It often takes a while before I get to return to a restaurant. Even if it’s a great meal, there are so many restaurants to try that I can go years in between meals at a given place.
Two years ago, we visited the Inn on Main in Oley for the first time. We had a great meal, and the historic inn was a beautiful setting, but we hadn’t found a time to return.
Recently, though, I was invited back to try some of the Inn’s new menu items, and I couldn’t pass it up.
We arrived on a Thursday evening and were greeted by Lexi, who was serving as hostess, server and bartender. She seated us at a high top in the bar room, which was surprisingly full. (There were only a couple tables taken between the two larger dining rooms). Almost all of the barstools were taken, as were most of the other tables.
The bar area captures the 140-year-old charm of the inn. The original stone walls are exposed above the chair rails, and the wooden beams are visible as well. The wooden floors and ceilings are contrasted by the more modern light fixtures that hang above the bar.
Our meal started with a delivery of bread and butter, two slices with a seeded crust that helped tide us over until the appetizers arrived.
The chef had selected two apps for us to try – coconut shrimp and spinach balls.
The spinach balls were like a spinach dip rolled up into six meatball-sized balls and served with a cup of homemade honey mustard, which was actually the best part of the dish. It looked nothing like store-bought honey mustard – dark in color with tiny mustard seeds. The taste was more sweet with the flavor of the mustard seeds with mild acidity. The spinach balls, themselves, were good, but a little dry. But the honey mustard took care of it while adding its own flavor.
While the spinach balls were good, the coconut shrimp was our favorite of the two. Five large shrimp were breaded, deep-fried and served with sweet chili sauce. I don’t like seafood, but I actually really enjoyed it. The panko breading was light and had the bright notes of the coconut. The sweet chili sauce wasn’t overly sweet, but I liked the little bit of heat that it brought.
We were already starting to feel full after the two appetizers, but we were still looking forward to our entrees – tenderloin tips for me and lobster roll for Julie. The meals arrived a few minutes after we finished our appetizers.
My tenderloin tips were served on a bed of mashed potatoes and topped with frizzled onions and a gorgonzola sauce. The tenderloin tips were cooked perfectly to order and flavorful on their own, the bites where I could get a little bit of everything were the best. The potatoes were garlicky, and the frizzled onions had a little unexpected kick to them. The creamy gorgonzola helped bring everything together.
The only thing I didn’t love were the green beans, the day’s seasonal side. With such strong flavors in everything else, it felt like the beans were just there because they had to be. As much food as I had already, I didn’t feel bad about leaving some green beans uneaten.
Julie loved both her lobster roll and the OV fries that came with it. The Inn on Main has three options for lobster roll. Julie got the Connecticut style with warm butter. (They also serve Maine style with chilled mayo and OV style with warm garlic butter). There were large chunks of lobster on the classic New England-style roll. The butter perfectly complemented the rich meat. Though the sandwich wasn’t large, it was filling and satisfying.
Her OV fries, the Inn’s signature style, were also very good. The waffle fries came tossed in Old Bay with a side of cheese sauce for dipping. Simple, but delicious, we took more half of them home to enjoy the next day.
In addition to the meals, I had an iced tea while Julie tried one of the Inn’s signature cocktails: the Oley Valley pomtini – vanilla vodka, limoncello and pomegranate juice with a sugar rim. It was strong and a little sweet – a really good drink.
Our entrees would typically cost $32 each while the spinach balls and coconut shrimp would be $11 and $15, respectively.
We spent $75 for two entrees on our previous visit so the prices feel comparable to two years ago and a good value for the quality and quantity of the food. (Because I ordered off the “highlight menu,” my meal didn’t come with a side salad like the filet and other entrees).
Despite working multiple tables and the bar, our server was attentive all evening, and the kitchen kept pace – we were finished with our meals after a little more than an hour.
Two years was too long in between meals at the Inn on Main. The food, the setting, service – it’s all good enough to keep us coming back.
BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Ambiance: Excellent
Service: Very Good
Price: $$$
The Inn on Main
401 Main Street
Oley, PA 19547
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Original Review: November 2024
While I love exploring “new” and modern restaurants, I will never tire of the dining experience at a historic country inn. There is something about the ambiance that just makes it feel like a special experience.
And that was certainly the case on our visit to the Inn on Main in Oley.
Julie and I had a rare date night in early November and decided to make the trip from our home base in Wyomissing to the village of Oley. Driving up Friedensburg Road from Route 73, the Inn appears directly in front of you, a historic welcome sign of sorts.
Formerly known as the Oley Valley Inn, the historic property dates to the late 1800s and it maintains many of the charms of yesterday. The floor, though stained a dark color, appears to be original. As do the wooden walls. An interior window near the entrance features a stained glass image of the US Constitution.
But there are modern touches, as well. The retro Edison bulbs overhead light a dining room filled with dark wooden tables with black accents. And a large mural covers a dark painted brick wall near the entrance. On it, the state of Pennsylvania with hex sign designs and a bottle pouring a drink that is spilling toward Oley.
The menu is a mix of old and new – American comfort food but with a few more modern additions. There are steaks and chops and chicken dishes. But there are also truffle fries, surf and turf chili, and garlic Parmesan shrimp.
I ordered the Italian stuffed chicken breast from among the four chicken dishes on the menu. The Italian stuffing consisted of prosciutto, Italian cheeses, and sundried tomatoes. It was topped with red sauce, but served over a bed of pesto pasta.
It was a unique take on chicken Parmesan that I really enjoyed. The breaded chicken was delicious on its own, but the saltiness of the prosciutto and the creaminess of the cheese added more depth to the dish. And I love how sundried tomatoes provide such an intense flavor in small bites.
The combination of red sauce and pesto in the same dish was different, but it was a nice contrast. And I would definitely order it again.
Pasta dishes come with the choice of a house or Caesar salad. For mine, I chose the Caesar. I was a little disappointed in that it took longer to come out than I would have hoped. (I was still eating it when the main course arrived), but it was a good salad.
We did get a plate of bread with herbed butter before our meals, though.
For her entree, Julie decided to splurge on a steak. It did not disappoint. The 8 oz. filet was cooked to a perfect medium. It came topped with butter that quickly melted over the cut of steak. And while Julie ordered – and enjoyed – a side of chimichurri sauce, the steak ultimately didn’t need any more flavor. It was perfect as it was.
The sides for the evening were a baked potato and broccoli. Both were good, but easily outshined by the steak.
Unfortunately our meals left us with no room for dessert. (Julie brought a little bit of her steak home to have with a salad at lunch later in the week).
All told, our meal was about $75 which felt in line for the elevated meals that we were served.
It was a nice night out at the historic inn. At 140 years old, I’d say the Inn on Main is about as good as ever.
BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Ambiance: Excellent
Service: Good
Price: $$$
The Inn on Main
401 Main Street
Oley, PA 19547
