Hilltop House Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in Oregon

We are at the tail end of a week long coastal road trip and wanted something slightly more ‘fine dining’ just for funsies. The view is really awesome, every employee we encountered was polite. The building was interesting enough we googled its history while we waited for our meals. This place was pretty good, although I made one tragic mistake.

We started out with the artichoke crab dip and loved it. Tons of crab, not too cream/cheese heavy, well balanced, inspired a friendly debate about it being fresh crab or not (we have no clue, we are not Gordon Ramsey), my husband LOVED the bread while I prefer a much heartier and chewier French baguette to support a heavier dip. We joke about me liking my bread to hurt a little.

For entrees I went with surf and turf, my date went with Oscar Tornedos. Both got salads, garlic mash, and mixed veg. Salads were great, the pickled veg on salads that is a big thing in PNW is lovely, we’ve both enjoyed it our whole trip and I’ll probably start doing it at home occasionally.

The rosemary bread is good, super interesting texture. Kind of reminded me of an Indian Poori. The oil and vinegar dip for the bread was frustrating. Served in a deep ramekin meant for sauces that don’t separate. We only got oil since the balsamic was sunk deep to the bottom. This should be served in a shallow dish so the oil to vinegar ratio is better.

Garlic mash was ok (smooth, fluffy, seasoned well) but the gravy was horrible. Definitely tasted like a mix, not scratch. I wish they’d asked if we wanted it or not. We never got the option and both definitely would have said no and enjoyed our meals a little more. Luckily mine weren’t drowned in it, my husbands were. Mixed veg was perfect. Crisp tender, good mix, well seasoned.

Steaks were where things got dicey. They were cooked to absolute perfection. Very well seasoned, kudos to the cook etc. I opted for the Gorgonzola and onions. I’ve got this on steaks many times at many restaurants and love it BUT it’s always been Gorgonzola crumbles. This was a SUPER heavy cream sauce that absolutely drenched the entire beautiful piece of meat. Not sure if I read the menu wrong or what, but I swear it just said “Gorgonzola and onions” not “Gorgonzola cream sauce and onions”. Even if I had wanted a cream there was just Too. Much. Sauce. I was horrified. Luckily it scraped off just fine so I could enjoy my meat, otherwise I might have sent it back, it was that bad. My husband absolutely housed the Tornedos. He loved it. Steak was perfect, asparagus was crisp, the fish was juicy and plentiful. Definitely the best choice of the night.

My fried shrimp were fine, seemed like any fried shrimp I’d be able to get in a bag at Costco. Nothing special. We have hated every tartar sauce at every restaurant this whole trip so I think it’s a regional thing. Doesn’t say anything about Hilltop, I think it’s how it’s preferred around here. Why is it sweet? It should be tart and dilly. The cocktail sauce was ok, I prefer it with a little more kick.

We got a slice of cheesecake with caramel to go because we were both stuffed, haven’t eaten it yet but it looks really good. It’ll be a road snack today! Who doesn’t want to be hand fed bites of cheesecake while they drive. All in all a decent experience. If we ever come through the area again we would probably stop in, especially with what we learned...

Unfortunately, this place was an absolute disaster for our 11th wedding anniversary. Having reserved seats 3 weeks prior and showing up with no seats available due to the restaurant double booking reservations, disappointed. After we did get a seat, nowhere near the window seat I had been assured we'd get, our drinks took 28 minutes to get to us. Our food? Almost 90 min, but watched others who showed up way after, get theirs first. Asked for a wine menu, waitress never returned until it was time to drop off the check. People were bumping into each other, plates were breaking, people in wheelchairs being picked up to move them around the room because some ramps were too difficult to set up without adequate space to set them in place. The food?? Absolutely terrible. I'm not saying that because of the bad service. It was bad. My wife had a entree that was 80 bucks and I would've been disappointed paying 20 bucks for. Mine was terrible as well. I can't imagine going back or referring anyone to this place. The cleanliness? So so bad. Windows looked like 6 kids went in to lock them. The ceiling looks like moss was growing and the bathroom? I would pee from the door if I could without stepping inside. Our take was leaning so much I felt like I was holding myself up the entire time. This, by far in my whole life had been the worst dinner experience of my life. Wendy's would've been a better anniversary dinner. Don't go to this place unless you have a free gift certificate and won't cost you a dime. Even then, you'll be disappointed. It took me a month to really leave this review but the more I though about it, I had to do it. Good luck to whoever owns this place. Sell it to someone that will turn this place into something decent and put some money into it to make it presentable. Especially with charging people fancy restaurant prices with...

Fine dining may be on a plaque outside the door but my experience inside was far from that. I made reservations here based on reviews that it was a great place to take your wife out for her 60th birthday as I stated to the person on phone when I called them days prior to event. I asked for their best table to celebrate the occasion and asked them if they could do something special for event which they replied they could put us at a window table with panoramic view and bring out a special dessert and I agreed. We showed up at our reservation time and could see from the counter that that the all the window tables were full and they showed us to a table near walkway to bar/kitchen/door. I expressed my displeasure but they apologized and said this was all that was available. My wife agreed to location and I nodded ok. Well then the server showed up and waited for too long for drinks, water and everything going forward. They sat a too large party for table next to us and the loud, vulgar language started. One of the “hosts” was friends with party leader and the staff obviously didn’t care about any of the other guests leaving as the noise/party got louder. Never saw a manager or anyone else who could of done anything to make amends or apologize after we pushed our half finished plates away and asked for check. I’m not going back there and suggest you don’t either. Poor customer service isn’t worth mediocre...