The Columbia House Restaurant — Restaurant in Sonora

Stay away, stay far, far away. Had the misfortune to choose this establishment for lunch today. Usually when the staff out numbers the customers you should turnaround and leave immediately. However, not many tourists in the Park this time of year so I was not alarmed. The hostess was very friendly, courteous, and did a great job throughout our meal.

Totally different story with the server and kitchen. Three of us sat down for lunch. Two orders arrived promptly, third order was lost in space. No update from server, no idea when/if the third order was forgotten or would eventually arrive. Come on, with just a few people ordering lunch and you still can't communicate where or why the third order is missing?! I pity the summertime tourist hordes who may enter this establishment thinking they will be served promptly and professionally.

When the third order finally arrived a different staff member delivered it mentioning she swapped out the sliced turkey portion of the order because the original portion of turkey did not seem fresh, acceptable, or something to that effect.

Gee, thanks for noticing the original portion of turkey needed to be replaced but the bigger issue is why was it a problem in the first place? Also, why did it take 10 or more minutes after the first two orders were served to discover this problem before the order was ever served? Anyhow would have normally expected the original wait person to communicate problems, delays with an order but for some reason nowhere in sight.

Ok, finally my opinion on the food. Burger was excellent as were the fries. The BLTA (bacon,lettuce,tomato,avocado) was OK, average at best. Needs more tomato and better tasting mayo/sauce. The combo salad (forgot the actual name) was also OK.

Next interesting situation was adding a side order of fries after the third order (combo salad) finally arrived. Believe it or not this side order also took an extended period of time to arrive. During the time we waited for the fries we could hear the staff and cook bantering back and forth regarding where are the fries, are they ready, etc.

Last truly annoying situation was my attempt to pay the the bill with a credit card. Was informed by the hostess that this establishment is currently CASH only. Is there a sign on the door / window stating CASH only? No. Did the original wait person inform us CASH only prior to taking our order. No. Did I have to dart over to the ATM down the street and obtain cash while getting stuck with the $3.50 service charge ripoff? Yes!

Was told they are waiting for a secure wifi connection to process credit/debit cards and are CASH only until then. Humm, I was able to access free wifi moments after entering the Park. Makes you wonder why they don't have their payment infrastructure in place yet. Actually fits right along with the internal issues they have around order taking, processing, and delivery. If I ever saw a place that needs an extended shakedown/soft opening period this is the place.

If there were any signs or communication that this restaurant was still in training mode none of this would have been a problem or issue.

So for a lunch costing close to $50 for three people in a tourist location (plus $10 tip - in my opinion I over tipped intentionally because I understand tip income is important to restaurant staff no matter how screwed up the experience) this is a meal I will forget as soon as possible.

In conclusion, this restaurant is not ready to serve food to a handful of people let alone summer tourist crowds. When the average McDonald's in ANY part of the PLANET can kick your butt in order taking, processing, delivery, and payment processing,it's way, way, way, past time to run a quality check on your deficient operation.

FYI, I have had meals in all types of restaurants, over several decades, in over 40 States and several other Countries so I believe my critique is...

We visit Columbia, California every summer as our family trip. Last summer, we vacationed there shortly after the Fourth of July. We were told the cook had walked out on Fourth of July. We decided to try this restaurant anyway. To this day, we describe our experience as the worst meal we have ever had. My husband and I got eggs toast and sausage, and my sister got eggs toast and chorizo. It took 45 minutes for it to be served to us. When we got our food, I honestly had to ask my waitress why there were pancakes on my plate when I never ordered any. To my surprise, those were not pancakes, they were eggs. I picked up the "eggs" with my fork and ask my waitress "these are eggs? " A yellowish flat mound, lightly browned on both sides. When we asked for more eggs, they came out in a jiffy, again exactly the same. The sausage was probably the only decent thing on that plate. My sister's chorizo looked like a black pancake, with a very pink squishy middle. She didn't eat it for the fear of being raw and burnt. What I couldn't believe, was the fact that the manager was monitoring what the cook was making, and the cook decided "this looks good", the manager decided "this looks good", and the waitress decided "I will serve this this looks good." It went through three people to get to us, and we were horrified. We will most likely give these people the benefit of the doubt, and try again next time. Why? Because we love Columbia, and at least they're in town. Hopefully after a year of practice, they've...

It's sad, as I'm sure they're trying to put out a good product, but they aren't quite capable. I ordered eggs Benedict because I was told by our lovely waitress how popular they were and the hollandaise was made from scratch every morning. I was impressed they weren't just opening a frozen packet, but other than vinegar it was flavorless. Th dish was ruled by the overpowering flavor of vinegar. Vinegar is sometimes used to help solidify a true poached egg. Again, I'm impressed they're "trying" rather than cheating; but if one hasn't the skills to pull it off, I'd rather you "cheat" so my breakfast would be edible. My hash Brown potatoes were a glob rectangle of, not brown, flavorless barely cooked shredded potato. I reluctantly ate it, as I was hungry. The service was prompt, cheerful and generally helpful. Having to handle the entire restaurant alone was a strain on her, but she was a trooper. Deserving of her appropriate tip. Yes, I do feel sorry for them, but honestly, one needs to know one's limitations. The rest of our party had similar issues with their very...