Stopped here after a recommendation. Got the Spring Pasta with chicken. The pesto was so good! Super light, not heavy and oily. I'd definitely get it again! read more

For 25 years now, I have been visiting Hershey, PA,to attend a conference. Each year, I have eaten at the "What If" restaurant. Each and every time the menu selections are fresh and vibrant. Hospitality is outstanding. You'll find this restaurant at the Howard Johnson hotel in the lower level. Don't be alarmed at the location. You'll find the restaurant has a wonderful vibe. read more

We tried this restaurant for Valentine's Day and we were not disappointed. We had reservations but still had to wait an additional 25 mins before we were seated. Once seated our waiter approached the table to take our orders within 10 mins. They had red and white balloons all over and it was really nice inside. I was surprised it was at the bottom of the Howard Johnson but inside changed my mind. We ordered the crab dip, halibut and filet minion. All three were good. Ended with a salted Carmel brownie, which was also very good. I would recommend this restaurant. read more

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So second time we've been here and amazing as the time before. No portabello mushroom appetizer but must not be in season. The only critique. Don't charge 6 bucks for a very mid salad. lol. Cmon. Gotta up that game a bit. read more

The vegetable napoleon is amazing. All meals were plated very nice and delicious. The cocktails are terrific. The lemontini is one of my favorites. Chilled extra cold as it should be. Definitely a must experience. Intimate atmosphere. Love it! read more

I would recommend it for dessert and dining when in town. The staff is very friendly and warm always have a good time and a good meal. read more

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Let me give you a recap of how What If is like... First, I come in and get a table. A waitress/waiter will come to the table quickly and introduces themselves. They will ask if you want to order anything and I would normally say yes. I would order drinks and food. I get the steak, SO GOOD!!! (: :) I get the food in about 20 minutes at the MOST. I eat and the server checks in on me every 10 minutes or so. After I am done, I normally get dessert. Their profiterole is the BEST, along with Ice Cream. I haven't gone there once without getting dessert. It is irresistible!!! This place is fancy, but kid friendly! I love how the tables are all different sizes, too! What If is also located on the bottom floor of a hotel, but I never went to the hotel. I just know What If is recommended by me, Julia R. They also have the best mashed potatoes EVER!!!!!!! read more

We reached out to What If in Hershey about catering our wedding (around 50 guests) at the Peter Allen House. The reply we received was curt and dismissive, offering no real explanation or follow-up. That tone alone was enough to make us reconsider doing business with them. Update : Only after posting a review did the owner respond publicly -- not to take responsibility, but to deny, deflect, and accuse. Rather than addressing the poor communication, she chose to argue semantics and question the validity of honest feedback. That kind of response speaks louder than any review could. The lack of professionalism in handling customer concerns is deeply disappointing. I hope future guests receive better treatment than we did. read more

What If of Hershey is a locally loved, family-owned restaurant known for its welcoming atmosphere and consistently excellent food. The menu truly has something for everyone--from gourmet burgers and comfort favorites to elevated dishes like perfectly prepared filet mignon. One of the things locals appreciate most is the consistency and the creative daily specials that keep the menu fresh and interesting. The restaurant is also very accommodating for larger groups and offers a private dining room, making it a great option for celebrations, gatherings, or business dinners. Whether you're stopping in for a casual meal or a special night out, What If delivers a reliable and memorable dining experience in Hershey. read more

Called in a takeout order and was asked for payment and a tip before even picking up the food. Soliciting tips upfront for carry-out is unprofessional and unacceptable. I decided to cancel my order and I will not recommend this place to anyone. read more

A hidden secret off the commercial side of Hershey. Great atmosphere, service and food!

We had a team dinner here after a sales training event. Excellent service delicious food intimate atmosphere. I highly recommend this restaurant for any kind of team meeting or even a date night. Surprisingly I t's located inside a Howard Johnson's hotel. However don't be deterred the service the food the quality is absolutely amazing please patronize this business. We will be back! read more

What If...Of Hershey - New American Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

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Pro tip: entry is through the doors under the black awning, proceed directly down the stairs. The restaurant is beneath a hotel but don't let that fool you, it's done nicely and the atmosphere is very nice once inside. We arrived in to town late and they were happy to have us. Our waitress, Brooke, was very enthusiastic and encouraging with our menu selections, which for the last table of the night, we were impressed to see. Service was fantastic as well. Everything came out great, though stirring the short rib Mac and cheese definitely made the difference, allowing the cheese and juices to fully compliment every bite. So if you order that app, definitely stir it up! It was a good stop and added to our "good to return" list/favorites! Can't go wrong here read more

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We loved our experience at What If of Hershey. Service and food were great. We haven't been to a restaurant in the area that compares.

Food is delicious. They offer small plates to share. Nice bar area too. Service is excellent.

I'll be honest, when I first saw What If, I was skeptical. It's inside a Howard Johnson hotel, which I didn't expect. You walk down the stairs into a dimly lit dining room, with a crowded bar that seemed like everyone was having fun at. After being seated I was still unsure, is the food really going to be good at a hotel restaurant? So we started off with the barbecue chicken flatbread pizza and the barbecue wings. The wings were super crispy, juicy and well sauced. The sauce was Smokey and sweet, it was a real hit with my father who's a huge fan of chicken wings. Then the flatbread pizza which had a great flavor especially the amount of garlic and Parmesan used, and the same yummy barbecue sauce on top. After those appetizers, my family was really happy and we felt really optimistic about the entrees. I had the prime sirloin steak, which was super tender and flavorful, the cowboy butter was so delicious and really enhanced the steak itself. My sister had the Cod, which was her first time trying it and she became a fan. The waitress was really friendly and made us feel welcome. Overall it was a great experience and a real lesson in don't judge a book by its cover. read more

For starters... the restaurant is in the bottom of a "Howard Johnson inn" which is very different. But when you walk down the stairs you find this little restaurant with great lighting. Lighting that makes each table its own energy field. Our server was Emily. She was fantastic, my family can be a lot when we all go out together but she handled it very well and enthusiastically. We got a total of 2 apps, 5 entrees, 7 cocktails, and 4 desserts. EVERYTHING WAS 10/10. One of my new favorite restaurants. WOOHOO! read more

What If...Of Hershey - Chesapeake Filet (special) - New American Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

I have been to the What If in Harrisburg and enjoyed it, so we came here with friends. We loved it! The ambiance is just right for us: dark around so you feel like you aren't on display, but nice lighting above each table so you can see each other and the menus. Our waitress was friendly and explained the happy hour specials as well as the menu specials. Our group of four shared the arancini and the fried pickles as our starters. The arancini were amazing and tasted just like a good risotto was inside these perfectly fried crispy jewels. The fried pickles were also very good and plentiful! I ordered the salmon special and---honestly--it was one of the best pieces of salmon I have ever had. The fish was incredibly moist and the glaze was a perfect balance of sweet & savory. The veggies were a great blend: brussels sprouts, green beans, sprouts, & broccoli and the rice had a very nice seasoning to it. My husband got the rack of lamb and it was perfectly prepared and a generous serving. The cocktails were all sublime and they had some wonderful flavor combinations to try. Happy hour is from 4:30 to 6:30 and have 1/2 price appetizers and drink specials. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meal and we saved just enough room for dessert. Our friends shared the profiterole and we were all taken aback by how large the serving was! The peppermint ice cream was lovely. We split the peanut butter pie, but it was so rich that we couldn't quite finish that. The four of us had no complaints about our evening here and recommend stopping by if you're in the area! read more

What If...Of Hershey - Rack of lamb. Sooooo good! - New American Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

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Really good Italian restaurant in the unlikely location of the basement of a Howard Johnson's Motel. Great, old school supper club ambiance, great modern and classic Italian and steak dishes, professional and friendly service. 5/5. read more

Never addressed my issue to the food quality. The service was ok. Ambiance was ok. I don't really want to go back, but my husband liked the bar. read more

Stopped in while in town on business not knowing anything about the restaurant. On a Wed eve they were packed but they found a spot for me as a single diner. It did take longer than expected for waitress to come to my table, but it was super busy. She was very pleasant and checked on me often. I ordered the chicken milanese and it was fabulous!!! I wish I lived in this town as this would be my frequent spot! The only negative was it was extremely loud. To the point that if I had someone with me I would have had to talk very loudly. read more

What If...Of Hershey - Chicken Milanese - New American Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

Service was great. Food was ok. Chicken was dried out. Not many selections for drinks & appetizers. We were there for a funeral luncheon.

Food: OMG... DELICIOUS. Came here on a college service trip and everyone was starving, but we pretty much finished everything (at least I know I did LOL). The pesto pasta I devoured, and as a peppermint ice cream lover whose favorite color is pink, this dessert was delicious as well. 11/10 food, if I'm ever back in the area I would go. Service: Servers were really friendly! Accommodated to our large party of college kids. read more

What If...Of Hershey - Peppermint ice cream chocolate profiteroles - New American Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

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Service was great . Food was great . Enjoyed my meal. Ambiance was nice as well, do not be fooled that this restaurant is in a Howard Johnson. read more

It was a long drive to get to Hershey for a business meeting next day. Stayed at Howard Johnson hotel and it just happened that this What if restaurant is within this property!! Did not have to go too far checked the menu on Yelp via their website. Veggie burger and Eggplant special were the choices at 8:30 pm when most of the fast food restaurants were closing at 9 pm . I guess tourists were long hone snd business people like me were looking for a good seat down place with drinks to eat at . Anyway service was really good snd I did not have to travel too far just to my hotel room. Veggie sandwich was kind a ok as I used to eat meat while ago snd they tried to imitate meat flavor with meat nite taste in to it. May be it's chef's special creation and not mass produced veggie patty.. any way fries and glass of Cabernet wine allowed me to gulp it down .. after adding hot sauce did not have Tabasco bottle ... Later on added Tiramisu dessert to go to room above this restaurant location .. which I will try later on ., wait for next update based on that .., read more

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I've been wanting to go to this restaurant for quite some time. Made reservations and had a table for last night. Our server Julia was very pleasant. Made sure we knew about the featured specials for the evening. The food was outstanding! We had the eggplant appetizer, which was phenomenal, I then had baked seafood which was out of this world! Scallops topped with sweet, sweet crab meat topped with more scallops and broiled shrimp. Served with a side of rice pilaf and roasted veggies. The meal was absolutely delicious! My BF ordered the Seafood Fra Diavolo and was not disappointed! The portion was way more than enough...plenty of mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops, and lobster. He loves this dish and it did not disappoint!! We will definitely make a return visit!! There were several items on their menu that caught our attention and we will make it a point to return! Cozy setting, intimate bar area that was busy...but not intrusive whatsoever! And again, our server Julia was 'top notch'. Really enjoyed our dining experience! read more

Made reservations for dinner tonight to try somewhere we haven't been. The restaurant is attached to the Howard Johnsons Hotel and is located downstairs. The restaurant has a nice bar area with a few booths and plenty of tables. For an appetizer we ordered the shrimp cocktail special and the lollipop lamb chops. They were both awesome but my favorite was the lollipop lamb chops. The were so juicy and cooked perfectly. For dinner we ordered the fillet special with crabmeat, the crab cakes and two wedge salads. For starters the crab cakes were delicious with plenty of crab meat and the rice it came with was very good. The fillet was so tender you didn't need a knife! I can honestly say this was the best wedge salad I have had in a long time. The dressings are all homemade and everything was so fresh. We ordered a bottle of wine with dinner and sadly had no room for dessert but everything sounded so good. Overall our service was great, Our empty plates were removed and fresh bottled water was brought out promptly and the food was all very good. Oddly the manager made her way around to the two larger parties near us but never stopped to check on us or any of the smaller tables. However, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and can't wait to come back again . read more

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Decor/service: bad location for a nice place. It's set up as a fancier place but I wouldn't say it is all that fancy. Service was initially slow but got much better. Food: the food was all around good. Mac and cheese was delicious and super creamy. The lamb chop lollipops were good but overpriced for what we got. The steak was good but needed a sauce to really set it over the top flavor wise. Both sides for the steak were delicious! read more

Excellent food. We asked to share a salad, and expected it to come out on one plate. But they split on two plates, leaving the nuts off of mine. Nice surprise. Fiancé got the sirloin and said it was one of the best, tenderest steaks he had. I had the lobster ravioli, and the only thing I would have changed was more asparagus with it. But that was a very minor complaint. Our server Kelly was very good, never rushed us. She checked on us, but was never intrusive. Don't let the location fool you. It's in the bottom of a Howard Johnson Inn and the ambiance of the restaurant is so nice. It's on the dim side, but each table had adequate lighting for reading the menu and talking with others. We went to celebrate our 8th anniversary and it may be come a place we go to every year! read more

Great food, service but a tight space. Difficult not to hear other patrons' conversation and felt we needed to whisper the whole time. A little on the pricey side. read more

Decent service and servers. My heaven the first impression in this restaurant is awful An older skinny woman at the hostess desk is incredibly rude. We walked into the restaurant and stood in front of her. She was busy texting on her cellular telephone and rolled her eyes at my wife. And asked if we had a reservation. By the looks and shape of this woman, and the fact that her job was only to greet patrons, we were waiting on her. I think our distain for the restaurant started there. It slowly had to be earned back. The food was more than good. Atmosphere was pleasant, and our service was fine. Definitely unhappy with the cranky old lady at the hostess desk. Stay home! read more

First off our server Kelly was wonderful and very accommodating. We had lollipop lamp chops. I wanted mine well done, my friend wanted hers medium rare. For some reason we got a variety of one perfectly done(yum), one perfectly medium rare, and two completely raw!! WTF!! We were only able to enjoy half of that pricy appetizer. The ambiance was a little off too. A near by couple had their two young kids watching programs on their electronic devices at a inappropriately LOUD volume. I like kids too. I blame the parents and the staff for not attending to that extremely irritating disruption. Our main course of butternut squash ravioli was just good. And our dessert... not sure what happened. We both ordered the cobbler du jour with seasonal fruit, but what was placed in front of us was two completely different things. One was a nice size serving of cobbler with a variety of berries topped with ice cream. The other was a lump of cobbler breading topped with ice cream, there may have been one raspberry in the dish. I can't make this sh&t up!! When we inquired about the cast differences the waitress stated that they were down to the last scoop in that particular pan of cobbler... really?? That is not an excuse. Quality control was definitely an issue at this restaurant. I probably won't chance it again. read more

What If...Of Hershey - New American Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

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We usually stop in to dine while in the area. This place is inconspicuous being attached to/ under a Howard Johnson Inn. The inside is dark, with low light a very romantic vibe, unless you sit in the bar area... Hockey fans delight (Hershey Bears & various teams). The food is always delicious here. We ordered the mussels in white wine sauce definitely worth it amongst the appetizers. My husband loves filet mignon and has ordered it all over the mid-Atlantic region-- this place is one of his consistent favorites! It was prepared with sautéed onions and mushrooms along with creamy (yellow) mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley. I was very satisfied with their seared scallops, and creamy tang of the wedge salad. The only thing that disappointed was the Mac &cheese with short rib incorporated within the dish-- unfortunately it was bland for my taste. Despite that one small low point-- We will definitely return during the Bears hockey season. Don't sleep on this gem. Their chef's creations, master dish presentation and service are top notch. read more

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My friends took me here while I was in town briefly. They are the restaurant attached to the Howard Johnson Hotel, and it reminded me of how motels used to be back in the day when people still took care of them. I have to admit that I would never come here on my own, but I was happy to go along with friends who had been there before. They are actually located in the basement of the building, which I thought was a little weird. But it seem to be decently busy. The atmosphere was updated, too. It's basically a full service dinner and cocktail restaurant with seafood, steaks, and Italian dishes. It's not outstanding, but it's enjoyable. Everything is done decently well. The service did not rush us out, and we got everything that we asked for. I would recommend going there if you were staying in the motel or in the immediate neighborhood and just wanted a decent all around meal. Admittedly, there was good people watching in there, which was a pleasant surprise. There were some families with multi generations. But there are also some dates going on. read more

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What If...we had only gone to a different restaurant. I don't understand all the positive reviews. I didn't chose this spot for a birthday dinner, and sure wouldn't in the future. When you walk in, there are three framed newspaper clippings about this place - from 2002, which might also be when the brown banquet room-style carpeting was installed. Dingy and water-stained drop ceiling tiles in the back dining room. Beer glass was dirty, could feel accumulated lipstick crust around the rim. Worse, fruit flies buzzed around our table the whole time we were there. Where the heck were they coming from? I got a fried fish sandwich, which smelled fishy but not in a good way, and came on a dry, oversized bun that cracked apart when holding it. Others at the table who got sandwiches were trimming theirs. "Fresh cut" fries were just frozen string fries. 50/50 chance your mobile phone will work, at least in the back. Finer dining prices for mediocre food. Server was pleasant enough and we never waited very long. When she realized one in our party was celebrating a birthday, she came back with an extra treat. Still, this is the absolute last place I would choose to go unless there were literally no other options, including fast food. If you stand outside and look at the entrance and wonder "Is this a good idea?" go with your instincts. We've had much better experiences when spending $300. read more

When you walk into this place; you have to walk down to the basement and right away it smelled like mold. Definitely there are issues with mold built up deep down... then it's like super dark when you walk into the entrance of the restaurant. Probably the worse part was the actual dinner quality .... The crab dip was somewhat OK but the main entree was horrific. The steak was so dry that it was hard to chew and very apparent it's frozen a steak before being cooked. ( not fresh) And the Bolognese meat was clumped all together ... hardly were there any taste of the cheese ... it was just salty tomato and very badly cooked meat... it's awful. I can't describe how a restaurant like this could make it good into this quality. Service was good ... so kudos to the waitresses and server... but otherwise... please avoid if you can. To be able to spend your money on dinner experience elsewhere. read more

What If...Of Hershey - Bolognese... the meat was clumped up together :( - New American Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

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This was a sleeper. We were driving on Chocolate Avenue and commented that there still was a Howard Johnson in business. While deciding where to dine that evening I recalled an unusual bame ' What If. Checked the menu on Yelp, and immediately made a reservation. What a Gem this restaurant was, the ambiance, the waitress, the Food to die for. Don't miss this restaurant.. !!!!!!!! Linda read more

We were vacationing in Hershey for a few days in October and decided to give this a try. We arrived at about 4:30 PM on a Friday evening. They were full and had no reservations available. They were very nice and asked if they seated us could we eat fairly quickly as they were going to be a full house. We were very happy to do so! Service was wonderful and I had Crab Cakes, my wife had the filet mignon. The Crab cakes were out of this world! Next I have ever had. Wifey said filet was also very good. I would highly recommend this restaurant! Also be sure to get reservations. read more

What If...Of Hershey - Crab Cake - New American Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

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A hidden treasure. Surprising location, but easy to get to. Wow! A fine dining experience with great atmosphere and service. The menu offered everything, and the food was fantastic. Great taste, without being loaded with seasonings and salt. We are looking at every opportunity to visit again with our friends and family. read more

What if....this place deserves it four stars? then the food would have been much better. The pretzel duo, one was almost salt crusted, the other was good. The beer cheese was okay, not enough to be called good, but the mustard was kinda gross to us. The lobster ravioli and Tuscan pasta also fall into that category. Okay, but not really good. However, the crab cake sandwich was just bad. Like, bad shellfish, bad. hoping the desserts are better than the food. Can't see it getting this up to A Three star for me though. read more