Elevation

Being a cooking-​school, the often-​changing menu boasts some creative items (e.g. watermelon gazpacho, panzanella salad) and old standards (ribeye, duck). I love visiting culinary schools, and have seen much more complicated and creative dishes elsewhere, however. We enjoyed speaking with the students and the setting was lovely. I understand they are working on opening their bar which will be a major boon to the dining experience when they do! The helpings are generous, and food is really good — I just prefer more creative dishes. The price, however, are EXCELLENT ($ 19 for the ribeye, salads at $ 6, the wine seems to be priced at retail value — apparently they have no corking fee on weds). You are also able to leave feedback for the students. The value, attention and the fact that this is a teaching setting really makes for a lovely dining experience.

I agree with many of the reviewers in supporting our local culinary school. We received the following email promotion from Elevation on March 26^th:
«Greetings,
Spring break is here, the weather is warm and sunny and Elevation is open! Please join us this evening or tomorrow evening and receive a complimentary appetizer.»
There is no dearth of dining options in Bend, but this promotion was an inspiration to make a reservation at Elevation — it did exactly what was intended — got people to the restaurant. When we arrived on the evening of the 27^th and inquired about the appetizer, we were told that the restaurant wasn’t offering it and that it was only for one night, not two. We were a little surprised, to say the least.
Our waiter checked with «the back of the house» and told us they’d make a special exception for us. When I offered to show them the email that clearly stated the promotion he admitted there is often miscommunications in the school.
When we got our check, the waiter had failed to comp our appetizer, and at that point we were over having the argument. It was clear nobody was in charge. Isn’t there supposed to be a teacher or a manager at the restaurant at all times? In times past, we have seen someone who was clearly overseeing the students. During another visit, we were told they were being graded.
In the food service industry, as with other service-​based industries it’s better to err on the side that the customer is always right. It’s folly to send potential customers a promotion and then rescind it. I understand it’s a teaching school, but teachers and staff need to run a tighter ship.
On a side note: our food presentation was 5 star. The salad was the deliciously prepared and perfectly portioned. Our dinner portions, however, were amongst the smallest we’ve encountered and so overly salted it was hard to finish the meal.

We were lucky to discover Elevation at the Cascade Culinary Institute when we were in Bend this week. The four of us had lunch and enjoyed one of our best Bend dining experiences ever. The menu, food preparation and service were all stellar and the value is amazing for the level of quality that Elevation delivers. If we lived in or near Bend, we’d dine there frequently.

They are all students here and we still haven’t had a bad experience! They treated my family and I wonderfully and the floor manager is quite knowledgeable! Great quiet gem!

I’m still giving them 5 stars although it could easily be 4. They keep raising the prices. You’ll get an excellent meal here but it won’t be a bargain by any means. The constant price increases are causing us to return less often than we would otherwise. They are rapidly approaching the point where there will be better alternatives in a city like Bend. I’d hate to see this because I love to see the next generation of chefs learning their craft.

I’m still a fan of supporting local culinary training schools, like Elevation. But it is also fair to say that since Elevation has raised their dinner prices in the last 18 months from $ 19 to $ 21 to $ 23 and now to $ 30, one might fairly expect more for both food quality and service at that price than was delivered in our last two experiences here. Last term we had under seasoned food on some dishes, served undercooked on others, and warm instead of hot on still others.
Elevation has now also changed their lunch service to a la carte ordering from the small lunch menu. A nice change but ordering that way with shared small plate to start, two just so-​so entrees and two soft beverages brought my friend’s and my lunch tab above $ 40. Service for this meal, while friendly, was lackluster and the food just OK.
I realize this is a teaching school, so is CIA in Hyde Park and the SF culinary academy and the myriad of other schools, from big names to community college based where I’ve enjoyed meals over the years. I expect neither food nor service to be perfect at culinary school dining rooms and that is part of the fun, being guinea pigs for the students.
But now for $ 30 prix fixe at dinner and the prices at lunch (fish tacos = $ 14, burger = $ 15) I expect both to be better than they have been during the last three meals at Elevation.
In fact, after dropping $ 150, with wine before tip, for four people at dinner most recently our out of town friends commented that they probably wouldn’t consider this as a dining destination next time they were in Bend given the cost for just OK food in that meal and learning curve service.
We’d agree were we visitors, we might think twice before spending $ 60 /​couple for the food alone. As residents we’ll continue to go once a quarter, as opposed to twice as we did before, to support the students. But with the myriad of other dining options in Bend at this price point, it’s fair to have higher expectations. Were this any other table service restaurant that raised menu prices by 33% in less than two years, diners would have fair expectations of elevated (no pun intended) return for the price increase.
THIS N THAT:
1) Lunch menu used to mirror dinner menu but lunch is now an entirely different menu. Nice change. But you can also end up dropping $ 30 at lunch. Mains (for example, burgers and cobb type salad) are in the $ 14 — $ 15 range, add $ 5 if you have dessert and another $ 8 if you also pick from the starter menu and the total can quicikly approach that $ 30 mark. (lunch menu:
)
2) Summer term means outdoor dining is available for lunch and dinner.

We celebrated Valentine’s Day at Elevation and it was fantastic. It was truly an elevated dining experience. The restaurant itself is modern, the food exciting (one of the more adventurous menus for Bend) and tasted fantastic. We will be frequent diners for sure. We are adventurous diners so we looks forward to their changing menus.

Great food. The mussels appetizer were really good. I had the short rib and it came with a mushroom bread pudding which seemed like mushroom stuffing for the most part. I like that they’re trying different things. $ 25 for a appetizer, main and dessert is a great deal.

«How do I love thee. Let me count the ways.» With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, her words are fitting for our experience at Elevation. To understand, Elevation is the restaurant where students at Central Oregon Community College Culinary School practice their skills. The student waitress was charming and sweet. The surroundings were nothing short of magnificent. The Culinary Institute is well endowed and it is apparent that deep funds created both the building and restaurant. The restaurant itself is a large room with tall ceilings and a subdued atmosphere. Quiet music plays in the background. The table and settings are lovely. Ours was a party of ten. We ordered virtually every appetizer, entrée and dessert available. As I understand it, the menu is fixed for the term and changes only when the next term begins. We had five appetizers — the mussels were our favorite. My salad was heavenly. Of the entrees we ordered all four. The waitress describes the back ribs as «to die for». It was a total understatement. I would die and resurrect again to eat those. They were cooked for 24 hours in their own juices. I have never tasted better.
When asked to fill out the evaluation afterwards we did it as a group and gave «excellent» to every category. We consider this the best kept secret in Bend.
Oh, by the way, did I mention that this was «prix fixe» for $ 25 — appetizers, entrée and dessert? What a bargain!

there’s now a VIP table inside the kitchen that guests can eat at. we had contact with essentially the entire kitchen staff, everyone stopped by to say hi. the food? amazing. the hospitality? wonderful. the shortcomings we experienced with our youthful server were excused, after all, she’s in training. will most definitely return.

Dined @ Elevation last night with friends. It was server’s FIRST night on job and it was evident she didn’t have much or any training on what a server should do. She was very friendly and pleasant but she didn’t know how to open a bottle of wine, didn’t have ANY knowledge of menu items and could not answer basic questions about items, my appetizer (winter greens salad) was not good, my entrée — hanger steak was overcooked and lukewarm. Not a good experience and I certainly would not recommend. The other 7 people I was with experienced the same or worse — cold coffee, raw sturgeon, tough stuffed leeks, lukewarm soup, etc.