Oregon’s most famous wine region — known for its exceptional pinot noir — hasn’t always had a robust dining scene. In recent years, however, big changes have been paving the way for a fresh crop of restaurants, offering both formal dinners during a long weekend in wine country and casual lunches to hit up before a visit to one of the area’s many tasting rooms. McMinnville is emerging as the dining heart of Oregon’s most northern Willamette Valley, but a few outliers in places like Newberg, Dundee, Dayton, and Carlton can provide a worthy lunch or dinner between tasting flights and glasses of bubbles. For restaurants to visit while tasting in the Columbia River Gorge, this map may help.
Read MoreExceptional Willamette Valley Restaurants to Visit Post-Wine Tasting
Where to find ceviche, chawanmushi, steak frites, and more within Oregon’s lauded pinot noir country
Pura Vida Cocina
Pura Vida Cocina is a perennial Third Street favorite, McMinnville’s home for fresh, creative takes on Latin American flavors. Chef and owner Ricardo Antúnez calls the menu a combination of Central American, Peruvian, and Mexican cuisine, thanks to dishes like tacos, vegetable empanadas stuffed with peanut romesco, and chiles rellenos smothered in aji amarillo cream sauce. The touches of Spain on the menu — like a paella mixta with bay scallops and clams — are a fun diversion, as well. In January the restaurant owners closed temporarily to renovate and redecorate the space; when they reopened, they added fun breakfast options including chilaquiles and chorizo empanadas.
Pizza Capo
Beloved among locals, Pizza Capo’s wood-fired pies made it an instant hit when Oven and Shaker alums Kyle Munroe, Jeremy Whyte, and Scott Cunningham launched it as a pop-up in 2018. Now, Capo’s home is a full-blown restaurant on McMinnville’s Third Street, and the pizza is always on point — in particular the Valley Special, showcasing seasonal produce. It’s easy to start a meal with appetizers like mushroom fontina arancini and roasted Even Pull Farm cabbage with anchovy vinaigrette. The majority of the seating is indoors, but weather permitting the restaurant offers limited outdoor seating on weekends. If you go, keep an eye out for limited edition specials of handmade pasta, too.
Humble Spirit
A new(ish) addition to McMinnville’s Third Street, Jackrabbit alum Brett Uniss has been turning out polished but unpretentious farm-to-table plates since Humble Spirit opened in July 2022. He’s now partnering with fellow Portland culinary expat Sarah Schafer, growing the culinary arm of the emerging Yamhill County-based hospitality company called the Ground. Humble Spirit’s food is elegant yet relaxed with an eye towards the omnivorous. Go for pasture-raised beef or pork from sibling businesses Tabula Rasa Farms and Source Farms; or a plate of beautifully executed handmade pasta with local sungold tomatoes, sweet corn or whatever else happens to be in season. Their weekend brunch is also among the best in the area. Humble Spirit’s dishes read as rustic but are full of pleasant little surprises and elegant technical touches that make it a joy to dine there.
Pinch
You’ll find a playful, pan-European menu at Pinch, which is the successor to Recipe Neighborhood Kitchen. Emily and Paul Bachand owned and operated the the now-closed Newberg restaurant for 11 years before departing Newberg for McMinnville in search of something with a smaller footprint and a more casual vibe. The bar snacks and salads are always tempting, but save room for the entrees to really get a sense for Paul Bachand’s confidence in bigger plates such as grilled calabrian chili sausages with manila clams and fregola sarda or day boat scallops with brandade-stuffed pepper and miso-braised cabbage. It’s a great spot for a date or a happy hour, and the well-appointed bar works for either.
Cypress
Pistachio lattes, lamb-topped hummus with artichoke and green chickpeas, charred carrots with pine nut tapenade and labneh, and grilled halloumi with chile — Cypress is the place to find flavors from Southwestern Asia and Northern Africa in the Mid-Valley. Found inside the Atticus Hotel, the restaurant is dripping with plants and freshly made-over with light, bright decor. Jory and Sokol Blosser alums Henry Kibit and Travis Bird’s mix-and-match menu is hugely approachable with easy-to-like options for lunch, dinner, and snacking. Cypress is also open for breakfast, and the menu includes Egyptian dishes like green garbanzo ful and standard hotel brunch fare with Middle Eastern touches like pancakes with pomegranate syrup.
Okta
Michelin star ambitions are on display at the destination restaurant Okta in McMinnville’s Tributary Hotel. Castagna alumnus Matthew Lightner serves a tasting menu based on Pacific seafood and vegetables from the restaurant’s own Dundee Hills farm, a parade of elegant little dishes in gorgeous ceramic vessels. The overall dining experience is what makes Okta destination-worthy: It’s so elegant that it’ll make you sit up a little straighter; the luxe rusticity of the dining room’s earthy decor, the perfume of woodsmoke scenting the space, the hushed seriousness of the staff’s machinations in the open kitchen, and the team-style service approach to service all signal its intentions — to become the Willamette Valley’s crown jewel.
Conservatory Bar
It’s understandable that most of the restaurants in Oregon wine country maintain some focus on wine, but sometimes you just want to drink something else. Tucked slightly off McMinnville’s main drag, Conservatory Bar is Isaac and Kelley Mabbitt’s spot for playful, easy-drinking cocktails. A mural of chanterelles and fern-printed wallpaper serve as a backdrop for a simple menu of sandwiches, bar snacks, and drinks. The bar has seating indoors and out.
Honey Pie Pizza
Originally located in Newberg, Honey Pie now serves New York-style pizza within McMinnville’s Mac Market. The menu changes regularly to showcase seasonal ingredients on wide, cracker-y crusts made with Oregon-grown flour; pie toppings range from things like roasted pineapple and pulled pork to hazelnuts and dates. The casual space is beloved among locals for its relaxed atmosphere and succinct-but-reliable menu.
Hayward
Chef Kari Kihara’s restaurant, within the converted warehouse space of Mac Market, is industrial yet polished, a fitting home to showcase the global flavors, hyper-local sourcing, and ambitious cooking that made Hayward a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant (that’s right, in the whole country). Expect an eclectic menu of dishes such as fermented carrot cavatelli with harissa butter and labneh, a pork chop with green peppercorn soubise and spring onions, and braised laying hen dumplings with fermented mustard greens and peanut chile crisp. While you’re there, definitely stop by adjacent businesses Bodhi Bakery for treats and Wellspent Market for provisions, quirky wines, and locally grown produce.
Blind Pig
After garnering a loyal local following in their Newberg-based food truck, Renegade, chefs Nick Bell and Cody Drew opened their Carlton restaurant in June 2022. Blind Pig is Carlton’s gastropub, a casual spot with solid cocktails and a menu full of big, rich, meaty dishes: loaded banh mi fries, a brisket French dip dripping with Oaxaca cheese and smoky consomé; and a fancy boy burger with truffle aioli and balsamic onions. Though meat is prominent on the menu, there are a handful of vegetarian dishes, too.
Carlton Bakery
Load up on sandwiches, macarons, and hazelnut-studded shortbread before traipsing through Carlton’s several winery tasting rooms. The Carlton Bakery is a cozy bakeshop with big windows and cafe tables that suit the European influences of the breads and sweets served. Those looking for a sizeable brunch of eggs Benedict or apple cider French toast will find that here, as well.
Park & Main
Park & Main, Dustin and Maryfrances Wyant’s homey pizza restaurant in downtown Carlton, has become a local favorite for wood-fired pizzas, loaded sandwiches, and a cooler full of house-churned ice cream. Even if you’re not hungry, stop in to browse Park & Main’s wines, pantry goods, and its amazing selection of retro and boutique candy.
Soter Vineyards Tasting Room
Wildflowers carpet the hills of this Carlton vineyard and farm, home to grazing highland cattle, heritage breed pigs, plenty of cane berry bushes, and — of course — wine grapes. The farm, known as Mineral Springs Ranch, supplies the winery’s kitchen, run by Clyde Common alumnus Clayton Allen; Allen incorporates what he finds as a part of the MSR Provisions Tasting, which falls somewhere between a wine tasting and a prix fixe lunch. Adjusting seasonally, meals may involve house-baked bread and handmade pastas, succotash with sweet corn and wax beans, olive oil made with Mineral Springs olives, brothy ranch-raised chicken with earthy morels. The wines themselves are, clearly, no afterthought, paired well with each dish. The tasting is available Fridays through Mondays at 11:30 a.m. or 2:30 pm.; reservations are required.
Brick Hall
Located in an airy 1886 church on Dayton’s sleepy central square, Brick Hall is the restaurant is home base to Tournant, the Portland collective known for live-fire cooking and on-farm events. Chef de cuisine Nic Maraziti, who previously rolled pasta at Ave Gene’s and Piccone’s Corner, helms the day-to-day operations. The concise menu showcases extruded in-house pastas in tautly faithful Italian presentations including carbonara, amatriciana, and Oregon rifles like a squid ink-spaghettini loaded with Dungeness crab. To accompany them are seasonal small plates like grilled little gem Caesar salad and a few larger ones. The n’duja-stuffed porchetta with charred cabbages is a stunner.
Loam
Kim Lattic and Corey Taylor grew their fanbase selling foraged mushroom hand pies at Flag & Wire Coffee; the duo has recently launched Loam, an all-day cafe in Dayton. With exposed brick, a bathroom decoupaged in foraging guides and cookbooks, and a hundred-year-old wooden bar, the space is homey and casual. Daytime means a seasonal brunch menu with fruit-topped pancakes, a pastured lamb sausage biscuit breakfast sandwich, and their trademark pastries. Come back at dinner for lobster mushroom hush puppies, cedar plank salmon, approachable cocktails, and scratch-made desserts.
Wooden Heart
An instant hit when it launched in 2021, Wooden Heart specializes in Neapolitan style pizzas topped with foraged mushrooms and locally-made Briar Rose chevre or prosciutto di Parma and figs with Calabrian honey. The team behind this beloved pizza food truck has infused the Dundee space that was once the Babica Hen Cafe with new life. In addition to their blistered pies, don’t miss a particularly tasty smash burger.
Red Hills Market
For a decade, Red Hills Market has been a favorite stop in Dundee, both among those who work in wineries and those who visit them. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it’s the place to fortify oneself with biscuits and gravy, a Reuben, or an albacore tuna melt made with locally milled olive oil. It’s also an excellent stop if you’re looking to pick up picnic provisions to take with you to an area tasting room.
The Painted Lady
Dinner at The Painted Lady — an eight-course chef’s tasting menu in a downtown Newberg Victorian home — is an unparalleled dining experience in the Northern Willamette Valley. From a beguiling miso chawanmushi with gulf shrimp to kumquat-kissed passionfruit pavlova, count on polished plates showcasing molecular flourishes and meticulous service worthy of its multiple James Beard Award nominations. Not ready to splash out? Visit owners Allen Routt and Jessica Bagley’s second restaurant, Storrs Smokehouse, for barbecue by the pound and wonderfully chunky ice cream sandwiches at a more approachable price point.
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Rosmarino Osteria Italiana
With exposed brick walls and a cooler full of tiramisu, chef and owner Dario Pisoni’s Rosmarino is basically impossible to not like. A native of Milan, Pisoni’s pasta and pizza are more Italia, less Olive Garden, which is to say they’re more focused on classic preparations and flavor combinations — think: burrata and arugula, bucatini carbonara, and braised wild boar. Be sure to reserve a table ahead of time, especially on Sunday for weekly pizza and gnocchi night. For a sandwich or an easy dinner on your way out of town, check out Pisoni’s newly opened deli, Gusto Gastronimia Italiana.
The Newbergundian
Owned by couple Noelle and Sean McKee, The Newbergundian is a down-to-earth little bistro just off 99 in Newberg. The menu balances French favorites — croque monsieur, Manila clams with Toulouse sausage and white wine, steak frites — with more casual dishes like an Oregon bay shrimp Louie and a great burger, served without pretense in a homey space with an open kitchen and patio dining. Even at dinner, entree prices hover in the teens to mid-20s per plate.
Dos Mundos Mexican American Cuisine
Zipping down Highway 99 in Newberg, it would be easy to overlook Dos Mundos, the little blue food cart next to a pawn shop. That would be a mistake. Eduardo “Eddie” Rodriguez and his parents, Miriam and and Jesus Hernandez, started the business in 2018 and have since been lauded by the Oregonian and The Wall Street Journal for their excellent tacos, tostadas, and burritos. The al pastor sings with pineapple throughout, meaty but not greasy, and the shrimp ceviche tostada loaded with avocado crema, cucumber, and fresh herbs is bright and refreshing.
Jory
A visit to Jory, the restaurant inside the Allison Inn & Spa, is worth the short drive from downtown Newberg into the Chehalem Hills. The trip takes visitors right by the onsite chef’s garden, and the walk from the parking lot to the restaurant is lined with tufts of rosemary, oregano, and thyme. Chef Jack Strong, a James Beard Award nominee and member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, often emphasizes traditional foodways and foods indigenous to Oregon in the restaurants’ menus, whether it’s Oregon Coast mussels with venison sausage, Dungeness crab with sea beans, or seared Fort Klamath sturgeon. Ask for a table on the terrace, sip a white peach bellini, and enjoy the view.