101 Eat Drink - Corvallis

Beautiful setting, amazing staff. When we went there was only two servers and they were waiting outside and inside. Had to wait a little bit of time to get a growler filled but it gave us time to appreciate the place.

Felt sorry for our waitress who had to tell us they were out of a couple of the items we selected but she did it with grace and good cheer and by the third trip it was a good laugh. The beers I tried were mostly outstanding and worthy of reviews in their own right. The food was good but I really want to try the original two things I ordered.

I was a little nervous about the huge branding change from Big River to a pub. The menu has undergone a significant transformation in selections a well as price. However, the now-more-afordable entrees still hold the pizzazz of an upscale establishment. I'll forever mourn the loss of the incredible dessert case at Big River, but the chocolate mousse and meringue creation are a small consolation. Once they've worked all of the small kinks out, this will be a staple stop for a fun night out in Corvallis.

Beautiful bar and dining area. Cool menu options. We tried the Jalapeno Poppers... no heat. Pepper was soft and not crunchy. I've tested the frits...big serving plate with only ketchup. ordered the fish tacos..cabbage and heated cod. No strong aromas at all except raw cabbage. The steak was cooked directly, not very hot. Potatoes were very unsalted. Good fucking Mary. Couldn't fill our water glasses, but once and that took a lot of time. The staff seemed uninterested. We saw a few abandoned after we waited, sitting or giving instructions to sit down. Nobody recognized them so they left. Place wasn't super busy. Can be back for the **** Mary.

We used to go to 101 regularly on Fridays after work but tired of the food menu, which varied little from week to week, and their increasing prices. 101 (and Big River) is under new ownership so recently we decided to give them a try. The menu looked very familiar and we recognized many of the items, however, there are some new ones, too. We sampled two of them, the quesadilla and the fish tacos, plus the old standby, pom frites. The quesadilla was very good and we would order it again. The two tacos were generous but the fish was rather bland, which is a shame because there is so much you can do with fish. It is hard to mess up pom frites sprinkled with cheese and salt, served with a yummy aoli dipping sauce, but these did just that by being barely warm a characteristic shared by all of our food. Good thing it wasn 't a cold winter day outside. On the good side, all small plates are $10 and the cocktails we sampled off of 101 's revamped cocktail menu were interesting and tasty. If you prefer beer and are a fan of Mazama Brewing you will be happy because those are the only beers served on tap, since Mazama Brewing owns both 101 and Big River. It is with damning praise that I say this place feels much the same as when we were regulars. I understand the need to change things slowly when taking over an institution like 101 and the creed Don 't mess with success , but 101 will need to shake up their food menu in the same way they revised their cocktail menu if they want to compete with other downtown options... And return to serving their food hot.