Pine Hills Lodge Dining Room

Went there for mothers day brunch… very nice location and couldn’t of picked a better day. Food was good and service was good too… biscuits and gravy were bomb… the only issue I had was that when I recieved my check i noticed a 5 dollar charge for use of a high chair… that was kinda different… had they let me know before i mightve had my daughter sit in a regular chair… other than that, everything else was great… id go here again… but next time ill bring my own high chair…

Delicious brunch! Everything was yummy: biscuits and gravy, pancakes, eggs, oatmeal, fruit, etc. A really nice setting to spend your morning on the mountain.

Was treated for Mothers Day Champagne Brunch here at pine Hills Lodge, This is our first time here and to be honest I was a little skeptical at some of the reviews. When we got there we immediately fell in love with its charm! The staff was very very nice but the big thing was How was the Brunch!!! It was amazing! Our mimosa was a treat, the eggs, pancakes, biscuit & Gravy, quiche, BACON & Brisket YUMMMM! The pastries fresh fruit were superb! I even told our server, hostess and the chef that I was skeptical but I also told them that people are always quick to share negative feedback and not the positive and that makes me sad! So we would definitely come back! Thank you for making my Mothers Day so special! Love Love Love!

Last year we decided to do something different for Thanksgiving. We did some research, and found that the Pine Hills Lodge offered a Thanksgiving dinner. It was such a delicious meal, that this year we drove up again, and this time we booked a few cabins. The qualify of the dinner is very good, the turkey, the gravy, the stuffing… it’s all good! I was a little worried since it was a buffet, but it is a good quality buffet. My only negative comment is that the pies that they served tasted like grocery store pies. Julian is only 3 miles away, they should serve pies from the village. The dinner still deserves five stars!

We’ve been there twice, Thanksgiving Day both times & they should advertise that ‘babies are discouraged’. Simply stated, our 2^nd visit was with a baby and it was such an appalling experience we left without eating.
The following Mon. at his job, my husband was talking with some co-​workers about the $ 5.00 high chair fee Pine Hills Lodge charges when another co-​worker overheard & erupted with outrage saying she had worked in the food industry for yrs., including classy places and NEVER heard of such a thing (our daughter is a veteran of the food industry as well).
The OWNER was bullish in his response to our daughter for questioning the high chair fee & told her she’s lucky the fee is nominal, others charge a lot more. To his arrogant quip she replied she’d pay this time but wouldn’t be returning.
In front of a loooooong line of patrons waiting to pay before being squeezed into the closely placed tables, the owner said to our daughter, ‘you can go somewhere else NOW if you like’. On Thanksgiving Day?!? He seemed quite confident we wouldn’t find another place to eat.
After paying the $ 5.00 fee we were told they had no more high chairs and provided a booster seat. Our grandson being too young for a booster seat fell on the floor!
We left without eating and found another place to eat, Jeremy’s On the Hill. The food was equally good, $ 20.00 less per plate, wonderful service, no high chair fee, plenty of room between tables, MUSIC, and wonderful service and atmosphere!
We had already made plans with extended family to go to Julian every other year, stay the night and have Thanksgiving at Pine Hills Lodge but we were redirected by the Pine Hills Lodge owner to eat elsewhere. And we did, it was/​is as even better place to eat. So guess where we’ll be eating from now on??? Hello Jeremy’s On the Hill, we LOVE you!!!

Although the venue is very beautiful and you feel as if you have entered a charming, rustic restaurant… do not be fooled this restaurant cares nothing about service and only about getting your money.
The worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant happened here at the Pine Hills Lodge on Thanksgiving 2011. I made a reservation for my family of seven. Once I arrived there was a 25 minute wait just to pay. This restaurant actually expects their patrons to pay prior to eating, as if it was a «Souplantation!.» Once I finally reached the cashier (owner) I was told that I had to pay for the use of a high chair for my baby. When I questioned this charge, I was rudely told by the owner that it was a fair charge, for my child was taking up the space of a paying adult and I should be happy the charge was not more expensive. I was shocked and told the restaurant owner that I would pay for the charge but I probably would not be back, he quickly replied «ma’am your more then welcome to leave now if you want, you are the 1^st person to complain about the ‘highchair charge’ in the seven years I have owned this place.» We received this treatment after driving an hour to Pine Hills Lodge in the hopes of a beautiful holiday.
I paid and with ‘lack of appetite’ and was taken to my table. At my table I was informed that the restaurant was out of highchairs and my son would have to sit on a regular chair, of which he fell off and hit his head on the hardwood floor.
I had swallowed enough pride and decided it was time to leave. After much delay of nearly 30 minutes the cash portion was refunded, the credit portion took another two weeks.
DO NOT EVER GO TO THIS RESTAURANT; THEY ARE INCONSIDERATE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN.

*This review is for Thanksgiving buffet only*
Last year we (BF, BF’s Mom, BF’s Mom’s Husband) went here for the Thanksgiving Day Brunch. If I remember right, it was $ 50 per person and you DO have to make a reservation. There are 2 – 3 times and a couple days to choose from.
It was a relatively short drive from Rancho Santa Fe to Julian, and there were cute, country-​things to look at on the way out there. When we got out of the car, the air was nice and crisp, and the lodge is surrounded by forest… it really FELT like a Fall holiday, the only thing I truly miss about the NW. It’s tough sometimes to get in the holiday spirit when it’s 70 degrees and sunny (see Disney Land on Christmas… people are sweating!)
The food was very good and it didn’t have the cheap feel that buffet’s usually reek of. LOVED the carrot soup, the turkey was done to perfection, and all of the other traditional Thanksgiving sides we delish! Highly recommended!
Helpful Tip: Don’t show up here with children (unless they are saints), it will just ruin the experience for other diners. Also, dress nice and conservatively :)
**BEST PART: NOT HAVING TO CLEAN UP WHEN YOU ARE SLIPPING INTO A TRYPTOPHAN INDUCED COMA***
(What’s tryptophan? See this site:
)
We’re going this year too — maybe we’ll see you there!

My friend just got married here this weekend, and we dined in this room for the reception, and also the brunch the next morning.
Dinner was served buffet-​style, and included beef, salmon, potatoes, green beans, dinner rolls and salad. The beef, I will say, was delicious — you could put some horseradish or port wine glaze on it, but I had it as-​is. I’m not really a salmon fan, so I didn’t try it, but everyone else seemed to rave about it. I also could not eat the potatoes and beans, due to the fact that they both had garlic, and I am allergic. But again, everyone else raved. Our salad was delicious — included nuts and dried cranberries, which I never thought I’d enjoy.
The service was good — it turns out one of my friend’s friends is a server there on the weekend, so it was cool to see him. We had plenty of wine and champagne at our table.
The morning brunch was so yummy — I sampled a little bit of everything. Rolls, biscuits and gravy, bacon, potatoes, waffles, and a station with omelets made to order. Again, the food was delicious, and I think everyone was enjoying a post-​celebration-​hangover breakfast. For 2 of us, the total was about $ 35.
All in all, it was a pleasant experience dining here for both meals.

The guy in charge of the food is a quirky french guy. the kind of person who sneaks up behind you, taps one shoulder, then runs off on the opposite direction. He was in charge of the dinner for my friend’s wedding. It was really tasty. they served steamed multi-​colored green beans, some other beany thing, roast beef, and chicken marsala. Also, some delicious rolls and a decent salad.
The sunday buffet brunch is served from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. It is huge, and delicious. There are about 5 steam trays, rolls, pastries, lots of fresh fruit, and a cook-​to-​order omelet bar. My only gripe is that the coffee and orange juice are charged separately than the food, but nowhere is the price listed. The buffet is $ 15, the juice is $ 2.75.

I stayed here in one of the lodges, and it was probably one of the most secluded areas I’ve stayed in. Some of the lodges are adjoined, but everyone was very friendly. There are no phones or TVs in the rooms, but that is something I was looking forward, too. I did bring an AT&T cell phone, and I had full bars at this place.
We went to their pub, and the bartender was very nice. She made a new drink for my girlfriend who picked it out of a book, and it was great. Other patrons were also very nice, and we met some great people.
Sleeping there is very nice… no city sounds, just that of nature right out your window.
We also had breakfast, and the French chef (also extremely funny and friendly), makes the food. He’s a great chef, but I must say that breakfast was a little much. I think they should include it as a package for staying there.
If you do go up here and the French chef is not cooking, DO NOT EAT HERE. The owner’s husband cooks the food and the food is horrible and should not even be served to dogs. I had that misfortune awhile back, and don’t want to repeat that.
Overall, great place to stay, and I will most likely go back. The two stars it didn’t get are for a non-​inclusive brunch.

It was a tradition in my family while I was growing up to visit Julian the day after Thanksgiving. This was the 80s and while it was a good idea at the beginning of the 80s, by the end of the 80s we had to stop our tradition because Julian got taken over by tourists — especially Thanksgiving weekend. Early on in our trips we tried different restaurants (like Tom’s Chicken Shack) each year. But by the mid-​80s, my family rested upon a reliable favorite, the Pine Hills Lodge.
The dining room is the main building of the Lodge, and it’s rustic and everything you hope a dining room in the middle of the woods would look like — roaring fires, antlers, probably a taxidermied bear or two. I’d guess it was built in the 30s, it has a certain WPA charm.
The Pine Hills Lodge is located in Pine Hills, a community a few miles outside Julian and located two miles down a road off the highway. It’s easy to get lost here after you eat, because the streetlights are few and far between. I think that certain times of the year the lodge is closed, too, so check if you decide to make a visit. Oh yeah, don’t get eaten by a mountain lion, because um, that can happen. Seriously, it did happen at the park on the outskirts of Pine Hills a couple months ago.
I returned to the Pine Hills Lodge with my parents a couple years ago in October. We were the only diners that night. And the food was expensive and really mediocre. I won’t be back for dinner though I still love the charm of the place.