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Cafe Fresco
Categories: Restaurants Pizza Food Coffee & Tea Restaurants Sandwiches Pizza, Coffee & Tea, Sandwiches [Edit]
3352 Paxton StHarrisburg, PA 17111
(717) 564-6000
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Cafe Fresco
18 reviews in English
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Review from Todd R.
Harrisburg, PA
6/25/2011
It is important to note that there are TWO (2) Cafe Fresco locations. This location is in Swatara Township across from the Harrisburg Mall (East Mall for those who remember). This location is different from the downtown location for several reasons:
1. No alcohol
2. No real dinner menu
3. Hours of operation
Those are not negatives or positives but merely distinguishing characteristics. This location is a casual place, similar to a Panera Bread. It has indoor and outdoor seating. This location is open M-Sat 6:30a-9p. The menu here is pseudo-Italian; the downtown location lunch menu is very similar to this menu however the downtown location is more Asian style cuisine in the evening. They do offer some entrees though in the evening if you want something a bit more filling than a sandwich. I had a basic grilled chicken sandwich topped with mozzarella and balsamic dressed field greens. Simple but tasty. The roll had a light toast on it and you got your choice of caeser salad or chips. BF had a Mediterranean chicken sandwich that is on a homemade flatbread. My sister this week had the sundried tomato and feta salad and she said it was delicious.
With eateries like this I often wonder what may be made in store or shop-bought. The baked goods appear to be freshly made. I had a Santa Fe brownie for my dessert which seemed more like a blondie. BF had a piece of the chocolate peanut butter pie which he said was really good. He asked and they said it was made on premises. I would rather pay for quality and freshly made rather than mass produced, processed and cheap.
This place does have several meat free options, in fact, I think this would be a good place for a Lenten Friday. There is also a small childrens menu. They have fruit smoothies and espresso coffee drinks. I have yet to come here for breakfast but may try soon. -
Review from Brad T.
New Haven, CT
5/1/2011
I've eaten here several times. I usually get one of the grilled chicken sandwiches. My favorite is probably the grilled chicken with bacon, cheese, and avocado on ciabatta bread. The sandwiches are good, they are made fairly quickly, and the restaurant is clean. The prices are a little high ($11-12) for sandwiches. Overall, it's a great place to grab a sandwich before catching a movie over at the Great Escape.
I will admit though that I think it's odd for them to have a tip bowl at the front counter. Are they trying to guilt-trip you into leaving a tip? Call me cheap, but I, for one, ignore the bowl and move on. The prices are high enough as is. Plus, you have to bus your own garbage to the trash anyway. -
Review from Vishal S.
Updated - 2/20/2009
I had a good feeling for Cafe Fresco the first time I went to dine there - the ambiance, service etc was very appealing and inviting. So I thought of giving this place another shot last night. I'm glad I did :)
Seems like the entire kitchen crew woke up and is back on the job again!
The ambiance, great service (thanks Ashley), good drinks were all there, and the food was good too!
Martini lovers - Pineapple Martini here is to die for!!!
We had Crab Tempura for appetizer - 4/ 5 stars! Fried crab sticks were perfectly crisp and tasty :)
Main Course:
Wasabi coated Filet Mignon and Crab Fried Rice.
Crab Fried Rice - 3.5/ 5 - much better than a takeout Chinese restaurant but little lacking compared to my favorite Chinese restaurants. Can't put my finger on it, but the hint of shrimp sauce/ oil was a bit overwhelming on the dish.
Wasabi coated Filet Mignon - I ordered it Medium Rare and the steak was served sliced - which was fine by me. The meat did look medium rare! It was tender and flavorful and the wasabi did add a nice kick to the steak. Even the sides of mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus were good, though the asparagus was tad bit too salty for me. - 4/ 5 stars.
Bottom line - I'm glad I went there again and would recommend this place if you want a fine dining experience in Harrisburg :)1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/26/2008
Don't ask why but I was at Cafe Fresco in Harrisburg, PA for dinner last night! Ohh the joys of… Read more »
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Review from Khalid S.
Harrisburg, PA
3/15/2008
Really fresh and a little too metropolitan and big-city-like for Harrisburg, no offence...
Don't be fooled by the complete menu on the website though, that's only for the 2nd st. location. This one is more on the sandwiches/soups/salads side. Ambiance is great.Listed in: Indie Java
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Review from Tom Y.
Union, KY
6/22/2011
I have eaten dinner here several times. I come in and out of Harrisburg on business. This place feels more like a Philadelphia establishment than a Harrisburg. The Asian Fusion venue is great. I would recommend the Chilean Sea Bass and the Braised Short Ribs. The service is excellent and the bar is great. This is one of 3 places in Harrisburg that I bring clients to.
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Review from Colleen S.
11/26/2008
I would have to agree a with Amy's review almost to a T. Neat looking place with the lighting and the drapes but the food is such a disappointment. Orded a hummus and pita starter, the hummus was atleast a few days old. Tuna entree was very cold even though it was meant to be seared and pretty flavorless. Over all I had nicer meals at the other cookie cutter places on the 2nd street row and that is not saying that much about the area.
Lunch wise its average, decent soups and nice salads but its paxton street locations food tends to be better prepared. They are not a place for a nice espresso based drink, way too sweet and no foam, its just not a coffeehouse.Listed in: "Figure Friendly" Lunch spots
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Review from Brian R.
Harrisburg, PA
11/12/2008 1 photo
Feels more like a coffee shop inside this location as opposed to their swanky downtown restaurant and bar. They've got pizzas, salads, sandwiches, soups, and breakfast items here as well as a coffee bar. A little pricey for the portions but I've had a few sandwiches here and they were all tasty.
They also have live jazz here on the weekends. -
Review from Allan P.
New York, NY
1/21/2010
This place is.... interesting. I've been here twice, one for lunch and once for dinner, and the menus are COMPLETELY different. The lunch menu is more american with an abundance of wraps, burgers, sandwiches, and salads. The prices were a little steep for lunch ($10-$15), and the place was dead (at least when I was there last year).
For dinner, the place transforms into an Asian-fusion restaurant that seems a little out-of-place for a city accustomed to traditional american flare. Our table ordered a bunch of everything and shared it amongst the group. We ordered:
- SPICY TUNA TARTARE (good, would order again)
- PAN ROASTED SEA SCALLOPS (good, would order again)
- SEARED CHICKEN SATAY (just ok, wouldn't order again)
- SESAME SEARED AHI TUNA (excellent, would DEFINITELY order again)
- PAD THAI (just ok, wouldn't order again)
(and we ordered wine)
The prices were a little steep for the area and the place was trying too hard to be contemporary and chic. I wasn't a fan of the drastic menu and atmosphere change between lunch and dinner, but if I had my choice, I'd come here for dinner again. Not lunch.
The place was very clean, the wait staff friendly, but the establishment could have probably benefited from a more knowledgeable wait staff. While our waitress was friendly, she had to ask the chef when I inquired if the tuna was sushi-grade.
There is no other place to compare this to in Harrisburg, but these places are a dime-a-dozen in NYC. I'd eat here again if I were in the area, but only if I became bored with my other go-to places. -
Review from Barbara C.
Harrisburg, PA
4/11/2011
Marinated beef sandwich is great, although messy. I've had other things like the Cobb salad and tuna wrap ...they were good, but once I tried the marinated beef, I've never gone back to anything else. Friendly staff and BYOB.
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Review from Keith N.
Mechanicsburg, PA
3/16/2011
We've been going to this place for years... usually good experiences. The service is good and the staff will be appropriately friendly and familiar after a few visits. Love the cheese plate! Happy hour specials on food are only valid at the bar, which gets crowded quickly and most patrons standing around won't have access to the bar top for snacking - so its rare to be able to take advantage of those deals. This can be frustrating. There is no table service for lunch, so you have to wait in line and order like at a sub shop. This can be a pain when the line gets long and you have limited time for lunch - be prepared for a long wait. This is why I avoid it for lunch unless it's an early or late lunch and I know the line will be short.
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Review from Amy G.
Hampden, PA
3/25/2008
This is one of those places that I really wanted to like. It is a chic little place with trendy looks and a semi-trendy menu. Unfortunately, the food was only good and the prices were just average. I'll try it again, to see if it was just an off day for the food quality/quantity. I hope they put some edgier food on the menu.
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Review from Joshua T.
Arlington, VA
6/18/2008
One of the best places for lunch, probably my favorite in all of south central PA. Excellent variety sandwhiches, wraps, burgers, salads, desserts, even breakfast, espresso/coffee choices...quirky furniture and a patio make this place not just good for their food, but the setting is second to none.
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Review from Bethany B.
Alexandria, VA
9/3/2010
While on vacation, we stopped in CF. Our experience was quite apposite from the other yelpers. The food was good. They have a kids menu that was very tasty. Very clean. The workers were overly friendly to me and my family. It wasn't a big deal when my kid wasted his soda on the floor. I would come back
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Review from Jeff S.
Lemoyne, PA
6/9/2008
really good salads, sandwiches, coffee and desserts. excellent atmosphere.
best tiramisu in harrisburg -
Review from H D.
Harrisburg, PA
Updated - 3/18/2011
I need to apologize for this post. This didn't happen to me, it happened to a friend. I took the liberty of posting it on here, not them...nor did I tell them. I apologize for that, I should have had better facts for one thing. But, I am going to try to right my wrong by posting an update. Please take the time to read.
First, the owner is a good guy, a good stand up guy. What is probably more important is to review the restaurant, so you can see what a really good guy the owner is.
It is good food, that I will now start to eat again (I have missed it!). I haven't had much experience with dinners there, though have heard they are good and would gather from the lunches I eat, they would be great. Like another poster said, the dinner and lunch menus are completely different. At night it goes upscale, so it is a good date night or business dinner kind of place.
I have had both dine in and catered lunches, numerous times. I do highly recommend both. Great catering service, which can be hard to come by if you are a frequent orderer of "small" catered lunches and breakfasts (less than 20 people). They have pasta salad that you can get as a side with only the catered food, it is fabulous, probably one of the reasons why we get their catering so much. The wraps and sandwiches are always fresh and very filling. If you are like me and don't want to pick and plan each time, they are great at just doing a mixed tray of wraps and sandwiches, all varieties (even vegetarian). They also have a great ceasar side salad. As for dine in, I am a sandwich person myself, but I have tried the pizza and salads and enjoy all of them. I tend to get sandwiches, because, like I said, that's my fav, and they have tons to pick from. They have some "different" ones too... such as egg salad on olive loaf (so good!) and a grilled portabella sandwich (awesome!!). Don't misunderstand...the meat sandwiches are fabulous. They have lots of different types of breads and spreads and toppings. Favs, beef and blue cheese and the grilled chicken avocado club. I think the prices are reasonable and right in line with other restaurants in the area, you can do lunch for about $10 which is what you pay at most similar places. All sandwiches come with a side. It does get packed at lunch time, they do offer lots of outside seating which is great, but that fills up fast...as does the rest of the restaurant, so plan accordingly. The service has always been fast, you do "wait" on yourself at lunch time, you get in line to order, but then they bring it to you, I like it cause I can order and pay and then when I am ready to go I can and don't have to wait around on a server to bring me my check. So the line can get lengthy, but your food comes fast, so it makes up for any wait time. Definitly a good lunch place for those of us that need to stick to the "one hour".
My apologies for my first review. The owner is a good guy, with a great restaurant, my apologies to one and all. Glad to start going back again!!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/24/2011
The food is fine, but just be careful when you leave, there is a good chance you can end up like us… Read more »
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Review from Maura G.
Mechanicsburg, PA
3/10/2010
There are two Cafe Fresco locations. Each has a different menu and ambience. I much prefer the Paxton St. Location.
I've eaten there several times, and each time the salad I've purchased has not only been excellent, but has been substantially large as well.
Their outdoor seating is ideal and surprisingly atmospheric.
For good food and a neat environment, I give this an A. -
Review from Jill D.
Wayne, PA
9/4/2008
I've been there for breakfast and lunch. Lunch was really good, but the breakfast was pretty amazing. They have some unique things, like breakfast wraps and interesting coffee drinks. The outdoor seating area is very cute and airy.
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Review from Justin B.
Lancaster, PA
10/4/2009
I went to the location on paxton for lunch. It was ok - decent atmosphere, basic lunch options, all done pretty well for affordable price.
