Tad's Chicken 'N Dumplins

I like the Chicken and dumplings. I think they do that particular dish well. But... The waitress took our order, delivered our main meal, and collected our payment and tip. She failed to follow through on our requests for extra dressing, bread, water and a cup for our friend's toddler. The bus boy graciously and quickly brought these items. I made a point of mentioning the lack of responsiveness to the manager following our meal... she responded with a dismissive voice and blunted affect... ""I glad you got what you wanted from the busboy."" I dined at Tad's several years ago and didn't experience substandard service. I may try it again in a few years. I hope they share their tips. more

I have heard of this place for years and how good it was, so I loaded up the family & drove from Vancouver to try it out. There were 2 groups ahead of us, and of the 3 parties, none of us were formally greeted (i.e. ""hi, how are you, someone will be right w/you), although several people passed us by. When the woman (possibly the manager/owner) finally came over to seat us, she was very unpleasant/sour. She took us over & dumped us into a booth. While handing us our menu's, my mother-in-law asked ""how are you today"" and she responded ""fine"" and walked away.... more

I have taken many guests here when they come to visit. A warm and welcoming environment, with good home cooking. Tried many dishes, but the tried and true chicken and dumblings is of course the best. Servings are more than one can eat, so plenty of leftovers for another meal. Desserts are awesome as well. Great atmosphere and wonderful staff. Felt very attended to and appreciated as their guest. I would recommend to anyone looking for a nice dining experience on the Sandy River. If you are hoping for river seating, don't worry about not being able to make a reservation. If you call before heading over, they do best to accommodate. Even with large crowds, I have always been able to get the seating I wanted. Kind staff, lovely place, good food. Not much more to be had! more

We went to this Place on Saturday and it's now Tuesday and am still running to the toilet. The food was nothing but salt and bread, and expensive for such crap. If you want to die early this is the place for you. This kind of food is what's wrong with the overweight society in this country.....Will never eat there again and hope the runs stop soon. more

This place sits on the side of the road looking down upon the Sandy River in a quiet area. During the summer they open up their big glass windows and the breeze slides right off the cool river right into the restaurant. The service here has always been good, up to the 40 something waiters, down to the young teenagers. We've never had a problem with them that I know of and my family's been coming here for decades. Some of our favorite dishes are the smoked salmon chowder, the breaded clam strips (only on Fridays), the oysters, the top sirloin steak, the pasta with smoked salmon, and of course the dumplings. We also love that they serve a vegetable platter, bread, and a side of green beans with each meal. Most places just offer you bread before your meal, if that. I think their prices are reasonable considering all the amount of food you get. The only bad thing about this place is the parking, because their right on the river it dosen't leave much room to park, so get there early on weekends to get a spot right in front. more

Service Is terrible. Food is nearly tasteless and is way overpriced. Too bad this place has gone to hell. more

I was next in line at the bar, but still took 15 minutes to get a draft beer. Bartender just didn't seem to want to work on Saturday. She was apologetic, but not sincere. My chicken livers were good, but lukewarm, as if they'd set under the heat lamp for quite a spell. But hey, I like those green beans. Their signature dish, chicken 'n dumplings was average. Service was rather perfunctory. Surprisingly, the busboy was courteous, quick, and seemed more intent on customer service than did any of the waitstaff. Great view if you're sitting by the window. Pros: Ambiance, view Cons: Flavor, bartender, 20 mile drive more

I have heard about this place for years and always wanted to try it. ICK! It must have changed. The food was terrible! We ordered dumplings with our fried chicken. It came with a big bowl of lukewarm CANNED green beans, a dumpling the size of a softball that was gooey, heavy, sticky and tasteless and chicken that was supposed to be pan fried but had been baked to death. Dry and hard to chew. A truly terrible meal and we arrived at 6 pm! What a dump...do not waste your time or your palate. Pros: Nice location Cons: Terrible food more

Went to Tad C&D for our 29th anniverary. We had been to Tad's many times before in the past and thought is would be fun to revisit. Well, it's probably been 15 years since we were there and the location and building are all that are the same. Pros: The chicken was barely edible Cons: Bad experience all around. more

Chicken and dumplings are great, cocktails are great but other items on the menu are avg. to below avg. Pros: Great Chicken and Dumplings Cons: Not much elese on the menu worth getting more

First time I've ever stopped there after being in Portland for over fourty years. It was a thursday eve. and was promptly seated at a window seat on the back section. What a view. Had the deep fried mushrooms appetizer then the sauted shrimp with potatoe. Would have liked a couple more shrimp compared to the perfectly cooked but oversized pile of vegetables. Signature ""homestyle"" green beans were questionable as to fresh or canned.(soft but flavorfull). The setting was really what justified the tab. Overall an acceptable experience. Watch out when backing out on the blind 35 mile an hour curve parking spaces though, they can bring up a good meal in a skipped heart beat Pros: the view, the food, the interior Cons: exiting parking on river side more

I grew up eating here with my family and this place has a lot of fond memories. Just ate there again with my folks back in town from Florida who demanded we took them there. Two of us had great meals and two of us didn't. My wife liked her Salmon, my mom loved the pan fried chicken but my father and I had dissapointingly similar experiences on the beef. I had the tenderloin It seemed to have a sinew or vein running through the middle and was flavorless. Dad's top sirloin was tougher than Sizzler at about 3 times the price. Servers didn't seem to have a clue and when we commented about them and didn't seem in a hurry to do anything about it. Has this place changed owners or chef's recently or have I just outgrown Tad's? Ate there as recently as last summer and had a great time and a great meal. Pros: Chicken and Seafood Cons: Beef and service more

We took our father in law to Tad's for his birthday after climbing Multnomah Falls in October. We called ahead and asked if there was seating for 14. They said come in 20 minutes. When we arrived they weren't ready for us and had us wait for another 20 minutes. Our waitress from the very beginning was very unfriendly and felt put out by our number in our party. After 45 minutes of beginning there we FINALLY got our food. Which was horrible. The kids mac n cheese had NO flavor for 5 dollars a bowl, when we asked for it to be taken back they refused to compensate it, and actually told us it was our child that doesn't know good mac n cheese when he's served it. The chicken and dumplings was SO bland. We had a birthday cake that we wanted them to bring to the table as a surprise and to our surprise when we received our bill they charged easy person a 2.00 desert fee. There was 14 in our party. My husband at that point went to go speak with management when they were very confortational and aggressive towards him telling him they weren't going to do anything for him and that we'd better leave. The whole staff was standing around like it was a show. The wifes took the kids to the car and were followed by 2 waiters that got into a parked car next to us and spun up gravel at us. While my husband was in trying to rationalize the 300.00 dollar bill that we got for the WORST service and food EVER. I felt as if we were unfairly treated, they have a bunch of young kids working there with a big chip on there shoulder with no regards to good service. They finally took the mac n cheese off our bill. Thats IT. We proceeded to photograph our itemized bill with a zero tip, which the bill came too 295 and some change. If you have a big party and you want great fast warm service DO NOT go to Tads. They DO NOT like kids there as well. It was the most uncomfortable dining out experience I've ever had. BE CAREFUL. VERY EXPENSIVE POOR FOOD AND SERVICE. Cons: parking,long wait, service,poor food, expensive,slow,rude more

Total comfort food. not the place to go if you are trying to eat healthy - even the green beans that come with every meal have ham added to them. Creamy gravy in the signature dumplings, salty smoked salmon, breaded razor clams etc. Try the bread pudding for dessert with rum sauce. It's a really fun place with the view, architecture, and decor. Even the bathrooms have cool deco wallpaper. Gets crowded during the summer when they open up all the windows but try it out on a stormy winter night! you get seated right away and can hunker down with some hot clam chowder while watching the rain pelt outside. This type of food is better in the winter time - imo more

There isn't much to say about Tad's that hasn't been said by far more qualified people than myself. However, when it comes to home-cooked food, I know what I'm talking about and there are but a small handful of places that can compare to Tad's and they are all Oregon traditions - Huber's comes to mind. And while no one approaches Huber's magic touch with turkey and Spanish Coffee, no one comes close to Tad's chicken & dumplings. Pros: Great food, excellent service, cozy atmosphere Cons: Dangerous parking more

If you like chicken and dumplings, this is the place to go! I love the fact that they are ""old fashioned"" as some other reviews stated. I love that the dish is simple...not a lot of junk in it. Just chicken, gravy and yummy dumplings! The price is a little high, but the portions are HUGE. I had leftovers for two other meals. I've never had anything else at Tad's, but I will definately go back for the atmosphere and comforting chicken and dumplings. YUM! more

First time visitors to Tad's, we were hoping for a relaxing evening and a couple of drinks and appetizers. The service was poor, due to lack of table service, the view was gorgeous, and the drinks were good, and the bartender was friendly. We spent a couple of hours at Tad's, there were three adults in our party, we had a two-way split tab. My husband went to pay and thought the total was excessive, but thought that possibly part of the other party's tab was put onto ours. We walked away with a credit card slip, but no itemized receipt (our own fault, we should have asked for one). When the other party went to pay, her tab also seemed excessive, but she said not to worry. We left Tad's definitely feeling that something was not right with the tab, but did not truly review the total and the variance of $32 until we added everything up this morning. We called Tad's and spoke with an apparent manager. This individual proceeded to say that our story was changing, that their records showed something different, and he refused to make this right. He told us his hands were tied, He in so many words told us that we were too drunk to remember, and that we were not being honest about the appetizers and drinks we were served. This is not good customer service and I take real offense to this. I advised him that I would write a negative review, which I have never in my life done before. I called hiim back to let him know the harm that negative word of mouth can do to a business, and he proceeded to tell me that they have been around for 60 years, and threatened to call the police if I called back. It is in my opinion, that we were ""ripped off"", for lack of a better term, and we will never return to Tad's to be mistreated like this again. Sad to say, because otherwise we had a pleasant time. I am truly surprised that a business manager would not even attempt to make this right. more

EXPECTED MUCH MORE FOR THE ONE HOUR WAIT.... A LARGE GROUP OF FORMER TROUTDALE PEOPLE GATHERD TO DINE ONCE AGAIN ON THE RIVER.. Pros: BEAUTIFUL RIVER SETTING Cons: THE FOOD..... more

Wow, this place was not good at all. I had a colleague who used to rave about Tad's so we thought we'd give it a try. I have to say it was just awful. The food was so bland and everything was the same color. White bread, white dumpling, boiled chicken, pale gravy. It was completely unappetizing. Pros: sweet setting among the trees on the banks of the Sandy river Cons: bland, outdated food more

We arrived on a cold nite and were welcomed into a fireplace lit, homey diner atmosphere. The chicken and dumplings were tender, tasty, perfectly seasoned, and generous to say the least. My wife's Chicken Caesar salad was large, the chicken tender, and tasty. Service was friendly and prompt. Prices were fair. Chicken & Dumplings were $13.95 and I could only eat half after a delicious bowl on Salmon chowder (included, with rolls, and relish tray.) Pros: Delicious Chicken and Dumplings (and gravy), good beer offerings Cons: Great place, no cons except It's dark out there! more