Little Crane Cafe in Vader

A homey, off the beaten path, oasis of good food and hospitality.Jason, often cooking and singing, brings good eats to the middle of nowhere with a decent Mom and Pop restaurant. Country breakfasts, and standard American meals are the daily fare here. On weekends and some holidays, however, it's a damn good prime rib dinner or even maybe steak and lobster. Yup. Took my wife there for Valentine's day.It doesn't have that fine dining ambience of big city restaurants, but it's not in a big city. Get it?Great wait staff and too much food. Currently (2019), the direct path from I-5 is closed because of bridge maintenance, but I doubt too many people bother to travel that far off off the interstate to eat there. Mostly locals. But some motorcyclists I know make it a regular stop. And HAM radio enthusiasts from Ryderwood.Good to try if you're in the area.

Giving this place a two star review because the only thing I liked about this place was the ranch. Sadly we were taken here by a friend who hyped this place up. Yes it's Sunday. Yes it's fathers day. No I did not want to wait 35 mins for a wilted brown leaf lettuce salad. My kids kid meal was 7 dollars, they use frozen not so good chicken balls.. I mean popcorn chicken. 6 people at our tabletop and she didnt even ask what I wanted to order. Needless to say I'm glad we were just passing through. Not a good trip. Maybe next time.

Food was Great.. Friendly Service.. Cozy Place for any meal..

Great food at a reasonable price, the owner opened up after hours to get me some emergency medical supplies out of a first aid kit that the store didn't carry. Breakfast the next day was amazing!

Great food. Great service.

Good food. The wait staff is AWESOME. They make you feel like family

Great hot breakfast with friends and family if you don't mind a train going by every 20 minutes.

A great local restaurant. The food is prepared to perfection each and every time. We went there for for the Friday night Prime Rib. It was my wife's birthday weekend. We orderes prime rib, very "rare". It was the best Prime Rib meals we have had in a long time. The meat was very flavorful, cooked to profection. The sides; green beans, baked potato, salad and ice cream Sunday made it a complete meal. Great service, and very friendly staff, they even sang happy birthday to my wife. The restaurant was very clean and they practiced excellent social distancing.

their hashbrowns have no flavor. their chicken fried steak taste like it was a frozen one heated up

Best breakfast place around. Haven't found anything better yet. Wonderful small town restaurant with great service and great employees

Perfect local Ma and Pa style place. The eggs benny are delicious, the portions are just right, the staff is fantastic, and the restaurant itself is cozy.

Have been wanting to try this place, finally did for breakfast. The benedict is biscuits and gravy with eggs on top. It just wasnt that great. Not a lot of flavor. I love bicuits and gravy but this one was just too bland and the eggs were over cooked. Darn! It wasnt cheap either. maybe dinner is better.

Charming local Cafe right next to the railroad tracks. Friendly atmosphere, great food, just a general happy feeling.

Super homelike atmosphere. Like being with family for a familiar meal.

An all American cafe!! The staff is always friendly and the food is amazing! Love Jason singing and he always makes me feel like family! Give the place 5 stars! And the prime rib is the best!!

Little Crain Cafe is great. A few minutes off the freeway but we'll worth the beautiful drive over to Vader for a great meal.

We always go there when in town working. Love the cook's singing. Makes me feel welcome. A wonderful hometown-like cafe. Good food too.

This was a BIG disappointment after reading so many great reviews. Arriving early for prime rib night should guarantee your preference. We were there at 4pm, each of us ordered prime rib meal, two med rare and the largest cut available RARE. My husband was very specific. None of the three meals arrived as ordered, especially my husband. Considering it is likely the most expensive item on the menu, if you cannot provide as ordered, tell your customer. The server was rude and walked away.Jason attempted to help but the prime rib he was offering was all overcooked.Won’t be returning

Always a great experience! Family owned & operated and everyone who enters the door leaves feeling like family. It has a long positive history in a very small community. The food is fantastic every meal.of the day. And if you're listening you may hear one of the cooks singing as he creates his satiating masterpieces. P.S. The turtle pancake is always a hit.

Our family gathering place every summer. Good food, friendly service, and a singing cook. What's not to love?

Down home goodness every single time! Been eating at the Little Crane for 18 years,. It's Always good. Great service with a smile. Worth the drive. Cozy.

I don't give 5 stars.. this little place in this little town (Vader) is a blast from the past with a great breakfast and genuine hospitality. It is worth going out of your way .

I loved it ❤️ will return time and time again. Only complaint, seasoning for 70+ everything needed salt and pepper, (Vader is mostly elderly) so not a big deal.

This is an absolutely amazing restaurant. The staff if great. And if your lucky you may get serenaded by Jason if he is working. ☺ ☺ ☺

Good, reasonably priced food compared to most in the area. Especially like there 3 piece cod. Only critique is have the food quality and service is not always consistently good when the owner is not there.

Love it! Great food great service and we always get treated like family. Definitely the best restaurant in the area.

Omg With a Name like this place must be awesome bring all your best tippers and fun people won't disappoint. Marcus Crane please don't call me little Crane. PLEASE send me a t-shirt . Thanks hope to eat there sometime.

Good food we stop there every time we are in the area definitely worth the drive

Went in tonight and had the BEST soup ever! I think it’s called (sweetish potato) also my spegetti was great and the bread to it was even better! The staff were very friendly even though we arrived 15 minutes to close they didn’t rush us and were very pleasant! I’m definitely going back:)

Great food,and cute little Cafe!!

A gem in tiny Vader! Staff is helpful and friendly. Food is honest home cooking. Prices are fair and to top it off your dinner includes an ice cream sundae!

Great diner food! Good service with lots of love! It's my understanding that it is still family owned. We had a great interaction with the owner and his son, the cook. Kids loved their strawberry and whipped cream waffles. Fun to see the trains go by as well. The wife and I will pass on the coffee next time. Highly recommended if you pass through Vader.

Food great prices very reasonable service excellent would make a regular hear their breakfast is really good

The food was very good. So that's fine. But, the waitress needs to learn some service skills. I was with two friends. I was still eating my food. She asked me if I wanted a box. Huh? I am still eating.

Great food good people

Great food great service great atmosphere a very affordable menu to delight my finicky tastebuds.

Excellent service and food, the Ginnie burger is big but kinda light on fries

We had an 8 top and the restaurant was fairly busy so- I would like to note that. Our food did take 45 minutes, but the kicker was the waitress, who was the one who took our order, didnt know who had what. We also had 2 wrong toasts, one plate that wasn't ours almost set at our table, and plates were missing some things on them(1 French toast, 1 slice of toast, and 2 sausage links all from different plates.) The food once it was out though was delicious and this experience won't put me off of coming to them, unless this becomes a regular problem. During COVID19 or holidays or just busy times, Its worth giving people your patience.Prices are good and so is the food and to me that's what matters!

no salt or pepper on eggs or hash browns. best thing was their sausage which wasn’t very good, both me and my girlfriend don’t feel good. although their customer service was good .

We ordered pork chops and received baked potato, vegetable, salad, choice of biscuits bread or English muffin and also a sundae for dessert all for one low price and all very delicious

Great service and GOOD food.

Always good eats for a good price. Love to see all the local historical pictures.

This is a great restaurant in a somewhat rural part of The Glorious State of Washington in Vader.They serve GREAT food here. All the food is good here. It is a traditional cafe like we all remember.I got the seafood platter 2 days in a row.My father loves the fish sandwich and pretty much gets that every time.I had a Reuben also on another day and it was freshly sliced juicy corn beef and mouth watering.The spaghetti dinner is quite popular.If you get a chance try it out.The cook even sings!!!Ya who would have thought.It is right near the tracks,and train crews have been stopping here and eating and having coffee for a long time.This place you could say is historic,and it is special to the locals,and well known for serving consistently great food.

I have NEVER had a bad experience at the Little Crane. Jason and team make an effort to provide quality food. Try it.

Had a beautiful, tasteful dinner from the Lil Crane tonight, Mother's Day. Food was very good even though we had to bring it home. because of the pandemic.

They have great sauce but the food is just alright. It’s an alright place for a small town

Jason not only cooked our food but sang the whole time.. then we went to pay and found out that the man next to us had paid for our dinner.. this is the 2nd time that that has happened to us there. And the food was delicious.. glad that as t I had cleaned all day and was too tired to cook.. great evening

Friendly people, great food, awesome pictures

Had cheeseburger and sweet potato fries. Burger was huge and was cooked just right. Sweet potato fries weren't hot and a little soggy.

Wonderful out of the way spot. Good food and nice people