Porterhouse: Delicious crab cakes

Porterhouse Brewpub Restaurant
5775 Lower York Road
Lahaska, PA
215-794-9373
http://www.porterhousepub.com/index.html

NHY Rating: 2 of 10 (for bar only); 7 of 10 for restaurant
Food: American
Serves: lunch and dinner
Price: A little pricey. The bar menu alone starts with sandwiches and salads from $9-$15. Dining room menu from $20-32.
Ambiance: Downstairs had a nice brewpub feel. The room is open, comfortable and large. The upstairs is a more formal dining area with great views. The whole restaurant is smoke free.

Comments: Basically this place is all about the food and beer. They have a pretty wide selection of brews ("a twist on the traditional Belgian, English, and German beer"). The beer is actually from the Riverhorse Brewing Company in Lambertville. Their food has always been good. We have eaten both upstairs and downstairs several times. I would highly recommend the Smoked Chicken & Andouille Spring Rolls ($8.50), the Chesapeake Crab Bisque ($6.00), and the Roasted Pork Tenderloin Sandwich ($8.00). They also have a great crab cake sandwiches and salads.

For dinner, they have dishes such as Striped Bass Ala Rousse ($23.50), Veal Isabella (veal medallions stuffed with crab-boursin filling ($24), Horseradish and Crab-Crusted Strip Loin $29). They also have a nice selection of pastas. Literally everything we have had here has been outstanding.

As far as service goes, unfortunately this has not been their strong point. Most of the time we are greeted and seated quickly but then the good part stops there. Several times we have had to wait a long period of time for our food.

The reason I gave the bar service a low score is because of the terrible service. More than once we have had to wait for drinks or appetizers. Recently, we visited on a weeknight and the bar was very slow. Instead of coming back to see if I needed another drink, the bartender decided to clean the whole bar instead. I waited 10 minutes when I had even put my empty glass in plain sight. It was irritating since we had just started our spicy appetizer and the need for a drink was pretty important.

This place is generally kid friendly (at least downstairs) but not so much in the formal upstairs.

Special note: This restaurant is closed on Mondays. I am not sure why; seems like it could disappoint some people who may be in town that night. Also, they usually have valet parking on the weekend.

To read other reviews that mention Porterhouse (i.e. Riverhorse Brews), click here.