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Falls Terrace Restaurant
Rating Details »
Categories: Nightlife, Seafood, Steakhouses [Edit]
106 Deschutes Way SWTumwater, WA 98501
(360) 943-7830
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Best Nights:
- Tue, Wed, Thu
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- Yes
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"Delicious lunch. Tomato chevre salad was light and tasty. Everything on the menu looked good. My friend had salmon sandwich and said the…" read more »
13 reviews for Falls Terrace Restaurant
Let me start by saying that my fiance and I only went here because we had a gift certificate. From a year and a half ago. I needed to make room in my wallet. :)
We got a spot right out front to park which was nice. We got a table right away, and the wine I ordered was very good- it was a white from Chateau St. Michelle Winery.
We weren't that hungry so the objective was to order appetizers and share them. He ordered the baked brie with a pecan glaze and crustini- I ordered The Tower. It's a plate of tri-tips and mushrooms in a peppercorn sauce (very tasty), and the top plate had spicy shrimp, and a crab and artichoke dip. It was plenty of food for two people, and was actually pretty good, despite the fact that I think that place is way overpriced and not as great as everyone thinks they are.
But overall, not bad.
We went here for mother's day for both of our moms on different days.
First of all, I'll complain about the parking. Yes, the parking is horrible. I personally cannot walk too long of a distance comfortably (but I can) but my father is on oxygen and while he has a handicap license, there aren't many handicap spots. Luckily my mom was able to find a spot near the restaurant. Otherwise, you might have to walk a ways for your parking spot. Very frustrating.
While waiting, the waiting area is too small. They really need a place for people waiting for their table to sit. We actually reserved tables, and we still had to wait about 15 to 20 minutes. I think their idea of table management is not very professional.
When going here, I had the impression that it was pretty nice and fancy, but it was anything but. It just seemed like a typical family restaurant that had a great view of the falls. I have to say that's the only saving grace for them.
The first day, I had the surf and turf, Sirloin and Cedar Planked Salmon. The next day was lunch, so I had the BLT. The BLT was great. I mean, how can you mess that up right?
As for the Salmon and Sirloin, The Sirloin was great, but I think the person who cooked the Salmon was different than the person who cooked the Sirloin. The Salmon was served on a Cedar plank, which was on fire when it arrived. That was fine and dandy, but the when blowing out the flames, the smoke from the wood was very disturbing and annoying to us. Not cool. Then the salmon did not have any flavor! Did they even salt the Salmon? I have to say it was quite a disappointment.
Personally I think the food was ok, but I could have definitely cooked something better.
My work group (20 people) was on our way to the southern part of the state and we decided to stop here for dinner. We heard it was fairly decent based on the reviews here in Yelp and other sources. For starters the falls were nice to look at, though not the biggest waterfall, but still very nice considering the I-5 is right there. The french bread was to die for, delicious and hot to eat. The drinks were very good as well, and I was told the martinis were just as promised...excellent! Now the dinner for me......well it was not good. I ordered the chicken pasta with a garlic cream and white wine cream sauce.....it was Alfredo sauce plain and simple. I heard the prime rib was a little tough but good flavor and the other steak dishes were just fine. Personal recommendation...this place has a nice view, but is way too pricey for the food quality and flavor unless your just interested in french bread and martinis.
My mom & I stopped into FT for lunch the other day. She had a gift certificate that had been hanging around for the past year and figured now was as good a time as any to use it up.
I had never been here before but she recalled coming 'years ago'. She gave me her motherly recollection of its history, and mentioned it's been there for quite some time, that's probably why there were so many old folks there for lunch. *smirk*
There is only room for about 5 cars and 1 handicap spot right in front of the restaurant. The rest is street parking along the main road running in front. Its angle parking, so you have to be going the right direction unless you are good at swinging into an opposite direction spot. I had too much traffic behind me to attempt that, so I had to go down and turn around. I would think for such a 'fancy' restaurant, they would have their own parking lot. Not like its the big city here or something.
Once inside we were informed a window table would be available shortly so we were willing to wait. The lobby is full of gift items, and it was nice to browse for a minute. But then it felt like we were dancing with the people coming and going as there was no 'waiting' spot that was out of the way, unless you count the two chairs right next to the lounge, but that's down a small hallway.
It didn't take long for our table to be ready and it seems all the tables in the restaurant have a great view of the falls.
The lunch menu is one page. Has some appetizers, salads, entrees and sandwiches. A good mix of each. I chose the french dip and my mother got the shrimp louie salad. Our waiter was friendly and polite.
We both ordered coffee and he brought fresh cream to the table. I kept pouring the creamer and pouring the cream and my coffee was not getting much lighter. I was a bit scared to taste it. When I did, my assumptions were confirmed, this stuff was stiff! I have no idea what kind of coffee they serve but it was the strongest cup of coffee I have ever had without it being cowboy coffee (grounds included). Whoa! I got about one mug down successfully.
When the food came, it was alright. Nothing spectacular, but still good.
The view was great. While Tumwater Falls is nothing in comparison to places like Snoqualmie, its still nice to look at. And if you have been around this area much, you can reminisce over the old Oly brewery that is now 'for lease'.
The view is fantastic. The food...not so much. But the tradition? How could you pass it up? My dad had his wedding rehearsal dinner here and it was the first time in my young life I ever had a shrimp cocktail. My grandparents used to take us here all the time when we were little, a family tradition. Falls Terrace has been there my entire life, watching over me...and not in that creepy sort of strange uncle sort of way.
Yes, I understand...the food and decor leave something to be desired, especially for the younger set. But I have been here many times and will be back again. Sides, the salmon is actually rather quite tasty, if uninspired.
Yes, the view is nice. Good thing... distracts you from looking at your food. Pretty much everything we ordered had a beige-ish grey tint. The flavor ranged from passable to downright miserable. We enjoyed the aroma of a neighboring table's cedar planked salmon. I'm thinking that's the way to go. And the scene/decor/crowd is NOT hip. If you're thinking of visiting... get a table by the window, keep looking out there, and try the salmon.
On a weekend afternoon, stopping in for a burger and a bloody mary works. They put together quite a nice burger. The fries are sub-par, however.
We haven't been to the Falls Terrace since our pre-child days of happy hours in the lounge. We decided to go there for lunch and a stroll through the park on this beautiful fall day.
We arrived a little after noon on a Sunday and did have a short wait but were soon enjoying the beautiful view from our window table. Service was great, not intrusive, just efficient and capable.
The soup of the day was chicken with wild rice. It's nice to find a homemade soup for once and my husband loved it so much he ordered a second cup. The green salads are basic, crisp romaine with grated carrots and fresh cucumber slices. The blue cheese dressing was tasty. Our soups and salads were served with freshly baked, hot scissor rolls with butter.
I got the bay shrimp and avocado sandwich, my perennial favorite. The avacado's quality was iffy and I felt like there was a little coverup going on with the paprika but at least the avocado was ripe and soft. My husband had the BLT and deemed it "good". The kids menu is basic with the usual selections. My son opted for one of the specials, a chicken pot pie. It was served with mashed potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit on the side. It was tasty but "not as good as mom's".
They had some other comfort type specials like roast turkey with dressing and gravy as well as several brunch items that are available until 2, like eggs benedict and Joe's Special. I had already had breakfast but will definitely keep in mind the Joe's Special as I have missed Arnold Ball's version and know that he and Ralph Lund are of the same school.
At $48 including my glass of chardonnay, we thought it was reasonably priced for the amount of food and experience we had. Again, the service was attentive and much appreciated.
We'll be back!
I love this place! It's mainly a place for older couples and my group of friends. We are pretty much the only young crowd that comes to the place. I guess thats because I know the head bartender and most of the employees. You can smoke outside on the porch past the bar... It has a great view of the falls, thus the name. I have also taken my mom here on mothers day and had a great experience. For events, they usually have a special menu and you need to get a reservation weeks in advance usually. All in all it is one of the best places to go to eat dinner, or just stop by for happy hour and grab a drink! Love it and it will be the 1st place I stop when i come back into town!
This is kind of a tardy review but better late than never I suppose. We went to Falls Terrace for an early Mothers Day the Friday before. Having never been there before we were immediately taken in by the view of the Deschutes and commented that it too bad someone had never done something with the old brewery like a nice hotel/restaurant.
Anyway back to the review, I had the special of the night, a Prime Rib Cardinal which is served with a lobster sauce over it, my wife had Sole Amandine and our son had Pepper Sirloin with sauteed prawns. They both raved about their choices, my wife said the Sole was perfectly done without being either dried out or mushy. Our son said his pepper steak was "great" and he liked the prawns and this from a kid who has never been a fish fancier. My prime rib would have been better without the lobster sauce which did not have any flavor of Lobster to it and didn't enhance the flavor of the Prime Rib which as far as I could tell was a good piece of meat.. We all had the baked potatoes which while were not manna from heaven were undoubtedly better than home baked.
We finished with dessert, I had something decadently rich and chocolaty called Pot de Creme de Chocolat, which was a dense chocolate cake, with a rich dark chocolate sauce filling, surrounded by whipped cream. My Wife and son shared a mixed berry cobbler which was served warm alamode. We all made our desserts quickly disappear!
Falls Terrace was a pleasure too long delayed and will be a regular special occasion dinner stop for us from now on!
Per the rating scale 2 stars is "I've experienced better". That's my take on FT. It's OK but nothing to write home about.
I'll agree the setting is nice. Seems to a favorite of the local gentry but maybe that was the time we were there, 6pm on a Friday night. Service was good.
I've eaten there a handful of times over the years because a local relative likes FT. In my most recent experience (2 days ago) I had an end cut prime rib. It was tough and pretty much tasteless. To what am I comparing? The prime rib at Palisade in Seattle has a nice smokey flavor, lots of seasoning, and is almost tender enough to fall apart. The mashed potatoes were OK. Again I've had better. The hot rolls were great and the clam chowder pretty good. But my score is based on disappointment in the center piece of my meal, the prime rib.
This is one of the classy places in the Olympia area to go with Mom and Dad, Grandparents or a special date. It overlooks the upper falls on the Deschutes river in Tumwater and is across the river from the now defunct Olympia Brewery.
I have been there many times over the years. It was a favorite of my mom and my mother-in-law. For busy times, reservations were usually just a phone call away, except for those busy days. Seating is always prompt. Staff has always been friendly.
Food is a mixture of seafood, steak and diner type food, except with a flair. Their special of the day usually fits the "diner food", but is always much tastier, and better prepared and presented. For Olympia, it is in the higher price range, but not all that bad when compared to similar restaurants in Seattle.
I haven't been there for a couple of years, and have seen some mixed reviews elsewhere, so be warned that restaurants can change. If you are in the Olympia area, try it out and lets see where it goes.
As an aside, It has been there for probably 40 years. In college I was working at a full service gas station about 3 blocks away. One of the guys there got his evil delight in sending people to the wrong restaurant. He would send the older couple in the cadallic down the road to the worst greasy spoon in the area and the station wagon with mom and dad and a bunch of kids would be directed to the Falls Terrace. I am sure the folks who were sent to the Terrace had a great meal, if they could afford it.
We consider Falls Terrace to be one of the finest restaurants of its ilk in the whole country! It was recommended to us by a friend who lives on Vashon Island and who used to work in Downtown Olympia. We tried it, absolutely loved it, and have been back many times. It is well worth the 153 mile drive from our new home in Bellingham.
The setting is gorgeous, right above the Tumwater Falls park, across from the old Olympia Brewery: If you are old enough, you will remember have seen the view immortalized thousand of times on all their beer cans! The falls can be seen from every table, but try to sit at a window seat for the best view. The ambience is very tastefully and elegantly "old fashioned," to capture the best of a 1950's feel.
The food is consistently EXCELLENT!! Everything I have ever eaten there has been so delicious that it is difficult to pick a favorite. Emphasis is on seafood: great salmon dishes, fresh grilled fish, and fabulous grilled oysters are stand outs.
But -- believe it or not -- the most "special" item is their BAKED POTATOES. They use the finest large russets (must have a very special source), greased and very slowly cooked to perfection in rock salt. The result is the creamiest texture and most delicious taste imaginable. This is an absolute MUST choice. I have tried to capture the same results at home, greased with butter or bacon fat and encrusted in kosher rock salt, but without yet achieving the same success.
If you possibly can, save some room for dessert (we usually take part of the meal with us, just so we can). Their choices are really special. My favorite is their Key Lime Pie, beautifully presented with criss-crossed drizzles of raspberry and orange sauces. The best I've ever had.
You will leave fully sated: a walk along the Falls footpath after dinner is a great finish to the experience.
One warning: if you go here for lunch, arrive very early. They are packed every day with what seems like the whole working crowd from Downtown Olympia. If you don't arrive early, you will end up parking blocks away and waiting a looooong time. Dinner is also crowded; reservations are a must. Although Falls Terrace can be crowded at any hour, my personal favorite time to go is mid-afternoon (for "Linner"), when you are most likely to find an open window table and have the best attention from the very busy wait staff.
Directions: Falls Terrace in right next to I-5 on the frontage street, 106 Deschutes Way SW. For you I-5 travelers, Southbound, take Exit 103, 2nd Ave. (go straight about 1/3 mile, turn left on Custer Way, go under freeway, then turn right on Boston, turn left on Deschutes) or Northbound, take Exit 103 (go straight about 1/2 mile; the restaurant is on your right).
There seems to be mixed reviews for Falls Terrace. My husband and I had our Valentine's Day dinner there last night. We hadn't been in years and were anxious to try it. We had reservations and only had to wait a few minutes after our reservation time to be seated. We didn't get a window seat, but I think every seat has a view of the beautiful falls. The restaurant was fulll with it being V-Day. Our server arrived promptly taking our drink and appetizer order. Our drinks arrived just as quickly, followed shortly by our appetizer. One part of the meal we didn't like was the salad. We should have had the dressing on the side, there was way too much of it. Plus the salad was rather mundane, the greens were fresh, but only had a bit of grated carrot and a few cucumber slices, not much imagination. Due to the occasion their regular menu wasn't available, they had a special one instead. My DH ordered the Chicken Oscar and I had the Steak and Lobster. My steak was cooked to a perfect med-rare and was delicious, I was impressed since it was so busy. My lobster was cooked perfectly also. My DH's chicken was tender and the crab on top was yummy. We were impressed with the wonderful service, they definately had enough servers to take care of such a busy evening. We took dessert back to our room and weren't impressed with our cheesecake and pecan pie. They didn't seem to be fresh made on site, thus 4 stars combined with the dissapointing salad. They did however have Olympic Mtn. ice cream which is always wonderful. We were put off a few times by three young boys that were allowed to run up and down the aisle, while the servers dodge them. The father followed very far behind and didn't seem to mind their inappropriate behavior. We are looking forward to returing for lunch to try that out also.
