Columbia Inn Restaurant

Steak night on Mondays is $ 5.99 you can get mashed potatoes or baked potatoes, one onion ring and steak to order.
They have karaōke Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights.
I love their dinner salad. They put beets and carrots and croutons on as a garnish.

I pointed to a cock roach running across the counter. The waitress responded «it happens» shrugged her shoulders and did nothing. I did pay for my food but needless to say I just left.
Someone should call the health department. Never seen that before… sheesh

To begin with the two stars is only for the location and for the server. It has nothing to do with the food.
We have family living in this little town so we’ve visited this restaurant off and on for quite a few years. However, it seems like the food has gone down hill. I do know neither family we visit here comes to this restaurant anymore. We wanted to try it again and that we did. However, unless they get a new cook or something changes, we won’t be back … ever.
How can you mess up real mashed potatoes? Well, there was absolutely no flavor in these potatoes at all — none. We’re thinking no salt, no butter and a lot of extra water instead of milk. The gravy was just as bad. There wasn’t any flavor in it either. Salt helped a bit but still it wasn’t good.
The chicken fried steak was obviously frozen and just reheated. It was hot but not freshly prepared by the cook.
Next was the garlic bread. Server had told us the cook had just made some garlic bread. We actually anticipated it but were disappointed again. The garlic spread on the bread was put on very sparingly. We couldn’t taste anything but the bread.
Our meal was probably the worst we’d had out in a while and we figure there really is no reason to go back here. Like I said the two stars has nothing to do with the food. It’s all about the server and the location.

I have been coming to this place for years. between the drive to seattle from portland. its standard, but the thing about it is the people who work here are great. it was thanksgiving day so I stopped in for breakfast. there was a couple in their 80s having their turkey dinner for breakfast, and the locals were popping in for their coffee and food.
I love the elvis booth too.
glad to see your still thriving.

Hit or miss here. I usually go for the chicken fried steak. First time I had it here it might have been the best I’ve ever had anywhere. Unfortunately that hasn’t always been the case.

Had the Captain’s Seafood Platter years ago and would rate that 4 to 5 stars.
Have been consistently unimpressed with anything else I’ve tried here, and nothing quite qualifies as a good value either.

This is the 2^nd time we have been here. 1^st time was about 6 months ago for dinner. Everything was perfect. That visit was 5 stars. This time around I’m giving it 3 stars. Food quality was good except apple pie. They advertised it Awsome apple pie. It tasted very old. Soggy bottom crust and stale top crust. Came halfway heated up.
Service was ok. Nothing special. Kept asking for refills when waitress could clearly see our glasses empty. But she was friendly.

Columbia Inn was OK. Mediocre food, moderate prices, not uncomfortable seating, waitress staff brought the food…
I ordered the chicken strips with fries and it came with a bowl of cooked carrots. It was a basic order, hard to screw up, it wasn’t bad. My BF ordered Chicken Fried Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy which also came with a bowl of cooked carrots. His entire meal was cool-​not quite cold but defiantly not hot. This was a huge disappointment.
Nothing tasted homemade, it all tasted packaged and pre-​made. It was OK, I don’t recommend this place but we didn’t get sick from it.
I have heard that they have a Magician on Fridays (I think) also a comedian one night and a Karaōke night. They do have a full bar (so we heard-​we didn’t see it). It might be a fun place to get a drink and watch some entertainment. As far as dinner, I would eat somewhere else.

Outside of the fact that we had the best waitress ever, there is not much reason to go here. The restrooms are disgusting with the smell of urine (women’s too, according to my daughter who didn’t even want to sit down). Everything is old and the upkeep of the place makes me wonder how much attention they pay to the food prep.
Would be one star, but the waitress was just so good and the food didn’t make us sick. It was overpriced for what you get (a lot of pre-​made food) and there was a reason nobody was there for breakfast on a weekend. It was all just so bland. There was literally one other couple in the whole place and it still took over 35 mins to get our food.

Stopped for lunch at about 2 pm on weekday. Food was really bad. Ordered a grilled chicken/​swiss/​bacon with tater tots. The tots were over fried to a brittle consistency. The swiss cheese (at least I think it was swiss) was processed cheese and was overbearing on the sandwich. I thought the bun was toasted but then realized it was just stale. It took 30 minutes to get my food and the place wasn’t even busy.
the server was young and experienced. she said she had been their approximately 3 months. I overheard her talking to customers about Elvis. she was unable to answer their questions claiming she was «new.»
As I tired to wash down the horrible sandwich I was unable to get a refill on my soft drink. the water was served in a glass straight out of the dishwasher as it was still hot from the dryer cycle. The ice in my water melted and tasted like soap.
I’ve driven by this place hundreds of times and wondered what the place was like. Now I know… it’s a dump. Stay out of the bathroom… disgusting

People live around here… I think. But I can’t really be sure. They really stress the fact that Elvis was here in 1965. Looks like they want to keep it looking the same in case he comes back again for a visit, guess they didn’t get the memo.
The food came out as I expected, not too shabby, but not my first choice.
The bathroom was horrid. I’m so upset that I had to experience that because there are things that you just can’t unsee.
The restaurant was not bad, it is exactly what a middle of nowhere roadside restaurant should be.

Had lunch here with my Dad on our way to Oregon.
The food and service were both great. I had the Beef stew and my father ordered the Jambalaya. You could tell both were made in house. The stew had lots of yummy veggies and beef in a nice, rich broth.
Our waitress was very kind and attentive, but wasn’t overbearing.
Since the food and service were so good, I’ll make sure to stop there in the future.

Great service! I had the pork pot roast lunch special. It was very tasty and a good size portion. The fried mushrooms were probably the best I ever had.

Stopped in today coming back from Portland. The service was the only good thing about.

We stopped here for breakfast, even though we usually eat lunch here when we are traveling up/​down I-​5. The pecan waffle was light and fluffy, served with warm syrup– happy, happy tastebuds! The bacon was crisp, the coffee continuous. Eggs cooked perfectly, hashbrowns crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. Yep, we left very satisfied! One word of advice, when your table starts shaking and you feel the ground moving… Don’t panic and don’t yell earthquake… It’s just the train…

Nice clean place, breakfast was good, pancake was a bit bland but friendly staff. Elvis and Jack Benny ate here so nostalgia.

I travel allot and always look for local fare… I pulled off the highway and drove up the frontage road stumbling in to this place…
I stopped on Thursday while heading north to Seattle. I liked it so much I stopped back in on the way south… Again great service (Danielle) both times! A great employee makes or breaks a business… Give the lady a raise and let her teach new staff as they get hired … She is awesome!

After years and years of road trips, I have seen the best and worse of road side greasy spoons and Columbia Inn Restaurant was not too shabby.
I don’t have high expectations.
1. Clean
2. Friendly service
3. Food that I can swallow.
This place had all that. Plus I loved the old school options I could get for my sides like cottage cheese. It was a plus that at one time, Elvis ate there.

Terrible service. Walked out after tables of locals sat after my group were served first. Filthy establishment in general. The place was hardly busy and every table was dirty. I am not sure how this level of lazy is accepted. You can’t continue to rest on the fact that Elvis dined here, you need to provide service to patrons.

I first spotted the Columbia Inn Restaurant as my Son and I were driving past Kalama on the way up to the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center near Castle Rock. It threw out a Retro «Dated and Divey» vibe, which meant that we were destined to stop in on our way back. It also didn’t hurt that the Kid was «starving» by the time we came by on our return trip.
We stopped by just before Lunch, as our Volcanic plans were cut short by a drizzly and overcast day. Access to and from I-​5 was easy, as was finding a place to park. We immediately noticed the mural on the side of the building that mentioned that Elvis and Jack Benny had been here, and that the King of Rock and Roll had also spent the night at the adjacent motel back in 1962. 50 Years is long time to be milking ones 15 minutes of fame, but we were actually charmed by this form of small town pride.
We were greeted promptly and immediately seated in a booth by the window. The front dining room clientele was fairly sparse, but very local and on a first name basis. We joined the «Family» straight away, starting with a conversation initiated by my Son with the next Table and continuing with a playful «slap» administered by the Waitress after he made a snide comment about my age as I ordered off the 55+ Menu. The Waitress was also taking a photography class, and we had the pleasure and privilege of admiring her work.
My Son ordered a huge breakfast combination that even he couldn’t finish, while I enjoyed a more modest omelet dish with hash browns done right. We were both very happy with our meals and within this most enjoyable atmosphere.
Towards the end, I walked around and noticed the Chinook Lounge in the back, complete with flat screen TVs, a place for a band, and an outside deck. Heck, if were any later in the day, I could have hung out back here, watched the Ducks beat USC over a cold one, all while keeping the Kid within a safe range. That’s what a good olé boy’ll do…