The Drift Inn Hotel and Restaurant — Restaurant in Yachats

We came to the Drift Inn for breakfast on a Thursday morning. It's October so the off season for tourists. It wasn't busy but there were several customers when we arrived. It took nearly 10 minutes for us to be seated. During that time several wait staff noticed us but would not even acknowledge our presence. Okay fine, if you're currently busy it would be a nice to say to new customers that you'll be right with them. But instead we were ignored and had to just stand there waiting. It would be nice to just have that courtesy. Finally a nice woman greeted us and asked where we would like to be seated. We chose to be out in the garden. I do admit that the atmosphere in the garden was absolutely stunning and a wonderful place for breakfast. The waitress we had wasn't bad but at the same time seemed distracted and not really interested in giving proper service. I ordered a drink which tasted awful. The waitress apologized and took the drink back and didn't charge us. I believe she handled the issue very well. I really hate complaining cuz I know it's a hard job. But unfortunately, it was so bad that I just couldn't drink it. I couldn't even figure out what was wrong with the drink. We ordered our breakfast and it was lackluster. My order was the berry crepes and the other dish we ordered was the open face breakfast sandwich. The presentation was not very good even though the crepes are tasty but not worth the price for the amount we got. The sausage patty on the open sandwich was burnt. Overall, the sandwich was mediocre as far as taste and flavor not including the issue with the burnt patty. It's sad that we didn't have a better experience here. We love the atmosphere but the food and service will prevent us from coming back. I know there's a controversy of the automatic 20% gratuity. I normally tip 20%. But that is my decision and choice. I knew going in that that will be part of the bill. Part of the reason for tipping is to show appreciation as well as give an indication to the facility how their food as well as their services is for the customer. Normally you don't hear verbally from the customers directly. But tips can help you figure out what is working or what's not. But having the automatic gratuity subtracts that. It can even sour the opinion of the customer because now they can't show their displeasure and are forced to pay more than they are willing to tip normally. I suspect that having poor service and food is based off of having the gratuity already in place. I'd rather pay more for my food and then decide to add on top of it then to be forced to pay automatically. I believe that when someone is no longer being rewarded but getting something automatically they no longer strive for getting better or providing better service. I would highly suggest coming up with a better solution than having the...

Was not going to post this review publicly because I do really enjoy the location overall. But then upon bringing this up by sharing my experience with the Drift Inn and hearing nothing more than "Huh, well thx for the feedback.", I feel it is needed.

This place used to be amazing. I'm not sure if they changed ownership, labor practices, or input quality, but they have absolutely changed something. Just look at the other reviews.

As far as my experience -

The tofu lettuce wraps - they were exceptionally dry, with zero inherent flavor, and left me wanting anything else. I've had various versions of lettuce wraps. These were bad. No sauce or inherent flavor inside the wraps themselves. Way too much dry, undressed greens, too little tofu, and too many dry carrot shreds (both inside and on the plate itself). Will not order again.

Mole enchiladas... The mole was sweet and chocolatey, but had absolutely zero backbone. No stock. No thickness. No depth. Honestly, it tasted like chocolate sugar water. By far the worst rendition of mole that I've ever experienced. Perhaps having lived in northern New Mexico has ruined me, but the offering was little more than watery wet tortillas with chocolate flavor.

The salad with lemon vinaigrette. This was ok. The dressing was super thin and it felt like it just couldn't carry the flavor it was trying to, but again, it was ok.

Halibut sandwich, teriyaki style. The fish was ok. It tasted like it was towards the end of its shelf life with some of the inherent flavors, but with the teriyaki sauce, pineapple, and cheese, it ended up pretty good. By far, the best thing that we had that evening.

The dessert, tasted little more than chocolate pudding in a cup.

Again... I'm not saying we don't like the place. We really do. The food just seems to have gone downhill, and it's a shame because I've had it when it has been top notch - but that was several years ago.

Love Yachats. Love The Drift Inn. Don't love what the food has become.

Additionally there was no music on Tuesday evening. The biggest, perhaps coziest, of draws of live music every day of the year, was not in effect. Strange because that's also what makes, or made, that place what it is, or was.

Cut the quality and stop the music, the people will most certainly stop coming - no matter how cozy the rooms.

"Huh, well thx for the feedback."

The rooms are great. Fun, funky vibe. But part of what made this place special was when they incorporated quality food.

If you're coming up the coast, eat in Newport,...

We stayed at the Inn for two nights and ate at the restaurant there for a breakfast and dinner.

The inn: we stayed in the pedal out rooms, the small hostel-like accommodations.

Pros: Very cozy, cute setup. Great lil homebase for sleeping and resting in between outdoor adventures, and it's all located right in the main town area so it's easy to walk to other things nearby. Has everything ya need as a baseline to be comfortable. They make good use of the small room space and include many areas to plug in electronics and such. Bathrooms are nice, showers are solid, and the kitchen includes free coffee which is awesome. Wifi was solid and hosts are responsive. They also have a TV with Roku and a DVD player with DVDs you can use from their library (we didn't use it but it's cool that they have it!). Last thing of note is that I felt my room and the area to be quite secure. Allowed us to adventure worry-free. All in all a stellar spot for coastal adventures especially for that price. Seriously, the price alone makes the cons I note below all very easy to forgive.

Cons: YMMV but the mattress in our room could use a refresh. My body was not particularly happy on it. Also, it was a bit of a bummer that there wasn't a common area during our stay. Apparently one with a pool table and air hockey table is under construction which will be very appreciated when completed. I'll also note that the walls are paper thin so sound travels very easily, though ear plugs are a simple fix for that (not even a con really, more just a thing to be aware of as with all hostel-like setups).

The restaurant: what a fun, homey, delicious restaurant. I could eat there often. Breakfast was awesome (had the chicken and waffles and partner had the crepes), and dinner was just as solid (had oyster shooters, one of the pizzas and a dessert). The band that played during our dinner was awesome, the wait staff were awesome, great vibes all around. The drinks were great too, solid selection of Oregon stuff and great bartenders (had a arch rock porter on nitro and one of the espresso cocktails). I'll note too my appreciation for their transparency that the gratuity was included. It's communicated at various touch points and the wait staff clarify it as well. Something I noticed and appreciated the care they took on that.

Long review but figured the detail would be helpful for someone. Bottom line is I highly recommend. Yachats is a rad place for coastal outdoor adventures and Drift Inn is a prime home base for it all. We will...