The banks of the Sandy River are now all the more pleasant with the buzzy community hotspot Sugarpine Drive-In. Chefs Ryan Domingo and Emily Cafazzo, both alumni of high-profile restaurants, have created a contemporary walk-up snack counter in what was a 1920s gas station. With an ode to American classics, Sugarpine’s menu is sprinkled with nostalgic bites, such as inventive soft serve creations and grilled cheeses pressed in a waffle iron for optimal crunch. However, some of the menu’s must-order items involve seasonal produce, like the colorful Sugarpine Salad with whipped feta and rotating pickled and roasted vegetables. Those seeking plate lunches and poke can try Sugarpine’s sibling food cart, Da Pine Grinds.

Located off the main drag in Cascade Locks is Brigham Fish Market, owned by Kim Brigham Campbell, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Brigham Campbell and her family are responsible for catching almost all of the fish that the market sells: sockeye, steelhead, or even sturgeon, pulled from the waters of the Columbia River. The family sells the fish raw and fresh, also turning it into chowder, quesadillas, dip, and fish and chips. The salmon-chowder-smothered ciabatta bread is a particular standout, finished with melty cheddar cheese and green onions; in late winter, the sturgeon fish and chips — a delicacy you won’t find many other places — is the must-order. Eat them all at picnic tables steps away from the Bridge of the Gods.

When Loop de Loop’s Julia Bailey started making her wild-yeast-fermented wines in 2009, sourcing grapes from the Columbia River Gorge and Willamette Valley, they became the hot bottles to keep in Portland wine bars and restaurants. In 2021, Loop de Loop opened its own tasting room and winery in Underwood, with exceptional pinot noir, chardonnay, riesling, and blends poured alongside mountain and vineyard views. The winery also hosts exciting collaboration dinners from time to time; it’s worth keeping an eye on Loop de Loop’s Instagram for more details.

Just steps from the Columbia River, Solstice Hood River is almost always abuzz. Locals and tourists flock to this Waterfront Park restaurant for wood-fired pizzas topped with Oregon and Washington produce, like the Country Girl, which pairs Gorge-grown cherries with three types of cheese, herbs, and chorizo made right in the Solstice kitchen. During the summer, when Solstice is at its busiest, the company somehow triples-down, both opening a kiosk out back for takeout orders and firing up its pizza truck to serve extra pies to hungry crowds. The fried Brussels sprouts, coated in a bacon dressing, are a crispy, salty, and sweet complement to any pie.

A boozy haven on Hood River’s 5th Street, the Hood River Common House is a bright, airy spot to grab a drink and gather with friends. A reclaimed convenience store cooler is packed full of libations from near and far: a Gorge-brewed Kings & Daughters soft IPA next to a Czech Pilsner, a Gorge-made cider next to an English cider. Likewise, the wine racks are full of bottles imported from places like the Rhône region of France, as well as a nice selection of regional wines. The owners source ice cream from their father’s ice cream shop, Mike’s Ice Cream, which sits on the same land as Common House, to make beer floats. Those that want to cool down without the dairy can grab a “sloshy pop,” the kind of invention where strawberries mingle in a popsicle with rosé and citrus.

This barbecue cart near Hood River’s waterfront is easily the best barbecue in the Gorge, with a Texas-adjacent style and plenty of oak in the smoker. Find beef ribs fit for a Flintstone, slow-smoked for 16 hours, as well as tasso-rubbed pulled pork, ginger-soy pork belly burnt ends, and juicy Hatch-chile-and-Tillamook-cheddar sausages that ooze gooey cheese with each bite. The cart is only open on the weekends and tends to sell out by early afternoon.

Though any Portlander could simply visit one of the Broder locations in Portland proper, the Hood River location of the Scandinavian standby remains one of the finest spots for a weekend brunch in the Gorge. Guests staying in the Hood River Hotel stroll down from their rooms into the adjacent restaurant, to sip on aquavit-spiked bloody marys and cardamom coffee before tucking into lefse, eggs baked with spinach and cream, or puffy little aebleskiver, Swedish pancakes served with lemon curd and lingonberry jam. For lunch, Broder’s gravlax smorrebrod — an open faced sandwich with cured salmon and shrimp salad — is a nice summer bite, while the hearty Swedish meatballs are an obvious, well-executed crowd-pleaser.

This restaurant offers some of the most refined dining in the Gorge. Chef Ben Stenn relies on Oregon and Washington ranchers and farmers to create a menu that constantly changes in accordance with what’s fresh; expect a great selection of wines from the Gorge’s robust winery scene, plus local craft beers, fun mocktails, and a great selection of cocktails. Here’s a tip that mostly only locals know about: each day it’s open, the restaurant offers happy hour from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sit in the bar, order a (full-price) drink and enjoy half-off all of the items on the bar menu, which features items like steak frites and mushroom pasta.

Situated on the main thoroughfare in White Salmon, Everybody’s Brewing offers a selection of beer that would satisfy just about any palate. The brewery is most known for its hoppy Country Boy IPA and easy-drinking Local Logger Lager; however, it serves its full lineup of staples — including its crisp Three Sport Day Pilsner and a chocolatey Pitter Patter Porteran — year-round. The seasonally rotating tap list can include anything from a hard seltzer to a monster cookie stout. For food, expect pub fare but with vegan and vegetarian options: burgers, mac and cheese, fish and chips, vegan nachos, and the like. Check out the back deck for stunning views of Mt. Hood. 

This bakery, perched in the hillside town of White Salmon, is the place locals go to for fresh pastries, as well as breakfast and lunch dishes like avocado toast on thick slabs of rustic white bread, topped with herbed goat cheese, lardons, and a jammy egg. The real secret, however, is the Monday pizza night, which draws all the local vintners for the rare and wonderful Italian wine list. It’s curated by co-owner Jure Poberaj, nephew of Italy’s famous natural winemaker Josko Gravner.

Opened in 2019, the Society Hotel in Bingen is an excellent place to sip on an Aperol spritz and nestle into a comfy lounge chair surrounded by a crackling fire and shelves upon shelves of books. The establishment, originally built as a school in 1937, is tucked away from the main street and draws mostly those who seek it out, meaning that for now, it’s still a hidden gem. Here you’ll find timeless cocktails like the Bee’s Knees (gin, honey, and lemon) paired with new-age mocktails made with non-alcoholic herbal spirits. Try the Sage Advice, which has notes of cardamom, pine, smoke, and sage — without the alcohol.

Head to Kainos Coffee in The Dalles for outstanding coffee, northwest-inspired brunch-y bites, and Neapolitan wood-fired pizza. Sip on a maple bourbon latte while taking in the art, a geometric-style mural featuring a retro palette of pink, yellow, aqua, and black. Here, $8 will land you a 12-inch margherita pizza. Keep an eye out for an expansion; the owners are in the process of building a speakeasy-style cocktail lounge in the back.

Dining options get thin the farther east you go, so it’s lucky there’s C & D Drive-In and Bakery, an old-school rest stop filled with equal numbers of kids and truckers. Order a classic American cheeseburger, milkshake, and fries, which come with a plethora of special sauces. The spot is best known for its “Bozo” burger, a quarter-pound patty topped with bacon and cheese that’s named after former owner Jack Bozarth.