Riffle Cafe

We have eaten there for several years until she raised the prices so high for the tourist that the locals can’t afford it now. No way are we paying $ 25-​$ 30 for a breakfast. During the winter the quality of the food drops down.

The Riffle Café was a fantastic find for us today! Right off the highway, clean restaurant, friendly staff, local favorite, and delicious food! I had a creative omelette (the wildfire, I think), my husband had a burger, and my son had a pb and j.
The only reason it got four stars is that my husband wanted soup, but it was never delivered.
The Riffle café was a fantastic spot… well worth a stop!

Took a little detour on our way to Cali from Washington and tried out this little joint.
The restaurant has a cute, cheesy hawaiian theme going on. We loved the metal geckos & turtles on the wall.
The food was good and the service was excellent !!!
I loved that they use cage free eggs :)
They definitely have a crowd of regulars coming in, so you know this is a local favorite.

I stopped here for breakfast Saturday morning. Great food. Had the special which was sourdough pancakes. Perfect. Good coffee. I’d definitely go again if I’m down that way.

I am halfway through the bacon cheeseburger and I put it down to write this review. This place destroys every other restaurant around it. Food is nothing but straight fire, hand made and freakin fresh man! Don’t kick your own ass, eat here instead, then kick your own ass for not trying it sooner. That’s what I did.

The best ! Everything so fresh made from scratch! We travel one hour to eat fresh foods! Bypassing grants pass …

Had the Hellgate omelette. Very good. Could have used a little more gravy. One server for the entire place. So it took a while each time we saw her. Overall just okay.

Visiting parents who live in Grants Pass they raved about breakfast so we came. It was delicious. The ham was amazing. Looking over the menu we saw gourmet burgers (parents only ever ate breakfast here). Embarrassed to say we came back for dinner!!! We were not disappointed. Burgers on ciabatta rolls with riffle sauce (don’t know what’s in it but loved it). Only here a few days from California but will always come here when in town.

A cold, foggy winter’s ride on the Rumble Bee to Merlin found the restaurant with a family and there old, gossipy codgers to which one more was soon added. Later a couple came in with matching MacBooks they used although the restaurant doesn’t have wifi. One of the codgers, not me, wondered if they were emailing each other.
I ate the blue cheese & mushroom burger on a ciabatta bun with split pea soup. The burger was good but a bit messy so I used knife and folk on the second half. The soup was a liquid with what looked and tasted like bits of franks floating around. Coffee a little better than at most diners.

This was a great find right off I-​5. We had a great burger… really great! Also the french fries were good, and the sweet potato fries were some of the best I’ve had. I also enjoyed a mocha ice coffee very much… a first for me. The service was friendly and prompt, and we definitely will revisit this place next time we’re in the area.

Love everything about this place. Excellent food from their hollandaise sauce to their fried chicken. Reubens, sourdough pancakes, burgers, bread pudding, berry pies, EVERYTHING! All the food is MADE FROM SCRATCH. Yes people SCRATCH!
Staff is super friendly. Owners are from Hawaii. Hence the Hawaiian theme. Tami (owner) gets to know you, especially if you’re a regular. She remembers animals, food likes and dislikes, smiley. All the ither waitresses are just as attentive and friendly.
Inside the restaurant is Hawaiian themed, some handmade window crystals for sale, crochet hats and headbands, geckos, turtles, fishing poles.
If ever in small Merlin, Or this is the only place to eat. All the other restaurants have nothing on this place. Sure if you want prefrozen, processed food, premade then by all means go to the other restaurants. If what you want is home cooked from scratch with quality, quantity and freshness The Riffle is it.

What a nice surprise to find this place! The atmosphere is nice, the service is great and the food is really good! I had a breakfast scramble and my boyfriend had the chicken sandwich. The hash browns were crispy just like I asked for and his fries were delicious! Skip the chain restaurants and come here instead!

After a long day of river rafting, this was the perfect end.
Do not let the eclectic décor scare you away. This hidden gem has excellent food! We were greeted by the most friendly waitress who was cool, calm and collected.
We ordered burgers (wow) and all of the kids had breakfast. Very good food. Don’t sleep on this place.

Just drove by on our way out to Galice, then on our way back we stopped due to Unilocal reviews. Glad we did, generous portions and friendly service, now on our list of must stops when in the area!

Great Hawaiian atmosphere. Breakfast served till 5 pm. Right on the road in Merlin. Great burger selection along with a full dinner menu. Glad we stopped in.
The owner, Tammy, was very nice and spent some time talking to us about her restaurant. She has owned it for 7 years and prepares everything in the kitchen. All beef is purchased from local ranches and makes everything homemade.
I had the mushroom blue cheese bacon burger on ciabatta bread. It was delicious. Had potato salad and a cold Coors Lite. My wife had the regular cheese burger. I was barely able to finish my burger and she took some home.
The burgers were fresh and cooked with perfection.
Tammy has a nightly special dinner made fresh daily. We’ll be heading back this Sunday for the fried chicken dinner.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS RESTAURANT.

If you’ve read my other reviews, you know I’m not easily impressed. We stopped at the Riffle for a little dinner. I was amused by the tropical/​Hawaiian motif in the place and being a simple roadside restaurant in such a small town, my expectations were not high. I ordered a burger (can’t remember which one, but it had bacon, pepper jack cheese, and caramelized onions) with salad and homemade honey/​mustard dressing. My boyfriend ordered a corned beef Reuben sandwich with sweet potato fries. The food was delivered hot and quickly to the table by a couple of really sweet waitresses. I was impressed with the ciabatta roll the burger was on. Too many burgers are served on horrible buns that fall apart and get soggy, but this one was delicious and stood up to the job. The burger was totally excellent. The corned beef Reuben had thick, juicy slices of real corned beef. I was totally impressed. So we decided to forget pretending to diet and find out what was for dessert. We ended up splitting a blackberry shortcake… large fluffy biscuit with juicy blackberries and whipped cream. Everything we’d hoped for and more. Not too sweet and the berry topping was not cooked… just fresh berries (probably frozen, but still excellent). They have daily specials and a wide variety of really great-​sounding food. We will definitely be back and I hope you stop by, too. They have a nice patio area in the front that will be sweet in summertime.

I stopped here with my family for a lunch on the road and we were a little unimpressed. The hot dog they served my daughter was too hard for her to eat. I ordered a hamburger with bacon and I got a burger with hot dog instead. After eating it, my stomach felt a little off. A few positives: my girlfriend really liked the ranch and the service was prompt and friendly.

The Riffle is everything a small town restaurant should be. The service is excellent, the food is served fast and fresh, the portions are plentiful, and the pricing is reasonable.
For breakfast I recommend any of the locally named omelets. Try the Hellsgate omelet if you are looking for something extra filling. The corned beef hash is also excellent; homemade with chunks of corned beef (instead of the little cubes that most places serve out of the can) and grilled to perfection.
The lunch and dinner menus are equally as impressive. For lunch, try one of the handmade burgers with sweet potato fries. For dinner, the Merlin Chicken is excellent.
If you are looking for a quick, fresh, and relaxing meal then give the Riffle a try.

Was in the area for biz and got two ¹⁄₃ Ib burgers with fries to go. Wow! Very good, fresh, hand patted burgers cooked with just a touch of pink and with great toppings. «You can have a regular bun or one of our roll styles», said the friendly waitress. Then she added «They are really good and you’ll like it»! Well, she was right! I can’t really explain it, but ask her and GET IT if you order a burger. It was toasted as well. The fries, while not homemade, were some of the best I’ve had in a restaurant. Service was, as I have stated, friendly and FAST. The next time I’m in beautiful downtown Merlin, I’m stopping for a burger!

The owner hails from Oakland, CA with a 20-​year stop in Hawaii before purchasing this café five years ago with her husband. Accidentally ended up here after searching for another off-​road dining experience on my latest trip to northern Oregon. What a treat and a delightful surprise.
The menu ranged from salmon to sandwiches. The ingredients are all natural and all homemade, including the bread products for the delicious and mouth-​watering hamburgers to the perfectly made grilled tuna half-​sandwich/​salad combo. I savored every morsel. The mango iced-​tea and sweet potato fries were out of this world.
Its low-​key and laid-​back ambiance added to the experience. Not pretentious, not overpriced, and absolutely a MUST stop from here on out.
I’ve spent years in Europe, in large US cities, and in small towns all over America and this is heads and above the very best lunch I’ve ever had. It is an 8-​miles off I-​5 trip totally worth making.