Rafters

We went to the Lumberjack Café and Coffee House that is part of Rafter’s. I was wondering about it when we walked in because we were the only people there. With a drink menu of only like 6 things, it was quite strange. They didn’t even have iced coffee. Seemed strange. There was a girl working who seemed rather disinterested and even left as we were sitting there, leaving us all alone in the café. It took about 10 minutes for out 2 drinks (we were the only people in the café the entire time). The drinks were extremely over-​priced for such a low quality. I always try local coffee houses, but next time, go to Dunn Brothers.

Stopped in for an appetizer and margarita. Picked the restaurant because of it’s rooftop patio and view of the river. Margarita even with upgraded tequila was not drinkable. Asked for a second chance and that one was worst the first, not even drinkable. Nacho’s were typical bar food quality. Waitress was unable to discount our bill due to restaurants policy. So poor quality of food and even poorer quality of customer service. Won’t be going back even for the view!

We stopped in for a burger and beer to enjoy on the rooftop patio. We waited and waited to be seated as per the sign at the bottom of the stairs. Nobody helped us after making eye contact with the waitresses passing us by. In finally asked the bartender and she said she would find somebody to help us. After another 10minutes, we took it upon ourselves to seat ourselves on the roof top bar. To make a long story shorter, the service was spotty. After finally getting service, the waitress got our order wrong. As she apologized and offered to fix it, we declined and ate it as was. Please note too: NO HAPPY HOUR OR DAILY SPECIALS are allowed on the rooftop patio, only in the bar below.
I ordered a beer refill when I received my hamburger and got it with our check, lol. There were two tables that got up and left because of the long wait just to even be acknowledged. The burgers were good, but the service was less than acceptable. There are FAR too many places to get a hamburger in Stillwater to provide such horrible service. My suggestion… Don’t waste your time & money, go to a different patio bar, there’s plenty in the area.

Worst place to eat Downtown Stillwater. Total shit. Go to Mc Donalds instead you’ll get better food for cheaper.

Worst service we ever had. Sat over 20 minutes and we had to grab our own menus and ask for drinks and to put our order in. Took over an hour just to get food on the table. Burgers came charred and what we did eat made us sick. Don’t waste your time or money.

This place was okay when it was Trump’s. It’s only gone downhill.

I wish I could tell you what the food tasted like, but we waited for 10 minutes and no one even made eye contact. There’s a big sign telling us to wait to be seated, but no hostess!
At one point, the bartender pushed past us but didn’t acknowledge. What a crappy way to run a business. Tons of other restaurants in Stillwater. Don’t waste your time.

I have given this place numerous chances. The most recent was Sunday Sept 27. After waiting to find someone to ask where we could sit we were rudely told the upstairs patio was full. Which we were fine with that, so we proceeded to sit at a high top in the bar. We found one and it needed to be cleaned off. When we ask to have it cleaned the bartender responded with giving us a rag to clean it ourselves. After sitting there for over 20 minutes with not one person even asking if we wanted a drink or saying we will be right with you, we left. Will NEVER go back again and will also tell others as well!

I have nothing good to say about this place. There were only about 8 people there when we went. We sat on the roof top patio which is surrounded by a high fence so you can’t take advantage of the cool view that might be there. My wife and I ordered drinks after waiting 10 minutes. We got our drinks 5 minutes later. After about 30 seconds, our server comes back to ask if we «planned on another round» and we said not yet, since we had only take 1 sip each. We looked at the appetizers and may have ordered something but we didn’t see our server for the next 20 minutes. After having empty glasses for 10 minutes, we went to find her to pay our tab and she was just sitting with the other employees. None of them doing anything. Not going back.

Stopped in here on a quick visit to Stillwater and choose the Rafters because of their patio with great views of the river.
It was later in the afternoon so we were able to get seated on the rooftop immediately. It is around three stories up so you are higher than the surrounding buildings and get a nice view of the river and other side of the river. The menu has a wide variety of options — mostly pub food. I ordered the Cajun Southwest Burger because I was craving a big burger. It did not disappoint; the pepperjack cheese added a good kick to the burger and the fries were thick and tasty. I would come back for a quick meal and the good views the patio provides.

We were there for our wedding this past weekend. We had lunch, from mini corn dogs and potatoe skins to jalapeño infused and the mushroom burger fish sandwich chicken salad and who knows what else. Everything was delicious! We have been to Rafters several times and never left unsatisfied. My hats off to the cook! He makes a great breakfast too. Come down for the whole day and enjoy.
We had Ben Michaels dj for us. Make sure you come when he is there. Truly amazing what he did for us.

We came here on a Saturday afternoon after there were long wait times at other restaurants we were hoping to go to. The fact that they were able to seat us immediately should have been our first clue that we would have been better off elsewhere. Service was slow, drinks came in plastic cups (even though the place was dead), and the food was a sorry excuse for bar food. In short, it the worst $ 70 spent on 2 drinks, an appetizer, and 2 burgers. The star here is for the server who was friendly, when she actually came around. Don’t waste your time or money here.

Who puts dart boards right in front of the pool table? We went to play darts, but one was out of order and the other was right in front of a pool table that was in use. The server wasn’t good, and made a joke that she made enough tips that night that she could be slow at service if she wanted. Otherwise good dance floor and nice view of tvs for sports.

Granted, I came as a party of 9… The place was empty. Our waiter warned us he was new, so we gave him a break. Until he took our drink order… Returned 30 min later with only two of the 5 beers that were ordered. He redeemed himself by returning with 3 beers, 2 of which he said were free. We then placed out food order, which included appetizers. It was roughly 50 minutes before we received two of the three appetizers we ordered… Which were immediately followed by our meals. So, they forgot one appetizer, made one guest the wrong meal. And straight up forgot another persons meal? Tried to compensate with a free soup, but even that took 5 years to receive. Also I must add, because it’s funny, the side of jalapeños my boyfriend requested, was brought to him and placed on an old plate in the middle of a ranch puddle lol. Anyway, to look on the bright side if things, the actual correct food we did receive was good. Also the «new» guy waiting on us was very nice and apologetic.

Cool atmosphere but the it took 45 minutes to get a grilled chicken sandwich and there were only 5 people in the place. Needless to say it will not eat hear again.

Lousy service, less than average bar food, great view. Go for the view. Not the food or service.

The food needs LOTS of work. A small group of us went there as part of a bachelorette party. It was chosen because the website was great and the view was appealing. There weren’t many people in there for dinner (it was a Saturday night too) and the service was very slow. For some, it took a while for the drinks to arrive. One person’s mixed drink was supposed to have cranberry, but it instead was something super sweet (perhaps just grenadine) mixed with alcohol. Most of the food dishes were so-​so or inedible. Half of the food had to be returned and they still kept that food on the bill! We ended up ordering some appetizers (because you can’t really go wrong with those). It might sound like we were a very picky group, but really, we weren’t looking for much! We came in with great moods and just wanted some dinner before going out. Well, the whole experience took so long that we couldn’t leave until much later. The view was nice.

DO NOT ORDER THE REUBEN SANDWICH. The name should be changed to «SAUERKRAUT SANDWICH «. It had THREE very thin deli sliced corned beef slices like the oscar meyer tasting corn beef meat piled high with an inch of kraut. This stupid sandwich was twelve dollars. Im sick and tired of restaurants like this dump that charge high prices for poor quality bar food. I like to spend money on community businesses but some places like this and Quang’s are starting to make me take my family back to the old chain restaurants because of the poor food and service we’ve been receiving recently. My family and I dined@ Rafters on 8÷18÷2011. After shopping we decided to try this place. We had three adults and three children. To summarize this visit, the service was not very good (waitress brought out appetizer sauces with the bill, after apps and meals were delivered). And The food was NOT worth the hefty prices asked. Our total bill was just under eighty five dollars, NOT including tip. After ordering the entire gang’s entrees and the three adults received the meals, the waitress tells us that the kitchen ran out of the kid’s meals we ordered and that we’d have to order something else for them… Um, shes telling us this after we had already received the adult entrees and had already been waiting about thirty minutes just for our appetizers to get to the table. And we were the only people dining in. There were a couple (six) people@ the bar drinking and watching the news but that was it. This place is DEAD slow because they have one of the most unprofessional kitchen staff along with the unattentive services provided by the wait staff. Poor quality bar food and very very poor service. Spend your money elsewhere when dining in Stillwater. We WILL NEVER EAT AT RAFTERS EVER AGAIN.

I found out about this place because I bought a Groupon.
Surprisingly, it hasn’t been reviewed on Unilocal yet. Thought I would get the party started:
I had never been out to eat in Stillwater before. One, it’s a 40 minute drive from where I live. Two, it’s typically a little fancy/​expensive than I can afford.
So, Yay! I got a coupon and hit this place up on a GORGEOUS Saturday night. Despite Stillwater being packed to the brim, this place was quiet. I’m guessing it’s newer or not many people know about it yet.
The ambiance is great. Exposed brick, stone and wood beam rafters (*hense the name), HUGE picture window overlooking the St. Croix river and all the people out there enjoying the picturesque views and awesome weather.
Next, and most importantly… BEER. My dining companion and I both ordered the Summit Oatmeal Stout they had on tap. (They have a lot of beers on tap). Yummy.
The server/​bartender was really good at his job. Super charming, but not overwhelming.
As I perused the menu, it was standard American faire. Lots of sandwiches, soups, salads, pastas and burgers.
I tried to order the two seperate fish items they had on the menu, but they were sold out. I then ordered the Philly. It was Meh, and I wouldn’t order it again. Missing a sauce or something. I was told by other patrons I should have ordered a burger.
My dining companion ordered a Reuben. He always orders Reubens. And this one was good. He said he gave it a solid B. I tried it. yep, it was good.
I would recommend Rafters for a nice relaxing beer with a gorgeous view.
The food needs work, but the burgers had enough raves by patrons that I would say order those.
Allegedly, they have live music, DJ’s and dancing later at night… but I’ll leave that for someone else to review.