Timberline Craft Kitchen & Cocktails — Restaurant in Silverthorne

We chose this restaurant bc of the 4.7 ratings on Google. We looked at the menu and it read like a craft kitchen would. We were excited to try because we have had some amazing food in this area.

Upon arrival, we were seated right away. We were given the menu and were left alone for more than 10 minutes. My boyfriend ended up having to ask the host if we could get some service. I don't think that did any good because we still had to wait another 5 minutes for our server to come take our drink order. Mind you, we weren't even given water at this point.

When our server arrived, she asked if we needed more time with the menu. Lol. We said no and gave her our drink order and appetizer and entree. By this point, we noticed the party that came in right before us has already had water and their drinks at their table.

We tried the bao buns (the name is actually dumb because bao in Chinese already means bun. So I guess it's bun bun...) with spicy crispy pork belly and the devils on horseback. The bun bun was pretty good. And the devils on horseback was lackluster. It's simply bacon wrapped dates and cheese.

We had the Elk medallions and the shrimp& filet. The Elk medallion was not bad but I've had better at Tavern West. It was served with brussel sprouts and potatoes. The brussel sprouts were broiled to a crisp but lack seasoning. (There was no salt & pepper at the table and one never really should have to add seasoning at a restaurant like this. ) the potatoes reminded me of leftover potatoes from breakfast. Nothing to write home about other than it was lackluster.

The filet was ordered rare and came out medium well. Yes, you read that right. Medium well! Our server apologetically took it back and we know it wasn't her fault so we don't blame her.

But what comes next is what motivated the 2 stars review. The manager or owner came by our table to explain and apologize for the overcome steak. She said the server wrote medium so that's why the steak was cooked incorrectly. I didn't mind the explanation even though a good leader never should feel the need to explain but to focus on the solution and to make sure the guests felt appreciated and satisfied with the apology. She didn't fulfill either criteria. A good apology should make the guests feel heard and sincere. As a matter of fact, I have been apologized to for wrong orders to the point that I felt bad returning the meal. She did not do that. It was a blanket apology without sincerity. And when she was done with what she had to say, I asked if she could bring us more water, she silently and seemingly begrudgingly to the water bottle and left.

When the new filet arrived, it was poorly cooked. It was rare, alright, but without seasoning and if you've ever cooked a steak, you know there's cooking rare properly and there's throwing a steak on a hot grill and flip it and call it a day. This steak was the latter.

For a restaurant that boast itself as a craft kitchen, they have a long way to go. Details are not important at this restaurant even though it's charging at a price that a patron may and should expect more.

If you like poor service and mediocre food at a price point of $70 a person (our per person average for our meal), then come to Timberline. If not, I would go elsewhere or even try the aforementioned restaurant.

Update: as you can see from the owner's response, she takes zero accountability and turned her responsibilities to the patron. And if the owner is so aware of the power of social media, then you'd think she would put herself in the guests' shoes and try a little harder at her job. Would not recommend even if you enjoy poor service. Your money is better spent at McDonald's, which cost more to open one than a "craft kitchen'...

Formally one of the very best restaurants in Silverthorne, our dinner tonight…with a reservation on a Saturday night in the middle of ski season…was truly terrible.

The evening started with a 10-minute wait after being seated to order drinks. Our server did her best under the circumstances, but clearly had too big a section to handle. We finally ordered our drinks and cornbread, the latter of which was very good. As far as the drinks, they took roughly 30 minutes to arrive…about 10 minutes after we ordered our entrees…which was awkward. We had planned to order a few rounds, but had to settle for the gratitude of the first round finally arriving.

For the entree, a couple of us ordered the braised short rib. While it is understood that such a dish is prepped long before service, at $36 a plate, the final finished product at the point of service should be a lot more than the microwaved tasteless leftover cafeteria pot roast served atop a palate-startling ice-cold carrot purée atop a gluey microwaved potato paste that we were served. Our food runner made an analogy between this restaurant and a Golden Corral with regard to their ability to crank out food, and it sadly held true. Little things - the music was too loud to hear one’s own thoughts, we didn’t receive enough plates for our appetizer, our food menus were not cleared, our silverware was cleared after the appetizer but not replaced before entrees, and some entrees were cleared before we were done eating. Staff was visibly frustrated, overwhelmed, and set up for failure - this is a night where the general manager and/or owners should have been running food or making cocktails, rather than being nowhere to be found and leaving their staff out to dry. The night ended with no consideration of a dessert course and closing the tab as soon as possible while the restaurant inexplicably stopped seating new guests at 8:30 pm.

If this were our first experience at this restaurant, we would certainly never come back. We probably won’t regardless but hope for its sake that it returns to its prior state of incredible food and service. It used to be wonderful and hopefully tonight was just an...

We eat at Timberline every time we come to Silverthorne, so it’s a place we’ve truly enjoyed over the years. Unfortunately, this last visit left us frustrated and disappointed.

We had two reservations—one for 11 and one for 6—and requested that the tables be close together since we had kids with us. We know that not everyone loves dining around children, but our kids are well-behaved, we order a lot, and we tip generously. We also all have extensive restaurant backgrounds, so we understand the challenges of accommodating large parties, especially on a holiday. That said, the refusal to even try was discouraging.

Despite us pointing out multiple seating options that would have worked (and later seeing those exact tables remain empty during our meal), we were told “no” and placed at literal opposite ends of the restaurant. We were also told we’d need to be on separate checks with separate servers—yet in the end we were handed a single check anyway. To add insult to injury, there was an unmentioned 3% surcharge for using a credit card.

The drinks here remain fantastic, and the food is decent for a mountain town spot. Our server, Hunter, was an absolute standout—warm, attentive, and professional. She truly salvaged the experience and earned every bit of our 20%+ tip.

What left the worst impression was the interaction with the owner/manager. Instead of showing flexibility or even kindness, he was dismissive and curt, telling us that if we wanted to be accommodated at our size , we’d need to book a “special event.” Meanwhile, our two parties sat separated by several empty tables, and later we watched a two-top placed at a table that could have easily fit our group of 11. It felt as if he wanted to just prove a point to us. The rudeness on top of unnecessary rigidity was simply unacceptable, and frankly felt as though it stemmed from our choice to dine with kids.

We’ll always remember the great service from Hunter, but overall this experience left us questioning whether Timberline values loyal customers or understands hospitality at the level we’ve...