Pine House Cafe & Tavern

Apparently this establishment is reservation only. Everyone else is asked to sit at the bar or community table, which was fine, however as soon as my boyfriend and I placed a To Go order we were rudely asked to sit in the lobby by the host. Because you know there were no seats for anyone else in the more than half empty dining room!!! The only reason we wanted to take to go was because the live music in in be tiny dining room was loud and we couldn’t even hear ourselves think! The host then came out and asked if she had offended us, when I replied yes that we felt she had been rude, she then began to argue with us in a defensive manner about restaurant policy on «busy» Saturday nights. Maybe this place is more geared toward locals or anyone who makes a reservation and plans to dine in? But we definitely did not receive the best service tonight by this one individual.

The worst customer service ever! They couldn’t even tell us to wait outside while preparing table for 13 people. We feel like we are not welcomed there at first. The waitress or the owner even ask if we are sure about the total count of people. How rude! I will not recommend this restaurant at all. With regards to customer service, I’ll rate this as 1 out of 10 since they let us in. We never ate there! I am so disgust with the waitress/owner’s attitude!

This place is horrible! The owner is very rude and disrespectful. Save your money and time and go to Julian or Descanso. I will NEVER return here. Owner needs a reality & attitude check.

The owner it’s the worst person I’ve ever met, I sat on the bar and I order a coffee and the first thing that she said was YOU NEED TO WAIT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE yelling with a rude actitud and she didn’t wanted to serve me, my friend used the bathroom and heard how she treated me, and say let’s go to another place, then we leave and she went to the parking to follow us and yell in front of our kids and others persons at the parking lot, YOU Stole MY RESOURCES, YOU USED THE BATHROOM AND USE MY TOILET PAPER and another I don’t remember because I couldn’t believe that adult woman have such a behavior.
Please for you own safety don’t eat in here, go straight to Julian way better in 20 minutes forward.

Great food! Brought the kids up on a weekend to enjoy the snow. Friendly staff and Green Flash IPA on draught. They have good local bottled beers as well. Chili cheese fries were good but ask for extra cheese. Got the Brandon Burger (chefs choice) which was great. Burger was just a little over cooked (got med-​well when we ordered med-​rare). That’s the main reason for 4stars, but our server says they are usually on point with this. Otherwise a great stop.

We’ve been going to the Pine House for several years now on our winter runs up to Mount Laguna to play in the snow. The building is great – huge fireplace, very rustic. In the past, we’ve had much better food. Yesterday about half the food that our group of six ordered was bad and the whole thing was hugely overpriced. $ 140 (including tip) for two adults and four kids. For a really uninspiring «snow day» menu of just burgers, soup, and basic spaghetti. It should have cost half that much.
I’ll get to the food in a moment, but the worst of it was the owner. She seriously needs to take to heart that she’s in a customer service job. The customers are not there to be verbally abused or treated rudely for the offense of having a fun day out sledding with their kids and wanting to give her way too much of their money. The place is filled with rude little signs telling us how to be better customers, and she was constantly yelling at people. I finally said to our server, «she’s not good at people skills, is she?»… very quickly followed by «don’t respond to that” – as I didn’t want the server to get in trouble.
The food. As I said, *extremely* basic «snow day» menu. Burgers, simple spaghetti, a couple soups and chili, fries. That’s it. Oh, and a couple kids menu items such as buttered pasta and chicken … fingers? (some kind of the usual fried kids chicken part) My youngest took one bite of the kids buttered pasta, said, «mama, that’s gross,» and refused to eat any more. Mom and I both tasted it and agreed. To their credit, they brought another item, but they should never have served the first item. You have to work hard to mess up buttered pasta.
My wife took one bite of the chili, said that it was watered down and inedible, and left it. Two of the kids ordered the tomato soup and neither ate it. Both said that it tasted like tomato sauce out of a can. I tried it and it wasn’t tomato sauce out of can, but it might have been crushed tomatoes out of can and put through a blender briefly.
The burgers were good. The spaghetti was passable enough. But it was $ 14 for a plate of noodles with a bit of sauce and nothing else. Not even any parmesan cheese offered. No vegetable of any kind. Just a plate of about a dollar’s worth of noodles and basic meat sauce for $ 14.
They are the ONLY restaurant up there, so have clearly decided that they can get away with this. But… yesterday was a really pitiful effort with a really rude owner. They’ve done better and need to do better in the future.

Because of the recent rains, we drove up to Mount Laguna to take advantage of the fresh snow to play! Afterwards, we stopped in this awesome little joint that thrives on the Snow Days as I overheard they can make 2 weeks worth of work in a single day. Thank you locals and tourists! We had lunch which was a typical menu of burgers and chili and fries and hot cocoa among other items.
What is nice is the bar with a few locations drafts and about two dozen bottle selections. Wine too.
Next time you’re in Mount Laguna. Stop in and be patient for this local joint as many will stop through and leave since there can be a wait. After all, it is the only bona-​fide restaurant and tavern in the area.
Be cool and they’ll take care of you.

I think this is the only real place to eat up on Mount Laguna, but you won’t be disappointed. They have a great atmosphere with a big roaring fire and all wood interior. The staff is very friendly and adds to the mountain town vibe.
Breakfast is super good, especially if you just hiked some PCT sections and are dying for real food. I had one of the worst cups of coffee ever but I think there was a new-​hire working that didn’t have it down yet. Hopefully they fix that because a good cup of coffee is probably what 90% of the guests at this place are looking for.

As the owner of a corporation and customer service, this place deserves 6 stars. As a back country restaurant I thought initially it would be a run of the mill diner but to my surprise it equals a 5 star restaurant one would find in Beverly Hills. The food is unique, superb, and creative. The service is outstanding all on a family atmosphere. I’ve never even had a good meal here… they have all been great. Entertainment is awesome. The folks here become your friends. Recommended without hesitation.

Uhhh Dont Bother!!! Ive never been in arestraunt that has so many hand made signs that guide you how to be a better customer.
Also i tried to get a rootbeer float and i was rudely told the ice scream is only for thier coblers?
They dont serve applecyder.
Thier cheeseburgers are 15.00
I was told right off the back the back that she needs to flip her tables in 50 mins.
Thier peach cobler with ice cream is 9.00.
All in all the old bag running the restraunt talked to me like i was on her time while paying a premium on marie callenders type food. BLAH!!! P. s. i love the sign in the parking lot that says dont play with the snow in our parking lot… Where is chef ramsey when we need him.

Very tasty chilli, fresh food and good service, if you’re driving by definitely worth stopping by.

I fell in love the first time I came here and now I’m a regular. The Pine House is a necessary escape for me at least once or twice a month. Mount Laguna is spectacular, scenic, restful, and the Pine House is a treat with its weekly changing menu based on what provisions the owners and chefs bring up mountain. You must try the bothers if that’s your thing otherwise the poultry seafood beef dishes and the sides Fries whether sea salt, Cajun or parmigiana are just amazing. And do not do not miss the berry or fruit cobbler a la mode homemade and incredibly mouth watering. Gluten free friendly!!!

We stopped here tonight after hiking in the snow for some hot chocolate. Overall our experience personally was decent, but we felt the need to write a review based on what we witnessed. Hence the 2 stars.
The people ahead of us had asked for hot chocolate to go, but the tall brunette women with glasses promptly told them that they do not do to go’s on a busy Saturday night due to lack of staff, but if they wanted to sit down and order then they could do that. She further went on to explain that it’s unfair to the other customers who have waited for service to be taken away from them. Fair enough she had a valid point, but it’s how she said it to them that caught both my boyfriend and I off guard. She wasn’t pleasant at all and truthfully was kind of rude. The people turned around and immediately left.
She then was rude to a young family with small children. They came in wanted to eat, but were told that there were no tables available. They had seen a few empty tables where larger parties could sit and had inquired about them to which she explained their party was much too small. It looked as though they were going to wait for a table to open up as they were sitting in an area where there were chairs. As they got comfortable she snapped and said you cannot sit there as she’s shuffling after them and moving the chairs to a different area. Again, not a big deal, but it’s how she said it. Her delivery is downright shitty. They left as well.
Another family had asked to move to a larger table which she agreed to, but then a party of 12 entered and she shouts across at them, you can’t move there anymore like it was their fault. The family got uncomfortable moved their stuff back to the other table and sat back down. She then lectures the party of 12 for not making reservations. I mean come on! That’s 4 parties that she’s been rude to in the course of 20 minutes.
Once the party of 12 sits she goes to take their order, however there are 3 people missing from their party. She asked aggressively where the other 3 people are and they politely say on their way. She then scolds them that they weren’t supposed to sit without the whole party being there. I mean… How the hell were they supposed to know?!
I get everyone has bad days, especially working in the service industry, but to have a bad day and repeatedly continue to be rude to potential guests is not okay. Especially when you live in a small mountain town and rely on the tourists for your livelihood.
This women needs to learn tact and couth or else you are going to run off a lot of potential guests. Eventually it won’t matter that you’re the only place that serves food and drinks in Mount Laguna. No one wants to be shouted at or spoken to in such a manner when they drove out to the mountains to escape the city.
Words of advice for the establishment — get a hostess that is pleasant to people and can manage seating as well as problem solving in case you have last minute people show up that are hungry and want to warm up, teach your bussers to learn how to make drinks efficiently on top of bussing tables (trust me, it’s great job experience. In fact your hostess should be helping bus as well as make drinks #teamwork), and please please please either give this women a week’s paid vacation if this is her normal behavior or put her in the back of the house.
Also, if the weather predicts snow — plan to schedule an extra person or two. Yes you may have to pay out of pocket for some wages, but the potential earnings during busy time far outweigh paying 1 or 2 people minimum wage to ensure your guests are being tended to. Your place lost some business while we there, I cannot even begin to imagine how much is lost overall. Especially after reading a few other people’s reviews.
For people visiting this area, plan ahead make reservations. We honestly got lucky that we were able to sneak in. At the very least pack a snack pack and your own damn hot chocolate because if you don’t and you’re not prepared you won’t be able to get it Togo and if you decide to sit and get it. Be prepared for a serious tongue lashing.
I wish I was kidding that we witnessed all of this, but sadly I’m not.

This is the only place to eat in Mt. Laguna! Yep, to go anywhere else you are wasting your money.
Dined here with friends on a Sunday evening recently. Four adults and three kiddos. We called ahead and they were very grateful and had a table all ready to go for us.
We took our own crayons and paper, as there are no kid menus or things to «distract» the kiddos. However, the staff was attentive and the meals AMAZING!
We were fortunate to enjoy, a wonderful dinner for 7 of quality food and everyone stuffed to the gills for $ 90 with tip.
Slow food, organic, quality ingredients, weekly specials. The burger is good and the simple fries tasty too!
Fri and Sat nights make reservations — because they have live music.
Note: Beer and Wine only — no liquor.

Several members of our hiking group stopped in for a quick beverage while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. A woman with glasses and dyed hair in pigtails «served» us, but quickly got aggravated with the effort it was taking to manage drinks for 7 whole people.
I ordered one of the fall special drinks, a pumpkin pie latte. «You can’t have it! The espresso bar’s been closed since 2:30!» Well, I haven’t been to your lovely establishment before, so excuse the hell out of me.
At first, we sat in the chairs at the counter, but once we were all seated, she reprimanded us for sitting there.
«This is a family restaurant, «she sternly told us, like we were somehow lowering the tone of the place with our sitting and our beer order. She informed us that the counter with chairs at it wasn’t a place for sitting, and that we’d have to move to a table.
Once we were moved, she continued to make picky comments, like every additional request we made was a huge hassle for her. Then other men came in for a meal, and she left us in order to go give them crap for expecting food service. We paid up and slammed our drinks so we could leave and not further offend this woman with our patronage.
Lady, your restaurant wasn’t busy enough to warrant acting like such a huge bitch to people with money and options to go elsewhere. Which is exactly what we did.

We found this place by accident and since last winter it has become the place for us to get away to from the nuisances of daily living. Burger, garlic Parmesan fries, and deserts are all to die for. Very nice rustic setting with lots of traveling customers. It’s nice for family and romantic casual scenic getaway. Stop by and say hello to the friendly staff.

We stopped here for lunch today after a beautiful morning hiking nearby. In the past, we’ve always driven by all the way to Julian, but several friends recommended this place so we have been meaning to give it a try. Our party was made up of four adults, two young children, and a dog.
When we arrived, we were glad to hear that we could eat out on the porch with our dog. We were seated at a large table covered in dust, which was quickly wiped clean. We quickly realized that half of us would be sitting in the full sun on a warm afternoon, so we asked to move to a different spot. We could see several other tables of equal size in the shade on the same outdoor porch.
Fortunately, our waitress helped us move to another table, and we were finally settled in and ready to order when our experience went south.
Another waitress or hostess, I’m not sure which, came out and said that we would have to move back to our original table. Supposedly, the fire code would not allow them to sit six people at our new table. This didn’t make sense to us, because we clearly all fit around the table and were not causing any encroachment on the aisle between tables. We also asked if we could move to the third large empty table in the shade, equal in size to the sunny one, but we were told that this table only fit four people.
There were many possible solutions that could have fixed this problem, but the second waitress/​hostess was not in a mood to discuss. She wanted us back to our original table, or back on the road. So, we decided to leave. We felt bad for our original waitress who came back out after us, apologizing for the behavior of her colleague, but we were all too frustrated at that point to change our minds again.
I doubt we’ll be back to try this place again, which is a pity since it’s a lot closer to our favorite hiking spot than anything in Julian. I hope the management will realize that this particular employee is a serious liability to their operation.

I had the Pine House pancake and a bloody mary for breakfast. My photo of the bloody mary says it was good, but I changed my mind shortly after saying that. It was not good. Def not worth $ 7 — pass on the bloody mary.
The Pine House pancake is not a normal pancake. Actually, I’m not sure why they call it a pancake at all, it’s really nothing like a pancake. It’s some kind of eggy bread-​like breakfast food… their menu describes it better than I do.
Prices were normal for breakfast in the mountains, I think. Service was good.

Worth the drive! Bacon. This isn’t one of those places in the middle of nowhere that people eat at just because there is no where else to eat. Bacon. It is in the middle of nowhere, but that only adds to the charm. This place takes their food seriously, down to the coffee and tea. Bacon. They have hand crafted loose leaf teas and the best coffee I’ve ever had at a mountain café. Bacon. The food is traditional, down to the European «pancake.» The bacon is cooked to order, and you can have crumbled bacon on anything. Bacon!
Added bonus: We came on a Sunday and did not have to wait. Bacon.

If you haven’t been out to Laguna Mt., Sunrise Highway, this Café & Tavern is a great spot to relax, enjoy the Mt. and some very delicious Burger and Fries and top it off with probably the best brownie /​ice-​cream I had in years.
Our waitress Kimber, super friendly and entertaining kept us laughing. It’s all about atmosphere and taste. These guys certainly know how to.
Thanks again everyone for making this a nice little excursion into the Mt.