The Bistro At Water’s Edge

Just okay. The wait at the counter to order is WAY too long for the lunch crowd. I’ve eaten here several times and it’s always just so-​so. The service has been slow every time I’ve been there. It smells really good from outside when approaching the building. I love sitting out on the terrace to eat. Décor is nice.

My wife and I enjoy eating here after working out in the fitness center. Nice selection of healthier foods. Not super healthy mind, but far better than most restaurants in The Dalles. I particularly liked their chicken artichoke panini. Unfortunately they took it off the menu. However they have other really good sandwich and salad options. The staff is very friendly and food preparation doesn’t take too long. This isn’t fast food though so expect to wait a few minutes at least.

Delicious, fresh, and flavorful cuisine. Friendly staff. The view and trail down to the water made it the perfect stop off for a road trip. They even have real food smoothies. Very reasonable price point. I cannot believe we have the place practically to ourselves! The outdoor seating was especially wonderful with three boys

I wanted SO badly to love this place… but unfortunately it’s been a disappointment for me. Three visits over the last 2 months and two were total busts.
First time was the veggie gluten free pizza (to-​go)… the toppings were nice, but they didn’t cook the crust nearly long enough. It was like eating soggy bread with cheese and veggies on top. Would up eating the veggies and tossing the crust.
Second time was a GF sandwich, it was really good.
Third and most recently I got a sandwich again (to-​go) — SO BAD. The bread was so stale and cardboard-​like that as soon as I picked it up it crumbled to pieces. And they weren’t carrying the walnut spread and we’re out of hummus… I ended up eating a sad salad instead of what I thought would be a delicious sandwich.
I appreciate the offering of gluten free options — but please know how to prepare them and keep fresh ingredients. Or else just don’t offer them!

Staff was friendly enough and the atmosphere was pleasant. I went because a friend was playing music there. With that, the four original Beatles could be playing there and I wouldn’t go back. I checked their webpage before going and saw an image of what appeared to be an amazing flat bread artisan pizza. So, I ordered a pizza (with the few toppings that were actually available). What I got was anything but an artisan pizza, and nothing like the image. Horrible, cookie cutter cardboard crust and overpriced for what it was. Gas station quality as best. Tried to share it with friends, but they would only eat one piece. Their review of the pizza was less generous than mine (I’ll leave that to your imagination). Has anyone ever thought or said, «Wow, this is a great pizza?» I’m guessing not many. If not, then you might regroup and do it better, or take it off your menu. I’ve heard the salads and wraps are good, but as a result of this experience, I’ll never know. Beer selection is poor. Since bottled beer is only good for 4 – 6 months, I’d recommend you rotate out your approx 15 month old bottles of Hop Lava. –They have turned. I had the misfortune I taking a big gulp of one (which I exchanged for something that hadn’t turned). Damn nasty. Don’t think I expected too much, but this was literally the worse dinning experience I have had in many years.

The people are really nice. The side salads are really good. The pizza needs a little more flavor. The crape are tasteless. The turkey sandwich is really great.

Quite atmosphere. Employees are friendly. The food was good and huge portions. I was full when I left. Will go back again for sure.

I had just finished an amazing massage and walked downstairs to The Bistro. It smelled delicious so I ordered a flatbread roasted veggie pizza. Five minutes later they let me know they didn’t have any veggies. So I changed to margarita. After 30 minutes I had no food. So I checked and they took it out of the oven. After 40 minutes still NO food. I went to ask for a refund. Was told they were thinking of offering me that. They have no manager was the excuse mumbled. I asked what happened and was told they forgot to set the timer and burned it. I won’t be trying them out again. One star because you can’t review with zero!!!

Love their chicken salad salad. Wished they would add a juice bar! I know I’d frequent it!

I gotta say, there is something pretty great about leaving a doctors appointment up stairs and walking down stairs into this bistro to have a «yay I’m cured» or «oh no I’m dying» beer. This is something you might often find in larger cities with bustling downtowns that have smorgasbords of deli-​like joints. But in a town like The Dalles, it’s rare to find. And it makes me feel giddy.
The food is good and sometimes even great. It’s good lunch type food. Wraps, salads, sandwiches. I have had the tuna melt and curry chicken wrap. Both very decent. The tuna melt was good, but nothing I couldn’t recreate easily at home. Maybe a tad overpriced for what you actually get. The wrap was large and tasty. I would certainly order that again! And plus also… Beer on tap! Say what!!!
If you are passing through its a great choice to stop for lunch. Located conveniently right off the interstate. And… What a view!!! For the locals, if you haven’t been here yet, do yourself a favor and stop for lunch one day soon. I think you’ll welcome the refreshing change.

We found The Bistro on Unilocal while road tripping from Corvallis to Canada, and we were hankering for something hearty to eat. We loaded up on sandwiches and smoothies and went on our way; it was a busy time but could’ve used a few more cashiers given that one was in training. The sandwiches were alright but I was hoping for a bit more variety.

Based on the reviews in Unilocal,I went there. I wish I waited until Portland — mediocre food, many key ingredients missing, such as eggplant in eggplant/​squash pizza, smoked salmon in salad nicoise… greasy food… bland flavors… the only positive is they offer gluten free options.

OMG they’ve fixed their fixin’s to fat free or low fat. THAT IS TREMENDOUS. They’re in a Fitness Gym… sorry the garlic can be sometimes predominant. But it’s basically calorie and fat free! I eat here several times a month. They are in a struggling town, but with these changes, they aren’t going to go wrong. From an insider’s view, they tried and tested everything… you are not going to leave this restaurant hungry and you are not going to leave it fat. A big shout out!

Closed on Sundays now altogether, despite what Unilocal says. Don’t waste your precious lunch break trying to get down here. Who knows what the food is like? They obviously aren’t even that interested in customers– take a peek at all the other reviewers who weren’t even served. Pfff moving on!

I heard they had a new menu! Yeah! Found a vegan dish and it was awesome! Tempeh with mango. We also loved the chicken sandwich. Friendly staff. We enjoyed being on the river. Classy place, clean and pricing good.

We had been on a cross country trip and we were close to home but when we stopped for gas we saw this restaurant. We decided to have lunch and relax. It took over 20 minutes to get our lunch and when we finished we both decided we could have had a better lunch at McDonalds! I ordered the chicken salad sandwich and got a chicken salad that was mostly lots of lettuce and a bland cup of chicken salad that was mostly anything but chicken. The roll was a soft white roll that was tasteless also. Will not stop here again.

I’ve been to many restaurants that stayed open past their hours for customers, and I’ve been to a few where the door was locked even though by their posted hours they should have been open. But I’ve never walked into an open restaurant, lights and sign on, where employees greeted me with «We’re closed… well actually we close in 10 minutes… but we already shut the kitchen down.» Until now.

Well, I’ll never know how the food is in this place as we walked in last Sunday and we were told by the waitress standing near the doorway that they were closed. As the other waitress sat at the counter sipping a soda.
I looked puzzled and she said we close at 5pm, I consulted by watch which said 4:50pm and she said well, it’s not 5 yet but we’ve already shut the kitchen down because we’ve been dead all day.
With that we turned around and left.
They may have been dead all day but this is no way to build business.

Had such a great breakfast at The Bistro on Saturday. I have to say that this place was on my «never again» list, but under the new management it really seems to have turned around. I’ll be going back.

Ok — so I’ve tried this place a handful of times b/​c it’s close to my work. I want to love it, but I cannot. We always call in orders b/​c of our time constraint, yet, we still have wait… and wait… and wait for our food.
The food is nothing special and I don’t think this should be considered a bistro. Maybe I just don’t know what a bistro is.
Also, the parking at Water’s Edge is terrible. So small! It works if you have a smart car, but even in a compact car it’s a tight fit.
I WILL say, if you’re on that side of town your other options are gas station (mmm chips and jerky) or McDonalds.
I won’t go back due to slowness and just really, I’m not impressed with their food. Even for lunch grub.