First time here and we will definitely be back. We sampled a few of the small plates and they…read morewere all so good. Our server, Cecilia made recommendations as we are first timers and she nailed it all. She ensured we had a wonderful first time visit.

The reason we were in Albany was for our daughter's college graduation from Oregon State…read moreUniversity, GO BEAVS! Anyways, we had called a few restaurants in the area hoping to get some dinner. This was the only place that said,"Yeah, we can seat you!" So, hubs and I make our way from our roadside motel (Studio 6, review will be posted) to downtown Albany. The parking situation was a little confusing, but we found parking a few blocks from the restaurant. We got a table, yay! The place is pretty cool, it was a bank back in the day. They have a nice limited menu which offers options for all sorts of food preferences. So, our table was full of carnivores, lol. Hubs had the special which was a smoked prime rib, daughter's boyfriend had the Wagyu Brisket burger and my college grad had the filet. I also had the filet. Everything was super tasty! I would totally recommend if you aren't in a hurry. The servers were great.

Rainy Day, Great Bar Seat, and One Memorable Meal…read more It was a cold, rainy Oregon afternoon when I stumbled into Castor, and I'm glad I did. There happened to be one open seat at the bar, which is my favorite place to dine when traveling. Sitting at the bar lets you talk story with the bartender, learn the menu, and watch the cocktails come together. If you're eating alone, I highly recommend grabbing a seat here. The bartender was friendly, easy to talk with, and clearly knew both the menu and the craft behind the bar. One thing that stood out right away was their use of fresh local ingredients, which really shows up in the flavor of the dishes and drinks. I started with the Golden Manhattan, made with a pecan-infused bourbon that was fantastic. It had a rich, slightly nutty flavor with warm vanilla notes and just the right touch of sweetness. Smooth, balanced, and a great way to kick off the meal. Alongside that I ordered the chorizo clam chowder, which brought a creamy base with just the right amount of spice from the chorizo. Comfort food with a little personality. For dinner I switched gears and ordered the Creole Sour. This one really stood out. Bright citrus up front, a smooth bourbon backbone, and a subtle spice note that tied perfectly into the Creole theme. It had that classic sour balance, tart, slightly sweet, and refreshing without overpowering the drink. Dinner was the gumbo with hot bread and butter, and it delivered. Deep flavor, a nice slow warmth from the spice, and hearty enough to make the rainy Oregon weather feel like part of the experience. To finish things off I kept it simple with a neat pour of Ben Holladay, which made for the perfect nightcap. The staff were welcoming and relaxed, which made the whole experience feel easy and comfortable. This is the kind of place that works whether you're dining solo, meeting friends, out with someone special, or grabbing dinner with a group. The price point landed right where it should be for the quality of food, cocktails, and service. If you're in Corvallis and can grab a seat at the bar at Castor, take it. Order a cocktail, settle in, and enjoy the ride. It turned a rainy afternoon into one heck of a meal.

My first visit here was yesterday afternoon. Drinks were great. Service was great. Almost…read moreeverything I had was great...except for the pork chop which was so dry, I could barely get it down. Dry dry dry. Not the slightest bit juicy. I would never order that again. $37 isn't cheap and I expect more out of a nice piece of pork than being cooked to death. Couldn't really tell it was bourbon and brown sugar marinated. No trace of either of those flavors. Left half of it on my plate and let my server know it was dry. The Summer Maque Choux, which was underneath the pork chop was so off-the-hook good I got just an order of that to take home! They do serve the Maque Choux as a "Snack" and I highly recommend you try it. The pickled tomatoes served on top of the pork were sweet, juicy, and slightly pickled. Yum! The Crispy Pork Belly with the housemade mustard was delicious - the mustard has a great kick to it. The Trout with crispy capers, green beans, and hazelnuts was very tasty. Would get that again, for sure. The sliders were good...I'm not sure $5/each good...but good. Crème Brûlée was excellent. And they make the best Piña Colada I've had in a long time. I'd give 3.5 stars if I could, because that pork chop was soooooooo disappointing, but 4 it is. Everything else was tasty. I'll come back, but not go anywhere near that pork chop.

This has long been a favorite of ours. The staff are very friendly. The waitress we had tonight…read morewas a rockstar. The restaurant and clean. The Monday family platter deal is killer. I love the potato soup.

This was one of my favorite restaurants. Came once a week for a long time. Nights are still…read morewonderful great service. But unfortunately the day waitress has ruined it for our family. Very slow service. Seems to know it all, argue. Just bad attitude for a server all around. The sweet host did all the work she was wonderful. Unfortunately I don't want to have lunch for a hour and half when I have things to do. So won't be back for lunch.

10/10 for Ambiance and service. The inside is gorgeous…read more Easily the best service experience I have had in Corvallis. The staff were all so kind and matched our groups vibe. I felt really cared for here. The wine was great (like buy the bottle) and the food was delicious as well. The menu was little expensive for the amount of food received. Our split appetizers. The star of the show was the tinned fish. This place is great of larger groups or just two people. To my knowledge, there are no other places like this in Corvallis, I felt like I was on vacation. We seriously had 2-3 hour dinner here.

Great service and delicious food! We went for snacks and wine. I ordered both white and red. They…read morepaired deliciously with the ceviche and charcuterie board. The proportions are overall pretty small, so if you are with a large group of people, I recommend getting two of each dish. Great for date night!

11/10!! Love this place! Very clean, friendly staff, great games. We drive over from Monmouth just…read moreto go to this place. My son LOVE it! I would give more stars if I could.

We come to Albany from Eugene about once a month for food, antiques, drinks, and Coin Jam Jr!…read moreWe have been fans of Coin Jam in Salem and when we happened upon the Jr location in Albany by accident, we couldn't be more excited! All of the staff have always been friendly, and full of good conversation, the games are always clean, and the whole energy of the place is simply groovy. A wonderful way to spend an afternoon and what a great asset for Albany!

Went here to see a stand-up comedy show last weekend. It's a pretty awesome place! The staff are…read morevery nice and personable and very knowledgeable about the various wines and the process involved in making them. It was all WAY above my head, but not in a way that makes you feel intimidated by it. It just makes you realize you're in good hands with whatever they recommend . I could definitely recommend this place as a little after dinner date night spot. All in all, a terrific experience.

Skyler accompanied us and entertained us really great especially when she made the charcuterie…read moreboard during our tasting! It was raining but we felt so cozy and warm and comfortable during our visit! Wines are phenomenal! You have to try them all!

We sat in lounge because we had reservations, but out babysitter was late. I noticed lots of spider…read morewebs hanging from light fixtures. We were never offered three course menu. It was Thursday. Food was flavorful and courses times perfectly. Service was not really that outgoing or seemingly happy to be there.

I wish I'd had enough room to finish the flourless chocolate tart. It was even better than the…read morefilet I'd ordered!

I feel bad I didn't get the names of the people who took care of us this evening! Before we walked…read morein, two people outside welcomed us and ushered us into the door. The hostess at the front desk seems genuinely happy to see us and, since we told her we like to sit at the bar, let us pick the seats we wanted. Our bartender/server was just the sweetest and most attentive ever. Chatted with us while making drinks for others and making us feel like the most important people in the bar, The food was excellent and perfect sized helpings, The Sangiovese wine, perfect and who knew Eugene made such yummy limoncello! If you are in town and looking for good Italian food, this is your place! We will be back.

The first thing to note is that the 2 star reflects my view of the restaurant given it's posturing…read moreitself in the market as a gourmet, upscale restaurant, as evidenced by relatively high prices for relatively small portions. The restaurants ambiance has a soft, intimate feel to it, but neither the chairs nor tables have the element of class one would expect. In fact, the perimeter of the seating area has wooden benches which make sitting comfortably relative to the table a trick. Meanwhile, the actual chairs reminded me more of modern living room chairs as opposed to dining chairs. As for the food, we found the two main courses rather tasty:one being a steak kabob and the other a lamb kabob. I have had the lamb kabob on another occasion and both times it was cooked so the lamb was juicy and tender: rather delicious. However, the lamb kabob only came with one skewer of meat. On the other hand, the wagyu beef kabob was very tasty in it's own right and this was two skewers worth. I had trouble squaring that discrepancy in my head - so be it. As an appetizer, we shared the calamari dish. I am used to large plates of breaded, fried calamari cooked to perfection from my days eating at Italian restaurants in New York. This appetizer came in a small cup, which appeared to be an 8 ounce size (the cup was fancy and black, consistent with the image they are trying to project). The calamari dish was good, but not anything special. Thus, without considering that this restaurant markets itself as, a high end , gourmet restaurant, I would rate the food portion of the review a 4 star. However, that must be adjusted to reflect the food preparation relative to marketed expectation and that knocks it down to a marginal 4, at best, probably a 3 in my book. The real killer was the service. I will say it was both pleasant and polite. However, this is the type of restaurant that is marketed to appeal to the romantic dinner crowd with high end expectations: the professionalism of the service fell far short. To begin with, the host and waitress sat us at a table directly next to another couple. Note that I had made a reservation for 7. When we arrived there were only three tables occupied. However, we were sat directly next to another couple even though we could have been sat another two tables away for far greater privacy and a more romantic experience. Then the waitress exhibited zero personality throughout the evening. In addition, she came over while we were still eating our main courses and asked if we wanted the dessert menus, even though the restaurant would be open for another hour. All in all, I feel that the server was a nice person, but was obviously not very experienced and added nothing to the experience - not what one expects in a place that is marketing itself as upscale. I had a restaurant business and used slow times as an opportunity to observe and teach. I noticed nobody making such an effort in a situation that called for it: a big oversight and lost opportunity for three parties: the server because they are not being assited to grow, the patron because the service impacts the consumers overall quality of the experience and the owner for the obvious reason that it impacts business long-term. I call it the win-win-win formula and this restaurant would benefit from applying this concept to training the wait staff so they are at the patrons expectation level. In summary, if this were a casual restaurant I would rate it a 3, but because of how the business is slotting itself into the market with it's pricing, portion sizes, ambiance and menu presentation - I believe it only merits a 2 star review in that particular market segment. I do not believe you will be disappointed with the overall experience, but neither time have I left their feeling wowed, and both times I left feeling that the experience did not meet the expectation for the cost nor for the intimate, romantic feel they want to project as providing