Smoke + Cedar

Me and my husband came here for Tacoma restaurant week.
Oh my God the prime rib was delicious and I will definitely be getting it again next time.
It was perfectly medium rare and the horseradish mash potatoes were yummy and also cleared out my sinuses lol.
It’s pretty pricey so we will be back for special occasions.

My favorite brunch spot in Tacoma, by farrrrr! I am a huge fan of brunch and go almost every weekend. Most of the places I like are usually further up north, so it’s a bit out of the way. But I discovered Smoke + Cedar a few weeks ago and decided to give it a try.
The restaurant is apart of the Allenmore Golf Course, so not many people know about it. It’s somewhat hidden and you have to enter the country club in order to get to it. You don’t need a membership to dine here, even though it is a club.
During my first visit, we got the option of sitting outside on their patio since the weather was nice and warm, overlooking the entire golf course. It was a really nice and relaxing view. The service was a little slow, but they were kind of busy at the time, so I didn’t mind it too much.
They have the «Bottomless Booze» option, where you can get unlimited Mimosas or Bloody Marys throughout your meal, so there was no way I could turn that down! They actually use fresh squeezed OJ too, which is kind of rare these days. As for my meal, I got the Pork Belly Egg’s Benedict and loved every bit of it. The pork was really well cooked and super soft. The lemon hollandaise sauce they used was just perfect. My friends ordered the Steak & Eggs, which they really enjoyed as well. After eating, I realized that my Mimosas were a little on the weak side. so I asked the waitress to opt more champagne and less OJ, which she was more than happy to do.
My second visit was on a cloudy and wet morning, so we did dined inside. Our table was still next to the windows, so we still got a nice view of the golf course. I ordered my Mimosa and let the waitress know that I wanted extra champagne, so it was great. I ordered the same thing as last time and it was just as delicious as it was the first time.
I highly recommend this place for those in the Tacoma area who wanna do brunch, but not commute up north for quality food, because this is definitely a hidden gem.

I have been here a couple times and definitely no disappointments here. Great friendly prompt service. Food is delicious! I will say I do not like their shoe-​string fries, but everything else is delicious. I have tried the fish and chips, salmon Cesar salad, and fried cauliflower. All of them were amazing and was personally delivered by the chef himself. This place is a must try!

Love love love this place for brunch! We have taken all of our visiting guest here and everyone loves it. It is beautiful sitting alongside the golf course. The food is very good and the staff very friendly. I highly recommend the morning server Tanya she makes the experience so much better being super friendly and outgoing. On Sat and sun the have bottomless mimosas and bloody Marys which are always fun to have for brunch.
Can’t wait to come back again soon.

Best burger I’ve had in a long time «The Secret Burger» is no longer a secret to all my friends who what to eat there. My wife ordered the Prime Rib and it to was delicious. So if you want to experience great service and great food come here and enjoy.

The first time I came here, they had more on their menu, or they had a Specials menu. Everything was tasty then, and I really liked the Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower. Came back again for happy hour with my cousin. Not much on their happy hour menu, but I had to order the cauliflower again, and still loved it. Ordered a couple drinks each — not too bad. We also ordered the Dirty Fries, which I did enjoy. And we each ordered the Pasta Papa, which said it came with Italian sausage, but I didn’t seem to see any; the meat looked and tasted more like ham, which I don’t like. We weren’t fans of the pasta, and it tasted a little salty. And prices are a little bit high.

Secret Burger was fantastic the hand cut fries with smoky ketchup was tasty with complicated flavor profiles. The ground beef had mushrooms and Kobe beef fat to add a guilty pleasure to the jarls berg cheese, pickled red onions, were a bonus! Loved it :) for dessert the berry crunch and icebox cake was heavenly

I decided to try out Smoke + Cedar for Sunday Brunch after looking online and not finding a whole lot else that stuck out while visiting Tacoma. On arrival, the parking area was completely full and I had to park in a gravel lot below and walk up to the beautiful new clubhouse building — no big deal, must be a good spot! I arrived about 20 minutes before the rest of the group, and was promptly seated on the lovely patio overlooking the golf course.
My early arrival gave me ample time to look over the menu. I’ll note that the menu seemed really over-​complicated for brunch and only a small handful of items actually appealed if one is trying to seek out breakfast fare.
In the 20 minutes I sat there before my party arrived I was not greeted by a server or asked about a drink, or offered water. Not a huge deal, I was sure they knew I was waiting for more people — but still obnoxious.
When my party did arrive we were served water and our waitress took our drink order — a coffee and 3 Bloody Mary’s — nothing unusual at breakfast. Another ten minutes go by and we are still waiting for our drinks when she comes to take our food order. Three 2-​egg breakfasts and a biscuits & gravy — pretty standard brunch fare.
Finally, after about 30 minutes, our FOOD comes out. As the runner drops the food you can see the look of panic on our waitress as she runs to the bar to get the bloody mary’s. Still no coffee at this point.
The food, overall, was good. However, the poached eggs came out in a bowl of water. It is my opinion that if you can’t poach eggs well just don’t offer them — and please don’t bring them to me still sitting in lukewarm water.
The Bloody Mary’s were not good. We couldn’t figure out what was off about them, but nobody could get through more than a couple drinks before abandoning hope. The coffee (good) finally came half-​way through the meal and was greatly appreciated.
The bill was yet another disappointment, with my 2-​egg breakfast (including my $ 2 side of 2-​slices of avocado) & un-​drinkable Bloody Mary came to $ 26. I don’t mind paying that price if the food and drinks are good and service is at least adequate — but this was a very disappointing brunch.

I love the food here. Everything is amazing. Including the cocktails. Started with a «summer breeze.» Delicious cocktail. Seriously so good. Then appetizer of the Clam Toast. This is steamer clams in high style. The sauce was so amazing, we ordered more toast to dip in it. The clams were perfect and the bacon made the dish. For entrees I had the Clam Shack while the husband had the Smoked Steelhead. Redundant to order more clams maybe, but it had cod, prawns, potatoes and linguiça in a tomato-​y spicey sauce. It came with toast as well. This was like cioppino meets Cajun. It was heaven. The smoked steelhead was delicately smokey and just done enough to flake. Served over a bed of peas with their in-​house smoked bacon and tender crisp red potatoes. We tried to get the berry crisp, but they were out of it by then. We ended up with the Banoffee pie and ice box cake. Ice box cake was the better of the two, but both were amazing.
Also got the dirty fries and buffalo cauliflower to go. Still amazing the next morning; you need to have the dirty fires in your life.
Overall, best date night place I’ve been to in years. Definitely on my list for future dates. They have live music in the outdoor seating area some nights as well.
Be warned, this is a slower paced restaurant. If you wanna be in and out in an hour, you should go somewhere else. But I hope you go here. It’s a fabulous eating experience.

Came here to eat for lunch and the parking lot was full. Busy sunny day for golfers, so we had to park mid-​hill on the gravel parking lot and walk up the driveway to get to the restaurant.
It was a beautiful sunny day, so we were seated in the patio area. The restaurant environment was nice and the temperature wa perfect for lunch outside.
I ordered the Blowtorch Prime Rib Dip ($ 16 + tax). Food presentation looked amazing. The taste wasn’t as compelling. The potato chips were nice and crunchy. The sandwich bread was a little over-​toasted making it a bit hard to bite into, even after dipping it into the smoked onion jus – the sandwich kind of fell apart after a few bites. The jus dip was a little on the salty side, which was a bit of a turn off. The sandwich itself had enough of the salt taste, plus the potato chips, the dipping sauce being too salty wasn’t a positive thing. The onions in the sandwich were a little undercooked. When I bit into it, it left that raw onion taste in mouth which isn’t very pleasant especially hoping that the onions would’ve been more caramelized. The sandwich itself didn’t have the flavoring I typically expect out of a prime rib dip. It was just okay for me.
I probably won’t go eat there again, unless I was asked to, or forced to go.

I really wanted to like this place more. I think the trendy look and vibe of the place sets the bar higher than the food meets. Went there for brunch one Sunday. Waited about 45 minutes for seating so I recommend making reservations.
The food was decent but I expected more. I don’t feel the need to come back and visit.

Descent Happy Hour, limited happy hour menu. Good beer and cocktails a little to loud. Yummy fun

Love having brunch here. This is the 3^rd time here!
Love the bottomless mimosas and the patio is perfect. The hotmess is awesome my husband gets it every time.
The pork belly Benedict was also delicious. I’m really surprised with the menu changed the removed the 3 little pigs. We would get that as a brunch appetizer. Totally not health but yum yum yummy!

Went for late Saturday morning brunch. We had a reservation so there was no wait for a table. Our server was kind and attentive, lots of refills for coffee/​water.
Fairly long wait for food, maybe 30 minutes after we ordered, but well worth it. Some of the best hash browns I’ve ever had, perfectly crispy on the outside and with plenty of substance. The 43 – 8 omlette could have used more peppers but was flavorful and well proportioned.
Salt and pepper shakers were woefully inadequate, tiny little numbers that dispensed 4 grains at a time. I also found the heft and strange size of the cutlery, particularly the fork, to be a bit disconcerting.
Overall, not somewhere to go when you’re in a hurry, and definitely a bit pricier than the average diner brunch, but the food is delicious and the waitstaff polite and on top of things. I will return sometime to take advantage of bottomless mimosas/​bloody mary’s for $ 12.

I’ve heard so many good things about this place that I knew I had to bring some friends to join me for brunch. Booooooo. The wait was 30 minutes, not too bad especially for a Sunday and not having a reservation during their brunch hours but what was really confusing was that when he were finally seated there was SEVERAL empty tables. We thought these may have been reserved but throughout our entire dining experience, no one was seated around us. (And as we were being seated, we heard the hostess tell the next group of people that the wait was an hour… FOR WHAT? There were barely any customers inside!)
The service was quite slow and because we had already viewed the menu while we were waiting, I asked our waitress to take our order with our drinks. Talk about an evil eye… her face made me apologize for asking to order. And while we were ordering, she gave an attitude and told me she wasn’t done writing stuff down on her pad. Not the nicest of people.
We got bottomless mimosas and bloody mary’s. The mimosas were sloppy. The glasses were sticky and the orange juice didn’t seem like orange juice — a little too tangy or mixed with mango. Not sure; can’t even explain it. The bloody mary’s were good. The glasses were significantly larger than the flutes for the mimosas. Understandable.
Our appetizer was amazing (minus the fries being cold). We ordered the dirty fries with the sawmill gravy. For whatever reason, the fries were still crispy but they were cold. The toppings, however, were nice and warm. Definitely would have enjoyed them more if they were served the way they were intended to be — hot all the way through?
When our entrees came out, half of the items were burnt. You can tell in the picture I uploaded, that my piggies in a blanket were extra, extra crisp. I tried to cut through one of them and it fell apart. The inside was okay but the batter was… blah.
For 3 people our bill totaled $ 105.00. The quality of the food was not worth the price and the service was nothing exceptional either. 2 stars, at best.

This was a tough one for me. The location is first class, on the top of a small rise overlooking a very pretty golf course. The new Elks club is at one end of the building, the pro shop and restaurant at the other. Lots of free parking which is nice. But then we got out and went inside. Apparently they serve breakfast which stops at 11 and then lunch starts. There was a group of six in front of us who had been waiting for several minutes for a hostess and then we came in. We probably stood there for at least another 10 minutes while servers looked out from the seating area and other folks who obviously worked at the golf course came in and out of the restaurant and smiled. But no one showed up to seat us, to say they weren’t quite ready and it would be a minute, nothing. That left sort of a bad taste in my mouth.
Once we were seated the server was very nice and was right there to take drink orders. I asked what her favorite was and got a list of almost everything on the menu. I know you have to be careful as a server but come on you must have at least two things you really like.
My husband got the prime rib sandwich that came with homemade chips and I opted for fish and chips. Supposedly they are known for both of them. Hubby said his sandwich was good, not wonderful but better than some he’d had. However, he said the chips were sort of awful. I tasted one and it almost tasted like the oil they were fried in was old. There were some flecks of some sort of herb in the chips that added nothing. My fish was cooked very well and the crust was a Panko breading which I particularly like. Fries were just fries, nothing to write home about. It was a three piece order of fish which was way too much for me and when I mentioned it to the server, she said oh, you could have had two pieces from the bar menu. Why didn’t she offer that before?
Here’s the couple of things that really took away a star for me. First the tarter sauce for the fish was very strange. Had lots of things that I weren’t sure about it in. How about just some nice tarter sauce or if they want to change things up, give you a choice. then there was the ketchup. They advertise a smoked variety and as far as I’m concerned, I just want a bottle of the real stuff. This tasted like they poured liquid smoke in it. Again, how about giving me a choice of your stuff or the regular.
We both ordered iced tea, they serve only the passion fruit stuff. Yuck. Again, bring on the plain stuff.
This place has breakfast so we might try that, definitely won’t have lunch again. The menu is limited and as I said, sort of strange. Too bad since Tacoma needs this type of place to go for lunch. Lots of reviewers said the service was so good, our server was prompt to take our order but then we never saw her again until it was time for the bill.

I’m mixed about my experience here recently for a weekend evening meal with a group.
I enjoyed driving up to the golf course where this restaurant is settled on a hill. Parking is easy with private lot, greeter was pleasant and seating was easy. Some of the tables overlook the golf course which is pleasant but unseen during the night hours. Décor is strange possibly creating some of my mixed feelings about this experience. It feels as if the décor wants to match its name having some touches of nature but also wants to be upscale. In addition, trying to fit in with customers who may visit the golfcourse.
Menu is boring, food seasoning offers no excitement and prices do not measure its worth.
I do however appreciate the presentation of the food from appetizers, sides and entrees. All look pleasing to the eye and serve good portions.

One of my favorite places for brunch in Tacoma/​South Puget Sound. It is located at the Elks Club and overlooks a golf course. The interior looks like a cross between a lodge abs modernist loft, with some exposed (but painted white) pipes and what I can only assume are elk horns on the walls.
The brunch menu features homey foods with a few surprises like the Dutch baby, which is billed as the love child of a popover and crêpe.
Their burger is incredibly flavorful, and comes on a ciabatta roll instead of the traditional sesame bun. The special sauce that comes on it kicks the traditional thousand island dressing up a notch, with actual pieces of something inside the spread.
The smoked ketchup has made me a fan. It’s almost bbq sauce in taste and very addictive. The fries are perfect and walk the tight rope of skinny and too thick.
The only thing that didn’t wow me was their pancakes, which to me are too thin and you don’t get very much for the money. Then again, I wasn’t silly enough to order pancakes at the lunch hour, so can’t comment on it much. My husband said they were delicious, though, as he inhaled half of my burger.
Parking is easy since it’s connected to a golf course and club. It’s one of the closest sit down restaurants to the Sprague exit off of the 16W/​5 north.
I’d definitely like to come back for lunch or dinner.

Tried their breakfast and they still earn a three star review from me. I neither love nor hate Smoke + Cedar. It seems like most reviewers either love or absolutely hate this place. I’m a little more indifferent.
They offer 50% off your entrees if you order before 8AM. Feeling motivated this Saturday morning we went for it.
I ordered the prime rib omelet. The cubed pieces of prime rib in my omelet were over cooked and dry. The menu says that the omelet is filled with shaved pieces of prime rib. Not so much.
The hash browns are the best I’ve ever had. But my entire plate was incredibly greasy. That was a little off-​putting.
My boyfriend ordered the red flannel scramble. It was a lot of roughage for a breakfast. Again, the cubed pieces of prime rib and roast pork were dry. And they do that thing where they grill the toast. So, the toast was burned. Ew.
I would consider returning for breakfast, but only for the deal. I wouldn’t pay full price.

Came here for brunch for the first time today. What a cute little place tucked away from the busy area it’s in. If you sit outside you can have full views of the golf course.
I had the granola and yogurt — it came in separate bowls so you could mix the portions as you wish. It could have used more fruit but I was satisfied overall.
My other half got the chilaquiles, less the steak. He was very pleased but it could have used more egg. It was supposed to come with bread however we never got any and didn’t mention it.
The food was great but the sizes could have been a little larger… we decided to split the lemon poppyseed muffin to give us a little more food. It was fresh and tasty.
Everyone was ordering Bloody Mary’s and they looked great… will have to try that next time! The staff were all very friendly and the décor was much more welcoming than your average golf course restaurant!