Stanford’s Restaurant & Bar

We are regulars. Food is little bit pricey but always good. Love their signature menu. Currently they ran 3 course menu for $ 20, which is good deal for exceptional food.
Smoked salmon chowder is pretty good, worth to try.

Steak was well cooked but not very flavorful. I would have preferred more menu options as well, but that may just be personal taste.

I love brunch. Good poached eggs plus coffee plus good service = happy Janet.
This was an almost perfect brunch experience.
The good:
–There was no line at 11 am when they open. It was not crowded. Nice.
–Our server was fabulous. I’m sad I didnt get her name.
–Coffee was good with real cream in little pitchers.
–The music was loud but when my dining companion asked to have the volume turned down it was easily and graciously remedied.
— I requested small ojs. They don’t have that so she only charged us for one large one which I thought very kind.
— A warm, free little cinnamon roll with yummy frosting was brought before our food. It was tasty. Nice touch.
— The food was pretty damn delicious. It really was.
The not quite perfect:
— Companion’s omelet was a little bit too salty. I think because each component was salty (salmon, brie, eggs, caramelized onions, and sauce.)It was not inedible however it was still very tasty and nicely put together.
–My eggs benedict had little hard unnecessary bits of bacon crumbled on top. And the Canadian bacon slice under each egg was a little thin and small. (But the poached eggs were beautiful which is rare).
–It is just a little bit expensive. The omelet, for example, was about $ 15.
–Why can’t they offer a small oj?
Really though this was a very positive experience. I will go back. They have a nice variety of brunch offerings and yummy cocktails if youre so inclined. I imagine the patio would be nice in better weather, too. It’s sweet to have another brunch option near my neighborhood.

Stanford’s. The last time I went here, I went with someone really special and we had a great experience here. We came here later at night and I ordered Beer Battered Fish and Chips and he ordered Chicken Baja Style Tacos. IT WAS SO GOOD. I don’t normally eat fish at all but I decided to because it sounded really tasty. I wish I would have ordered the tacos though, the rice was really good and it was great. I had great service. I ordered a drink and instead of charging me extra for a refill, the server helping us gave me them for free (specialty drink not regular fountain drinks). It’s a really great restaurant. As much as I love this place here’s two reasons why I docked a star. 1. The food is pricey in my opinion, too pricey. 2. I feel like there’s not a wide variety of food choices on the menu, however that may just be me.
I’ll probably be here again but not too often, just every once in a while for a special occasion.

Disappointing ! We would not have stepped into this place, if not for wait at other restaurants in the area on Saturday evening. No wait here and the restaurant was half empty which was probably a clue.
Service was apathetic at best. Our entrees arrived randomly, and we had to remind some one about a forgotten entrée for a large group of 3 people !!! Not just at our table, but everywhere we could notice, the wait staff were disengaged. It is likely that they do not get paid or treated well.
I ordered a Southwest Chicken Salad entrée which was one of the worst things I have tasted for a while. The description was very lofty, what I got was a plate of chicken strips on dry bagged lettuce strips drenched with ranch for 17 dollars. The fast food guys do a better job than this with their salads.
Bottom line: Apathetic service, bad food, glorified McDonald’s vibe. As others have pointed the happy hour prices might justify stepping into this place. Would not recommend this place to celebrate an occasion, lest you are left with bad memories. Hard to imagine that we would ever be stepping foot in this place again.

I’ll confess I’ve been a fan of this place since they opened in the late ’80’s. While they had some ups and downs from a menu perspective (Fried pickles? Really?) they’ve learned from their mistakes.
The spinach-​artichoke dip is a food group, all of itself — creamy and tangy; it’s the stuff by which others are judged. The crab cakes are, in spite of being on the appetizer menu, a meal-​size portion which satisfies the crab-​jones, and then some.
The burgers are consistently the best in town — and their chicken or salmon Caesar salads will hold their own in any five-​star restaurant.
I don’t drink, so the alcohol aspect is a bit lost on me — but dining in the bar (if you can find a booth; they fill up quickly) is just as good as holding out for a spot in the dining room.
You’ll leave satisfied if you remember the following: (1) They’re always busy. Show up early, or call ahead; (2) If they’re busy, count on the kitchen being slammed, and plan accordingly; (3) Parking is at a premium, since some new retail was put in where additional parking used to be.
I didn’t give this place five stars, because it *is* a bit pricey — and there are still some service inconsistencies they need to work out (short-​staff and overlong waits for food.) Still in all, it’s a great value, and one of the best places on the far west side.

Had dinner at Stanford’s last night. We’ve been many times and always have great service, food is good and atmosphere is relaxing. Last night was no exception.

The restaurant is beautiful. The presentation of the dishes was superb. Our food was delicious. The staff and manager are very attentive to the customer’s needs.

An alien ship obviously took over Stanford’s. Service poor, menu poor, food poor. Went for Christmas Eve dinner. They had a very limited holiday menu with nothing inspiring on it. We thought this was in addition to their regular menu, no, this was the menu. Server took awhile to greet us, drinks took a while to arrive and he’d forgotten one. We ordered grilled steak cobb salads, prime rib, and a half rack of ribs. (I ordered the ribs, mine was the best.) The steak in the salads was not very tender and one was really hard to chew. The prime rib was good but nothing to write home about. The ribs were good, but I smoke better ones. The salads and ribs were not something we were thinking of ordering when we made our Christmas Eve dinner reservations. Don’t go on a holiday!
We’ve had much better experiences every other time we have been to Stanford’s.

My wife and I visited Stanford’s recently on a rare date night. They were not very busy, but the service was really slow. There were a few times that I wondered if our server actually might have gone on break. As for the food, it was average and way overpriced for what it was. I had a steak that was very dry and had zero flavor. For the money, it was a pretty lame experience. Probably wont go back any time soon.

This place looks like somewhere desirable to have lunch or dinner at but I was disappointed when I ordered sushi and bit into hard sharp fish scales. Iv never had that happen before at any place Iv been to so it was just kind of surprising because this place looks so nice. And it wasn’t just one pice of sushi but multiple, it really killed my appetite. My grandparents enjoyed there food though and it was a nice clean place. I would give them another chance. Maybe it was just an off day for whoever made the sushi

We went for the happy hour on Friday night and got the Buttermilk Fried Chicken Strips, Ribs and (onion) Ring, and Woodfire-​grilled BBQ Chicken Quesadilla plates and then the Southwest Chopped Salad and house side salad (which had bacon chunks). All were excellent, except the fries (which came with the tenders) were strange/​unimpressive. The happy hour cocktails that we tried were also very good— their version of a margarita and a sidecar. We’ll definitely be back for happy hour again.

Great food yummy drinks good for happy hour
Its close to home and in a nice area! Will be coming here more often!

We mainly love coming here for the happy hour. They do change their menu occasionally, we miss their deep fried tator tots that they no longer carry :(But the HH food is really good, especially for the price. Quesadilla, portobello mushroom, and burgers are yummy! The atmosphere is cozy and elegant. Does not require drinks minimum, which is perfect when you just want a small meal and not overspend. Located conveniently across from Tanasbourne shopping area. Or come here for a quick bite before heading to the Evergreen Theater for a movie. You normally would have to seat yourselves, so it’s nicer to go on non-​busy hours.

Disappointing! WOW! I don’t think I have ever in my life had such poor service at any restaurant ever as we did last night at Stanford’s. First, it took us FOREVER to get a table. We were quoted 20 minutes, but it was closer 45 – 50. I finally went to the hostess stand to ask how much longer, and coincidentally we were next on the list.
Once seated, it took about 15 minutes for our waitress to even acknowledge us. We just sat there ignored, without even a glass of water Once the waitress came by, we ordered beverages and we asked her about their rib special we had seen in a promotional email (there was no mention of the special on the menu or on any of the table tents or anything, so we weren’t even sure if they were still doing it or not). She proceeded to rattle off the specials for us. I had to prompt her for the price. There’s nothing worse than a waitperson telling you all about their specials and they don’t tell you how much they cost. Irritating.
Anyway, after placing our food order (a sandwich and some seafood skewers — pretty simple). We proceeded to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait some more. At one point, our waitress dropped by our table to refill our water, and my husband remarked, «you’re pretty busy tonight, huh?» Our waitress took the hint and said she would check on our food to see if it was almost ready. By this point, we had been sitting at the table for over 45 minutes, and were super-​hungry. Even though the prices here are very high for what you get, you don’t even get a complimentary basket of bread or crackers or anything. Nothing.
After our waitress offered to check on our food, we kept waiting. She walked by our table twice, and didn’t make any eye contact with us, nor offer an apology for the wait time, nor tell us the food was on the way or anything. She just walked on by, ignoring us, while we sat and waited some more.
At one point, after sitting and drinking water for nearly an hour, I had to excuse myself to go to the ladies room, and was hoping I would run into some kind of management on the way there just to tell them how miffed we were about the entire experience. All I saw was the host, who was just a very young man, with apparently no authority; all he could offer me was a comment card. I used the ladies room, and took the comment card back to our table to fill out. Wen I got back to the table, there was still no food there, and my husband was putting on his coat, and told me we were leaving.
Apparently, he had been keeping his eye on a table behind where I was sitting, with more people than we had. He said they were seated after we were, and had already been eating their meals for a while. He just decided enough was enough and we were not waiting around any more. We got up and left, and on the way out, I told the host we were leaving. It was obvious we were upset. Once we left, our waitress came running after us and offered us some coupons to come back. My husband looked at her and said, incredulously, «you think we want to COME BACK here?» She apologized, and that was that.
Overall, we wasted two and a half hours between waiting for a table and waiting for our overpriced food which never arrived. If we ever go back, it will be a VERY long time from now.

We almost didn’t come here because it only had 3 stars, but it’s near our home and traffic sucked… and it was awesome!
We had some of the best calamari, mac and cheese, and prime rib than we’ve had anywhere. Ditto for the fish and chips.
We will definitely be back.

Why is it when a big corporation buys a local chain they always seem to ruin it at least a little? This place used to be a reliable four star kind of place now, not so much though I do enjoy the happy hour here.
The problem is the lack quality control and price for what you get and the service level has dropped. The regular menu is high for what you get. If they would bring back the old Stanfords… wait I think Copper River and Oswego Grill did that. So that is where I head now.

Great happy hour! Highly recommend the Mango Martini if you want something refreshing, sweet, & not too strong a taste of alcohol. The Mac N Cheese was on point. The Cheeseburger sliders were also delicious. We ordered them traditional style (with lettuce, tomatoes & onion). The Chicken Quesadillas were a bit too salty, so we couldn’t finish them. The happy hour food is a little bit pricier than some other places, but I enjoy the food & atmosphere & service is always great, so definitely worth it!

Came here for dad’s birthday, we had a reservation for 7 people and had a nice round table in the back as we were seated promptly.
As we entered, we gave the hostess a cake that we brought with us so they could bring it to our table as surprise after dinner.
Appetizers were okay we ordered spinach dip and calamari, nothing special. Service was extremely slow we were at restaurant for almost 2 hours and the first hour we were just waiting for the entrees to come out as we kept nibbling on the crumbs and left over appetizers.
I had the steel-​fish with cauliflower and some greens, it was point on. Tasty, flaky and the veggies and chickpea dip complimented it well. If I were to base my review on my food only, I would have easily given them four stars at the least however everybody else’s food was par at best. The baja fish taco was battered to the the bone, the bbq chicken came drenched in sauce with overdone fries. The waitress only came once to our table and that was for clean up and even that, half the plates were left on table as they brought out the cake.
Maybe non of the above (except mediocre food) would deter me from going there again, however their service quality and lead time definitely left a bad taste in my mouth… On second thought, I’d rather not go.

In the early 90s you didn’t find many restaurants in the area. Stanfords was the high end, fancy, and romantic restaurant for miles. It did earn a good reputation.
Forward 20 plus years… My husband and I dine out at least twice a week to various restaurants and we are not strangers to high end dining and the bill that comes with that experience.
I will sum up my review first by saying ‘very disappointed’. From our dining experience high end restaurants include soup or salad and even have fresh bread that is brought hot to your table.
I asked what came with the Prime Rib… green beans and red peppers, choice of starch (potato made three different ways). No rice, no pasta choice. No soup or salad either… Hum? for 30 DOLLARS? …We gave it a try anyway…
For a $ 30 Prime Rib dinner I expected at least a presentation. No, just food on a plate. i do not believe that was a 12oz prime rib compared to other places. Not sure what we paid $ 30 for. Veggies were red peppers and green beans. That was a plural red peppers I was told. I received one ¼ inch slice. It was very good. Wish I had the plural version !!
We did order a bowl of seafood soup to share which was very lacking in taste except for the strong fish flavor. Making me think it was on border of it’s expiration.
I had a Spanish coffee as I do at most places we have dinner. Stanfords was very light in color and I drank it in no-​time. Usually I can not finish them because they are too strong. They should have a shot of 151 and a shot of coffee liqueur like Kahlua and the rest coffee. It was warm, not hot and little stingy with the whipped cream. Picky about my drink? You better believe it ! I am paying good money for it !!
I have to quote Scott N. from Portland who wrote a review and feel that he hit it right on the nose with the following…” Visiting Stanford’s was like seeing an old friend at a class reunion who had changed for the worst.“
We will not go back for dinner but may try a burger for lunch.