Cougar Country Drive In — Restaurant in Pullman

I've been consistently disappointed by Cougar Country recently... I'm a longtime local and a long time fan. I've seen the diner go through many ups and downs, through which I've been patient and always willing to go. From the flood to closing, and now the pandemic, my chances of getting satisfying and enjoyable food have been high in the past. But recently, I've had disappointment after disappointment – from rude and confused employees, to order mix-ups and flavorless burgers. Even at non-peak times, wait times are almost always over 20 mins in the drive thru, but I've been willing to try again... and again... and again. Like I said, most of the time, the food was worth it (shout-out to the cub burger with bacon and cheese!).

But tonight was the biggest let down from Cougar Country in a long time. After the expected 20+ minute wait in the car (while the dining room was empty), we finally got our food. Happy to finally eat, we anticipated good food. However, we were sad to find that the most of the meal was not good to eat... The fish was dry, overcooked and mouth-scrappingly crunchy; the hot dog (which, btw was supposed to be a corn dog) was also dry and overcooked – difficult to chew and the bun was cold and untoasted. With only one fry sauce, a distraught child with a sad hotdog, and no tartar for the painfully crispy fish, we ended up eating the fries, the toast from the fish and chips, and used our own dips.

One of us got a good meal tonight -- the burger was tasty! One out of three is good, right? ... I'm not so sure about that.

Not that this is the “worst thing” to complain about these days, it's just something of a disappointment – especially when eating out is supposed to be a “treat” when times are tough. Compared to any other food for a comparable price in town, I don't feel like taking the “risk” any time again soon. If I'm going to spend over $25 on dinner from a drive thru, I should know that it's worth it. At the moment, there are better choices in town, and that's saying a lot. I'm sad to have to say it.

I love you guys! But......

Not the taste I was expecting. This place is ALWAYS busy, so I was excited to finally cram my car into their little drive thru. Instead, I ended up buying a combo for nearly $10 that doesnt come with a drink, but did come with an absolute monster of a burger. I'm talking multi-party, heart attack inducing, cheesy goodness of a thing. But then I took a bite, and it had this strange... sweet flavor. Almost like tons of pickle relish was mixed into their sauce. I wish I wouldve known that it was going to come standard with that sauce, I believe it otherwise wouldve been a good sandwich. Not for me, unfortunately.

UPDATE: I decided to revisit this review after a few more experiences with this restaurant. My latest experience involved having a $3 coupon, waiting 15 min in line for my turn, finally getting to my turn, and then having the cashier needing me to practically yell to hear me through the drive thru speaker. I obliged and asked if it was ok for me to use my coupon, to which I received an affirmative. I drove up to the counter, where the young man asked to see my phone screen for the coupon. He clicked it, consuming it, and then told me it wasn't showing up on his screen. He got his supervisor, who claimed he would try to call his boss about it. The gentleman then closed the drive thru window and disappeared for a few mins, before reappearing to say he couldn't reach his boss but wanted to know if I still wanted the order at full price. I declined, thanked him for his time, and decided that Cougar Country was unfortunately too much trouble for what it's worth. A real shame, but it...

Recently I phoned in an order for dinner at Cougar Country drive in, pullman wa. This has been an institution for our family for decades, for good food and service. We ordered a chicken basket and a clam basket. First off, this is a "basket" you could hold the amount of fries in a closed hand! The chicken was more like fish sticks in size and composition (ground and formed "chicken "?). There were 3 pieces and were bland and very dry/overcooked. These were actual chicken breast fillets previously. The clam basket, again, has about the same amount of fries, enough to hold on a closed hand... the clam strips, were about half deep fried pieces of breading, the actual strips barely tasted like clams, were extremely overcooked, almost burnt. Previously, these rivaled many sit down restaurants in quality and quantity. The manager took my order and was requested to include 6-8 extra fry sauces (which used to be well known state wide, as the best!) I got home and there were 2 in the bag... and barely mixed ketchup and mayonnaise.... not CC fry sauce! We paid a premium price for this dinner and got very little on quality, quantity and value. In our opinion, this place no longer deserves the Cougar Country name. If it is a profit margin thing, raise the price, not lower the quality and quantity of the food. I called and spoke to the manager and informed him of my concerns.... he said he was sorry and would talk to the staff... no "...how can I make this right for you"... or we don't want to lose you as a customer..." Will no longer come here for home town food and urge others...