Cold beer, a beautiful sunset over the lake, and the most delicious steak I've ever had. Â I've enjoyed a lot of steaks in my lifetime, but this one stood out. Â My wife said her salmon was better than the fresh caught salmon she had in Alaska. Â If it's out of your way, drive here anyway. This place is seriously good.
Review Source:We had broiled salmon and prawns along with the salad bar and a couple of good craft beers. Â Service was very good and easy going. Â After a day of hiking the western beaches and searching for the largest cedars/firs/spruces, it was just what we needed. Â Bonus: Â world's largest Sitka spruce is a mere .3 mile walk from here.
Review Source:We visited the Salmon House based on a recommendation from our hotel concierge and we were definitely glad we asked as we weren't decided where to go and may have missed out!
We took the name Salmon house literally and got a salmon starter and two salmon mains! For an appetizer we tried their signature smoked salmon, made in house served with onions, capers cream cheese and crackers. It was absolutely delicious and a surprisingly large piece of salmon too.
Both our salmon mains, mine with a creamy dill sauce and my husband's blackened, were cooked to perfection. The sides were pretty standard but the fish was so good that was all that mattered! We finished our meal with dessert and I appreciated the servers honesty in telling us nothing was made in house, it was tasty anyway so it didn't bother me at all.
The staff were very attentive, the meal was great and for an appetizer, two drinks, two mains and a dessert the before tax bill came in under $70, pretty good value! Great little restaurant, if I ever make it back here I would go again for sure.
Amazing Pan seared oysters. Â Best oysters I've ever had. Â My boyfriend had their New York steak and said it was very delicious. Â We each got baked potatoes and veggies with our entrees and were very happy with them. Â We went on a busy Friday night (it is also the only restaurant within a mile radius...so we expected them to be busy) and sat at the bar so we wouldn't have to wait for a table. Â There was a wait for the food (which, again, we expected), but the bartender, I believe her name was Rebecca, was so super nice and let us know she'd be right with us, etc. Â We felt our food was worth the wait in the end because it was quite tasty.
I ordered a Mojito, and the bartender said it would be a minute because she needed to run outside and pick some fresh mint (how awesome is that?). Â She did, and boy was that a tasty beverage!! Â
It was definitely pricey, but I think that for the quality and quantity of the food it was appropriate. Â They are also the only restaurant there, so...well, I would expect them to charge a little more for food. Â We only ate there once during the whole weekend we were there due to the price, but if we are ever in that area again we'd have dinner here again. Â Gorgeous view of the lake. Â Great atmosphere, tasty food, and awesome staff.
We were staying at the lodge nearby and came here after an afternoon of hiking. The decor was a gorgeous relic of the early nineties, with little effort you can picture yourself in an episode of Twin Peaks.
We ordered the Harvest of the Sea, which was a whole platter of perfectly deep fried, unpretentious sea food. The salad bar was similarly pleasing.
A minor caveat was that on a saturday evening at 7pm they had run out of their house smoked salmon.
Apart from that this is without a doubt the best place to eat around the lake.
My father and I had stayed at the Lake Quinault Lodge for a second night, and didn't want to revisit the snooty, overpriced and meh-quality Lodge restaurant, so we came here (really the only other option in the vicinity, at least in the off-season).
We were seated by a roaring fireplace, which was wonderful after being out in the cold.
My father is ill with cancer and has trouble eating enough calories, and has developed a pretty picky list of requirements.  Our waitress accommodated each of them graciously, and the cook prepared everything as my dad requested.  The soup of the day was chicken noodle soup, which they strained for him and gave him the broth in a glass.  It looked home-made, and he said it was very good and nice and hot. He was also happy with his salmon, which is pretty close to a miracle as he's had salmon several times during his visit with me and has complained each time about how it was not to his liking.  Here I didn't hear one complaint.  It wasn't over-cooked or over-seasoned, and he was able to eat almost all of it.  His salmon also came with a pretty and nicely flavored pile of rice pilaf, and  your average cooked green beans and carrots.
My entree, Chicken Alfredo, was very good. Â The sauce was clearly home-made and tasty, and I'm sure the pasta was cooked al dente to many people's liking, although I would have liked it cooked a little longer. Â I also would have liked a sliced chicken breast on top of the pasta as the menu stated--instead it was little pieces already mixed into the pasta. Â (what can I say, I like to control my chicken-to-pasta ratio) Â The plate was attractively decorated with herbs and red pepper pieces. Â
The salad bar was ok but nothing spectacular: you only get a very small plate, you only get to visit once, and the selection is somewhat limited (one kind of lettuce mixture, cucumber slices, grape tomatoes, whole baby carrots, baby corn, pickled beets, peas,onions, croutons, shredded cheese, and a bunch of dressings). Â The blue cheese dressing was good and the vegetables were all acceptably fresh.
We both got dessert but ended up taking most of it to the hotel. Â His blackberry pie was very good, but my cheesecake was odd--not what I expected. Â Again, I'm sure many people would like it, but I have a certain conception of cheesecake and this didn't fulfill it. Â It had a chocolate crust instead of a graham cracker one, and tasted fairly strongly of honey, not a flavor I really care for in a cheesecake.
The bill was almost $60 with tax (but before tip). Â For two sizable and well-prepared entrees, one drink, one salad, and two desserts, this seems reasonable.
The Salmon House kind of spoiled me for our Olympic Peninsula trip. Â We loved the food so much that we ate there a second night in a row. Â Both nights we lived it up with their seafood. Â Night 1 was the seafood feast for two- fried oysters, scallops, fish and shrimp. Â It was $35.95 for two- completely reasonable! Â Our friends ordered the bacon wrapped scallops as an app. Â It was HUGE and delicious. Â I'm still dreaming about them.
Night 2 they remembered our large party from the day before, except it was down to 3. Â Kiddo had the same thing from the night before and polished it off. Â We did salmon for the adults, one broiled, one garlic buttered up and baked. Â Yum. Â They certainly know not to overcook it.
Service was excellent both nights. Â Very warm and friendly.
I'm coming back ASAP. Â The prices were right and the portions ample. Â They didn't even have to be that good, considering they have no competition. Â The mercantile near LQL is subpar and the dining room at LQL expensive. Â Come to the Salmon House instead.
The view of Lake Quinalt from our table was beautiful. Â The food was very good, especially their bacon wrapped scallaps, which were some of the best I had ever tasted. Â
The only downside was a lack of air conditioning, which in WA is normally not an issue. Â We went there on a hot evening and while the fans helped, it was still hot.
The Salmon House is located on the shore of Lake Quinalt. The view out the window at the lake is very pretty.
The decor is not bad it is just dated and worn. Also the tables are a little close together for comfort. The other bad thing is the service was very slow.
The service was probably slow because the place was packed. It was packed because the food is stupidly good. I am not exaggerating when I say I had the very best piece of salmon I have ever had in my life.
I thought the prices were in line with the quality of food.
Had dinner here while staying at a room at the resort. The night started out nicely while we had drinks on the patio and watched the sunset over gorgeous Quinault lake. They have a decent selection of local rain forest wines. We'd requested to wait until a window table opened, and after we saw an open table we went in to inquire if there was a table ready for us. We were seated, and then it took quite awhile before a server came to take any of our order. After staring down most of the nearby servers, a confused waitress came by asked if hostess had told us which waitress would be serving us. We ordered the tempura mushrooms to start, which seemed to me to be deep fried and not tempura fried. Next my husband had the blackened salmon and I had the rainbow trout. The fish seemed to be high quality, but the butter drowned out a lot of the taste and I was unable to finish my fish due to the amount of butter. While the experience started out nicely, overall we were unimpressed withy the service and preparation of the food.
Review Source:A great alternative to the pricier Lodge dining room down the street. Â We found the Salmon House to be friendly, the wait staff efficient, and the food well worth the prices. Â The salad bar is, admittedly, umm ... Â understated, but, hey, it has enough on it to be serviceable. Â The chicken cordon blue was fantastic - moist and flavorful. Â The flatiron steak was perfectly cooked and tender. Â The baked potatoes were hot and tender, the vegetables, for us, we're done just right (those of you who like a little crunch in your veggies won't like them ... but you are wrong!). Â I'd definitely recommend this place to anyone staying at the Lodge as a great alternative for a captive audience.
Review Source:My wife and I ate here the day after a bad meal at a nearby restaurant about a mile or so away. This was completely different from the other establishment. We started with cheese-garlic bread. The bread was firm enough, but not too chewy. Cheese was very good. Cheddar melted on the bread and parm grated on top of it, I think. I also got a salad that was self-serve and had the customary offerings. The lettuce was cold and the accoutrement were fresh. For entrees, I got blackened salmon and my wife got baked salmon. Both were tender and juicy, cooked to just the right point. Not underdone and not dry. The blackened salmon was tasty but not so spicy that I couldn't taste the next bite. The baked salmon had a very good flavor and my wife loved it. She also got a potato that was good, though not huge. My rice pilaf was very good and not heavily seasoned, which is how I like it. The beer was served in a generous 20-ounce glass and our server Jennifer was very helpful and attentive. We didn't have room for dessert, unfortunately, but I wish that I had. We seemed to have visited before the busy season, but everything was good and the restaurant treated us like their best customers, not like people they would never see again. I would be happy to go there again.
Review Source:We took a chance on the Salmon House last weekend when staying at the Lake Quinault Lodge. Based on the reviews here, we were looking for 3.5 stars.
We walked in, and being the off season, it was really quiet. In fact, the front room was empty except for the teeny-tiny salad bar. The server noticed us, greeted us warmly, and took us back into the back dining room which also contained the lounge. OK, let's face it: the decor here is HIDEOUS. The green paint is outdated, the decorations are a mish-mash of lodge plus Christmas plus winter plus tons of Christmas lights all over... not good.
Interestingly, none of us wanted salmon. Instead we had:
3 year old: fettucini alfredo
12 year old: fettucini alfredo with chicken (adult portion)
me: homemade chicken parmesan and spaghetti
husband: homemade chicken cordon bleu
To be blunt about it, the food was fantastic. The plates were pretty, with beautiful fresh borders (see the photo; those were pepper cubes and herbs), without being ridiculous. The chicken parm was the best I've had in ages and ages; lovely homemade sauce, perfect chicken, nice balance of cheese to sauce. It was weird that the offered sides with that were potato or rice; I asked for and got spaghetti with marinara, another clearly-homemade sauce. The vegetables on the plate were dynamite... yellow and green beans and carrots, perfectly fresh and perfectly cooked... I usually look at the vegetables as plate dressing but these were delicious and I actually ate them first.
The cordon bleu is raved about on the menu and honestly, it deserves it. Perfectly cooked, tender and juicy, flavorful with the ham and swiss, it was a delight. It was even good more than 24 hours later as leftovers!! My husband got that with the baked potato and the same stunning veggies as my chicken parm. The baked potato leads to our single complaint about the food... on a $15 plate, Bac-os to go with the potato? Really? The restaurant serves bacon-wrapped scallops and a few other dishes that call for the real deal, so fake bacon bits were really a let-down.
The chicken fettucini was competent with lots of juicy hand-cut chicken pieces and the portion was generous.
These meals were $1-2 per plate more than they would have cost us back home in the Seattle area. Big whoop... I don't know if you've looked at a map, but Lake Quinault is pretty far from anything resembling a city. The food was clearly prepared by someone who cared about it AND who knew what they were doing... we met him on the way out and he was friendly and bright-eyed, honestly pleased that we had enjoyed our dinners.
Our server was friendly and efficient. She was happy to recommend a few dishes and paced the delivery of our meal thoughtfully, not rushing us, but then not delaying with the check when my preschooler got a bit antsy. The back room of the restaurant was just busy enough for a Saturday night in the off-season in a small place.
I would happily eat here again, though I wonder how they'd do when it was really busy... the food is not from the Sysco truck and actually requires preparation from fresh ingredients; I hope the chef has a good sous chef and line cooks, because otherwise I could see some service lapses developing.
The view is awesome so just don't look at the hideous decor. Enjoy your friends and family, the food, and the lake view.
We were staying at the Rain Forest Lodge across the street, so this was a convenient walk to dinner. Â By the looks of the interior, we didn't expect much. Â The salad bar was very basic and we opted to not go that route. Â So, when our meal came, so perfectly cooked and tasty and wonderful we were very happy. Â Full meal, appetizers and wine for the two of us for around $50. Â Yummy and priced right.
Review Source:The food is really mediocre, especially given the pricey menu. I wouldn't have felt bad about the meal if they had Denny's prices, but based on the menu/pricing/location you think you should get something special or at least something to get excited about. Their battered prawns are good, but everything else is just so-so. Edible, but nondescript.
Also, for the price they should give you a soup or salad with your meal, but that is extra.
A table of 4 cost us about $100 before tip (and one meal was a kid's meal). If the food had been good, I would not have minded paying the price.
Our waitress was very nice, but very forgetful. I was pregnant and dying for some water. After asking her 5 times for some water, and drinking water out of my kids glasses (yuck) I finally had my husband go the bar to get a glass of water. Â It was comical, how she would refill all the water glasses at the table and kept apologizing for forgetting mine, but mine never came. Â Then we all ordered desert and she forgot my 5 year old son's desert. He looked so incredibly deflated as he watched everyone else get theirs as he sat with an empty spoon in hand ready for his special desert. Â Lucky for him we shared our deserts because we were afraid his might never come. Â
However, if you are in this area, it is one of only a couple of restaurants, so they kind of have you by the short hairs.
Excellent Salmon dishes and service. We had the broiled and blackened salmon. We also tried the smoked salmon. All of them were very good. It was not salty or bland. The salmon wasn't overcooked. The restaurant also has a nice ambience and lake view. We really liked their Rainforest Chardonnay. It was just 20+ dollars per bottle.
Review Source:SALMON: AMAZING, EVERYTHING ELSE: NOT
First the good: I had the blackened salmon, which is cajun seasoned. Â I'm a salmon lover and this was one of the best I've had. Â Nice and juicy, well cooked, not charred.
Now the bad: Everything but the salmon was terrible. Â My wife, who is a great from-scratch cook at home, had the Chicken Marsala. Â It appeared that the chicken was thin, pressed, frozen chicken, as it was easily cut with a fork. Â The sauce was tasteless and lacked spices. Â The mushrooms appeared to be canned and both of our veggies (green beans and carrots) seemed to be frozen and were undercooked. Â
The atmosphere was not great either. Â The location is beautiful since it sits near the lake, but the restaurant itself looks like it needs a makeover. Â
On top of all this, the prices seemed quite high. Â I can understand paying a bit more for salmon, but even my wife's nasty chicken dish was $15. Â
So, if you like salmon, get the blackened salmon. Â If you're looking for anything else though, don't waste your time or money here. Â The Quinalt Lodge down the road is a much better choice.
My boyfriend and I love salmon, so when we were in the area on vacation we knew we had to try this place out. YUM! We tried both the broiled and the blackened salmon. Both were very very delicious. We also got a piece of tuxedo cake to-go, which was also very very yummy. The restaurant looks out over Lake Quinault, which is lovely. The service was good, the food was good, we'll definitely go here again next time we're in the area.
Review Source:This was my first salmon experience. I now love it. The blackened salmon here was so incredibly delicious and the lemonade was yummy. Salmon House is the only food option we could find in the area (stayed at Lake Quinault Resort). The prices were fair, the service great, location on the lake and the food so yummy. If I ever make it back to Quinault I would definitely eat here again!
Review Source: