Cascade Dining Room

Fantastic food in an incredible setting.

Came here for the lunch buffet today and loved it. Got a great seat at the window overlooking the cascades and an awesome view of Mt. Jefferson. The food on the buffet is great — mozzarella & tomatoes, mixed veg, split pea soup, bbq beef, pork in a marionberry sauce, make-​your-​own pancakes, and lots of awesome desserts. I definitely went back for many rounds and left stuffed. And I think $ 20/​person is reasonable. The atmosphere can’t be beat either — in a beautiful, historic lodge with massive wood beams. Also a great mix of kids and adults dining at the buffet. We’ll definitely come back again next year.

Had lunch brunch here the other day! Wasn’t bad! Think they could’ve had a better dessert menu! My husband and I don’t particularly feel it was priced fairly considering what you got! Overpriced is more like it!

I haven’t had a great personal style buffet in a long time. This all first class with tri-​tip and pork along with a potato salad to die for… I must top 5 spots.

It’s going to be expensive. And I honestly did not think the cooking was very creative or very good. The pork liver pâté I had was virtually tasteless, and the lamb shank was mediocre and had very weird burned pan scrapings included. Friendly staff, I’ll say that. But, all that said, it is a unique dining experience, and everyone should stay at least one night at Timberline. Take a loved one, enjoy the views, and enjoy their company.

Great service and great food. We had a long enjoyable dinner and did not feeler rush to make room for more customers. We did bring our owe bottle of wine and they had a corking fee which was reasonable.

based on other reviews, our experience sounds like an off night. But it really was off. the setting is beautiful and the menu while extensive is incredibly expensive — $ 46 for a 10 oz steak! so we decided to split the $ 100 — 50 ounce steak 3 ways. Yeah 50 ounces seems like an awful lot, but with the bone, it really wasn’t that big. The steak took a really long time to arrive. Several people around us, who got seated after we did, were served and were done in the time that we waited for our food to arrive. When it arrived, it came with a Kale salad, carrots, mashed potatoes and a mushroom sauce that was too salty and rich. The Kale salad was drenched in the sauce as were the potatoes — making both almost inedible. The meat was average — gristly and fatty — not expected at this price. I left feeling both stuffed and not satisfied. The service was also disapointing. Our waiter was initially very nice, but become less and less attentive as the evening progressed. Once we finished our main course, the wait staff didn’t take our plates — they just sat there as the staff walked by again and again, I pushed mine to the side and finally had to ask one of them to take them away. He apologized — half heartedly. While the restaurant wasn’t that busy, we rarely saw our waiter — except when he was having a leisurely chat with people at other tables. The waiter waited too long to pour my wife’s glass of wine so it didn’t have the chance to open up until after it was too late –
now based upon my meal, the price and the service, this would have been lower than 2 stars, but our daughter, who doesn’t eat red meat really enjoyed her pasta dish and the skillet baked chocolate chip cookie that we shared, while taking a long time to come, was excellent.
all in all, apart from the beautiful setting it was a disappointing meal — especially given how much it cost. We regretted our decision to eat there and probably won’t again. IN hindsight, we should have gone for drinks and perhaps a meal in the bar. Next time, that is likely what we’ll do.

I have been here twice and I love it and I hope to return again. each time was On a Hike of the Pacific Crest trail. The breakfast buffet is where it is at YUM YUM YUM .
The people are friendly and the Beer and wine Selection is also great. The bar lounge is very nice and the architecture of the Building is quite Interesting. Just go there. I’m not gonna spoil it beyond this review. Just check out jacks Review:

Last night was magical. A real Oregon Sunset Magazine moment!
We drove up to Timberline from Portland with our visiting cousins to enjoy the end of a beautiful warm day. This took 52 minutes according to Waze.
The views were fantastic. We had reservations at 6:30 and were seated right away at a great table facing a southern view of the Cascade range. The room was full.
We immediately ordered drinks and our very friendly staff brought us a tasty appetizer on the house.
We ordered salads, butter lettuce with all the goodies you would expect. It was large and we could have shared. Very good. My hubby ordered the curry pineapple soup. Very good except for the pineapple:).
Our dinners were excellent. Salmon, steak salad, pork chops and the burger. All cooked perfectly. Desserts were scrumptious. We ordered the skillet chocolate chips cookie. On the menu it said we needed to wait 15 minutes for it to bake fresh. No problem.
I will do this again. And stay at the lodge next time. Lovely dining experience. Reservation highly recommended.

Breakfast buffet was good… many choices. We enjoyed it. The coffee and tea were excellent! Lots of good food — at a great price! We loved it.

I had taken my sister, who was here for a short visit, to Timberline and ate at the Ram’s Head back in the Fall and she asked why we never just come to Timberline and eat since it is closer to us than Gresham is. Which living out here on the mountain, had just never occurred to me to add Timberline to our regular stops.
While there I saw that Cascade Dining offers a breakfast and lunch buffet. The breakfast starts at 7:30 and lunch runs from 11:30−2pm. The price is $ 19.50 per person and includes drinks. I can’t explain why when I go to a casino and see that price I have to soap box my opinion on how that is a rip off, yet at Timberline, I see it to be reasonable. Maybe reasonable, after seeing the dinner menu items at Cascade can run you close to $ 40 a plate.
My son had worked there for a while a few years back and ate there all the time, and had said, well if you want, in that tone that sort of says, good luck with that. However, things have changed for the dining there for the good. We did take him back on our second trip a week ago and he said it was not like when he had eaten there.
According to the menu the meat comes from local farms, and the produce is local as well. The first time we went, which was just about two weeks ago the lunch buffet had beef stew, meat loaf, Dijon maple pork loin, and more fresh sides than we ever expected. It leans towards Mediterranean, with the lentils, couscous and Farro based salads. They had plenty of vegetable selections, as well as potato salad and mashed baby red potatoes. Hot fresh bread is brought to the table, as well.
They have a very good dessert selection and what I really like is nothing is buffet portioned so you can try a little bit of everything, think cake bite sized, which they do have on the buffet.
When we went back with my son and DIL, they had changed the selections, which we wondered since both times were on a friday. This time they had the best tri tip I have ever eaten in my life, and another pork choice. They also have a hand crank meat slicer that you can slice your own meat, first time it was prosciutto and this time it was salami. My son made a really nice cheese tray with that, from the giant selection of cubed cheeses they offer with grapes, and various fruit slices. They also keep the waffle batter available for lunch as well.
I would go back again without a doubt. The quality of food there is far above what we had expected, The view is worth it too. I was surprised when we got there at 12:15 they weren’t crowded, so we got the pick of the window tables, however on the both days at around 1pm or so they filled nearly every table. This isn’t a big place at all, but the atmosphere is one you won’t get anywhere else.
I have to say the beef stew was the best I have ever had, as well. It was full of chunky vegetables that weren’t cooked to mush and the meat or sauce had just a hint of a wine in it, that helped step it up.
If you have a lift ticket or season pass you get $ 5 off the buffet.

We visited the lodge and Cascade restaurant for their special Valentine’s Day brunch. It’s a lovely dining room and the buffet was great. There were lots of lunch and breakfast items for meat eaters and vegetarians alike. They also had a waffle station. My chai spiced cider was heavenly. We were stuffed after our meal, so we walked around the lodge to learn about its history and checked out the grounds as well.

I try not to write negative reviews but because of the prices and lack of quality I have to post. Super friendly host, very down to earth. Menu was varied, the wine list acceptable, and the server knowledgeable. Those are the good points. The food was subpar. No other way to say it. I had the smoked pork pasta and my husband had the filet. Very little seasoning in the pasta, very bland. The steak was also bland and way overcooked. The potatoes that came with the steak were completely undercooked and crunchy. For these prices, the quality should be a little better.

Ergh… I should first note that I’m only giving 2 stars because of the environment itself as the setting is divine. Otherwise, honestly, I’d give it one if it was within any other setting. Chosen wine was a Riesling, meh, not particularly good especially considering the price. Cheese plate, nothing special and no bread… try spreading it on your finger or fork out an additional $ 3 for 3 slices of «artisanal» white loaf bread (and thats after asking for bread and waiting on it 15 additional minutes). Same story with the Charcuterie, nothing special, no bread and limited size/​price ratio. The salad our friend had noted asiago cheese, yet this was not present and had to be requested/​reminded. Clam chowder was considered fine and warm. Service — slow and forgetful/​without any knowledge of the menu. — anyhow, this was our Christmas dinner with friends, kinda disappointing for what should have been paid attention to as a special occasion dinner.

Love, love, love this historic place. When I was a teenager my mom would treat me to dinner here. And now many years later it is still amazing. The food is delicious. My husband and I started with a luscious cheese plate with all locally sourced cheeses. This came with a crunchy, crusted white bread and smooth butter. We both decided to get starters instead of a full meal. But before that we each received an amuse bouche of pastry with duck confit and fig jam. I had a scallop dish that tasted lush and my husband a bowl of Dungeness crab on top of a creamy risotto surrounded with chicharrons. We ended the meal with the best crème brûlée I have ever had. Add to this the ambiance of old world craftsmanship in the dining room and you have an experience to remember.

We were staying at Skamania Lodge for one night, on our way towards southern Oregon, and ate dinner at their restaurant, the Cascade Dining Room. Reservations didn’t seem necessary, as it wasn’t very crowded when we got there. The waiter, Jesse, was extremely friendly, and knew a lot about the area. The atmosphere was nice, it was quiet, and has a great view over the Columbia River.
Fresh bread was served first, which was still hot from the oven and hit the spot. Then our dinners came out in a timely fashion. I got the Short Stack– a crab cake, filet mignon, and a scallop. It was hands down the best crab cake I’ve had. The fillet was also great, cooked to perfection, and the scallop, although small, was also good.
The restaurant has an impressive wine selection, but my dad and I split a small flight of beer. For $ 7 we got 4 four ounce beers, not the best deal, but ok. The have a good selection of beers from the area.
All in all a great restaurant!

Dining at 6000 feet suits me just fine! ;D
I’ve dined here a couple of times over the years and each time has been delicious. The service has always been very good as well — friendly and not snooty at all like you can get at some high-​end places. Their dinner menu is pricey, but it is worth it. And of course, the view of Mount Hood is stunning.
On our most recent visit we shared the bay scallops appetizer (so tender and the sauce with crumbled bacon was perfect!) and the Northwest Artisan Cheese Platter. The Cheese Platter has 5 kinds of local cheeses (see the photo I posted with the July 2014 selections), toasted hazelnuts and marionberry compote. Yum! My only disappointment is the platter didn’t come with any kind of cracker which would have been nice to spread the softer cheese selections on. Instead we just used the sourdough bread that they put on your table.
We had the Frozen Lemon Thyme Soufflé for dessert which is coated in white chocolate and is garnished with fresh raspberries & a raspberry sauce. When they placed it on the table it wasn’t what we were expecting (it’s more like a lemon ice cream in a hard white chocolate shell) but it was still very good. We didn’t notice much thyme flavor, either, so I think it could have used a bit more in the filling.

Sorry to say that we were not overly impressed with our dinner. While the service was ok, the meal itself fell short. The amuse was lovely as was the sorbet palate cleanser.
We split a good salad with ripe tomatoes and a wedge with ranch. The salt in the table did add to the enjoyment. I had the scallop app for an entrée: pretty tasty but the tiny scallops got lost in the heavy crumbs on top.
DH had the hanger steak, the only beef option. Poorly executed: uneven butchering led to uneven doneness and instead of carving, the hunk of meat was cut into three huge pieces that required an attack to actually eat. He almost sent it back but was hungry.
One last thing: we passed on the bread and mentioned we avoid gluten. We were offered an alternative which ended up being Mary’s Crackers.

The dinner we had here was absolutely fabulous. My boyfriend ordered the white bean soup for an appetizer and it was very good. For entrees we ordered the Columbia River salmon and that night’s special, which was mahi mahi served over risotto. Both dishes were delicious!
For breakfast the next morning we thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast buffet. I couldn’t believe how much food was available in the buffet for just $ 15 a person. The biscuits and gravy were great, as were the roasted potatoes. There was tons of fresh fruit and some delicious artisan cheese.
The service was great, the food was great, and the ambience was great. I’d eat here again.

We came here with our family of 12 for Christmas Day dinner. Timberline Lodge is just jaw dropping, filled with history and the most beautiful hardwoods you’ve ever seen. The décor is what you would expect for a presidential, rustic ski lodge. The happy families celebrating Christmas, sitting around the massive, live Christmas tree decorated with baked gingerbread man ornaments really gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling.
The Cascade dining room is equally breath-​talking, full of very old wooden planks. The service is excellent and the menu is filled with local items. We sampled every item on the evening’s menu. Everything is good, not great or memorable; but definitely worth the $ 75/​pp. Children is $ 18/​pp with the option of a buffet full of junk foods (Mac and cheese, chicken fingers, or pizza) or they can opt for the smaller versions of the adult meal. Our kids, of course, choose the adult meals. The kids portions were ample and equally beautifully presented.
Overall, this is a great place for a family celebration. Just be aware that the cost of the very extensive and expensive wine list can set you back more than the food itself.