Deer Harbor Inn Restaurant

We love deer harbor inn and have dinner there almost every visit to the island. We even tried last year when the power on the island went out - they were closed along with everyone else in the island, but we enjoyed cup of noodles in the parking lot with the kiddos, watching the deer and rabbits. The quiet location, wildlife, and outdoor seating with a view of the harbor is hard to find anywhere else. Plenty of room that reservations aren't usually needed and it's kid friendly with menu items for them and plenty of room to run around while percents continue sipping drinks on the deck and enjoying the love piano music. The food is good - we usually get a seafood entree and always save room for the blackberry cobbler. Don't miss this hidden gem the next time you're here.

The food was delicious, however while we were eating a cat walked into the restaurant which was unsanitary. I ordered the vegetable fettuccine which was very good. The pianist was a nice touch to the atmosphere.

I go out to eat to enjoy food number one, but service is also a close second. An upbeat or even smiling server can make a mediocre meal a better experience, and vice versa. The food at Deer Harbor was very good. The clam chowder had large tender clams and was homemade. The sourdough bread comes out warm in a basket and the salad, though not my thing, comes family style spring mix. The almonds all fell to the bottom and there was very little dressing. It had no oomph. The seafood pasta was great, pasta and cheesy sauce was fantastic, but the scallops were stringy. I almost sent them back. My wife's veg fettuccine was very rich and had a nice assortment of veggies. My issue was with the service and atmosphere. The place is dead quiet and you can hear everyone's conversations around you. There was music but it was very very quiet. And our server was also very quiet and did not smile once. And quiet atmosphere is fine, if it's fine dining with dim lighting, candles, and overall opulence. But the dining room is brightly lit, with fake plants and small paintings of local wildlife. I didn't feel welcome and comfortable, just awkward with the server's meek presence adding to the quiet. I won't go back, but I will say the soup and entrees were indeed good.

My wife and I had the lovely opportunity to start our anniversary weekend at this great restaurant! We came for the food and were blessed by the hospitality. It seems to be a very common theme with these reviews. My wife and I shared the shrimp cocktail as well as the salmon special. The salmon was cooked to perfection as were the mashed potatoes and the broccolini. We finished off the meal with the blackberry cobbler which came with vanilla ice cream. It's exactly what you want to finish the meal in the summer time. All of this cake with a soup starter that was really good as well as bread, which was also really good and then a salad!! Excellent. Apparently it's the owner's father's recipe. It's excellent! So, enjoy yourself. We did! In fact we enjoyed alongside the deer the the harbor is named after. They enjoyed chewing on the grass and playing together in the field on the other side of the deck!You'll love this place!

We stayed at the marina in Deer harbor and were told about this restaurant. Just a short walk up the hill (one of the prettier walks i have ever been on) we found this quaint restaurant - perfect island dining spot. Everything about this place was just adorable - seated near us were an older gentleman and his son that made us want to know their story, through the windows, we could watch people playing table tennis on the lawn, the food was great.Happy to have made the unexpected stop in this quaint little harbor.

Great food, Live Music, and wonderful people. We have Salmon with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. The sauce and flavor of the whole dish was perfect. The meal came with salad and as much fresh sourdough bread as we wanted.The friendly server and the warm and inviting welcome we received we definitely a wonderful memory for our 34th wedding anniversary celebration. So glad we came.... Highly recommend this place.

I only ate here once, and even though I was not blown away by the food, the rest of the experience was terrific--so saying I'm a fan is legit.First, it was a beautiful day; sunny but crisp. Days that you wish you could sit outside and enjoy water/greenery views on a restaurant deck but would need a blanket. Days that...oh? You have blankets for your patrons to sit outside on the deck to enjoy the views? Well, okay! And even though they could have dropped off on the service a little bit (after all, I'm as snug as a bug in a rug dining al fresca) but the service was attentive without drowning us. Really great. And if that wasn't enough, they had a couple of violinists playing outside too. They even played Bittersweet Symphony haha! Deer Harbor Inn Restaurant grows some of their own ingredients on-site and have chickens happily walking around the grounds. Neat experience. I would try something else next time besides the seafood bouillabaisse...it was a little bland but boy, it was HUGE. The soup starter and the dinner salad were nice though. So besides ordering something different, I would totally do a redux on this place.

We have a weekend home on Orcas and are embarrassed to admit that it took us fifteen years to try this place. While it looks a bit foreboding from the road once we drove in the eclectic Orcas vibe was readily apparent and very pleasant. We ate in the main dining room which feels a bit dated; there is a large patio with a terrific view of Deer Harbor for when the weather is more cooperative. Having had a big lunch earlier in the day, neither of us was up for a formal dinner. We both opted for entree salads; the steak and blue cheese as well as the seafood Louie. Both were well made and, with soup, bread and a shared berry cobbler ala mode, more than enough food. We will be back.

Barbecue ribs and brisket are amazing! Delicious sides! Great old fashioneds as well!

What a disappointment last night as we had eagerly awaited a great meal. Service was slow, but oh well we had the time. But then my husband's steak was tough with lotza fat on it served on a mound of cold mashed potatoes along with the cold but over cooked broccoli. I. Fairness the waitress took the steak back and threw it back on grill but still not good. My salmon was great, but the potatoes were Luke warm And broccoli cold. I started to sneeze only to learn there were cats in the building. To which I'm deathly allergic .We ate there 4 years ago and had a much better experience. Whatever has happened .