Broder Øst — Restaurant in Hood River

This is a reply to the 1-star reviews left by: Holly Susuki, Chris Royales, Haley Lough, and meranda graham (who clearly decided they would gang up on a small business as a group). This took place on Monday, Memorial Day 2021 and when I went to write my 5-star review I was appalled to see these 4 reviews in a row.

I was present for the entire interaction from beginning to end as a diner right by the front door, where there are seats next to the hostess stand. The hostess was not rude and politely asked if some of the group could wait outside since there's no real lobby or waiting area so a group of 8 is a lot with the way the restaurant is set up (music, lots of chatter from diners, people coming in and outside). If you're checking to see if you can get a table, there's no need for 8 people to crowd in right away, COVID or not. Again, simply being asked is not rude, her tone wasn't off and no one was shoo'ed away. The hostess did seem kinda stressed which made sense since the restaurant was obviously filled up and busy on a holiday weekend.

I overheard the hostess explaining that they were waiting for a party of the same size to finish dining and it probably be around 30-40 minutes. She mentioned this party of 8 request to all of the staff and kept checking to see if she would be able to turn the table over at any time. She went out to the sidewalk to inform on the party that they were #1 on the list and they were doing what they could to get their table in order. I observed her running around nonstop, attending to the nonstop line of people at the door, refilling coffee and water, doing dishes, bringing food out, etc. Everyone was doing their best...the place was SLAMMED

I was just paying my bill (about 40 minutes later) and she attempted to call them to let them know their table was ready. No answer 2x so she went out to the sidewalk to she if they were still waiting. I watched as she crossed the street to the pizza place where they had all left to go eat and she was clearly frustrated, which I get.

Some things to keep in mind to this group of 8, their friends, and others coming to visit small towns like Hood River:

The Hood River/Gorge area is facing a HUGE employment shortage and I know Broder and their neighbors on Oak St. are understaffed and overworked. The aftereffect of COVID has drained restaurants and retail shops in this town and it's not even full-blown summer yet. Many tourists don't realize this. Memorial Day in downtown HR is absolutely nuts (another thing tourists don't realize) and if you are visiting with HIGH expectations about getting sat right away with a group of 8, then that's just ridiculous and then childish to complain about it on Google.

It's also totally rude to not let the restaurant know that you've moved on to another place, especially after the hostess checked in with your group (she totally didn't have to). No hard feelings, just let the restaurant know. The hostess said she would call you when your table was ready, which she did.

Of course you were able to get food right away at Andrew's Pizza...it's a grab and go place, totally different from Broder's made-to-order/dine-in experience.

I had a great morning dining at Broder, and yes, I had to wait about 40 minutes but it was worth it. I loved my beautiful espresso and generous mimosa, as did my partner. We split the Danish pancakes and shared one of the egg scrambles. I was so appreciative of everyone working on a hot, busy, holiday in Hood River and I genuinely mean that. It's not easy to have to wear a mask for 8+ hours and deal with entitlement in the form of tourists who don't understand that COVID is still a thing and restaurants are still set-up for smaller parties and spaced out tables. I wanted to defend the staff at Broder Ost because they were so wonderful to the 2 of us. I've worked in restaurants, retail, hospitality, etc. in Hood River in the past...Broder Ost is where it's at. GET A LIFE to others who cut people down in the service industry during one of the roughest times...

On a whim, a few of us from a wedding party staying at the hotel decided on some afternoon cocktails and snacks.

ATMOSPHERE: Broder Øst is located inside of the Hood River Hotel and serves as the sole dining option, open for breakfast and lunch. Seating is indoors but we took over in an alcove at the hotel's entrance along Oak Street which was great for people-watching and taking in the crispy, drizzly Oregon air.

MENU: Nordic (Scandinavia, Finland, Iceland and Faroe Islands) breakfast and lunch options.

BEVERAGE: Monsters' Park Imperial Stout A chocolate beer? Sounds nasty but the sip I had was delish! Smooth with no bite and of course chocolatey. It didn't taste like it had a 14.6 ABV rating.

Bloody Mary The majority of our huge party got these but I just had a few sips from my spouse's glass. While I love the taste of them, I can't drink an entire glass of it. It had to be one of the prettiest presented drinks I've ever seen. Served in tall glasses rimmed with seasoned salt and crowned with a skewer of pickled onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and beets, it had the perfect amount of alcohol, tomato juice and spice. Highly recommended.

Moscow Mule My new drink of choice was really, really good here! Even though it wasn't served in a copper mug as it's probably not on the menu, the talented bartender whipped up a damn tasty version. Gingery, sweet, flawless. Another highly recommended beverage.

FOOD: Swedish Breakfast - $15.00 The board included a soft boiled egg, jar of yogurt granola & fruit parfait, orange slices, smoked trout, ham slices, soft and hard cheeses, and Danish rye bread slices to spread upon. The light breakfast platter with an enjoyable combination of flavors.

Gravalax Smørrebrød - $14.00, 1 pc. A smørrebrød is a Danish open-faced sandwich. It's simply a slice of rye bread topped with a generous helping of creamy shrimp salad (the tiny variety), butter lettuce and gravalax (salmon cured with salt, sugar, and dill). The savory ocean flavors mixed with dill made for a very delectable little app.

Danish Pancakes (aebleskiver) - $11.00, 7 pcs. Akin to donut holes, they had a deliciously creamy batter, sprinkled with powdered sugar and came with dual dipping sauces of lingonberry jam and lemon curd. Pure maple syrup was $1 extra. All three sauces were divine.

Fika Pastries - $9.00 Fika in Swedish means to "have a cup of coffee" which matches this dish well. Available on weekends only, its a loaded board of about three different baked goods. One selection I had was a small, dense muffin that tasted exactly like Chinese-style almond cookies with its infusion of almond extract and nuts. This would've gone great with coffee!

SERVICE: A very friendly and professional guy took great care of us. He was an all-in-one bartender, server and busser.

OVERALL: A nice change of cuisine for me as I'm usually stuck in a fare tunnel that I'm trying hard to...

Disclaimer: This review pertains specifically to the Broder Ost location inside the Hood River Hotel.

I've been to this restaurant a few times, most recently this past weekend for my wedding. 85 people came to Hood River for my and my husband's wedding, and most everyone had a positive experience while eating there. The food was always delicious, hot, and full of flavor, and the 30 people that came all the way from Norway thought the food was authentic and delicious.

The bad service is what cost this restaurant a 5-star review.

While we were there, we had a couple different servers. The guys that worked there were great and friendly, and we never had a problem with them. The one female waitress, however, a blond in her late 20s with an attitude problem, is where things went south.

When she was our server, she always had a "highbrow" air about her, like she was blessing us with her presence and didn't want to be there. We had to flag her down for water, the check, boxes, etc, and on our last day in town when she brought the check, I told her I would give her the card and in the middle of my sentence she turned around and walked away from me. My husband and our two friends looked stunned and we all laughed in amazement as I had to get up to follow her inside and give our check to the bartender after she still didn't acknowledge me, money in hand.

That same day, my sister and brother-in-law and my 5-year-old nephew and 18-month-old niece were dining at Broder, and my niece was crying while my sister was trying to sign the check. It was at this opportune time that the blond snooty waitress decided to go up to my sister saying that because my niece was crying, "you have to leave". Her poor attitude and lack of social skills ruined their experience, which would have only lasted a couple of more minutes (again, they were in the middle of closing out their check and signing their receipt). This led to a conversation with the offensive waitress and the owner in the hotel lobby, where the unapologetic owner tried to explain that they were trying to take care of the other 4 people in their restaurant instead of my family, even though they were part of a group that brought them thousands of dollars over the weekend. The waitress stood there like a sociopath, emotionless, quiet, and unapologetic with a smirk on her face as I tried to steer my nephew away who kept asking me why his sister's crying had gotten them kicked out of the restaurant.

No apology was offered, no sincere acknowledgements of the rudeness of the waitress, nothing. They just stood there, trying to defend their bad behavior.

As a long-time patron of the other Broder restaurants, who have assured me that this owner is independent and is in no way connected to them, I would have to say I won't be back next time I'm in Hood River. Some sensitivity training would most likely benefit the entire staff...