A quaint American diner in the small city of Cleona, PA. It's got that 1960s charm and meals at extremely fair prices. Staff is extremely welcoming and outgoing with all the charm and kindness you'd expect of a small town. For breakfast I had the 2 egg, 2 bacon, rye toast and coffee special ($5.25) and a side of home fries ($3.25). The food was well seasoned, properly cooked, and delicious! Take time to stop in Schwalm's for hearty home meals! You won't be disappointed and you won't break the bank! read more

See all

Thanks to Yelp reviews, we ate at this gem of a diner. It's clearly a locals place- very homey and designed for folks to come eat and chat and enjoy each others company. We arrived at about 11:30 am on a Sunday. We were seated immediately. The first question is whether we wanted a breakfast or dinner menu. We took both. They have a nice variety of foods available. I had the salmon croquettes with Harvard beets and green beans. I was instantly transported to my family's home for dinner. They were made just as I remembered. I really enjoyed my meal. Everyone else had breakfast. My son had the hunky fries. It looked amazing and he ate every scrap. Everyone enjoyed their food. The servers walked around with the coffee pot frequently, offering to fill your cup even if it wasn't their table- haven't see that service in years. We finished with 3 pieces of pie- cherry crumb, cherry cheesecake and peanut butter cream. Fantastic! Probably a good thing this place isn't closer - Is be there all the time. read more

See all

Food is very homemade and tasty. I had coconut-custard pie for dessert. It was best I had in years. Service was prompt and friendly. It was like eating in mom's kitchen. read more

I love the $5 breakfast specials- that include coffee. I also love the fact that- at the age of 62- I am usually one of the youngest patrons there in the morning. A true throwback diner! read more

This is one of those great local restaurants, "Mom and Pop" family place. It was recommended to us by someone in Annville, where it's located. Turkey Croquettes were very good as was the gravy that came with them. The BBQ sandwich was also very nice. We took home two slices of their homemade pies: Rhubarb and Cherry and both were great. This is Pennsylvania Dutch style so lots of Potatoes - whipped, potato salad, etc. Staff was terrific. My wife was in a wheelchair and they hurried to get doors for us both coming in and out. read more

my family and me went here and when i tell you we had the worst service ever it tooo 1 hour to get our food and the chef took smoke breaks every 10 minutes and they microwave and boil all their food we went years ago and still laugh about it to this day never go or your valves will not see tomorrow read more

Local place. It's like you're taking a step back in time. Good food. Nice sized portions. I haven't been here for a while so I decided to stop for dinner on a Friday night. Their baked haddock is excellent. Large choice of two sides with it. Very good. Fast service. The time I ordered until the time I received my food was less than five minutes. Granted, it's their Friday night special but the service is fast and friendly. They go out of their way to take care of you. Homemade desserts, but I didn't have any this time. read more

See all

Finally came back. I met a friend from out east so it was a logical meeting spot about midway. Not many diners today as it was noon but our food still took a long time to come out. This time, the toast was dark (not burnt), and the omelet and homefries were hot and delicious. Service was very friendly. I will come back again when I'm in the area. read more

Schwalm's Restaurant - Western omelet w homefries - Diners Near Me - Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Stopped here for breakfast yesterday. It's got the feel of a small-town dinette with a lot of history. There's a showcase with their promo/advertising items (hats, ice scrapers, fly swatters, collapsible cups, and lots more) dating back decades. Dad used to eat here regularly many years ago, and we were in the area so we decided to try it. I think it survives on its friendly relationships with its regulars and good service, because it sure isn't because of the food. We were here for breakfast after dropping off a car for service, and opted for two of the breakfast specials. One bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee, the other home fries instead of bacon. There was no option to get both, unless you wanted to spend more than the price of the meal for a side of bacon/ham/sausage/scrapple, or 2/3 of it for home fries. Sorry, not paying almost $6 for a couple strips of bacon. The bacon was good though -- best part of the meal, honestly. Like many places, they overcook their scrambled eggs (I don't want them browned). The opposite was true of their toast -- one order was VERY lightly toasted, while the other was basically warm bread. The home fries were amiss as well -- cooked well, but they tasted of old oil. Dunno if that's due to the type of oil they use on the grill, or the grill itself. Anyway, not pleasant. The coffee was great diner coffee though, and the waitress was Johnny on the Spot about keeping it topped off and hot. In the end, we left hungry and stopped for donuts at the excellent shop up the road. The specials were a great deal, but any add-ons were just ridiculous by comparison. read more

Food is really good and you get a great portion. Place is extremely small for the amount of people and the rest rooms are not equipped for handicapped people. Waitress was extremely attentive to all our needs. read more

Decor/service: Diner that is much bigger inside than it looks from the outside. Dated interior much like most small town diners. Service was average. Waitress was not the friendliest 3/5 Food- the pancakes were average. Nothing great. Not terrible. The ham was very greasy. The veggie omelet had an off ratio of veggies to eggs 3/5 read more

Not fancy but solid good food. Server was pleasant. I'll be back. Why would anyone pass this up for fast food or a chain restaurant?

There's something about Schwalms that brings us back. We only come for breakfast, and probably wouldn't be into lunch or the other parts their menu, but the breakfast is decent, desserts are amazing, prices are great, and it's like taking a step back into the 70s when you see the line cooks with their paper hats and old time decor. Definitely don't go expecting a fancy meal, but for a simple breakfast, great pies and cakes, and travel back in time, it's pretty good. read more

See all

Chicken soup was delicious. Not happy with tuna sandwich. Was chunks of tuna (not diced up at all) and way too much egg (who puts egg in tuna? Yuk). If I wanted an egg salad I would have ordered it. Good thing I'm not allergic to eggs cause nothing indicated tuna had egg In it! Very dry sandwich, hardly any mayo. Could only stomach almost half. Even hubby didn't want it.service very slow. Gave us water but never asked what drink we wanted. She was rushing alot. Made me scared to ask for a slice of lemon! read more

one of my favorite places, home made pie and pa dutch food just like grandma used to make

If you are looking for a place where all the locals go for breakfast- this is it. Nothing fancy in regards to decor... the inside says "hometown diner" - but the portions are large, coffee is hot and the prices very good! read more

Best place for breakfast. Can't beat the price. Eggs, potatoes, toast and coffee $4.50. read more

Schwalm's Restaurant - Special. - Diners Near Me - Lebanon, Pennsylvania

They went cheap w food. Fake food. Frozen Pattie's prices up like everywhere but food really went down in quality I'm not going again until chicken fried steak is the real thing again! For now to crackle barrel read more

Ive only came here for breakfast so far and it's been very delicious, they have a lunch and dinner menu, employees are nice and fast service, prices are hard to beat you get a lot of food read more

Schwalm's Restaurant - Diners Near Me - Lebanon, Pennsylvania

My Mom and I have been going there for years , Food never changes -always down to Earth Dutch cooking - good eating. Like the atmosphere ; quiet and great for Seniors too. Good place to meet friends for Breakfast / Lunch ! read more

Home cooking with a variety of food options. I recommend the potato filling. Diner atmosphere with excellent food.

Four stars, as long as you understand that this scale is for an old central pa diner that hasn't been updated since the 60's... Service was great, food was good, prices were very competitive. Photo is of their "hunky fries" a nice mix of home fries, eggs, onions, peppers and cheese. Tastes way better than it looks. read more

Schwalm's Restaurant - Diners Near Me - Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Good old-fashion home style cooking at a reasonable price. There's nothing fancy or flashy but you will likely leave satisfied and happy.

My wife and i eat here frequently, we love Lenten Season, they have the best baked Haddock meal ever. this is a down home old home cooked meal restaurant with extremely reasonably priced menu. Service is usually fast as is the delivery of your order. Ambiance here is casual as it gets, Small town family owned and operated 2nd & 3rd generations run it now!! try it you'll love it!! read more

Food is great. Atmosphere is quaint and friendly. I'm just passing through town but this place was great for breakfast.

Where do Indonesians go to when they want good home style Pennsylvania Dutch food? Schwalm's of course! Service was slooooow, but portions & prices were reasonable. We tried fried mozzarella fingers w/ stewed tomatoes as an appetizer. Followed by beef tips & mashed potatoes. By far we were the youngest people in there, probably by 15 years or more. It seemed like a senior citizen mecca, which is a good thing in my opinion. For dessert we had Lemon meringue pie @ 2.75 per slice. Excellent desserts. #beeftips #delicious #secondsplease #grandmasrecepie #willbebackformore read more

Schwalm's Restaurant - Lemon meringue pie $2.75. - Diners Near Me - Lebanon, Pennsylvania

My 5 star rating is based on the price/value/expectation equation. No, it's not a 5 star restaurant, it's a 5 star little diner. Friendly staff. Our waitress was as sweet, cute, friendly and nice as they come. I asked, and she recommended, the turkey platter. It was excellent. A generous portion and very tasty. She said their desserts are all either made in house or by a little old lady down the street. Based on the coconut cream pie that I had I believe her. Huge portion and delicious. Dinner for 2 with 1 dessert was $18.44 - hard to beat. I brought my own wine which makes it all the better. If you're looking for a good meal, good friendly service at a VERY reasonable price I can recommend Schwalm's. read more

Schwalm's Restaurant - Delicious & huge coconut cream pie - Diners Near Me - Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Great PA Dutch diner. Schwalm's offers quick service, friendly local staff and excellent desserts. The food is typical PA Dutch. It's also typical diner fare. The prices are hard to beat. I recommend their soups and special local cuisine -- like filling! read more

Easter dinner was excellent. Both turkey and ham dinners with the many side choices and desserts made for a delicious meal. The Schwalm Family always make you feel welcome. Whether you come for breakfast, lunch or dinner you get a delicious meal. read more

Oh my we have heard of this place for years and we finally got to go. Let me just say...they have the best pies around. I never knew i could buy pies that are better than mine. But we now are addicted and want to go every Friday for pie. And our waitress was sooooo sweet and fun, she laughed at all the pieces of pie we ate. read more

My wife had been here before, but I was never there before. I really didn't think much of the place walking in, however I was pleasantly surprised when we got our food. It was delicious portion size was above average for the area. Best surprise of all was our bill, under $50 dollars for a family of four to go out to dinner is hard to find in the Lebanon area unless it's fast food. Our service was great, food delicious, price less than expected, wonderfully nice staff. We will definitely be coming back. read more

I have been driving by Schwalm's for years, well we finally stopped in for lunch, the inside was clean but had no character, painted 70's harvest gold. The service was good, nice and polite, now to the food, true diner food, and not good diner food, I would guess the hamburgers came from Costco, maybe the whole menu did, no flavor, skimpy amounts, I would not recommend Schwalm's for lunch, the only reason I gave 2 stars was because of the desserts, but I would guess they didn't make them. read more

A wonderful family owned restaurant, similar to a diner, or anything else you'd find in a small town. Portions are large, piping hot, and the food tastes fresh. Everything seemed homemade. I highly recommend the hot turkey, and potato filling. They accept VISA, MasterCard, and Discover which I appreciated. One big complaint: their menu specifies you get ONE beverage refill; even though they charge almost $2 for a soda that comes in a rather small glass. Everyone knows soda cost pennies for a restaurant. Reduce the price, or get rid of this ridiculous policy. Because of this, I simply drank water, which meant less profit for the restaurant. Silly in my opinion! read more

Not sure how this place stays afloat as long as it has. Mediocre would be a stretch.

Go here for breakfast, Good good, quick service? Affordable prices! Never leave hungry.

The last three times we were very disappointed. Uncooked chicken, wrong orders, poor service. This place has gone down hill fast which is such a shame. We used to always enjoy going there and wish things were like they used to be. What turned us off the first time was when the cook, with his plastic gloves on, came out from the kitchen and counted and removed money from the register. After that we both watch him go back into the kitchen and start handling food. Without changing his gloves! Gross! We removed this place from our list but after some months went back to give them a second chance. That's when my order came out all wrong and my wifes fried chicken came to our table raw in the center. The server took it back to have it put back in the fryer. Problem was that my wife had already pulled it apart. We paid for our drinks and walked out. Service has not been the same since Connie left. There is more to this then I will write here. I'm considering my next writing be to the county health department! read more

Awesome food always... It's my go-to spot when I am Truckin' through this part of the country. Staff is always friendly and service is fast. I am already looking forward to my next run to the area so I can eat here again. read more

Schwalm's Restaurant - Diners Near Me - Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Amazing home cooked food. Friendly people and never a long wait to eat something great. The soups are my favorite.

If you are looking for hipster, artisan food just move along. This is a classic old school diner with solid food and friendly waitresses. Had breakfast with my son at the counter. Hot coffee, eggs, bacon and hunky fries. It was a weekend morning and it took a bit to get our food but it was packed and my coffee remained full. I'd definitely come back again possibly for a piece of the giant cakes along the counter. Just old fashioned good food. read more

Schwalm's Restaurant - 2 eggs and a nice pile of baccon - Diners Near Me - Lebanon, Pennsylvania

See all

What a great little place ! WHen you pull up dont be fooled by the small house like appearance its a great cozy little place with real home cooking ! Hot coffee, nice choice of food and tasty. We ordered a omelet with meat, yes real meat and guess they cook the meat in the actual egg ! Let me explain, how many place have you been that you order an omelet and the they cook the eggs completely and then drop the meat in like a Stromboli lol ?? Really ??? Is that it that difficult to cooked the meat, remove it from the pan, start to cook the eggs and blend the two ??? The best thing about a meat omlet is the contents giving flavor to the eggs, its that simple Gumby ! Ok sorry for the rant back on subject, we received great service, stalker like cookie refills, i mean our waitress was almost ghost like, we took a sip and she topped us off , it was great & spooky ! The potatoes, well I only watched others eat them because I am dong low carb while training and they were all raving on how good they were and they certainly looked good ! I was as envious as a hungry beaver watching another beaver chew on a tasty log ! All and all a great experience and best yet, if your from Phila, or any other city and driving thru, you will check your bill twice, its so cheap you could eat at this place every day ! I am not talking low quality cheap, its good food at great prices homey ! read more