Each summer, the Pine Marten Lodge offers a magical if not a unique dining experience. The occasion starts with a chairlift ride to the lodge and restaurant. The white tablecloths and attentive servers help set the atmosphere, but it’s the view at sunset that steals the show.

You can make reservations for dinner online. The restaurant opens at 5 p.m., and the last reservation is at 7:45 p.m. The $70-per-person price tag includes the chairlift ride to and from the restaurant and a three-course table d’hôte dinner.

(A “table d’hôte” meal is a prix fixe that offers a choice of dishes.)

When my friend and I arrived at Mt. Bachelor, we entered the main ticketing building and gave my name to pick up our lift tickets. The lift slows down to make it easy to get on and off the chair. You can choose to ride up earlier than your reservation and start the evening with some drinks while enjoying the view.

The meal includes three shared starter plates, an entree and a dessert. The choices for the first course include salads, appetizers and cheese. We chose the Summer Spinach salad. This was a beautifully fresh salad made with baby spinach in a citrus vinaigrette. Everything worked together in harmony; avocado and cherry tomatoes played off creamy goat cheese and toasted garbanzo beans. Candied pecans and walnuts, and chunks of mango brought in a sweetness. None of the flavors dominated the salad. There was no strong acid or citrus bite.

Our second starter was Crab Stuffed Mushrooms. There was virtually no filler with the crab that was stuffed into a large mushroom cap sauteed in a little butter, so it wasn’t greasy. Although it was drizzled with bearnaise sauce, the crab and baby portobello flavors still shined through.

Calamari seemed to be a good balance with the other two dishes. Small bites of calamari were fried in a light batter. This was a tender squid made up of small rings, which was a delight as the appetizer can be chewy when it’s made incorrectly. The breading was light and crispy and not at all greasy. The calamari was placed atop fresh greens and creamy wasabi aioli, and a sweet chili gastrique. Not drizzling the sauce on top kept the breading crisp. The sweetness and wasabi bite was a perfect complement for the fried cephalopod. Black and white sesame seeds added a nutty Asian touch.

We each chose an entree from a list of 10 items. My friend chose the short ribs and potato gratin. The juicy, tender braised short ribs could be cut with a fork. Their meatiness played to the cheesy layers of potatoes topped with a mirepoix (celery, carrots, onions), a thick mushroom demi-glaze that also covered the ribs, and fresh chives. It was plated atop a cheesy corn puree. Although it was a meat and potatoes dish, it wasn’t too heavy for a summer evening and would have been enhanced by a nice glass of red wine. Like the other dishes, the combination of seasonings and ingredients was well balanced, allowing the flavors of the meat and potatoes to shine through.

I took the server’s recommendation and ordered the halibut. Food and beverage manager Sean Mercer mentioned in our conversation that it’s been difficult to source food since the pandemic, and while they try to get fresh halibut, sometimes they can only get flash-frozen fish. It was clear that my halibut had been frozen as the fish wasn’t as flaky and tender as if it had been fresh. A seared crust topped with chives on a bed of Yukon potato puree with a couple of grilled asparagus. The stack was lightly coated with lemon preserve beurre blanc. In a unique spin, the halibut and potatoes were drizzled with an Oregon Berry Coulis. My friend found the sauce heavy and didn’t feel that berry sauce worked with the fish. I liked it. The berry flavor was smooth and sweet, balancing the lemon preserve beurre blanc. Again, it was a delicate balance of flavors that allowed the fish and the butteriness of the Yukon potatoes to shine through. Had it been fresh halibut, it would have been excellent.

Dessert was included with the meal. I chose the Gateau au Chocolat, a three-bite slice of creamy flourless chocolate cake with a strip of raspberry coulisse and two berries. My friend chose the lemon blueberry cheesecake. Mercer told me that customers often ask if the desserts are brought in, but he assures them that the resort has a pastry chef. Both desserts tasted a bit like they had been produced in bulk. One bite was enough.

Overall, it was a lovely dining experience. I stepped outside to shoot some photos as many other diners were taking selfies against the beautiful golden sunset backdrop. If you want to experience the sunset, you’ll want to make a reservation later than 7 p.m. Sunset dinners will continue until Sept. 4. Be aware that it will be cooler, possibly windy, on the mountain than in Bend. My friend didn’t dress accordingly and was thankful for the blanket offered by the lift operator for our trip back down to the car.