Dutch Mill Cafe — Restaurant in Tillamook

I haven't been to this restaurant in a while and today stopped in for a late lunch. There were maybe 1-2 other occupied booths. As soon as we stepped in the door we were handed two menus, told to sit at table #_ and to come back up to the counter to place our order. The menu was somewhat small, as in that I know things they offer were not listed such as appetizers. I know it's been a couple of years, but this was new. We decided what we wanted, and I went to the counter to place our order. The young lady at the register was very nice. I asked for a glass of ice water and was told that cups were on the counter next to the drink dispenser (they were rather small cups necessitating multiple trips to get my own drink). I did not appreciate their register asking for a tip when no service had been rendered yet. Rude. Since I had realized that I would have to place the order at the register I took the time while I was there to ask for a side of mayo. The young lady looked at me funny and asked if I was going to make my own fry sauce because my burger would come with it. I said that no, in fact, I was not. I like to dip my burger and fries in it. Apparently, she had never heard of anyone doing that before. Their menu doesn't say what their burgers come with. We ordered the Beach Burger and the Mushroom Swiss Burger, a strawberry shake and an order of onion rings. An older man delivered our order, very slim, beard, tattoos. He asked who got which burger (which if the order had been taken at the table and delivered by a waiter/waitress they would have known that). He did not bother to ask if we needed anything else, just said very gruffly that if we wanted ketchup, it was on the counter with the cups and soda fountain. I had to stop him to ask for my side of mayonnaise (which I ordered at the counter when placing the order because I figured the food would be delivered by someone else), he got the most disgusted and pissed off look on his face like I was asking for his first born. He turned and just asked one of the girls behind the counter, "Are you getting the mayonnaise?", mind you there were 2-3 ladies behind the counter and he did not address anyone by name. The food was hot, which was nice. The onion rings were great although their ranch tasted like it had turned. Companion had the Beach Burger and said it was fine; it's a bacon cheeseburger. The fries were seasoned and nothing special. I ordered the Mushroom Swiss burger with no lettuce or tomato. There was little to no seasoning on this burger. The sauteed mushrooms were tasteless. For the prices they are charging I expected more. $10 for a shake, really? They did include the traditional side car, but it didn't even fill the glass half full again. And the shake glass was small, more like what you would see a scoop of ice cream served in. Next time I will just go to Werner's for a burger with better fries and excellent...

What a wonderful diner! After driving a couple of hours to explore the Cape Meare's lighthouse and surrounding area we were heading home and our 8 yo daughter started getting a little carsick. We figured she just needed some food so we found this diner. After placing our order and having a seat, this nice gentleman brought our food to us. The food was very good and we were enjoying our meal when our daughter mentioned she was still feeling nauseous. We realized that the drink we ordered for her, a lemonade, was probably not the best to deal with car sickness. I took the drink to the counter and was ready to buy my daughter a soda (fizzy drinks help according to my wife) and the nice gentleman asked what was going on. I just told him that my daughter was feeling a little nauseous from the car ride and we'd think a coke would help her stomach more than the lemonade. He told me to put my money away and told the nice lady working the counter to bring me a soda, no charge. He didn't have to do that and it was my own mistake in ordering the lemonade that was the problem, but he decided to fix it for us no charge. I thanked him and brought the soda for my daughter back to the table. I told my wife what happened and she just said he must be the owner and he was very nice. Fortunately the soda really helped my daughter's stomach settle down and she was able to finish her meal. The owner even came by during the meal to check on everything and make sure everything was allright.

After my daughter and I finished eating, my daughter wanted to go check out the back of the restaurant because she had seen some kids rides. I walked back there with her while my wife finished eating her meal. Now, I don't carry change as I mostly charge everything. My daughter, realizing I didn't have the change to make the ride work asked if she could sit on one. No problem. So we're sitting there in the back, she on one of the rides, and here comes the owner. He sees my daughter on the horse ride, pretending she's riding it and he pulls out two quarters, looks at me for the ok, and then puts them in the machine for her! My daughter is thrilled and enjoying the ride. He hands her two more quarters and says she can try another ride too!

What an amazing experience! We will definitely be returning. The food was excellent, the service was great, and the owner...

In the Top 3 best onion rings I've had in my life; and I know my o-rings. These were different than any others I've had, but different in a good way: I can't quite put my finger on what it was, but it was like they used Tempura for the batter, which gave them a bite that was more than satisfying.

The girl that served us initially sat us at a booth, which is always my preference, but afterward my wife wanted to get a table with a chair so we could strap our three-year-old in. The server happily gave us a new table without hesitation. And beyond that she was very attentive.

My only minor complaint is the "fry sauce" is not actual fry sauce. Not even close. I would strongly suggest the following recipe for "real" fry sauce:

1 ½ C. Heinz ketchup (yes, it has to be Heinz) 1 ¼ C. Best Foods Mayo (yes, it has to be Best Foods) ¼ C. ½ dill pickle juice (yep) and ½ red wine vinegar 2 Tbsp. Garlic powder 2 Tbsp. Onion powder 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning (I found a brand called Slap Ya Mama I really like. It's available on Amazon)

Whisk everything together and it makes about 24 oz. Easily scalable.

I also meant to add that I don't know why this place is listed as "$$" as opposed to "$". I would say it's the latter. They have roughly the same prices for burgers, etc. as a cart in the Portland area would, and this is a sit-down diner/restaurant. Their prices are more than reasonable, especially since both the food and service are great.

Finally, if you're using Google Maps, it will take you to a parking lot in back of the diner. We went on a sunny Spring Sunday and there was still plenty of parking, but I mention this because there is actually an entrance to the diner from this parking lot (there's also a huge sign - you can't miss it.) So you don't have to worry about parking...