What's better than a slice of pie and a few beers after a day on the mountain? Really neat old photos all over inside! Get some onion rings! They were great! read more

Just O.K. Service is very slow, took 90 mins to get our sandwich. Not many cocktail choices, must order very basic drinks. read more

Went there on our way down from the mt. There were 4 of us and there were 3 other tables. Our waitress brought two of my friends their food and didn't bring us ours. So we waited. And waited. Another waitress asked my friends (who looked like they were obviously waiting on something) if they needed anything and they told her they were waiting on us. My friend watched the waitresses talk, saw ours go through her book and basically realize she forgot our food. Fine. Sh*t happens. She brought our food like nothing was wrong. It had been 25 minutes since I started timing her. Our friends had finished their food. There was no apology no explanation. Only saying that the extra gravy my friend asked for was almost up. Throughout the rest of the meal she didnt check on us, ask us how our food was, or even refill our drinks. The ice cream machine was broken, which was unfortunate because I waa already annoyed, but admittedly may not have been her fault. When she brought our checks I did ask her to compensate us for the fact that half our table had eaten before we even got our food ...and THIS is where I lost it. She was defensive, blamed the kitchen and she was extremely rude. Her tone was angry and short and ahe acted like I was disrespectful for even beinging up her mistake. Ok ... 1) it is NOT normal for half the table to finish their food before the othwe half even gets theirs. If your kitchen is having that big of a problem, then that is on your kitchen and Therefore still the responsibility of you and your restaurant. So using that as an excuse is a no-go. 2) I'm pretty sure she lied because as I said my friend literally watched her go through her book and figure it out. So that's cool. 3) as a waitress if there is a problem it is your job so fix it. She has no business being rude to me becauae I was angry about her shit service. And I didn't even complain about the little things like the refills, etc. I have worked as a waitress. I know waitresses get busy and sometimes make mistakes. However, they were not so busy that she should have struggled and if she was struggling she needed to take some responsibility for it. I'm very understanding of shit happens. I am not at all understanding of rude. Its your fucking job. Take pride in it. Do it right or do something else. read more

Terrible service, below average food and it was colder then hell in there. We went in to watch the Seahawks game and it was worth going back to our cabin and watch it on my phone. I will never go there again. read more

The beat people, the only homemade chicken tender I have ever had and it was amazing!!!!! Don't forget to order the apple crisp too!!!!

Waited an hour for cold breakfast. There was no one else in there when we ordered. Then by the time we got our food, they were rushing around to get us all the condiments. That should have been done in the hour we waited for our food. When we asked about how much longer it would be, they acted like they were annoyed. I wish we would have just gone to McDonalds an hour away, since that is how long we had to wait for our food. Never again. read more

If there was a way to give less than a 1 star I would. First of all the service....walked in the door and the hostess/ server looked at my spouse and I and said ," I will get to you when I can sit where you want. " 15 minutes go by and that is when she decided to take a drink order. Another 10-15 minutes later and then she takes the food order. The whole time she is acting like it an inconvenience to be taking our order. We both ordered a medium rare slice of prime rib. This is supposed to be their "signature " dish. When the cook yelled that the order was up it sat under the heat lamp for another 20 minutes before the server decided to grab it. All the while she was conversing with people in the bar, deciding on what wreath she wanted to buy and gossip with the bartender. Never once did she come and ask how the food was. When we were finished the bartender and the server were no where to be found. Come to find out they were both outside smoking. I walk to the counter and paid and the server acted as though I should be tipping her. Now the food... salad was a basic salad. Nothing to say about this. But when their "signature" prime rib was served it was lacking. We asked for medium rare and got rare. I understand that there should be a nice piece of fat on the meat but these things were over 70% fat. The mashed potatoes were palatable if you did not want gravy. The gravy was gritty and tasted like it was from a can. The restaurant its self is dirty and dark. It does not look like anyone has taken a mop to the floor since the restaurant opened. The women's restroom was scary. The toilet wiggles so much I thought I might break it. The paper towels were no where to be found. Needless to say I will pay the extra money to drive to Copper Creek to get excellent food and service. I read more

Holy fuck. Please please PLEASE don't fucking eat here. This was the worst place me & my bf have ever been too. If I could rate it no stars, I would. First; the waitresses breath smelled like weed. (We should of turned around when we walked in) I ordered a chicken veggie soul with a side salad. My bf ordered a highlander burger with a side salad as well. The salad, soup, everything. NOTHING tasted fresh. Bfs tea tasted like the kettle hadnt been cleaned. Everything tasted reheated,bf asked for ketchup and the waitress was sitting at the bar!! I am now sitting with an upset stomach hoping I don't get food poison. I only took 2 bites of my soup, didn't touch my salad, we just got up, paid our bill and left. Oh, and good luck getting noticed. :) read more

Great experience here! There is pool and darts and pool tabs and a nice liquor and beer selection, Penny was the bartender and she was extremely helpful and accommodating. Would go back for the homie feeling and great company! read more

Meh... Nice little place, not the best restaurant I've been too. Their meats are not consistently cooked correctly. I asked for a medium rare steak and received it medium-well done. Waiter was nice but the overall time to receive our order took longer than a normal place. I believe my party of 3 adults and 1 kid took about 45 mins to receive our order. Our order comprised of a turkey club, filet mignon and 2 burgers. The filet mignon was fairly bland no real taste to it, almost had to use the A1 sauce which is a crime in my opinion to use on a filet mignon cut. Burger was okay, sandwich was... Well a sandwich... Can't mess that up too much. I did however come back later to have drinks with the wifey and the atmosphere was chill. Bar tender was great and social. I would go back for strictly the bar experience. read more

$8 for a bun, burger patty and a pickle...that's how sketchy this place is. They are "famous" for their taco Tuesdays and they get a good crowd just because park interns are too cheap to invest more on decent food. Seems personnel can't work here and rumor says owners are too cranky so everybody always quit. The result...a massive confusion as there is only 2 to 3 persons in charge of the whole thing. If you had a good day at the NP...avoid this place. read more

I wish they had a half star rating. Ambiance: Don't expect anything special. It's falling apart just take a look at the floor. I think that's why it's so dark in there. Service: Meh...They seemed nice at first then they rubbed me the wrong way when I asked for the menu of the 24 flavors of soft-serve ice cream. My cousins were so excited for ice cream until we saw the machine and bottles of artificial flavorings...ew. Food: We grabbed 2 slices of homemade blackberry pie instead which was a mistake. Charged me $10 for 1/4 of the pie. Really?? I can get so much better in Seattle for that much. So disappointed as it was obviously made a day prior. GROSS soggy crust! Final note: Don't stop here if even if you are dying for something sweet. You won't find me here again. read more

Came in for lunch with my husband and sons. Since it's a bar and has regular dining you can bring in kids and watch the game. We didn't have high expectations but they managed to go below that with the food. The service was great and our waitress was very friendly. That being said..... $5.99 for literal "Kraft Mac and Cheese" with a giant amount of processed cheese on top that was microwaved. Microwaved cheese gets really gross fast so it wasn't something we could eat. The hamburger was around $12 and it was really greasy and had two inconsistently cooked patties on them. This was served with a flat Mannys beer. Their C02 was out. Wish the food matched their service. Bummer read more

First allow me to say that this is not your last choice before ascending to Rainiers peek, there are a few more places to stop beyond Ashford than this. I don't have the slightest clue what the other 3 reviewers saw in this establishment at the base of Rainier but if it was this place then they're blind and lacking taste buds. We should have noticed from the outside (shack looking) but I overlooked it and onward we trudged. The first thing we heard was an over amped Leonard Skinnard blaring from a CD player somewhere in the bowels of this dump. The floors were an udder disaster. But hey, if you don't like the dirt you can always play the 1970's style golf video game. The menu was plentiful, lots of choices. A tad overpriced in my opinion especially for the taste. We both ordered the Highlander burger. Our appetizer was frozen onion rings, tasty none the less. Watch the ranch dressing, it's so obviously watered down. Now came the burgers, also frozen and badly at that, the word rubbery rings a bell. The steak fries were actually pretty good, drowned out the lack of flavor of the burgers. Now, after the meal came the restroom, OMG!!! No door knob, nope, just grab the hole and pull it open. Inside? Well don't expect a maitre d' to hand you a towel. The floors were falling apart, the urinal was a troff, yep all metal. If you expect privacy from bubba walking in on you to take a piss, forget it, nope no door on the toilet. Bubba can get down right friendly with you while he's pissin' the beer and your quickly trying to lose the bad burger before this actually happens. Speaking of Bubba, have no fear, he won't be any taller than 5'8" and a hundred pounds looking 21 minimum at best. Yep, that's what I was watching walking into the bar. I'm not real big at 6'2" and about 220 but these guys looked like umpa loompa Ethiopians. All in all, continue on to anyplace else. BTW I had a peek into the kitchen while paying for my 30$ hamburger and fries and it was as dirty, if not worse, than the rest of the inside, restrooms included. The staff were polite enough, we began with a very helpful female sever and ended with the over tattooed cook in the end. We found our server smoking not 6' out the front door saying thankyou. Overall pass this place up. The owner obviously doesn't care about the shabbiness of his or her establishment and survives on little drinkin' dudes alone. read more

Some of the reviews of the Highlander weren't necessarily glowing, so I walked in expecting the worse. Is the Highlander Canlis? No. Is it cutting edge hip hangout for foodies? No. I think the people who wrote the one star reviews missed the point. The Highlander is about community. I live two hours away, and the regulars made me feel welcome, I was an honorary "Ashfordite" for the night. Go and have a beer and talk to the table next to you. They will talk back! And by the way, my fish and chips was served seriously hot, with and nice light battered coating. When I visit Mt Rainier Park, I will be back. read more

Too slow, wait forever! Please avoid coming this place. If you have no choice but come to this place, please check you meal every minute, otherwise you will wait for so long time for your trip to the mountain scenery. read more

A simple burger take out will take you 60 minuets. We literally saw our burgers being cooked 55 minutes after the order was placed. Since there are not much places you can find food, what can you do other than have your holiday ruined by this place. Maybe the locals are enough to keep them alive, they don't give a shit about visitors. read more

Establishment was dirty and greasy! Food was not good with inadequate portions. If there was a negative star I would award it!

This place reminds me of Bob's Country Bunker from The Blues Brothers in so many ways. You got the old run down feel, a few select beers on tap, a loud karaoke machine....everything but chicken wire around a stage. When I walked in here, wearing all dress clothing and a coat, I expected to get my ass handed to me by some city-slicker hating hillbilly. Instead, I was greeted warmly, offered a beverage and food, and I fit right in. Nobody looked at me funny, or threatened me, they just accepted me for who I was. A good sign in a bar/restaurant. Everyone just fits right in, works for their money and just wants to have a good time. I used to go for their taco Tuesdays with some buddies from Rainier, and the tacos tasted exactly like homemade ones my family would make. For three bucks, you get three large tacos and plenty of sour cream and salsa, and a couple of orders makes for a good meal. The bartender was always friendly and attentive, and was always there when I needed him. Pretty damn good. Music selection is stuck in the eighties, but that's my style of music, so it was fun. One of my bar rules is if there isn't any AC/DC on the jukebox, I won't go there. Luckily, the Highlander has decent selection, and I appreciated that. Negatives would probably be that the bathrooms are absolutely filthy, and the kitchen also looked quite nasty. I really wouldn't venture any further with the food, and the bathrooms are just atrocious. You also can't smoke in here, and while I understand it's a state law, it still sucks. But other than like, I like this place. And maybe the next time I am there, I will raise my hands and shout "There can be only one!". read more

If you are expecting something fancy on your way to Mt. Rainier, turn around now. This is a mountain town that has a lot of hungry hikers stop by wanting tasty food, not fancy-pants decor. The service and the blackberry pie were the stars for me, as well as the people-watching. Our server was cracking us up, and gave us said pie for free when my mom politely voiced she disliked her side dish. The place itself could have used some sprucing up, but for a tourist town in a painfully bad summer, I can look past that--especially when there are pitchers of tasty beer, a jukebox playing good ol' rock songs, and free pool. My only complaint with the food (which I would agree is mostly diner/cafe type--nothing wrong with that!) was that our pie a la mode came with soft-serve vanilla ice cream--for a fat kid like me, that was a travesty! Make it real vanilla ice cream and I might give another half-star and make it four. read more

Just don't go to this restaurant! Just don't go to this restaurant! Just don't go to this restaurant! We started our travel to Rainier Mount with this super slow restaurant, which took 2 hours to get our burgers. Our whole travel plan got ruined because of this. And what we got after 2hours, crappy fries and burgers without any flavor. My god, how the hell this restaurant exists in 21st century. read more

I had today's special, the Prime Rib dip, and it was fantastic! They give me a big slab of prime rib, and plenty of horseradish; with the au jus; it was perfect! My wife had the Highlander burger, and said it was about the best she'd had in a long time - bacon cooked just right,and the burger grilled just the way she likes it. We continued to stay after our meal to watch the Hawks beat up on the Steelers, but our server continued to check on us and refresh our drinks. The service was so prompt and thorough, we decided on a round of their fantastic homebaked pies, which made for the best finish to a great meal. The prices are very reasonable - we will definitely stop here on our next trip through. read more

Ended up at this place because everything else was closed at the time. Listen to the bad reviews! Service was slow, food was garbage (especially the pizza!), and restroom was pretty gross. Two stars for the okay fries and being open when others weren't. read more

Stopped by here on our way out of town for a breakfast. Legitimately the best biscuits and gravy I've ever tasted. The server was very sweet and continued to check in on us throughout the meal despite the fact that she was the only employee in the restaurant - she was greeting people, taking orders, serving, doing all the cooking and cleaning, and still had time to make small talk with everyone that came in. It seemed like a few people were regulars in some capacity who the server greeted by name. Very friendly atmosphere and great food. Did it take a few extra minutes? Sure, but it's a small dive bar/restaurant. If you're in a that much of a hurry, I'm sure there's a McDonalds in Spanaway. read more

Several reviews describe The Highlander in unflattering terms. Well it's a bar, its a roadhouse, a pool hall, a karaoke joint, a community watering hole. It looks a bit shabby 'round then edges and no one in the kitchen is going to end up on the FOOD NETWORK with their own cooking show. Here's the rundown. Three friends & I stopped in for dinner one night over Labor Day weekend '13. The food was reasonably good. Our waitress explained that they prep their salad ingredients in-house (rather than getting salad-in-a-bag from some vendor) which is why our dinner salads were all very fresh looking and generously sized. Three of us had steak, one had a turkey club sandwich. The steaks were average to good and appeared to have been cooked on the flat top or in a skillet. The sandwich was huge and was reported to be tasty. In retrospect the sandwiches and burgers are probably the safe bet here for best entrees. The service was good. This is one of those places where the furniture doesn't all match and a lot of the decor is what the liquor distributor provided, plus posters for various mountain climbing groups. In Ashford, Washington it all seems to fit. read more

Whether you just got off the mountain, done swimming in the Lake, or taking a beautiful day drive - you MUST stop at the Highlander! Awesome, old school, great cookin' & all is made with Love! From the thoughtful menu planning of the delightful owners, to the nostalgic, family photos of mountain climbers - this place is sure to bring you back to when things were simple, delicious & not so pretentious. To give you a heads up on what to expect: Charming, family owned diner / bar, at the base of Mount Rainier, bursting with old school flair...pool table, juke box, etc. Fabulous views of Pacific Northwest splendor! Situated in the quiet, small town of Ashford, WA - population...as of 2016 is only 516 people. If you're hiking, biking, camping, boating, hunting, sightseeing, whatever - hit the brakes & roll into this joint! Oh! One more TOTALLY OUTSTANDING thing about this place - there's a laundry mat in the same parking lot!!!! Do your laundry while you eat, drink, watch the game!! **Be sure to try the Rainier beer battered mushrooms, onion rings, fish n chips .... AMAZING FLAVOR! **Chicken tenders I can't get enough of. They get it from a local butcher. People: this is the best tasting chicken tender I've ever had !! Long story LONG, bring your bad self down to the Highlander & chill... No need to get fancy, just be yourself :) read more

Took 18 minutes to get our beers and 95 minutes to get our food. Two people in our group ordered the prime rib special "medium rare". Both came out cold to to touch and very rare. We sent them back and they still came back rare, one with at least 2 hairs. read more

Honestly I'm only giving three stars because of the food. It's bar food. You can't expect anything more. However, the service, people, and drinks are at least 4 stars on their own. There is a separate place for families to eat away from the bar, ( we ate there one night with our kid and the next without). While we were there the pool was free, we spent plenty of money on pull tabs, and the juke box played non stop. Not a terrible place at all for a small town. read more

My wife and I have been here a couple times on the way to and from the mountain and it has been consistent in that the food was good, not great but definitely good, and the service had been polite. I'm sure the atmosphere turns some people off because it is really a roadside bar that is obviously a local hangout. It's on the divey side of things but I've had some good meals in dive bars over the years. If you're a judgmental snob steer clear because you will not like it. If you like consistent food at a fair price give it a shot. read more

Service sucks.. took forever to get our order taken then the food came put not bad but horrible.. ordered chicken got something that tasted like fish... waited 10 minutes for a beer.. of at all.. day shift bartender was too worried about getting g off work then helping the night shift bartender.. people were piling in and leaving just as fast from having to wait.. while I was writing this review we've been waiting to cash out just so we could leave to go to the local store to get snacks... will not be back.. do not recommend.. and the owner needs to get a clue on how to schedule more than one person on a holiday where all the other hotels and restaurants are booked solid... read more

Expensive. The "Beer Batter" is just normal over oiled batter, I could hear my gallbladder screaming from how much oil was on them. I didn't even wanna touch the onion rings. Wouldn't suggest it to my lesser know acquaintances. read more

Yikes! Came here with a 9, 8, and 4 year old after a rainy day hike. Just needed to get food and warmth. WORST. IDEA.EVER. Food is overpriced. Service is horrible. Appetizer came with entrees. 3 in our party got their food 15 minutes before the other 4 of us. Only 3 other tables here. One couple came and left after not even being talked to after 15 minutes. Terrible on every single level. Drive ANYWHERE else! Update because I wrote this still waiting for our 2nd round of food. They completely forgot my wife's meal and then "graciously" took $2 off my bill. The kids Mac and cheese was straight from the Kraft box and was $5.99, without a side! read more

Stopped in for breakfast on way to mountain this morning After reading reviews I was concerned about eating here. Was greeted right away. One person took our order but never checked on us again so that was not great, but the cook came out and kept checking on us even brought our food out hot and tasted great. We enjoyed our meal and the cook was the friendliest person Will be back read more

Great stop that adds to the whole mountain get away experience. Welcoming, down home country feel from the moment you step in. Great burgers and onion rings at almost fast food speed. Recommend the stop and also to shoot a game of pool while sampling off their full bar featuring all the favorites. read more

My wife and I look for the best in things and we eat out a lot - and we both said we couldn't remember eating at a worse place. Let's start with service. The place was almost empty yet the server almost never checked in with us. I finally just got up and got my own coffee and water refills. The food was just as bad and overpriced. To top it off, I saw the server "clean" a table using one of the used napkins leftover from the people who just left. Yowzers. read more

I read the reviews and was skeptical, but it was basically the only place open in Ashford so we gave it a go. Service is slow, but we lucked out and the couple seated right before us got tire of waiting so left. We stayed basic and order a BLT and a French Dip. The BLT was really good and the side salad was nice and fresh. The French dip was good also (though the aujus was a bit on the salty side) though the fries were nothing to write home about. It took about 75 minutes overall, but if you go in with the right expectation, it should be fine. And free Wifi to keep you entertained while you wait. read more

DO NOT EVER stop here!!! The service was horrible, we were a table with 4 adults and 3 children. A couple plates would come out, 10-15 minutes later, a couple more, 15 minutes later....the 6th plate showed up. Apparently, the waiter forgot to enter the 7th meal....and was confused when I asked where her food was. He took TWO WHOLE DOLLARS off the bill. The food was subpar, and that's being nice. The kids mac and cheese was $6 and a side of fries another $3.99. $10.00 for a 4 year old to eat Kraft mac and cheese out of the box???? Save your money and your sanity!!!!! read more

Do not go to the Highlander. The food is overpriced and underwhelming. Slow service as well. Go check out Copper Creek down the road! read more

I stepped into this hole because the place down the street had quit serving breakfast. I went in and basically had to ask to be seated, the lady at the counter rattled off a number of things that weren't available on the menu. I sat down & ordered coffee, it was ice cold. Manager or boss lady comes back and helps reheat the coffee, refills my cup and hands it to the waitress, waitress puts her entire palm on the top of my coffee cup and comes over, sets it down & says "Hot Coffee!" Fucking disgusting. Also, when she ordered my food to the cook the cook shouted from the kitchen, "I SAY NO!" And the server yelled in reply, "I SAY YES!" This place is trash, there's flies everywhere, the people who work here don't know basic sanitary procedures, they never even brought me a damn water. Also, the "freshly baked biscuits" were much sooner to be croutons than fresh biscuits. The food is crap. Skip this shit hole at all costs! Also, I just posted this review using their free wifi. read more

OMG. There onion rings are perfection! Service ok but this clean dive bar was AMAZING!