Hawthorne’s New York Pizza and Bar

We were seated right away on a weekday evening. The service was quick and friendly. I had the meatballs for an appetizer, they are pretty small, just the right size to start things out with. I was surprised that the taste was really good. The marinara is also good and a perfect mix of sweet and savory. I got the calzone, although I wanted a Stromboli because I hate the ricotta cheese. They informed me that they only had premade Stromboli with certain filling items I did not like, so I had the get the calzone to customize it. The calzone was pretty good, it had a lot of ricotta cheese in it, so if you like that, then it’s a good thing. The outside was cooked perfectly and the overall taste was satisfying. I may try something else at my next visit.

Being from New Jersey I was told they had good pizza here. Maybe I am over critical on pizza. Food was good, portion was small for the price. We got s pizza and a Stromboli as well as mozzarella sticks. Where they sat us and the time of day the bar tender was our waitress. There was one person at the bar and one other couple in the section we were at. She was to busy flirting with the dude at the bar to offer me refills or another drink. I had to get up twice to ask for service. Maybe she was having a bad day, I dunno. I may give it another try but not too impressed.

Updating my review after a few more visits! We have really tried to give this place more tries because it’s in our town and there are SO few dining choices here in Harrisburg.
We have received horrible service by a specific server a few times. I wish I knew her name, but she only left a poor impression. Both times this happened we had a group of about 8 people. As a former server of many years– big groups are where the money is made, but you also have to work harder– which she obviously does not care to do.
On the specific night I’m referring to, both my husband and another diner in our group wanted lasagna. The lasagna had apparently ran out for the evening. Instead of telling us in a professional way or maybe suggesting an alternative, she responded with «you should have came earlier if you wanted that.» We all looked around at each other, pretty shocked that the server would say that. It was a very rude response.
The food then took a very long time– not sure if this was the kitchen or her not being prompt sending our order in. The food was OK when it got there, but the service we received was so sub par the night was tainted. Unfortunately this made an entire table of Harrisburg living friends to not return.

We got a recent «To Go» order form here. We ordered Philly cheese steaks subs. When we got home and opened the bag, the sandwiches were wrapped in foil, and the bread was like rubber. WTH? Then, I got to reading the reviews on Unilocal,and all the «apologies» from management. Just proves this place is below par, and all management does is apologize and remain status quo… Really? We also ate here about three weeks ago and the service SUX! Waitress was about as clueless as one can get, didn’t know the menu, and just smirked at everything. Pizza crust was rubbery, not crisp at all… Harrisburg deserves a much better pizza joint!
Will I go again, Me thinks NOT!

The meal was OK, but nothing exceptional for rememberable. Pizza and wings or what we had. The wings were warmed, so I wasn’t sure they were fried fresh, and just covered with too much sauce. The pizza was OK, the crust was mediocre, the sauce was a little watery, and the vegetables were not free cook, so still crunchy.

We moved to Harrisburg right after Thanksgiving and we ate here after Christmas with my in-​laws. There were several doors to enter and when we walked through the dining room toward what looked like the hostess stand, we were then told it was the other direction and we’re looked at like we were stupid for not knowing where to go. Hostesses were not friendly at all. We all enjoyed the pizza and salads and the drinks were very good. The server was very friendly.

My husband and I love the pizza here! It’s always on point. My only complaint would be the customer service. Every time we come in for dinner, the people at the hostess stand just stare at us. It’s very uncomfortable and I just don’t understand how hard it is to greet someone.

We keep going back and they get better each time. Im happy to say that Hawthorne’s has become a family favorite.

Great food, especially the pizzas, solid service and more than fair prices make Hawthornes a superior choice in Harrisburg.
A must try are their «garlic knots» a great starter that compliments many of the delicious brews they have ready on tap.

Gorgonzola salad was fresh and pecans were great! We liked the pizza and knots as well, nice foldable slices! Most notable thing however was the service, now granted I as there for take out but was very impressed. First time in the restaurant, young man greeted me at the door (African American, glasses, grey hat?). Asked all the right questions when taking my order to make sure it was correct, honored my coupon that I forgot after checking with a manager, and gave me 2 time updates while I was waiting. Was also offered water and shown my pizza prior to departure.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza and the Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza are awesome. Decent beer prices too.

I can’t believe all the bad reviews. My family goes here periodically and everybody loves their food. We’ve never had a problem with the service. And since we go on Tuesdays when kids eat free, everything is a great value. My wife and I absolutely love their eggplant parmesan: a must try.

I would have liked this review to be regarding the food and drinks. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to sit and give it a taste.
We had been wanting to visit this location for over a year and finally decided to do it with a very good group of friends. I really hope the situation was simply because it was probably a long day for some.
We had a party of 10 including kids, and to make the long story short we were waiting for over an hour and they still couldn’t figure out how they were going to rearrange tables in order to sit us. We kept seen people come and leave and from our conversations they were waiting for a particular table to sit us which according to the personnel, was been cleaned for over thirty minutes. So I decided to go and check the status for myself. When seen that there were several tables cleaned and that it would only take a bit of thinking putting them together I went back to try and check with the people at front. This time I was told that there were people on the table they were going to assign to us and that they couldn’t just ask them to leave. Imagine my jaw dropping when they acted like the ones being insulted.
After an hour and approximately ten minutes we decided to just go somewhere else and eat. After all everyone had had a long day on both sides. Before leaving I wanted to leave it on a good note so I approached the hostess to inform her we were going to go somewhere else and got a priceless look of «after all the work we are putting on this?».
Definitely needs work on the customer side, and probably a basic math class to know that 5 adults plus 4 kids plus one high chair is 10, not 7. After numerous attempts to correct the number we simply gave up.
Please do yourself a favor and drive to the one Uptown.

Tried the drinks. They were bad. Tried the pizza, that was worse. Yet another disappointment in Harrisburg. I don’t know how this place stays in business. It tasted nothing like I remembered from the original Hawthorne’s.

Amazing people, great food & they really give back to the community. Please give them your business, you won’t be disappointed!

So, while we were there eating the waitress came out to tell the fellows that a gentlemen driving by saw them (Purple Heart Society) and stopped in to pay for all their meals. Now, Hawthorne’s was already doing that but such a cool thing to witness. With all the controversy with the military lately it’s good to see that they still get and deserve respect from folks they protect. With that said; the food was very good I highly recommend the «Sausage and Peppers App» as your starter. Spot on. They have a Diablo sauce that is pretty hot for you «Numb Tonguers» out there.

they were lucky to get that one star. awful service.

Expected more upon entering the restaurant after reading other Unilocal reviews. I came for dinner, the service was awesome but the food not so much. Pasta tasted out of the box as well as the sauce from a can! Would I come back or recommend the restaurant to friends… if they wanted cooked food from food lion instead of authentic Italian… yes!

Absolutely nothing to see here, folks.
I visited this place on a Saturday afternoon and I can confidently report that there is nothing slightly reminiscent of NY-​style anything. The décor is quite drab and sad. It’s a mostly wooden interior with a couple of large screen TVs. There seemed to be no order to how the tables were set up. The bar area? quite sad.
There seem to be a couple of entrances to this place. The one I chose, didn’t have a hostess so I had to awkwardly walk well into the restaurant, past tables and such, to get assistance.
I ordered the 9-​inch BBQ chicken and it tasted quite similar to Papa John’s — honestly. The 9-​inch contained four wide-​ish slices of pizza.
The service was friendly and courteous but I would not come here looking for anything like an authentic NY slice.

If I could give Hawthornes 3 and a half stars I would. The food was average and so was the service. What makes this place good is the daily drink specials and the sports bar feel to it. I’m also happy that they finally opened a place like this in Harrisburg. This town was in desperate need for more versatility when it comes to bars of some sort, and Hawthornes definitely stepped up to the plate in that aspect.