talking to her regular customers. The diner food was just that. It used to be so good and really went downhill in the last few years. I miss the cook who sang, she actually made good food.

It’s your pretty typical diner, with a Western flare. Wait staff was attentive. Had the beef bbq and chili, both of which were good but not quite excellent. Would probably eat here again the next time that I’m in the area.

Have lived here 15 years and never been to the place. Last month we tried to get in on a Saturday and it was an hour wait to get seated. I had the day off and decided to try breakfast. Place was fairly crowded looked like regulars by the way the people were speaking to the wait staff.
I ordered eggs over easy, sausage links and home fries. My wife ordered a western omelet with rye toast. My eggs were runny, sausage was two small breakfast links that were over cooked. Home fries were okay. My wife’s omelet tasted terrible, I tried it and it was horrible. Only thing that was okay was her toast and my home fries. Coffee was weak and waitress basically ignored us. I only need once to know not to go back.
Place is old and could help from Resturant Impossible.

Nice friendly service and consistent food Ice cream is a must after having your meal.

A true staple in this area. You can’t go wrong here. No matter what you order, it will always satisfy. It does get pretty full between 4−6pm (especially on weekends) and seniors love to eat here during that time. Same with 7−9am for breakfast. Excellent prices for what you get too. This place was here since I was a kid and I’m sure it’ll still be here long after I’m gone.

The food was only fine, but the service was excellent. We had dinner (tuna melt sandwich and BLT sandwich) and then ice cream. Our waitress was cheerful and watched over us well — which was extra noticeable in comparison to the inattentive waiter we’d had at lunchtime at a more deluxe restaurant in the area earlier that same day.
We’d certainly go there again when in the Reading vicinity.
Note: they don’t serve breakfast all day — so you can’t get, for example, pancakes or an omelet for dinner.

The food here really is horrible, it’s inconsistent slap together and bland oh and just forget about presentation. I believe this restaurant is only able to stay open because it is filled with silver haired elderly people. My meal was horrible and the table manners of those around me was even worst ! I do not want to hear about your colonoscopies or what your doctor had to tell you this morning. Incredibly poor servic and generally uncomfortabl.

The food is horrible eggs are never down right, and why are the potatoes always black… YUCK! I stopped going and now go to The new Arners on State Hill Rd. AWESOME PLACE!!!

Good breakfast. You can’t beat eggs, homefries and a steak for $ 7.39. Gets busy on the weekends.

This restaurant was recommended to me a couple times, so I decided to give it a try last night. I walked in the front door behind another family that was instantly seated, then I moved up to the «Please wait to be seated» sign, and waited.. .and waited.. .and waited. After 10 minutes of waiting, and 4 employees wordlessly walking by, I decided I’d had my fill and left.

«Can I get youz a drink awhile?» she asks as we sit down. Ahh, that’s when you know you’re at home in Berks County.
My sweet Dee has two precarious addictions: ice cream and coupons, so when the Ranch House advertised a $ 3.00 off coupon in the Reading Eagle recently, he dragged me in for a Dusty Road sundae, not to be confused with t h e dusty rose, that’s at the other place.
I think we arrived during the brunch hour; I mean, really… who eats ice cream at 10:30 in the morning? (: The Ranch House is everything you would imagine it could be and it’s a great place to check out if you’re on tour or interested in meeting up with the friendly locals. Yes, I say this in jest, but there is a lure to places like this with all of the comfort food they have to offer at downright cheap prices.
I cannot speak for the food, but I did take great pleasure in watching him enjoy his well-​deserved treat which he described as quite delicious.

Good consistent food. Not great — I find the eggs tend to be a bit overcooked. Service can sometimes be slow but ALWAYS friendly. They definitely know their regulars.