Carver Cafe - Damascus

We took a Twilight themed road trip vacation. This brought us to The Carver Cafe. Reviews online of this roadside diner vary between real good to very poor. I d... read more We took a Twilight themed road trip vacation. This brought us to The Carver Cafe. Reviews online of this roadside diner vary between real good to very poor. I dissagree with the bad reviews. We arrived to find decent if tight parking. It is a popular spot with Twilighters , fans of the Twilight books and films. This location was featured in the first film where shy girl Bella Swan and her father Chief of Police Charlie Swan dined. The corner table by the window is the place to have you picture taken as that is where the two actors performed their scene. The round table has been replaced with a rectangular set up. The diner is typical of PNW American Roadside Diners. There is a 15 foot bar with 3 stools and tables in the tiny L shaped dinning room. The lower walls are painted forest green and have wood paneling. Images of the regions rich logging history adorn the walls along with an impressive set of antlers from hunting days gone by. It is reasonably quiet given the front door is just feet away from the highway. Parking is on both sides of the resturant. There is a nice set of planters in front of the entrance separating the highway from the entrance. A tall sign set to one side has the establishments name in green. There is not a lot of dining space inside; I counted space for about 40 diners including the seats at the bar. It is a clean enviroment. It is obvious the owners to take pride in their business. The diner appears to be a family run operation with one or two hires not related to the core employees. I could be wrong about this, but the gal who seated us did not seem to be related to the rest of the people working. The cook seemed to be the manager and bottle washer...the younger folk handled the regular duties of order taking, serving and cleanup. All of the staff appeared happy if earnest in their work save for the youngest gal who seemed a little less energetic. We surmised she was the youngest of the family having to wile away her summer in the employ of her family at the family business. She still served us promptly, and did not let her summer dissapointments affect our experience. The young man who also served was very serious and pleasant, wanting his interaction with us to be professional. He really seemed to enjoy his work. So to the gal that I first interacted with. Serious about their job. Efficiency and prioritys we often dont see at other food places. We ordered mostly from the breakfast menu. My son ordered from the lunch menu. The food arrived hot and ready with what seemed like the whole staff bringing out a plate or dish. I saw them all repeat this with other customers as they streamed in. I ordered the Oregon Omelette and Hashbrowns. My daughter ordered eggs with pancakes and a side of bacon with biscuits. My wife chose eggs with french toast and hashbrowns and a side of bacon. My son went after a cheese burger. As we ate, we marveled over how tasty the food really was. Nothing was cold, everything was cooked to our expectation, all of it was really tasty. My wife mentioned her french toast was prepared perfectly. It wasnt too sweet or not sweet enough. She didnt really need to put any syrup on it. That sorta surprised her. She declared it the best french toast she had ever eaten. My Oregon Omelette was perfectly made, the egg was wonderfully cooked and not rubbery. The vegetables were fresh and cooked exactly to retain the right amount of fesh crisp before becoming too mushy. The hashbrowns were not oily. They were wonderfully flavorable. My son didnt give much info on his burger, but by the speed in which he consumed it, I suspect it was to his liking. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed her meal as well. As for the poor reviews. One must remember the pandemic shuttered a lot of businesses that are this tiny. This place is a fan destination which causes 30 min wait times. The staff are ready to pl

As a twilight fan, my wife really enjoyed the place and atmosphere. The food was okay. We both ordered burgers with fries and they were acceptable for the price... read more As a twilight fan, my wife really enjoyed the place and atmosphere. The food was okay. We both ordered burgers with fries and they were acceptable for the price. However, we clearly noticed that two waitresses looked overwhelmed, so our service was quite poor. Because we sat at the bar stools, we could see both waitresses guiding ice cubes into the cups with their hands, which they did after handling cash, menu, bills, dirty dishes, etc, and without washing their hands. The cook kept touching her face and glasses and then handling bread/buns, which is also not something you want to see.

As someone new to the Portland area and a huge Twilight fan, I was so excited to come here. The wait wasn’t long, and the interior is so charming and quaint I f... read more As someone new to the Portland area and a huge Twilight fan, I was so excited to come here. The wait wasn’t long, and the interior is so charming and quaint I felt like I was in the movie! That being said, our waitress took our order and immediately left on what must’ve been an hour long break. We sat there for 40 minutes and watched every other table sat after us get drinks, food, and even their checks. We had to flag the only other waitress available down after 40 minutes to get drinks. We got our drinks, and then waited maybe another 20 for our food. It was a little bland, but the prices were low enough that I was happy with it and just put hot sauce and s&p on it. The waitress wordlessly dropped the check on our table only 5 minutes after our food arrived, and we were still waiting on the Cobbler we ordered. We ate, and waited another 20-30 minutes for our cobbler to arrive. I tried to flag down the sole waitress a few times for a refill on my drink and an update on the cobbler, but as soon as I made eye contact it seemed she diverted immediately. We finally went up to pay without a single drink refill or the cobbler, and asked they be removed from the bill. Maybe it was just a bad day, or the sole waitress was overwhelmed being left alone. I’d love to try this place out again and see if maybe I just had a one off experience. As a waitress, I’m sympathetic of long wait times and being overwhelmed, but this was kind of ridiculous and disappointing. I would really, really like to like this place.

So excited to get here because I’m a huge twilight fan. Online it said it closes at 2. We went in at 1 and they said they were closing early so they didn’t serv... read more So excited to get here because I’m a huge twilight fan. Online it said it closes at 2. We went in at 1 and they said they were closing early so they didn’t serve us.

The food was very good but the service was absolutely horrible. Everyone working there seemed pissed off and not at all a warm atmosphere. read more The food was very good but the service was absolutely horrible. Everyone working there seemed pissed off and not at all a warm atmosphere.