Bent River

Looking back at the reviews it seems this place is hit or miss on service. We had a 'hit'. The food was done really nicely and the meatloaf was tied with the best I've had. The beer list was interesting enough to get a flight and try a bunch of new ones. The waitress did a fine job. One last thing - it was so nice to go to a restaurant that doesn't need to play music. We were out on the patio and tables were spaced apart enough that each table was in its own little world, we weren't all talking over each other. It helped with a relaxing mood after being out in the head and smoke all day.
9 years ago (05-09-2017)

First, the positive--it is a lovely location on the water. We opted to sit outside and very much enjoyed the ambience of the surroundings. The cuts of salmon and steak seemed of good quality and if it was prepared correctly, would have been wonderful. The negative far outweighed the positive, unfortunately. We arrived just after 8:30 pm. They weren't busy. One table inside, three outside on the deck and it still took over 50 minutes for our food to arrive (and we ordered immediately). The main reason for 2 stars is due to overcooked salmon, undercooked steak (the waitress didn't ask about how my husband wanted his steak and it came rare on half of it and medium on the other), and the food was bland. It wasn't even salted. The dressing that was supposed to come on the salmon was almost M.I.A. although we asked for extra sauce. The rice was supposed to be flavored with mint, but was plain. And the Brussels sprouts and peppers were replaced with cooked carrots with absolutely no seasoning. Salt would have been nice. After waiting for so long for our food, we are it all. With these meals running $25 per plate, I was really hoping for better.
9 years ago (06-08-2017)

Food was very good. 1.5 hours to get served. Others were leaving before they got their meals. We almost did. Wait staff was visibly and rightfully frustrated with the kitchen. Hostess did start telling people about the wait when they came in. Wish we had known as we would have gone elsewhere. Oh, and it wasn't busy at all. Hardly anyone inside. Quite a few groups outside. Slow service ruined an otherwise good meal.
9 years ago (13-08-2017)

The only reason this place gets 2 stars is for the atmosphere. We went on a Tuesday dinner at 7:30pm and the service was absolutely horrible. The host was pleasant enough in seating us with a high chair, but after that the service stopped. I am amazed on how 2 to 3 different servers could continue to stare at us while we were waiting to put in drinks and no one introduced themselves. No one came up and asked if we needed anything as we continued to wait, all the while servers running back and forth, making direct eye contact, and choosing to ignore us. It was not busy BTW, there was only 3 other tables inside, with one already paying, and another 2 or 3 on deck. In the end, after waiting for 15 to maybe 20minutes and no one even taking a drink order, we walked out and we're really disappointed with the service.
9 years ago (09-08-2017)

Best food in The Dalles! We just moved here three months ago and have slowly been trying everything in town. So far we have found most places in this category to be overpriced and mediocre at best. Bent River was the last on the list and we tried it about a week ago. Lovely table on the deck, perfect weather. Ordered calamari, the rib special and the Ruben. Calamari was cooked to absolute perfection, very fresh, lightly breaded and nice dipping sauce. The ribs are the best I've ever had!!! Falling off the bone, perfectly seasoned, not overly sauced...just wonderful, and the Ruben was loaded with juicy meats. You really can tell that whomever is doing the cooking is not just a cook, but a seriously trained chief. Thanks for a wonderful experience, we will absolutely be back!
9 years ago (19-06-2017)