Stanford's Restaurant & Bar

We took my family here for an early Mother's Day dinner and my dad ordered the rib-eye. It was nothing but FAT! The manager came over and explained how he calls it ""marbeling"" and the amount of marbeling is dependent on how the meat is prepared. Um, yah, I don't think so. This is the second moron manager we've dealt with at Lake O Stanfords. No thanks. \r \r Stick to salads and burgers and you'll be fine, just try to avoid dealing with the manager. more

I get to this place eveytime I visit here. The food and service is always good... I do sit in the bar area. Tonight, blackened salmon with mango salsa, rice and grilled asparagus. Perfect. Sweetness from mango balanced spice and salt from blackening. Rice was a great compliment and asparagus crisp. Good microbrew from a place in Eugene balanced the meal. Thanks for a wonderful experience, Stanfords. more

The prime rib was inedible, and the small appetite portions are missing from the menu. Our inexperienced server was so bad that he became the joke in our seating area. Oddly, the manager never stopped by to inquire about our dining experience. I encourage you to avoid the restaurant until they get their act together. Pros: the pros are now cons Cons: service, quality, value more

Not a frequent visitor, but the last time I went there I got nice quick service, and a darn good burger! Pros: Good food more

Normally this is just the type of place I avoid... big crowd waiting in the lobby and overpriced menu. But I had a $15 coupon, so we went. Stanford's has a chain restaurant vibe and seems to attract the corpulent crowd in large numbers. So much for the recession. On a Sunday evening we waited 30 minutes for a table and then another 15 to place our order. The food was okay, but when I'm paying $24 for a piece of fish, I want to be dazzled. My husband ordered the stuffed trout, which he hated. Kids' menu meals are $7. Service was sluggish and our waitress seemed overwhelmed. We gobbled our food when it arrived just so we could get out of there. Arrival to hasty departure was 1 hour and 40 minutes. We will never return. Pros: Can't think of any Cons: overpriced, crowded more

I've been patronizing Stanford's restaurants in Portland for years and have always considered Stanford's one of my favorite restaurants as it had consistenly good food at fair prices.\r \r Over the past two years they have gone straight down hill. I've been told that they are under new ownership and it definately shows.\r \r the menu prices have increased by at least 20% and the new menu items are TERRIBLE. I mean literally, TGIF's would be a better choice now.\r \r In the last 4 visits my meals have consisted of: \r A fried trout with some chilechipotle sauce ??? are you serious?\r the WORST Fish and Chips I've EVER had. I mean literally out of a box from Winco would be superior.\r A Braised short rib that was nearly 50% fat\r A dessert of deep fried snickers bars....lolol now THAT is creative I guess...but ICK\r A ""Special"" for $25 that consisted of 1 skewer of various seafood items on a bed of rice (that's it)\r \r Every one of these items was a culinary nightmare.\r \r We keep going back on the hope that it's a ""quirk"". I mean...Stanfords has been very hard to beat in pdx for ages. I used to think it was up there with McCormicks. Now it couldnt mop mcCormicks floors.\r \r The courses dont even come with side dishes any more. It seems mostly ala carte. This is normal for an upscale steak joint like the Ringside or El Gaucho, but Stanfords is NO EL GAUCHO !!!!\r \r I Quality meal at Stanfords used to average about $25-$30 per person. Now you'll spend at least $40 per person. SIMPLY NOT WORTH IT.\r \r We've officially thrown in the towl and will NOT be back. \r \r Stanfords You can keep your chipotle fried trout.....I'm heading to McCormicks or even Elmer's for cryin out loud Pros: still very nice atmosphere and a GREAT Bar Cons: Prices are WAY too high and the food is absolutely terrible (seriously) more

I was a guest at an early Monday business dinner at Stanford's Restaurant and Bar in Lake Oswego. A short wait, friendly staff and good service were negated by a profoundly bad meal. Very gristly meat, strangely cut ... virtually inedible. Bizarre. Pros: Friendly staff. Cons: Quality of food. more

I received a gift card in the mail (as did I think most of the south west side of the metro area) for 15$ off dinner or lunch, so my mother and I went to check it out. The first night we showed up around 6pm starving and was told there was at least an hour wait. We decided to try the next night and called to make reservations. There version of reservations is slightly different, but it served us well. Instead of reserving a table, Stanford's puts our name at the top of the waitlist (if there is one). There was, but we were seated within five minutes of arriving. The waiter was young, but incredibly polite and didn't hover like many do nowadays. I had the fish and chips and mum had a shrimp pasta. The food was fabulous! The fish was thick, well cooked, and lightly breaded in crumbs. The pasta could have used more shrimp, but was good. \r \r The food is priced high, but if you can afford it, it's well worth it. Had we not had the gift card, our total (with a water and a soda to drink) would have cost us over 50$. But, the food is oh so good! Pros: great romantic and quiet atmosphere, excellent service, wonderful food Cons: very pricey more

Unfortunately Stanfords was bought out by some big corporate chain a few months ago and they have proceeded to tear apart the menu, take off the good stuff and leave mostly cheap, filler meals. Sad to say, it is not worth the trip anymore. Gone is the Monterey Kruse Burger, the Chicken Tenderloin Salad (my fav), the Veggie Wrap, Fajitas, the lemon-grilled salmon and countless other good dishes. In it's place, fish and chips, macaroni and cheese and the meatloaf is now made with sausage instead of veal. The food USE to be excellent! A great standby when we were dying for a meal out - now there's nothing special, it's a step (barely) above Applebee's and they got rid of a lot of the good meals. We walked out last time because of the 5 things we usually order, none of them were still on the menu.\r \r Note to corporate: the reason you bought the place was because people use to be packed in there and would wait a long time. Notice how the parking lot isn't full anymore?? Gee, got any idea why? Pros: Trying to think of one Cons: cheaped menu, lack of interesting dishes more

Wow, the hostess has a smile pasted onto her face, the server awkwardly makes meaningless conversation until you want to stab yourself in the eye with your own fork and the prepubescent manager tries to flex his muscles in front of staff while embarassing patrons when carding them. A grandiose scene was made over examinging a license with a SLIGHTLY pealed corner. \r \r Our waitress visited our table and asked whether we would like to start with a Lemon Drop. Although we were not planning to have any, we took a moment and ordered two alcoholic drinks. She took her time examining my companion?s id, commenting on the picture. She then moved on to my id and immediately commented on the fact that the laminate was pealing off slightly in the right corner. She said she really should not take this id due to recent crackdowns by some state entity we were not familiar with. But then she said she would be able to take the id.\r \r Several minutes after that, we saw a cocktail hostess approaching with a tray and our two drinks, immediately followed by our waitress and another young man. Just before the hostess reached the table, She loudly stated, ?Wait, the Manager needs to look at her id!? The hostess was surprised. The Manager asked if he could see my id, but before he took it he explained that we were already aware, but there has been a recent crackdown on ids and he would need to examine the id again. He was very long-winded and loud. He could have kneeled down next to our table instead of lecturing us in front of other patrons and with two other employees present. He examined the pealing corner, and asked whether I was eighteen. I said that I was almost 30 years old. I am not certain when he left he table, but we were allowed our drinks. Needless to say, my companion and I left the restaurant. . It seemed as though we were participating in a purposeful training activity. Why did the Manager ask if I was 18 when the legal drinking age is 21? Pros: Good drinks Cons: Service more

This was the first time my husband and I had been here and I must say, the food was perfect. I had the most exquisite rib-eye steak with garlic mashed potatoes. \r My only complaint is with the service we received. I ordered a cocktail with dinner and the waitress practically accused me of having a fake license (out of state). She was verging on rude the entire meal and did not smile - she grimaced. She didn't come to check on us once and quite honestly seemed as though she either didn't like being there or was just extremely snobby. I've received better service at Taco Bell.\r So, if you can deal with potentially having a very stuck-up wait-person, the food and the atmosphere is like none other. Pros: Food, Atmosphere Cons: Snobby service more

Stanfords has the absolute best happy hour food! Unlike most places, you can actually find salads and wraps on this happy hour menu. And the portions are so generous. I highly recommend. Pros: Friendly, Good food Cons: crowded more

One thing that has to be said about Stanford's: if any promising date is going sour, Stanford's will turn it around. No matter if it's for dinner, drinks or both. Those doors are magical, inside you seem to have returned to everything you were missing (even confidence). The staff truly make the place what it is, and that's felt from the moment you're greeted. The classic bartenders and progressive menu (California style) round off the deal in true style. Pros: Friendly staff, perfect drinks, intimate atmosphere Cons: , homogenous wine list, Occasional waits more