Rainier Tavern

My husband and I have lived in Enumclaw for over 10 years and we love it. We do tend to eat out around 3 times a week and we like to keep it local. For casual dining and great beer we pretty much stick to the Mint on Cole St. A couple times a month we go across Cole street to the Rainier for what used to be the best Kobe steak. The menu is small but has really wonderful choices. The wait staff is top notch. In August we went in for dinner and my husband had the Kobe steak as usual and I had the marinated steak salad. The Kobe steak had hard grisle veined through out it and was very hard to chew. My salad was about half the serving size I usually recieve. We didn't complain, we figured every place has a bad night and this was it. No big deal. So 2 weeks later we go back and it was just as bad. We usually spend well over a $ 100 for dinner, a bottle of wine and tip. We had no intention of going back again but some friends of ours invited us to join them for dinner and they were going to the Rainier. So we went. It was awful. I had the Kobe burger cooked medium. It was so rare that the bun was completly blood soaked and mush, you could not even pick it up. The waitress apolagized and took it back to the kitchen. After 20 minutes I got my burger back and it was crispy black. I ordered it medium not raw and not burnt. At $15 a burger I would like it cooked correctly. We will never go back again. Seriously 3 awful meals there in a month. What went wrong in their kitchen? more

We have been to The Rainier several times since we moved to Enumclaw and really love it again and again. The best thing about this little bar is the service, which is excellant. The waiters and bartenders are very attentive and always smiling. The food is also fantastic. I would definitely recommend the ahi tuna!! We were a little dissapointed in the prices. They seemed more along the lines of a dinner in Seattle. Also, be prepared to wait for a seat during ski season. We didn't even think about that last time we went in and had to wait for about 30 minutes to be seated. All in all though we love this little Enumclaw find! Pros: food, service, atmosphere Cons: price, really busy during ski season more