Summit House Restaurant

This pace is really good.
Our server was really nice lady. She accommodated us in such a nice spot arranging chairs together. My 5 year old son was so happy to sit by the window he wrote thank you to her and the yummy food.
I highly recommend going to this place just for visiting this restaurant.

We decided to check out the view of the mountains and have a fancy little lunch one Sunday. The views are awesome — I suggest trying to get a table along the North-​facing windows.
We were sat pretty quickly, at a table by the support beam in the middle — not bad, not the best. The servers and others are very attentive and keep the experience smooth, despite antsy families and those patrons who demand more than is reasonable.
It was Sunday, and the cooks had the game playing on a phone propped above the kitchen window, so some could see. The game was also on the radio, so the atmosphere was quite loud when combined with a bunch of skiing folk.
Based on the reviews, I was quite surprised by the quality of the food and overall experience. The coffee was weak, but the french onion soup was really good (but had too little cheese! it was just a slice on top of the bowl). The fish and chips had real beer batter, the fries were good, the cole slaw was crisp, and the Summit Sauce was tangy and tasty. The house ginger ale was alright, but very sweet, and I don’t know that it was worth $ 4.63. Same with the Croque Madame — it was really good, and not something I had ever had before (gluten free!), but wasn’t filling. Had we been skiing, I would have had to have gotten like three just to get to the bottom of the mountain. Also, the syrup was the cheap fake stuff — real syrup would have been nice for the price. Their desserts are also really great and probably change often.
It was a nice day trip for us, and I imagine it would be pretty awesome paired with a day of downhill.

Went to hang out with the kid while friends were snowboarding. Food was overpriced and similar items to what was at the restaurants at the bottom of the mountain which was annoying. Wait was long, but knew that would be the case given the location. All of the food was good. I had the croque madame. Beer tasted weird though. Other drinks seemed a bit watered down. VIew was nice, even though when we were there Rainier wasn’t visible. Will likely be back — seems like a nice place to take visitors and to check out again in the summer when it might not be so busy with the boarders and skiiers.

Burger completely raw… cold, French dip soaked and fatty/​tastless. SAMANTHA the server and the coffee was great… my advice just bring your own bologna sandwich… be much better and waaaaay cheaper :-)

Came here on a beautiful winter day. It was a clear day and you can see for quite a distance across the mountain. I had a reservation for 11:45am. We arrived at 10am and parking was out to Lot F. We had to ride the shuttle and purchase our gondola tickets. I didn’t expect the line for the gondola to be that long. We were 10 minutes late. The staff still honored our reservation and we were seated in a corner table by the window. Perfect!!! Amazing views in every direction.
The ambiance has a more woodsy and cottage-​like feel to it and very relaxing. The waiting area is quite small so I highly recommend making reservations. The staff is very friendly with excellent service. Our server checked with us every so often. We never felt like we had to ask for anything.
Now comes the food. It’s subpar at best. Two of us had the fish and chips. The coating was thick and kind of doughy inside. The positive is the fish was halibut. The fries were just ok. The salmon was kind of overcooked. The New York Steak was also over done and didn’t have much flavor to it. The hot chocolate was too sweet. We were quite disappointed with the food especially at the price we had to pay. What made up for the lack-​luster food was the amazing view, atmosphere, and excellent service.

Our first experience was a little disappointing. I contacted management and they were amazing. The food is great, the staff was nice, the view is beautiful and the chocolate lava cake is the best around!
THANK YOU!

The food here is nothing special — the house salad tastes like a pre-​packaged meal from QFC. (Not worth the $$!) The chicken and brie sandwich was pretty good, though. I’d recommend sticking with the sandwiches or burgers. We ordered a few ciders, and they were served luke-​warm and were a little flat… not awesome. That said, the location cannot be beat! So I guess they can get away with food that is far from spectacular. The view makes it worth it. Sit on the outdoor patio if you can.
Next time, I’m going to pack my own picnic lunch! Same views with better/​cheaper food.

We ordered the cheese burger. It boasted a half pound fresh ground chuck and brisket. You’d think a perry big burger so we shared. I’ve never had a more dry burger in my life. A half pound burger can still come out looking look like a hockey puck when you over cook it. The truffle fries were good. The service was good however they seated is in direct sun and when we moved to get shade with an umbrella we were told we had to go back to our seats. I asked if they could get us some relief from the sun. A little chuckle and NO. Overall not a very good experience.

We had a HORRIBLE experience here from start to finish. Last weekend, my husband and I went to the Summit House restaurant for dinner.
To start, we knew it would be busy on a Saturday, so we decided to make a reservation. Online, it clearly states that reservations are not accepted until 4. I called at 3:58 to make a reservation, and was told the restaurant was full for the night and that even walk-​ins would not be seated. My husband called back a few minutes later and the person taking reservations actually lied to him and said that all the reservations had booked up in the last 2 minutes. So, I went on to OpenTable and was able to make a reservation no problem. (When I called to confirm, the same woman that denied us actually had to remake the reservation). It was earlier than we had planned, so we had to pay $ 50 to ride the gondola up rather than hike up as we had planned.
When we got to the top, less than half of the tables were in use, and we were seated without even telling them we had a reservation. So much for that «full restaurant» that prevented our reservation.
Our waitress was clearly overworked, and while I think she did the best under the circumstances, I think a $ 100 meal should come with great service, not mediocre. Whether it was a training day, or simply unknowledgeable staff, we were not impressed with how long it took to get our orders in and food served, and we never even received the water that we asked when we first arrived. My cocktail was missing the fresh berries, which is why I ordered it. In total, we were there for 2 hours, and not by our own leisure. Our waitress ended up comping ice cream that we waited 20 minutes for, but I am still frustrated by the entire experience.
All in all, the only part that we enjoyed was the food. From reservations to dessert, we were not treated as valuable customers nor given the attention a paying customer should have.

Below average food for to expensive of a price. The burger was good but the chowder was cold and un eatable, it tasted more like a watery peppers soup. The pulled pork sandwich was not very good either. $ 12 for subpar soggy truffle fries was also a robbery.
Ok, you do have a good view that is a given, but at least try to offer good enough food to justify the prices and the $ 25 gondola ride (at least at the space needle restaurant in Seattle you don’t have to pay for the ride up if you dine there…).
Will be back at Crystal Mountain for the hiking and skiing but definitely not for this restaurant…

Waited over 35 mins for our food. Place was at most half capacity. Expensive food on top of a $ 20 gondola ride. Ordered the summit burger and fries. Burger was a little dry, Carl’s junior has better. My fries reminded me of McDonalds fries which have sat in the bin and got stale, tasted like they were open to a freezer Pryor to cooking. Look when a menu is as small as theirs is… If they can’t make a simple kickass burger and fries… There’s problems. We will never be back.

Located at the top of Crystal Mountain (you have to take the gondola), this establishment has nice views, however, the food is average and the service was lacking. Our orders were taken and waitress disappeared, reappeared with drinks. Disappeared. Reappeared with food. Disappeared. Had to wave down the host who seated us just to get refills on our waters and tea. (By the way, our beverages were empty when she brought us our food, you think she would have noticed and done something about that). Finished our food and drinks. Had to wave down a bus boy to get our check. Meanwhile, there were maybe 5 other tables of people. was not busy enough to merit being ignored.
In addition, my son ordered the burger but received the salmon burger. We could never get anyone’s attention to get them to correct this, so the kid just ate it. It was good, but certainly NOT worth the $ 18.
As for the rest of the food we ordered, my husband and son loved the seafood chowder and the parm chips and truffle fries were good. My Beet salad was sad. Beets were pale and not deep red. It was disappointing.
I’d say, save your money, eat at the bottom at the Bullwheel Bar & Grill. Better service, equally decent foot and I like the atmosphere better down there.

Right on the Crystal Mountain. Absolutely amazing place to have food. A gandola ride to get to the top of the mountain and there is the beautiful restaurant which overlooks the magnificent Mt. Rainier which just breathtaking. The food is just mesmerizing. The shrimp and the burgers are exquisite. If you are visiting My. Rainier please do visit this restaurant. It is totally worth it.

Just took a gondola ride up to the top of Crystal, on a sunny, August day in the Pacific N.W.– perfect weather and wonderful day trip!
We decided we wanted to eat lunch here… lots of empty seats, but there was still a wait, since we had no reservation (hostess said because they were short staffed). Okay – our bad – we never made a rez. So we waited 30 minutes.(Make a reservation, if you go and want to eat here, esp. on weekends!!!)
Choice of eating outside or in. View is super outside, but it is hot under the sun in the outdoor area,. But boy, oh boy– the view is so stunning. We opted for outside.
OK, I grant food was not quite an A+, but it was pretty good! Hubs had Chicken and Brie sandwich and the house salad, which was great! I had some fish and chips– really really good! Worth the $ 20 in my book.
Prices are not that outrageous. yes a little above normal. but WOW, you are paying for the fabulous view! And it IS fabulous!
There is a burger called «The Mountain»… I think it has beef patty, fried egg, ham steak, tomato and some other stuff… it is huge (cost $ 22). A young man seated next to us ordered one (a skinny guy, too!) and devoured it and pronounced it Excellent!!. but I must say it was so huge, not sure how he got his mouth around it. The calories in it would be one whole days’ worth!
Had a great day up here, so very much enjoyed it. Mount Rainier was just gorgeous, the sun was out, temp was 80 degrees, nice breeze… Mount Adams and other mountains were out and pretty– what more could one ask for? So glad we went, good day!
And… we did get nice service too!

I agree with the others who said that the views are amazing, but the food average. Actually, the food is slightly better than average, but at those prices, it should be better than it is, if that makes any sense. Of course you would expect the prices of a restaurant on a mountain summit to be higher, or as my brother-​in-​law said, «hey, we’re paying for the view.»
So, in a nutshell, we certainly enjoyed our meal, and the whole experience of dining there. We were literally right in front of Mt. Rainier, and you simply can’t beat that view! Our server was excellent, and the hostesses were very friendly as well. Because we didn’t need a table outside, we were seated almost right away, despite the fact that it was a sunny, busy Saturday afternoon and we didn’t have reservations. I loved the beer, a raspberry lemon stout that was just fantastic. I didn’t care for the $ 12 plate of truffle fries, that just seemed like regular fries with some parmesan sprinkled on them. Also, the portion seemed very small.
My steamed clams in garlic wine butter were fine, as was my brother-in-law’s eggplant parmesan. My other brother-​in-​law got the burger, and he too thought it was fine. Basically, you ARE paying for the view, and if you’re okay with that, you can have a pretty decent meal with an amazing view for a pretty high price. Definitely worth it to bring out of town guests, but I can’t imagine just going here myself. But I would certainly come back with other guests or family members in the future, because it is truly impressive… something you can only experience here in Washington!

Love the view, like the service but the food is average.
For that special view I would prefer better food and presentation and way better coffee :)
Please work on it, owners of the restaurant! I bring my out of town/​country guests cause the views are amazing and gondola provides a great experience as well but would prefer better food/​presentation and better coffee!!!

I agree with other reviewers that this place is very hard to review. The view is breathtaking, so the restaurant already gets points for that. The food was good, the service was average at best.
We went for a late lunch at the very beginning of Crystal Mountain’s summer season, so it wasn’t terribly busy. We were seated right near the window which was great. There was a huge bee on the window, and I said aloud «wow, is that a bee?» A waitress overheard me and promptly squashed it. Nice! Anyway, I got the Grilled Chicken and Brie, and asked to substitute the tomatoes for apples. Our server said that wouldn’t be a problem, which was fortunately true.
The food was surprisingly pretty good. The chicken had a lot of flavor and was complimented very well by the brie and apples. The bacon was a little unnecessary. I feel like restaurants just put bacon on things for the sake of it. Oh well. The bread was good, although I wish it was a little more crispy. Everyone else enjoyed their meal as well. The pasta dish my sister ordered looked exceptionally good.
Service was indifferent and very average. Our waiter needed to be a little more welcoming and smile some more. Overall, Summit House is surprisingly good and there’s no reason not to go if you’re on Crystal Mountain.

Excellent food and service. I don’t know why this place has ³⁄₅ stores but the location is amazing as well. I’m embarrassed to say that I’m not a skier/​snowboarder (yet?) but I would totally come back for the view and meal… despite the one hostess that was all pissy. Everyone else was great, especially the waiter.
Great menu and eating… absolute ⁵⁄₅ from me.

I don’t ski. But my boyfriend does, and he has been wanting to get me up here for the views of Mt Rainer forever. In the summer I would go though, as long as there is no snow. Ugh, snow is the worst.
We arrived earlier in the day and only had a short wait for the Gondola, which is $ 20, but no way in hell was I going to hike up the hill. On our way up since it wasn’t too busy, we were able to get a gondola to ourselves, which is romantic.
My boyfriend made a reservation and asked for a table with a view. We arrive, and the hostess takes us to a table in the corner by the kitchen. When we ask for one of the tables with a view, she tells us they are «reserved for people who requested them»… oh, you know… Like us!!! It turned me off immediately. Luckily, the weather was beautiful, it wasn’t that busy yet, and the hostess outside was much, MUCH nicer, so we grabbed a seat outside.
Yes, there is a limited menu. Yes, it is expensive. Given the location, what do you expect?
My boyfriend and I both ordered the burger and fries. It sounded fantastic. Bacon, white cheddar, and grilled onions. It was just an ok burger though, the meat itself was not very good, overcooked, and just fell apart as soon as I bit into it. The brioche bun was tasty though. The fries were luke-​warm, and flavorless. The upside though was the «summit house» sauce that came on the side. It was so good, I ended up asking for another side and using it for my burger and fries. It was like a spicy thousand island. It really was the saving grace for the food.
Our service was fine, minus the rude and incompetent hostess inside.
Be careful outside on sunny days though, lots and lots of bugs. Yellow jackets everywhere, and I had a ladybug trying to share my burger.
All in all though, I don’t think its worth it. Lots of chairs and picnic tables set up near by with the beautiful view, so just pack a lunch and enjoy the views. With the Gondola prices, and the Summit House prices, it’s just not worth it.

We came around lunch time, with no reservation, 4 people, took about 15 minutes to be seated.
What a view!
The restaurant is nice, not too fancy, approachable woodsy décor.
I have eaten at many ski resorts, and the food here was hands down the best quality ever! I had the Nicoise Salad, beautiful presentation, everything very fresh. the only thing was it had only oil for dressing so was kind of bland, and no salt and pepper on the table to spice things up, though I will say, I’d rather have too little dressing, than too much ;) The others food looked just as good.
Service was spot on, and prices were average for any place, let alone a ski resort.