My husband and I are having a little weekend getaway for his birthday and since we visit the area annually we always go to the same restaurants. This year we decided we wanted to switch it up. My husband did some research and found Osteria Avanti. I saw that it had 3.5 stars and I was hesitant but it's his birthday so he got to choose. The atmosphere is super cozy and intimate as it is a small restaurant inside of an Inn. We were warmly greeted by the hostess and then our server brought over delicious rosemary focaccia with a seasoned butter in olive oil. We started with two of the seasonal cocktails and they were delicious. Mine tasted like spiced apple cider although I can't recall the ingredients. It was perfect. For our appetizer we had the osso bucco sliders. Neither of us properly comprehended the description on the menu because when they arrived with fried fresh mozzarella "patties" on them - we had no idea what they were until we took a bite. The mozzarella paired so well with the tender pieces of osso bucco, Italian coleslaw, and fig jam. It says the fig jam is spicy but it was barely noticeable and not spicy at all. The only thing we noticed was how amazing they were. For our entrees my husband did the walnut rigatoni and I did the shrimp linguini. I love a good tomato Brandy cream sauce and this was exactly what I envisioned and wanted. Something I truly appreciated was the tails were taken off the shrimp ahead of time which isn't always common. I loved that I didn't have to do it myself and could enjoy the linguini. For our dessert we opted for the gelato trio which came with vanilla bean, pistachio, and espresso gelato. A perfect ending to a delicious dinner. Our server was so attentive and friendly and made our visit super positive. read more

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What a perfectly lovely establishment! I can't imagine why anyone would write a bad review about this sweet respite from my daily drudgery. An early pilgrimage up country to purchase pansies to dispel the overwhelming winter doldrums brought me here. Wild winds blew me through the doors to a life changing experience. Eric appeared like an angel guiding us to a table and bringing us bread and water. Seems like basic sustenance, but the bread was oven warmed, rosemary speckled focaccia and the herbed butter column poking through a lake of EVOO was the icing on my favorite indulgence. The antipasto skewers were a bargain at $11. Six skewers of grilled artichoke, tomato, olive and mozzarella with a triple tray of dips set a fantastic bar for this meal. My Limoncello salad with grilled to order shrimp was all that with its circles of crispy pancetta. Partner finally tried cacio pepe after years of urging. So much better than Alfredo. I hate pasta as much as he loves it. I had to admit, this was delicious. He nearly finished the dish before I put a dent in my salad. Even though he avoids fish of any kind, he thoroughly enjoyed a good portion of my salad. I thought the dates added a lot. He didn't. We passed on dessert, because you can have too much of a good thing. Our server, Eric was the best. My partner was caught discussing our 30th anniversary plans with him. Looking forward to a fabulous celebration. read more

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Had an awesome meal at Osteria Avanti. Service was top notch--attentive without being over the top--and the food was incredible. Everything came out perfectly and full of flavor. Definitely a place I'll be back to. read more

Appetizer (arancini) and limoncello salad were amazing! Drinks were good...under pour on beer for sure! Server stopped by several times and was very accommodating but forgot to bring my wine with dinner. Lobster pasta dish was fishy and lobster was chewy. They promptly offered me a new dish. I got fettuccine which was good but nothing special. Penne pasta with braised beef was good! Gelato was good! read more

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Celebrating our anniversary. The food was delicious but that was the only positive. Unfortunately the restaurant space was underwhelming. No ambiance at all. A wedding reception near the restaurant was loud and the music thumping the entire meal. Not an intimate setting as was reported. Table in corner with no view of anything but gold curtains which were dated. Extremely disappointed with the experience. Celebrating our anniversary and nothing special was done. The waiter or host had no clue. (Although I had specified when I made reservations.). Revamp the restaurant and we would consider trying again for the food. Expensive for the atmosphere as it is now read more

We've been dining here for about a decade. We pass through the Lancaster area about once a year and have made it a point to enjoy Osteria Avanti every time. We have missed several years recently because COVID has altered our normal travel plans. Unfortunately, Osteria Avanti has not been able to maintain its former glory. Tonight we had reservations and arrived on time. The restaurant was not particularly busy. We were not greased upon arrival. Eventually, the bartender and our sever both made it a point to say someone would be with us shortly. We waited and waited. Eventually our server said something about the hostess not returning and showed us to our table. Where we felt like the Maytag repairman ( the loneliest man in town) as we waited for service. Years ago the place had a cozy Italian charm; no more, the place is beige. The art and knickknacks have been replaced by neutral nothingness and great Air Conditioning. If you like meat locker, this is the place for you. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and had to go out to the car to get a second shirt. Enough about the place. Our server was no star. On top of waiting for service, when I asked for a recommendation on choosing between the pork chop and the short rib, his lack luster response was no help, "I don't eat pork but people have nice things to say about the pork chop. The short rib is very good." I don't think he poured anything other than my first glass of wine. We only had our water glasses refilled when we asked. We shared the sautéed calamari appetizer. We were not offered a share plate. We used the bread plates. When our entree was served, he did not clear the bread plates or the flatware. On to the offerings. In years past there was an extensive, but not inexpensive wine list. Today there are about 8 very reasonably priced reds on the menu. When I asked for the wine list I was told "We are remodeling the wine cellar and don't have a wine list. He did follow up with "were you looking for something particular?" We eventually choose a very nice and affordable Nebbiolo from the list on the menu. On to the food menu. At one time it was very clear that this was an Italian restaurant. Now, other than a nice selection of pasta dishes, the menu is best described ( if one is in a generous mood) as Italian inspired. I choose the short rib. It was nicely presented. The roasted Brussels sprouts were very well done. The short rib itself was tender but served lukewarm, and a bit bland. Something was missing, some salt may have helped but more than salt was needed. In other words, Osteria Avanti has had its day. We will not recommend it to our friends. And sadly, we will not be returning. read more

Nice but small restaurant inside the Inn of Leola. Place is on the pricer side though I'm not sure the food warrants the overall price they are asking for. I had the Penne with the braised beef. There was some good flavors going but wasn't as mind blowing as the menu made it out to be. My wife got the Scilian Swordfish which she really enjoyed, it was a little to fishy for my taste however. My wheelchair bound wife had no issues getting into the restaurant or moving around since they sat us near the front where there was plenty of room to maneuver. If we had been stuck towards the back it might have been a different story. They could use another handicap parking spot or two though. Out waiter was ok, took awhile to get my drink refilled and when he was going over the desserts he rushed through them so quickly I wasn't sure where one ended and the other began. Not sure the price warrants a return trip or not but overall it was an enjoyable evening. read more

Osteria Avanti - Penne with Braised beef and goat cheese - Italian Near Me - Leola, Pennsylvania

Elegant ambiance , food presentation was beautiful, food was tender n cooked to perfection , servers were pleasant and atentive, over all a very pleasant evening if in Lancaster I would highly recommend this place read more

If only we lived nearby this lovely restaurant and hotel! We'd return again and again. We do travel to this area of Pennsylvania regularly and definitely are planning to visit the restaurant again (hopefully bringing friends) and stay in the lovely hotel and spa. Our wine, salads and entrees were wonderful! Best of all was the care and attentiveness of the staff, making the experience even better than a great meal. The restaurant is beautiful inside and the ambience relaxing. read more

My wife and I spent our 20th anniversary at The Inn at Leola Village, and ate at Osteria Avanti which is on property. We both had excellent cocktails pre dinner, and the foccacia bread was great. The penne with beef was a bit heavy, but great tasting nonetheless. Overall, the Inn and the restaurant are a great place to stay and eat! read more

If you don't know the area and you're driving at night, Osteria Avanti may be somewhat difficult to find as it is located back in a strip mall like complex. Though it has a large front sign, the lighting on it isn't very good. But once you've located it, you're pretty much sure to like the décor of the place which is sort of a mixed modern Mediterranean, spotlessly clean, orderly in setup, and with soothing colors. The menu is, in keeping with what is generally defined as being an "osteria," rather small, somewhat abbreviated, but oddly not with an emphases that I could note upon local ingredients. That is unless the Lancaster area has date trees or its waters teaming with salmon and sword fish. For myself, I started off with one of their cucumber martinis which I found to be rather watery and blah in taste, then for food a Caesar and their Sicilian Swordfish in "Acqua Pazza" with Sicilian mint sauce and vegetable risotto. My Caesar was good, the romaine fresh and crisp to the bite, but I can't say much for the swordfish. Though swordfish is firm in texture its flavor tends to be delicate. So with the Sicilian mint sauce and Acqua Pazza, which literally translates in meaning to "crazy water" and is more common to the regional area of Naples than to Sicily, the flavor of the fish completely failed to come through. As far as I could tell, I could have been eating pork chop or chicken. read more

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Horrific experience - we go to great restaurants in many cities- followed the great reviews on Yelp - can't trust these at times - pretty location 30' away - poor service started when server wanted to place us too close to another couple when other tables open - here we go : 1. Asked for bottled water and got tap by another server 2. 20' to get drink order 3. They then asked immediately our food order with no bevvies 4. Rare burger well done ... seriously 5. Pork chop freshman level cooking 6. We got sick next day We talked to friends from region and they used to frequent but 2 bad experiences and they stopped - do not waste your $$$ - we will never ever go there again - the Loft and Double C rock consistently in Lancaster - we got food poisoning and wrecked our next day - DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY read more

Since we were guests at The Inn at Leola Village, which is wonderful, we decided to give this restaurant, located in the village, a try. Had some mixed feelings about this review. I'll start by saying we had a lovely table in their outside seating area which we liked a lot. It did take a while before someone came to take our drink order and overall the service here, although friendly, was very slow. We do think this was a result of being shorthanded due to the Coronavirus situation. When our order was finally taken, we started off with the Arancini stuffed with mozzarella and served in what was described as a spicy sauce. The Arancini itself was good, however the sauce tasted out of the jar and just doctored up with some herbs from their garden. We thought this might very well be the case since this dish was the only one on the menu that involved a red sauce. Which brings me to a point about the menu which was very limited, only one pasta offering, but again, I believe this was due to the virus situation. For our main courses, I had the Bone-In Grilled Pork Chop with a fig and orange glaze with grilled vegetables and roasted red potatoes. This was absolutely delicious. The chop had a wonderful flame grilled flavor which I loved. My wife had the Chicken Breast with Apple Gorgonzola Stuffing with grilled vegetables and roasted red potatoes. My wife really enjoyed this dish, the stuffing was delicious. For dessert our waitress suggested the Strawberry Shortcake, but this really missed the mark as the cake itself was dry. Overall this was a very uneven experience, but I do think some things can be improved and this spot might have potential for a 5 star review. Would definitely give this restaurant another try when we visit again and hopefully everything is back to normal. read more

Osteria Avanti - Bone-In Grilled Pork Chop with a fig and orange glaze - Italian Near Me - Leola, Pennsylvania

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I would like to start off the review by saying that the service was excellent. The wait staff was really on the ball and we had no issues with over-the-top wait times. I felt like they really cared about whether or not we had a worthwhile experience. The food, however, left a lot to be desired. For our appetizer, we ordered the arancini (fried risotto balls). They were nothing special, really just like any mozzarella sticks you'd get in a bar but in ball form. We've had better arancini. My husband ordered the beet salad, which was the highlight of his meal; he would highly recommend it and it is the only reason this review is getting 2 stars. I ordered the Caesar salad which was just okay. It was not what I was expecting; it was tossed in a red pepper oil so it did not taste like Caesar dressing at all. Then, for my husband's entree, he ordered the spring risotto. He said it was so salty that it was verging on inedible. Interestingly, my entree, the fettuccini with sun-dried tomato pesto was very bland. It had obviously been made with dried pasta from a box; I would expect that a nice Italian restaurant would use fresh homemade pasta, especially at these prices. Also, the bruschetta that came with it was really just their free focaccia bread grilled and limp. My favorite part of my meal was actually my drink, a Peach Bellini mocktail. Pretty sad when you think about it. We were so disappointed by the food that we didn't even order dessert. I had planned on ordering the chocolate torte since it was my birthday, but my daughter and I are both bakers and I didn't have the heart to be disappointed all over again. The ambiance was nice. The restaurant was nestled in a cute little inn in the heart of Leola, PA, but the table next to us was so close that we could smell the seafood they ordered, a bit off putting considering my husband is a vegetarian. All in all, we would not recommend this restaurant to anyone with tastebuds and we will not be going back. read more

This little restaurant is tucked inside The Inn at Leola Village, it's right next to the bar and is a casual and comfortable small restaurant. On this day, we were the only customers sitting indoors. They start you off with some bread, and then they do have a lunch menu, which we did order lunch on this visit. Service was okay, they do give you a leisurely time. Our waiter however was attentive. We first ordered bruschetta, and it came with a lot of chickpeas which is quite different. For lunch entrees we both ordered salads, nice portions and they tasted fresh especially in my summer salad the strawberries were very sweet. Ample parking and the grounds are nice to walk on, there are loads of flower, and photo ops here as this is a wedding venue/hotel. read more

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Booked a reservation for our 10 year anniversary. Time was 8:30 for the reservation and the restaurant closes at 9. Not sure if it is possible to have drinks, appetizers, meal and desert within 30 minutes. We felt rushed throughout meal. Asked to pick out our desert to go before we had our meal served. They probably either should stay open later or have last reservation one hour before closing and not 30 minutes. Food was amazing but to spend all this money for a rushed meal was disappointing read more

Quaint, cozy casual restaurant . Locally sourced rustic cuisine. Nice wine list, fairly priced. Very friendly staff in and out of the restaurant and on the hotel grounds. In the heart of Amish country. read more

Osteria Avanti - Italian Near Me - Leola, Pennsylvania

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This restaurant could be a hidden gem, as the food and service are both very good. It's a little cramped to be considered fine dining, although it's priced as though it believes it is. The menu is okay... they do have some great dishes, but it's somewhat limited. What lowers their rating even more for me is that they have a sub-standard wine selection. To make it worse, they charge a $25 corking fee if you bring your own. I think this place is really just a convenience for visitors staying at the beautiful Inn... not for locals who have many better options. read more

This is a nice place to eat at the Inn at Leola Village. The staff has been nice every tine I have gone. They try hard to do good job. The food is solid. The pricing is pretty reasonable for what you get, but aligned with the higher end cuisine. They have a great bar. They really seem to know what they are doing there. Their dining room setup is a little odd and their outside setup is nice but obviously hard for the wait staff. We like this place and make a point to go to it when we are close. Make a reservation! read more

Great place for dinner. The portion sizes are enormous. I was celebrating my 50th birthday with my wife and they even brought out a candle in my ice cream..Service is excellent. read more

What a perfect hidden gem in Leola! I had no idea something this cool was in the town! Prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is classy. I hesitate to even promote it because I don't want anyone to know! Staff is very friendly and professional. Great wine selection and unique food dishes. I will be coming back often! read more

Osteria Avanti - I highly recommend the wine flight! - Italian Near Me - Leola, Pennsylvania

What a hidden gem!! This is world-class dining in the country in PA! They also have an upscale B&B with a spa onsite. We will be back!

Had a great evening at the Inn bar Osteria. Bar tender Kyle, was friendly, knowledgeable of the menu, and went above and beyond to make our visit a good one. Great spirit selection, even some good cigars. Thanks again Kyle, we'll be back soon. read more

This was a fantastic place to eat. Service was outstanding. The food was impeccably tasteful. I highly recommend.

We had a lovely dinner here starting with the house-made focaccia which is delicious. We wanted to try the fries as an appetizer because we love fresh cut fries. I was so thankful our server described the sizes of the appetizer vs a side. They are so good but we didn't need a lot because we had been snacking all day and had more to come. I had the linguini with meatballs. I am obsessed with finding the perfect meatballs and am disappointed most of the time. These were so, so perfect I got 2 orders to go (1 for me, 1 for a relative). First, they are huge. And they are so tender and flavorful in a deep, rich tomato sauce. The other dish we got was pasta with braised beef. This was also excellent. Overall the entire experience was awesome with delicious food, generous portions, great atmosphere, and absolutely perfect service (and drinks ) from Kyle. We will definitely return when in the area again. read more

Osteria Avanti - Linguini with Meatballs in Sunday Sauce-perfection! - Italian Near Me - Leola, Pennsylvania

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Food and service was amazing. Highly suggest if your looking for a nice place to eat.

The reason I put three stars I will explain. The food was great the beer was great. BUT The service on the other hand. We waited a long time for our food and I mean a long time. Also we waited a long time for our server to even grace our presence. Between visits we just sat there wondering if she would ever return. Good vibe though and attractive place. read more

Great food and great service in a nice atmosphere. We loved the appetizers and main course pastas. Glad we found this restaurant. read more

This has so far been the worse Mother's Day service ever. We're first In And still sitting here waiting for food to show up. Anything bread, or anything. Food finally came but no return visit from waitress son very lousy over cooked chicken went back completely uneaten with no mention of why the same plate of food went back the way t came. As it turned out we were being serviced by the bartender in another room who had no time to waitress while bartending. This was the worst food and service I've ever had. Such a shame. read more

I very seldom give 5 star ratings, but this place was a very pleasant surprise. Decided to just go local for Valentine's Day and I'm glad we tried out this hidden gem. This is the "casual" Italian place next to the hotel and not the "5 star" fancy place. But...very classy! Service was very good, especially for Valentine's Day. Small dining room and small menu. Garden salad was fine, my Branzino fish was very good. Wife's chicken was good. Desert, special for Valentine's Day was great. Drinks: Italian Manhattan was excellent, Chardonnay was great, Old Fashioned was OK...a bit bitter for me. Will definitely be back again. read more

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Hmm. Expected top notch and was disappointed. Bread served with drinks was hard (old). The meatball appetizer was excellent. Dinner entrees where salmon ordered medium well, arrived well done along with everything else on my plate. Well done potatoes well done veggies, sad really. Shrimp Linguine was unremarkable. We had a busy waiter who paid more attention to outdoor diners than indoor. We did receive a free desert based upon the well done salmon dinner. We visited 3 restaurants in Leola. Here is our rating. #1 Log Cabin, #2 Belvedere, unfortunately we rated where we stayed #3. Not what we were expected. read more

I'll lead off with the tl;dr Lancaster County has a great food scene. This is not part of it. Normally, I take pictures of interesting food. I took no pictures. We live 5 miles away. We won't be back. Quote from the evening: "50 yards from Te, 50 miles apart in everything else." Our dining group had never been, so we ventured out of the downtown Lancaster restaurant scene and gave it a shot. I knew we were in trouble when I looked at the cocktail list. First cocktail on the list: Long Island Iced Tea. Wait...whut? I went with the safest choice, a Boulevardier, and it was both watery, overly Vermouth'd, and lacking any hint of Campari. If you can't do a decent version of an absolute classic, and your cocktail menu leads off with a Long Island, I knew we were not exactly headed for Flavor Country. The rest of the list was your standard Choco-Fudge Martini, Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini, etc. Who is this restaurant catering to? The food? All around "meh". We're locals, but going by the menu descriptions, they're targeting visitors a bit too hard. Whoopie Pie gelato, Wilbur chocolate dust on the Penne, Hammond Pretzels on whatever. You get the gist. The obligatory bread basket was the usual. Three or four sliced breads arrived. All were cold. Who doesn't love them some cold Focaccia to dip in that plate of olive oil? Also, if anyone figures out what the tin of gravel-sized sea salt rocks is for, please post and let us know. Only guess is you take a bite of food, pop in a chunk of salt rock, and chew to combine. The menu, as you can see on their site, is rather uninspired, with the dishes themselves being worse. A mish mash of flavors, textures, and off color. The Orecfhiette was a bowl of bland color, flavor, and, quite honestly, it looked more like leftovers from Mom's fridge, and less like something that just came out of the kitchen of an Italian restaurant. The Penne with Wilbur Chocolate dust, the only really "that's unique, I'll give it a try" dish on the menu was my choice. The entire dish was a mahogany to brown color, looking wholly unappetizing. Flavor-wise, I get what they were trying to do, but the result was something that looked like it cooked an extra day and there was no appreciable moisture to the baked on sauce. The beef cheek aspect was perfectly fine. I mean, braised beef cheeks are usually always great and not easy to ruin. The Chicken breast dish featured, per the menu, "rustic stuffing". The immediate reaction, just from looking at it the actual food, was "There's no way that's not Kraft Stove Top." Our table had several other dishes, as well as some appetizers, but they were similar to the aforementioned entrees. Nothing to write home about. One standout, I guess, was the spicy sausage and "carmelized" brussel sprouts appetizer. They were not carmelized (the kitchen doesn't seem to know that heat and leaving them alone is the key to carmelization), but rather were the bright green of a steamy, we're going to keep tossing them, pan. But, the "standout" part was the spicy sausage. Given the notion that this restaurant, and it's aesthetic, seems to cater to the older, touristy crowd, there is no way Grandma is having that dish. I'm a lunatic for great Szechuan, ordering a 9 or 10 heat level when asked. That sausage was, for this dish, far too hot, overpowering those steamed, green brussel sprouts. Re: The server, he was perfectly fine, attentive throughout the evening. One critique, that applies to any staff, including this one, if we ask you what you like or what you recommend, we're asking because you're there, you know the food, and we're looking for guidance. Leading off your response with, "Well, the blah blah is the most popular. Also, lots of people order the..." is not what we're looking for. And replying with some variation of "excellent choice", after ordering each of the 9 dishes, is the opposite of confidence-inspiring, especially after we saw the outcome. read more

Overall, this is very mediocre food at very high prices. My mistake was not checking the menu beforehand: it's an Italian restaurant that has two pasta dishes with meatballs - that's your tip-off right there that this food is less than authentic. And that's fine so long as the meats aren't chewy and over cooked, the pasta sauce doesn't taste like Chef Boyardee, and the salad lettuce doesn't taste like the refrigerator. Alas, all of this next to very uneven service means this was an experience I am happy not to repeat. There is an excellent restaurant in a nice hotel in Lancaster, but it ain't this one. read more

Oh my! What a lovely find! Cozy, rustic inspired Italian restaurant. Absolutely delicious cocktails, appetizers,dinner and desserts. $100 for the 2 of us. Staff highly professional. Dress is causal- neat to dressy. read more

Excellent execution of banquet service. Passed hors d'oeuvres were delightfully presented. Table service was prompt, yet unobtrusive. Service was friendly and professional. I was impressed by the decor of this establishment. Very much enjoyed the wedding party here. Looking at the dining room menu, I could not quite understand the griping in previous reviews regarding menu prices. For the quality of the meal, these prices would be considered inexpensive back in Baltimore. read more

Both food & service were outstanding! The penne with beef cheeks in Gorgonzola cream is to die for (just omit the chocolate). Forgot to snap a photo. The calamari broth was also fabulous! The atmosphere is romantic & cozy read more

Osteria Avanti - Italian Near Me - Leola, Pennsylvania

Sub-Olive Garden quality at three times the price. Fire the chef immediately! The bruschetta was especially painful- limp, soggy bread slathered in diced tomatoes straight out of a can and cold chickpeas. There are farm stands all over this area serving delicious fresh tomatoes, so there's no excuse to be pouring ingredients out of a tin can, especially at this price. The calamari had obviously been unfrozen in a microwave, and was drowning in an over-spiced brown puddle. Couscous beneath the fish was ice cold. read more

My wife and I had dinner here our first night staying at the hotel. The restaurant is very elegantly designed. There were about 5 other groups dining and two waiters. Unfortunately, our waiter was a bit slow with service. Took awhile to take our order, refill drinks, etc. The cheese platter to start was very good. It came with pretzels, cheese, fruit, crackers and four different cheeses. Excellent. Finally got the main course. I got the Avanti burger which was part beef and pork then had beef cheek on the bottom and was topped with Gorgonzola. Sounded delicious and was actually good. Not great. My wife had the shrimp pasta, which domes tied up in a paper container. The presentation of the meal was interesting. But the food was lukewarm to cold. She found it difficult to eat with the paper it was wrapped in. So we were not thrilled with dinner and are not likely to visit again. We had the complimentary breakfast which was quite good. A nice potato dish and a good quiche like dish in addition to your standard continental breakfast fare. The servers in the morning were very fast, efficient and friendly. Much more positive experience. Combining the two experience we came up with 3 stars. read more

First time going to this restaurant, and I have to say how pleasant the atmosphere was, morgan the bartender, was very professional with any questions that i have to ask, and the staff was very curtious. I would highly recommend this restauraunt for a great date night or place to eat with the family read more

Osteria Avanti - Avacado caprese salad - Italian Near Me - Leola, Pennsylvania

One of the best resturants in Lancaster County. Food was great and is reasonably priced. They also have a good selection of scotch. Our bartender Morgan was very attentive and personable which added to the overall experience. We highly recommend this place and will be returning soon. read more