What If...Of Hershey

What If… Of Hershey is located in the Howard Johnson Inn with a private lot. The restaurant is downstairs. As you go downstairs, you’ll see a bunch of large vintage advertisements.
On Saturday, we waited for the restaurant to open for lunch. Considering we were the only ones in the restaurant, the service was a bit slow as we waited 30 minutes for food. My friend got a Mushroom Swiss Burger with French Fries while I got a Sesame Chicken Salad. I was disappointed they were out of the citrus vinaigrette. I liked how crispy the sesame chicken was and how it was prepared. I also liked how the salad came with sun dried apricots and almonds. However, I felt like the field greens wasn’t very fresh and the honey mustard dressing had a bit of a kick to it.

Stayed at the Howard Johnson while on business in Hershey and this was the restaurant in our hotel! Fantastic! Service and food was on point!

Was impressed with the menu options, presentation was positive; however, scallops tarragon lacked flavor and seasoning.

I tend to be skeptical with restaurants attached to hotel /​motels. However, this place is the real deal. The food was delicious and our waitress gave us the best table service I ever had in my whole life (no exaggeration).

Thank you thank you thank you Melissa, Dennis, and Amber you guys are superstars in the customer service business. I’ve worked in customer service for more than 20 years and when you walk into a place and they remember your name from the night before it blows me away. I stayed at the Howard Johnson so I was in there every night of my stay for dinner or appetizers. I sat at the bar because being one person I did not want to occupy a table. My first night I had Melissa and was looking at the crab ravioli she answered my questions and made great recommendations. When I went in the second night she was there eating with what I am going to assume was her family but still made time to say hi and acknowledge me by name. Dennis was my bartender the second night. He was very friendly and sold me on the pizza. On my third and final night I had Amber. I ordered the crab dip and when it came out Dennis was the one that brought it over to me again remembering me from the night before and calling me one of his new regulars and yes he remembered my name. The service couldn’t have been better and the food was so incredibly good although I would not recommend the Howard Johnson as a place to stay I would most certainly recommend this restaurant to anyone that comes to this area. Thank you guys so much for your kindness and your hospitality. You guys are doing everything right.

For business travelers, this is a game changer for Hershey. Crazy ass restaurant in the basement of a HoJo’s, which is useful during a tornado warning. Food is excellent. Crab cakes are outstanding and salads are great. Wine list is very good and the service is top notch. I’d give it 5 stars but I don’t want to draw a crowd!

One of the best lunch experiences I have ever had! Service is superior and food was fresh and great! Wish I could rate higher than 5 stars!

Service was very good, but the restaurant was overly noisy and the food was honestly sub par. We ordered cioppino which should be fish stew. Instead it was a couple clams, shrimp and scallops over noodles drowning in spaghetti sauce. So much sauce that’s all you could taste. Salt. Dessert was chocolate mousse. Unfortunately again, no chocolate taste, we could only taste sugar. Disappointment.

Steak was great, service was good, my friend ordered the crab ravioli and received 3 raviolis the size of a half dollar, this was $ 16. When she had said to the waitress I wish there was something that said how small it was she said oh yea, and brushed it off.

Food was awesome! A little pricey but they give you a lot of food. The service is wonderful too.

This restaurant was great. We loved the crab martini as an appetizer. Great meals and drinks. It was a great start to our night in Hershey. We would love to go again!

We chose this place after reading the reviews. It did not disappoint. Our server was very prompt and helpful. We ordered the crab dip, it is great but not what I call a dip more like crab bread but tummy. Salad was fresh and dressings very well made. I got the chicken Marsala very tasty, broccoli cooked well and sweet? Mashed potatoes very cheesy. My husband got the special and the reason for the 4 stars was he ordered med rare and it was med well and a little dry would have been wonderful cooked correctly. But we didn’t send it back though they offered. Finished with a hot fudge sundae. Definitely give it a try !!!

Service was extremely slow. The tuna and crab appetizers were good. The shrimp pesto was oily and cold. The lobster ravioli was cold. The accompanying vegetables were inedible. The chicken malenese was in edible. The martinis were too strong. Overall I would suggest that you find somewhere else to go.

Was expecting more. It is literally located in the windowless basement of a Howard Johnson hotel. The food is fine but not spectacular. Would have rather gone to a diner or pizza place. When we walked in, the hostess asked if we had a reservation. There was no one there. She acted like it would be difficult to get us in but lead us to a table in a couple of minutes. Asked the waiter why the topping for my chicken (artichokes and arugula) was cold when the rest of the dish was hot. My mom encountered the same issue with the tomato salsa on her chicken. The waiter told us that the chef likes to play with the contrast between hot and cold. Seriously. No. We heard another table ask the same question. Won’t return next time we are in Hershey.

So, let me just say that we’re from DC and have a lot of new restaurants constantly coming and going… it’s a pretty decent city for food.
So today we’re at Hersheypark and decide to go outlet for dinner afterward… we called around to places and many had waits, a condition that I’m really happy about… because if they hadn’t we might not have found What If.
First, you pull up and this place is the restaurant for a Howard Johnson and you start thinking «well…», but DON’T. Just go in, down the steps and try it.
The place was pretty busy but not so much that we had to wait… they were nearly full but had a table for us. The menu was extensive, with entry and pasta favorites, as well as a nice small plate selection and a larger than expected slate of salads, as well as several specials. All 6 of us found more than one dish we thought we’d like and none were disappointed. The kids enjoyed the coloring books to pass the time and the service was excellent.
Giving this place 5 stars because we left happy, felt that it was very reasonable priced and the service was great.

Left Hersheypark and came here for a dinner break. We were tired of «bar food» so we chose What If… for a change of pace. We were glad we did. Everything we ordered was very good and the service was great. We started with the crab dip which was full of taste and crab. I had the bolognese and my fiancé had the ravioli. She got the garden salad and I upgraded to the wedge. The wedge can be hit or miss, but this one was a HIT. Great wedge salad. Great flavor. Many entrée was very good as well. I wish the pasta was slightly more tender. But besides that I give it a thumbs up.

Great food. Everything came out hot and tasted fresh. We had the crab dip, gyro with fries and the trio (slider, soup and salad).

This was a very pleasant surprise! We took our 12 year old daughter and all loved it.
Desserts excellent.

My husband and I took his mother here the Friday before Mother’s Day and it was a fabulous experience! Our server, Austin, was awesome! He was very knowledgeable and personable! He made the experience even more enjoyable!
We started off with blood orange martinis and they were super fresh and delicious! We ordered calamari, and it was perfectly breaded!
I ordered one of the specials, the filet (rare) with crab meat on top. It was incredible! And it came with a side of very tasty mashed potatoes. I ate the entire thing! Oh, and I definitely recommend the potato soup!
We all loved our meals. My ‘dessert’ was a chocolate martini, which was amazing, of course.
We had a lovely evening and whenever we visit my husband’s family, we will, without a doubt, be back there!

All I have to say… We come to Hershey every year from Buffalo, NY, for Groom Expo. I make sure I go to the What If every year, since 2005!
The Food and Drinks are AMAZING! My girls and I look forward to seeing Austin and Dennis. They provide outstanding customer service. Thank you to the What If staff for making every year memorable.