The Highcliffe Pub & Eatery

I went on a double date with a couple of friends once. The food was good, but there was an ant in my drink. We brought it to the waitress’s attention and she apologized and brought me a new one. I thought it was weird that she didn’t offer to compensate me for the drink though, as I had already drunk half of it and was pretty grossed out when I discovered it.

Used to come here a lot, then we moved to the west side of town and haven’t been back in over a year. Wow, have they gone downhill. Our server took our order and that’s the last time she was at our table until she brought the bill. Our food actually came out before our drinks, and it wasn’t because the food was fast. We even had to go up to the bar to order our next round of drinks as they sat empty on the table with out anyone paying attention. Really, this is a bar and I can’t even get a drink? Very disappointed and certainly won’t be back next time we are on this side of town.

I’ve been here a few times and really want to LIKE the place but so far I’m just satisfied with it.
So the good, the first time I went I got the meat loaf and it along with the mashed potatoes was REALLY GOOD. I also got a black n tan and some beers they had on tap, nothing particularly exciting.
That being said, there wasn’t really anything else on the menu I wanted to order because I’m a picky menu person (I don’t like to order things I can and regularly do make at home which includes a pretty wide and multicultural menu).
So the next couple times I went back I had a hard time choosing what else to try which basically lands me on the appetizer menus. The potato skins were good but really small portion; chicken strips and coconut shrimp were fine; I didn’t enjoy the potato soup; house salad with house balsamic vinaigrette was tasty.
I kind of wish their happy hour selection+discount was a bit stronger, it only includes COORs and $ 1 off apps. Best happy in OC… hmm… that might go to Ranee’s for now.
Also oddly, there was a while when we kept wanting to go back after the first time and it always seemed closed… I’m they go by their posted hours, just coincidentally doesn’t often line up with our times.

I Liked the interior and the grilled palenta
but that’s about it.
I ordered the recommended «special» of
of thinly sliced meat with mushroom gravy
and mashed potatoes with sautéed veggies.
(ya i was feeling comfort food tonight)
The meat was chewy, the mashed potatoes
seemed like they were over mashed/​mixed
to where you can taste the starchy after taste.
The veggies were not fresh. It reminded
me of a TV dinner. I hate not enjoying a
dining experience that I paid good
money for.
Portions are massive, but I’ll take quality.
Service was very nice and really was hustling, but
no silverware and forgot my second drink order
didn’t help my overall experience.
My drink didn’t arrive until I was done with dinner.
It’s hard for me to completely blame the servers
here without some accountability from the
management because the servers have a
pretty noticeable work ethic.
Prices don’t reflect the quality of food here.
Definitely room for improvement.

Good solid American food. They had a gluten free menu with bacon Mac and cheese. We got a side of potatoes slices loaded with sour cream and things. The Mac and cheese was very tasty, very heavy. The dessert was a gluten free chocolate cake and that was even more delicious. We had a show to see, and we made it in and out in probably an hour.

It had been years since we have been here and we were pleased with almost everything about our dinner. We ordered a reuben and pulled pork sandwich. The pulled pork was good but far from the best my husband has had. He reported there should of been more meat and it was slightly dry. But it still was pretty good. The fries were thinner cut, my personal favorite. The rueben was very good with the exception of the spicy Russian dressing. There wasn’t a lot of meat but the sandwich had just the right amount of each ingredient to make it wonderful. Our waitress was wonderful and even when I was concerned about how spicy the Russian dressing was she insisted they remake it. The food arrived in a timely manner even though they were busy. All and all a nice visit and we will certainly return.

I come here often, probably too often. The staff gets five stars, always friendly and attentive with a special shout out to Vivian who goes beyond. The food can be at times boring and average, but to be fair they just revamped the menu and I have yet to try the new items. The exception to this rule seems to be the specials, they typically are amazing.

Service was uneventful and poor. Haven’t seen the waitress since I ordered. Fish tacos had salsa. Who does that? No flavor. I had a horrible chicken fried steak. I’m not even sure how to explain how bad it was. Chewy, no flavor and any flavor it had was not good.
Check is here. Still never saw the original waitress at my table but was at those nearby. With good service I would be here for another drink and dessert. Extremely disappointed. They are lucky at the two stars.
Happy hour is $ 1 off crappy beer. 1 $ off appetizers. They need to see and learn from the competition for nice restaurants as they failed bad in so many ways.

To be honest, I feel like I need to give this place another chance. Great atmosphere and service was good. Only ordered happy food which was very disappointing. Fries replicated Mcdonalds fries. (PLEASE get better fries?? Perhaps fresh cut or wedges?) Chicken strip were nothing special. Good beer tap selection.

A little something extra.
This is a really nice place and a bargain for the price. Dark wood, comfortable chairs and booths, cloth napkins and entrees for under $ 15, burgers for under $ 10?
The traditional burger (which is done well, my only disappointment was being surprised that it was prepared with mayo, one of my arch enemies). I ordered it medium and while the initial impression was overdone, cutting into it revealed a perfect medium. Tater tots were tasty, crispy and hot. The wife wasn’t impressed with a side salad served warm. The special of the day, steak with blue cheese sounded terrific but my aversion to blue cheese prevented me from ordering it.
Speaking of Bleu Cheese, if that is something you happen to like, you will find many options featuring the mouldy delicacy here.
The soups are great, I tried a parsnip, ginger, carrot combo that was tasty. The other option was a Navajo stew today. I also ordered the pepper jack cheese sticks, this being the first time I have seen them on offer. They were good, sadly the marinara sauce on the side was somewhat gelatinous and unappealing.
The décor is at least a couple of steps above what I would expect at this price point, tall, open ceilings in a historic building. Your choice to sit in the bar or restaurant section. There are TV’s in the bar area, non offensive, somewhat upbeat music on the other side where we sat. The furniture was in great shape, comfortable and not crowded together, again setting it apart from many of its contemporaries.
The service… Well, here the whole experience is lowered a notch. Not objectionable but also not speedy or particularly attentive. With a little more attention to the patrons and stepping up some of the details on the food and this becomes a very solid 4 star and likely a contender for all five, right here in Oregon City, which starts with O which typically means Ordinary but hopefully turns to OUTstanding.
Oh, they offer a happy hour menu even on Saturday’s, and there are quite a few choices that seem worth trying from there.

Things I love: the ambiance, the service and the coconut shrimp. My daughter and I each had the macaroni which was good but not ‘amazing’. I would go back though, to try other menu items. The service was out-​standing!

Great food, great atmosphere, great customer service. My favorite place in Oregon City!

Tried this place again… It was «Happy Hour» and all I can say is… our service was fine. I tried the Hamburger, OMG it was horrible and really small. NOT a fan of this place and we won’t be trying it again…

I took my mother and husband out for their birthdays, and I could not have been more disappointed. We did have a nice waitress, that is the best that I can say.
I had the pasta with mussels. There were dead mussels in the pasta, absolutely no quality control. Being a fledgling chef myself, I would expect a executive chef to know how dangerous it is to cook and serve previously dead mussels or clams. The pasta was dressed with muddy water which pooled at the bottom of the bowl, the mussels that were edible were abnormally tough, even for mussel. I only made it a quarter of the way through the dish and instantly stopped upon finding the dead mussels at the bottom. All in all I paid fifteen dollars for dead mussels and a few bites of watered down flavorless pasta. I received no response from the chef or management after telling my waitress to inform them that there were dead mussels in the pasta.
My husband was disappointed by the fish tacos, they were priced high enough to expect great quality, but you only get two with no sides and they were poorly constructed. The tomato purée was overpowering, and conflicted with the neutral fish. The Fish and Chips were good, while nothing truly notable, they were not disappointing either.
We use to love this place but now we are heartbroken over poor, dangerously cooked food and a $ 80 check. For such a upscale reputation and noted «casual fine dinning» feel, I was disappointed in the quality of the food.
I will go back one more time. This is Oregon City, and it is a hard market. It may have been a bad night. Everyone deserves a second chance. Hopefully next time the bar will have a tender who knows how to make a dirty martini, and a head chef who knows better.

We’ve passed this place for years on the way to my Dad’s house in OC and never stopped, our loss. It has great food, even though we didn’t get the famous blue burger, we ordered a mish mash of apps and entrees: aka coconut shrimp, wedge salad, pork chop. Mussels were average, not scrumptious enough, but I have high expectations on shellfish.
But what really shines is the amazing service, and definitely kid friendly, knowing to get our babies food out first and fast. And didn’t even blink when she puked her milk and tater tots all over the sidewalk, instead materializing with a smile and another ketelone and tonic for a stressed out mama. Thanks highcliffe, we’ll be back ;)

I wasn’t sure what to expect because Pub food generally isn’t gourmet, but I was extremely impressed with the menu. The service was awesome and the food was cooked to perfection. I had the trout and my friend had the pasta with shrimp and both were delicious.
I will definitely recommend this place to all my friends!

My wife and I went there for lunch today. We were not sure if they were open or closed. When we walked in the place has a beautiful bar. Its nicely decorated with things to look at all over the place. We were greeted by a guy in a Smith and Wesson T-​shirt (VERY cool in my book) and seated.
Our waiter was prompt and efficient. One of my little pet peeves is something I actually don’t write to much about in my reviews because it would become so redundant. Its the temperature most places serve their beer. This place has a NICE beer selection and so I ordered an IPA. It was ICE cold, YUM. Not many places actually serve beer this cold and let me tell you its such a treat when I find one. Without asking, the waiter even brought a taster of another beer he thought I might like. How cool is that?
We only had a couple of salads so I cant attest to the cooked food here. Though the salads were ample, fresh and very very tasty. I ordered mine with Salmon and my wife ordered hers with chicken. She must have commented three times how juicy and good the chicken was. I didn’t dare ask her for a bite fearing I might loose a finger or two.
Service = FANTASTIC!
Décor = FANTASTIC
Food = FANTASTIC
I can’t wait to go back!

Everything about this place is great. Nice peaceful bar with great food. Bartender was right in point. Orders were taken quickly without feeling rushed.

Gotta give them this fifth star! This place has probably the best happy hour I have seen in the Portland area. I can’t believe this is place in Oregon City. Go for happy hour and sit in the bar. The prices will blow you away and the freshness and quality of food is perfect.
This last visit we ordered the Mac n’ Cheese (a must try) and the Salmon Po’boy Sandwich. Delicous, fresh and perfectly made.

I went to visit dad in O.C. a few weeks back, and he suggested Highcliffe. I can call Oregon City «O.C.» cuz’ I grew up there. Go Big Red! That’s the Pioneers, for the uninitiated.
Dad was raving about the mac and cheese on the way down. While I trust dad’s judgement, of COURSE I’d done my due Unilocal diligence and looked the joint up before we left the house. Could the caramelized onion and bacon jam live up to the reviews?
In two words, hell yes! It compliments a seriously good burger. I like a good sweet sauce on my burger occasionally, and Highcliffe’s definitely fits that bill. I chose the onion rings over the fries, and I was pleased. Crisp, sweet kinda cornmealy crunch is the way to go. Dad stuck with the mac and cheese. Certainly good, but the entrée version is a huge portion. Too huge. The happy hour cup is a better size, combined with something to cleanse your palate with. Perhaps a house salad.
The space is comfortable enough. There’s a mix of high top tables combined with a smattering of booths. A bar dominates one side of the room. The joint ain’t huge, but I prefer a more intimate environment. Go to Big Al’s if you’re looking for some mammoth space. Some nice beer choices at Highcliffe, including Fearless’ Scottish Ale. Yum!

Several iterations of dining establishments have occupied this space over the years. I can say that I hope Highcliffe stays here for years to come. I’m looking forward to trying other menu items, if the lure of that onion bacon jam isn’t too great!