Desert Inn Sports Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Metolius

The Desert Inn Restaurant & Tavern is a quintessential local dive that wasn't busy when we stopped by, but seems ready for a party at a moment's notice. It has shuffleboard, a long bar, cozy indoor seating, a variety of indoor tables, and a great hangout for outdoor dining that has a covered area as well as a unique Southwest themed corner. The staff were low key, casual, and friendly. The locals didn't bat an eye at our crew of six coming into the local haunt. Food was a little spendy but was served quick and everyone enjoyed their food. It's also across the street from a dog park, so it makes a great little detour off of a Hwy 97 road trip.

Fry sauce was simple but good, mayo and ketchup with little else added. Excellent fries, battered, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Onion rings were quality. Great tasting batter and a mild onion make these rings a great entry onion ring for kids. Okay tater tots.

I had the Desert Inn Deluxe burger with Onion Rings. A bacon cheeseburger loaded up with your classic veggies. A solid burger that any burger lover would be happy with. Put together well with decent ingredients and just a hint of seasoning from the flat top grill.

My wife really enjoyed her Bleu Cheese Bacon burger, especially the crispy onions. My stepsons food disappeared in mere moments (the best review you'll get from teenagers). My two youngest shared the hamburger sliders and thoroughly enjoyed them, with Theo telling the waitress "thank you for the burger!" three times.

All in all, this was a great little stop and another fun entry in...

Nothing like seeing plate after plate of food wizzing by you to customers who ordered 30 minutes after you did. When our chili burger and patty melt finally arrived at least 90 minutes after we ordered, it was pretty good. The live band playing Waylon Jennings and Hank Jr was amazing so at least we had some entertainment while waiting, and waiting, and... you get the idea. Our server was super friendly so this helped too. It just seemed that the owners or management hasn't put into place systems to help their staff run efficiently. The staff that was visible to us were always hurrying and doing their job, so something else is going on here that needs to be addressed. Or maybe not if the owners are making enough money on the beer and booze? Just an observation from someone who had plenty of time to observe. Would I return? Well it's Madras so options are extremely limite..... ah I just realized why a place this slow still survives. I mean really you can tell it's built for the locals and they all seemed pretty happy so who am I to judge? The outdoor patio looked pretty cool, with even a real fire pit so there's that. Ok yeah I'd probably return for the many many things they got right. The restaurant business is excruciatingly tough, but writing reviews is dead simple. ...

What a fun place to visit. Perfect to bring your kiddo to . We had the Prime rib dinner and what a night . The ladies were dancing the music was perfect and my lil lady got to have her first full course meal :) she was grinning from ear to ear . Started with a huge delicious salad while we waited our Prime rib dinner . She ate every last leaf :) just as we finished our meal arrived . Wow Prime Huge Baked potato and greens beans with bacon . ..yummy my little lady looked at my plate with the bigger baked potato knowing just what she was thinking I quickly stole the fat off the prime rib and gave her the one with the bigger 🥔 . We were going on over stuffed when Ashleeyah sorry if spelled wrong came out and asked my little if she would like carrot cake. ... Her eyes grew so big and her she smiled as she happily nodded her head. That was the best experience of my daughter year . I have to say she felt special and I must say for me forty is a lot but it was worth every penny and those workers even the guys in the back who waved at her from time to time made her day . Noone made us feel uncomfortable and we really had a fun time . Thank you all. Will tell you later about my sons and our taco night :) whatever you don't forget to stop by on a Friday beware the prime rib...