A beautifully restored little house on Stark St. on the side of Mt. Tabor, the Caldera is a sweet and intimate little pub with fantastic, hard-to-find beers that are worth making a special trip for. (Our favorite on a recent trip was the Slow Train Porter from Portland's Amnesia Brewing Co.) The warm wood and dim, golden lighting make this a terrifically cozy place for hanging out and getting warm in the winter. Caldera also has a wonderfully secluded little patio for when the weather is warm. HOWEVER! The food here is shockingly underwhelming, even bad. Other reviewers have noted this, and we can't believe it is still the case. While money and care were clearly spent on the decor and the beer selection, it seems nothing at all was spent on the kitchen. On our recent trip, we were served unbelievably messy, yet only lukewarm, poor boy sandwiches and burgers with half-melted cheese kind of falling completely out of the sandwich and ingredients flying everywhere. It's absolutely shocking - to have done such wonderful things with the location, yet to have done absolutely nothing worth remembering with the food. I mean, most people cook dinner at home better than this. Here's hoping they fix the situation, soon. Otherwise, I'm just not going to go back, not even for the fantastic beer.
Pros: Awesome beer and ambience
Cons: They really and truly can't cook
more