In this episode, we talk about visiting the Olde Lincoln House Restaurant and Tavern. We discuss a brief history of the Olde Lincoln House, our dining experience, and what it has to offer.

This show is sponsored by the Hertzog Homestead LLC and by Performance Coach Kristen Hertzog.

This past week, my wife and I managed to get away for a date night. These times are treasured for us and we are always looking for a new place to try and a new place to eat. This past week that new place was the Olde Lincoln House.

The Olde Lincoln House is not a new place though. It is rooted in history, and, in fact, existed in the late 1700s in a town that was then known as New Ephrata just north of the town of Ephrata where the Hertzog Homestead Bed and Breakfast is located. This town was later renamed to Lincoln, as it still called by many locals today, even though now it is merged into the town of Ephrata. It was renamed Lincoln after President Abraham Lincoln came and visited Ephrata and stayed at the Mountain Springs Hotel, now the Hampton Inn.

Ironically, I grew up just down the road from the Olde Lincoln House Restaurant and I’ve lived around the town of Ephrata for the most of my life. Despite that I have never been to eat at the Olde Lincoln House, and boy was I in for a treat. When you walk into the Olde Lincoln House, the space is separated into a tavern and a dining area; if you want to watch latest sports game, grab a few beers, and hang out with some friends, then the tavern is perfect; however, if you want a more quiet setting that is beautifully appointed with pictures of Abraham Lincoln another presidential memorabilia of him as well as pictures that show the evolution of the restaurant, then the dining area is for you. This is the area that we chose.  Our server Brittany led to an area of the restaurant that was originally part of the exterior porch.

If you ever get a chance to visit the Olde Lincoln House, I would ask to have Brittany serve you. She was attentive, knowledgeable, and checked with it in with us just the right amount of time. Sometimes waiters can be a bit overbearing or seemingly take your order and then disappear. This was not the case. She was there for us when we needed her and even later on the evening gave us a tour of some of the historic parts of the Olde Lincon House itself.

We also had a chance to chat with Geoffrey Simmons. He’s been the proprietor of the Olde Lincoln House for over a decade. One of the things that he made very clear that he prides the Olde Lincoln House on is not being overly pretentious. Practically, that means that if patrons want to order fish and chips in the dining area, typically bar food, they can do so; if they want to order a steak, they can do that too. The other thing that they Olde Lincoln House has to offer is variety. Some restaurants have so much variety that it’s hard to know what to choose from; not so with the Olde Lincoln House. It offers a selection of everything for every palate, but it is not overwhelming and it doesn’t seem like they are trying to do too much. This is a perfect place if you want to take a family, and your kid wants to order chicken strips, and you want to stick your teeth into a delicious salmon.

My wife and I both were ordered to tomato bisque. We love tomato bisque and we try it wherever we go. Olde Lincoln House’s tomato bisque was delicious. It was pureed just enough, so if there weren’t huge chunks in it and was topped with cheese and croutons; it was absolutely delicious. I personally enjoyed the lump crab cake which contained huge chunks of lump meat crab meat in it. You can go to the website to find out more information and to see the menu.

So would he recommend the Olde Lincoln House? Absolutely. We both enjoy it or enjoyed it and are planning our next trip back.

Have you ever been to the Olde Lincoln House? What did you think of it?  I want to hear from you. Email me theroadappleguide@gmail.com , visit us on Facebook, or message us on Twitter.

If you are traveling to Lancaster County and looking for a place to stay, the Hertzog Homestead is offering 20% off your room when you book your stay with them.  When you reserve your room, use the code: roadapple.

And remember, as your traveling, watch out for those road apples!