Hale's Tavern — Restaurant in Hermiston

Honestly... A bit overrated but not bad either.

So if you are from Hermiston then you know Hale's is the place most people will recommend for food. Of course everyone in town also knows it is on the spendy side as well.

I have eaten at Hale's many many times and that should tell you that the food and service is far from bad... In fact it is rather pleasant each time I go. The problem is that it isn't as good as people make it out to be and I am guessing there are many who have left a little underwhelmed by this "legendary" place in the little farming community we call home.

Hale's offers many dishes that range from pasta to steak to burgers and salad. I have tried about 15 different things throughout the past years and most have been good... But they lack something that could truly set them apart and the food is always sort of well...bland. Don't get me wrong it isn't bad, but it isn't mind blowing either and I always need to add salt and pepper... Along with a little Tabasco.

The portions are massive... This is where Hale's shines. They do not shy away from giving you a tremendous amount of fries or sides and toppings and the main entree is usually a large portion itself... Sometimes they come on separate plates even... These meals are usually big....So much so that I am fairly certain I have never cleaned my plate when I went there. So keep in mind... You will not leave hungry 👍

The restaurant itself is pretty cool and has a definite charm to it. It has always been clean and there are some well done murals on the walls... There is also a well endowed one 😉

The staff has always been great every time I have been there, and this is probably the strong point of the Hale's experience. Always nice and always quick to help.

Look... The wonderful people from Hermiston will send you to Hale's if you are from out of town and looking for a bite to eat. In Hermiston there just isn't many options for fine dining and Hale's is that old standby... The trusty reliable place locals have come to know... It really is a decent place but it is also not as good as most people will make you believe it is.

As long as you know in advance that Hale's is not the sort of place that is going to impress someone like chef Ramsey and in fact he may even drop a few "F" bombs if he did indeed stop by Hale's (as it is not perfect)... You will enjoy your dining experience. If it is your first time you will probably even marvel at how much food they bring you... But just know in advance... Here in Hermiston we don't have many places to send people and Hale's is usually all we can come up with on the spot.

It isn't the best, it isn't the worst, it will surely fill you up and gladly accept your credit card.

I hope this helps and as a person who lives in the area... This is just my...

..update don't do it . We called, and they said the kitchen closed at 10 and showed up at 9:25. Imeadetly as we sat down our server ask do you know what you want...? Sure some water and a soda water. .."To eat??kitchen closes soon, she says.....going to need a moment to look at the menu... 3 minutes later....OK, so what's for dinner... umm OK........son steak (medium rare) me since I hadn't even read the menu, steak too (medium well)..wife ordered the jackdanels steak( well done). Literally 2 minutes after our salad arrived, my son's and my steak arrived. Wow, I thought rhat was fast, and I hadn't even eaten 3 bites of my salad... OK, I eat my salad, and as I cut into my steak, it doesn't even bleed. It felt like cutting raw meat . Completely raw. What some in a high-end restaurant call blued steak.... son's was worse. When we politely ask if our steaks can get re cooked, the management explains how the kitchen was in a hurry to go home and the owner is a hard a#*. But sure ... comes back blasted in a skillet 🍳..100 I was a line cook for years. I know the crispy pink ring from pan frying steak.. Then we had to ask for 10 % well cause steaks sucked and weren't pleasant to eat.

The steak was done right the service was was good had one small issue and the manager made sure that everything was taken care of we can only learn and grow in whatever we do and they seem willing to do that....ps same management haven't changed 1 bit was the same problem ...

If you're going to stop properly cooking food 30 minutes before you close, then say so .close your kitchen 20 minutes before the restaurant ... or pay your employees either way we are losing coustmor service and if you're paying 100$$ for dinner you should get what you pay...

Something has changed with this restaurant. The food isn't as good as it used to be. We were regulars until the Last time I went in. I ordered take out @825pm after I had just got stitches from the hospital and couldn't cook. I was told a 15-20 min wait. So I went back to the bar(my 1st time back there) it was packed and busy so I sat at the bar to wait for my food. The bartender rudely told me she was closed and no longer serving. This was 8:30pm. I said I'm just waiting for my food and then she offered me a drink. 🤔I went back up to the front after my beer and waited for my food watching people pick up their to go food, and others that were seated after I ordered my food eating. I was confused. At 9pm, I asked what happened to my order and the waitress that was extremely nice, went back and asked the chef, came out and said the chef had already put away everything in the fridge, therefore he couldn't make 2 of my meals. My son got his spaghetti n meatballs(the container was a huge mess and covered in sauce as if it had been tipped over) but my husband and I didn't get ours. I got a partial refund but I wasn't happy because by then, everything was closed. We went back again to try again hoping it would be better. I ordered a roast beef with au jus that was nothing but grizzle, fat and like rubber.i couldn't even bite through the meat. It was so disgusting. It's a shame because we used to really love this place but the service in the bar and the"chefs" food is not worth it. I gave it one star because the waitresses are...