John Wright Restaurant

Great location. Great food. Great service. The Ahi Tuna lunch special was amazing. They should make it permanent part of their menu. We loved the sweet potato chips. My mother loved the crab cakes. We’ll be back often.

Always has been a 5 star experience. I love this place. The pork spring rolls, the pesto chicken skewers, the jumbo lump crab cake, the bacon and Bleu filet, the alfredo, the salmon– the everything I have ever tried has been spectacular! Definitely recommend!

There are three restaurants that share the John Wright name and location. There’s the lunchtime restaurant with great sandwiches and burgers and a glass patio room so you can see the Susquehanna River & the Wrightsville Bridge (now in its 4^th version; the 2^nd was burned by the Union Army to stop the Confederates’ advance). For years we’ve hosted my in-​laws’ holiday family gathering in this version. Try the reuben, it’s terrific! And the crab & asparagus soup is nothing short of transcendental.
There’s also a summertime outdoor brick pizza oven. We’ve gone to see local musicians we enjoy play there, on the brick patio. That experience can be more laid back and we’ve had kids along for outdoors because they can run and play on the lawn by the river. There’s a corn hole setup and rocks to climb. Bring a frisbee! We recommend the crab pizza but we’ve been with big groups and sampled a number of the offerings, all of which we enjoyed.
This time, due to schedule, the in-​laws’ gathering was an evening do. Which meant my farm-​wife, rarely-​eats-​at-​restaurants MIL had options like grouper and wagyu beef. And sticker shock. Yes, dinner is markedly pricier than lunch. (We told her to order whatever she wanted, just not six of them.) But my fear that high-​end cuisine would mean tiny portions proved entirely unfounded. The evening’s favorite was a Duroc pork chop that was literally 2″ thick and perfectly moist from edge to bone. Personally, I had a daily special, a sea bass with corn risotto in a creamy dill sauce … I was 6 «wow“s on the risotto alone and would sum it up as an 18-​wow meal.
As a delightful conclusion to our evening, Jim Switzenberg, the Director of Operations, came to talk to us, and he recognized us from years past, although he said he was used to seeing us at lunchtimes. We rhapsodized to him about how much we loved the meal, and he recommended for our next time in we try his seasonal preference, the short ribs. «And even if you don’t like grits, you’ll like these grits.»
(I should also point out that there is «indoor» live music many weekend evenings year round, so if your favorite group is playing and you want to be near them, you need to clarify if you want to be near the musicians outdoors or in.)

Second time here. Tried the pizza patio this time. Once again, it didn’t disappoint. The different pizzas they offer are great. We were a party of 6, so we ordered 6 different pizzas and just traded slices. My favorite? The crab pizza.

I was here for a wedding on the lawn. The view of the river as the couple exchanged vows was just wonderful. The food was so good! The staff really took care of the guest and the bridal party. Having the whole second floor to ourselves while the restaurant was open downstairs was really nice. You really couldn’t hear anything and I thought for sure we would with people being out on the deck. I look forward to coming back and try the restaurant.

I’ve only been there for lunch and usually get the special of the day. I have never been disappointed.
I’ll keep going back.
I sit by the bar or on the patio (seasonally) as there is no noise controls in the big room so it is VERY noisy when crowded.

Went today for lunch. Looked very promising. Great atmosphere. We decided to sit on the patio. Waited at least 10 mins before we got up to find the hostess to find our server. She walked out and said «sorry I was at the bar» and asked for a drink order. Waited another 5 minutes for drinks for two. Both the drinks and food were good. The service continued to be very poor. I’m not sure I’d return for the good food or drinks based on the terrible service.

Had aunts 50^th bday party there for over 150 people. Researched practically every wedding venue and all did not come close to the level of professionalism with service, price, environment. Coordinator and Head Chef, Jim made event very customized and accommodating. Balcony over the river! Best view from rest in lancaster. Will defiantly be back for any large celebration.
Just had dinner: outdoor pizza as good as it gets. View of bridge against a full moon, best view in lancaster. Culture of service from Head Chef to waitress/​hostess is contagiously excellent. Gem of the area.

Service was horrible. White wine was warm when brought to table, sent it back 30 mins later brought another bottle… still warm. Horrible beer selection. Ordered a couple appetizers. crab dip, don’t bother unless you just want a bunch of pita bread… same with hummus platter. We didn’t even order main course… left to go to another restaurant. Multiple visits to John Wright same results… This restaurant is 86’d off my list.

Great view. Service was wonderful. Food was basic but good. We had mushroom burger with sweet potato chips. Burger great. Chips not good. Crab soup good but a lot if old bay.

Dinner on the pizza patio. Great view, decent pizza (big enough to share) and good beer. Sure there are bugs… you’re outside… beside a river. Really good server. Overall a nice time. Would definitely go again.

Kind of funny story. After I published my review I was given a responds as everybody can read it. I was accused of not telling the truth (to put it mildly). Yet I received an e-​mail (from the John Wrights Restaurant names are not important here) thanking me for my honesty. I was asked with whom I spoke when I made the reservation and to hear of this was very disturbing was or is not acceptable behavior within their business and will be addressed and corrected immediately,
I was invited with family and friends to the establishment (John Wrights) to «thank» me personally for the provided information.
I will stop here. You can draw your own conclusion.
I did not go back and will not go back in the future.

The view is amazing. Can’t say the same for the pizza. I know there’s not much the restaurant can do about the bugs but it was pretty unappetizing. Definitely a cool place to get drinks… after a few I’m sure the bugs wouldn’t be as obnoxious.

Very beautiful place at the river bank. Nice view of the two bridges.
Service is ok. Food is awful and overpriced. Don’t even consider the ceviche. Bad. Pizzas are average, maybe. Would return only for drinks and music. Nice jazz ensamble playing tonight.

I had to create a Unilocal account just to share my utter disbelief that horrible establishments like this stay in business.
Don’t bother wasting your money on any food or drinks here. The view is free.
I’m embarrassed that my parents took me here and wasted hard earned money for quite possibly the worst food I’ve ever eaten. The pizza was bread, no sauce, and distasteful cheese. The burger medium was extremely well done. The chicken my mother had wasn’t even fully cooked, to which the waiter said that’s not good and still charged us $ 18 for it. Horrible service as well it took 30 minutes just to get drinks. Don’t bother going here. You’ve been warned.

This place was great. Came here for brunch with my mom and even though it was humid and overcast, we sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful view of the grounds and the river. A wedding party had been taking pictures and it really is an ideal spot for it. There’s a nice little store attached to the restaurant so you can buy cool things while you wait for your table.
The brunch was awesome and I went back for many seconds, and the service staff was very welcoming and enjoyable. I’d definitely recommend checking out this little gem only about 15 minutes from Lancaster and right near the Turkey Hill experience.

Easter Sunday Brunch, was awesome. Eggs Benedict was tasty, fresh with Hollandaise sauce — yummy! Variety of dishes to sample and splurge. Great customer service. Gets busy though, and can get caught into a line that wraps around so plan serving options accordingly!

Great find in Wrightsville, PA, York Co. Here with the family for Christmas Eve dinner. Our dining experience was excellent – good value, menu selections for everyone in our party, good service and, the most important, well prepared meals by the kitchen staff. It was also a huge plus to see the resto purchasing from local providers. Keep doing this! It keeps money local and supports very hard working local farm families.
I had the «local grass fed steak» in demi glas and garlic mashed ‘tatos. The sirloin was a very high-​end sirloin cut. Other diners ordered the veggie lasagne, the blackened tuna and salmon on top of a bed of udon noodles and the baked trout. We all shared a bit and enjoyed the food. On the drinks front, Good wine and bubbly selections both by the glass and the bottle. Oh, and since our views of the river were fogged in, we will be returning next time we are in town. Beer selection was good too bit didn’t have a chance to sample any. There was a stoudt on Nitro that i would have liked to try.
I have been very pleased with the quality of restos popping up in York, Co and hope this can be sustained.

Date night and another great meal. We both started with soup, I had the cream of crab and asparagus, which was very tasty, but a little thick. My wife had the pumpkin garlic, which was excellent, kind of wished I had ordered it.
For my main course I had the local grass fed steak with mushroom demi, garlic mashed potatoes and vegetable of the day. The steak was cooked perfectly and tasted great, as did the rest of the meal. My wife had the roasted beet and goat cheese salad with salmon. She was quite pleased with her choice.
For dessert, we shared the chocolate cheesecake, which was the perfect end to a great meal.

Great view of the river.
Satisfying food.
Best for brunch.
Servers are nice.
Downside is its noisy.