Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Barrel House
NORTHWEST Located in downtown Yakima, this casual
wine bar and restaurant is a great place to end a day of wine tasting if you aren't
in the mood to get dressed up and go someplace formal. You can get a gourmet
burger or steak sandwich, but you can also get good grilled prawns and salmon
with a Chinese-style hoisin glaze. There are lots of Washington wines available
by the glass, and wine-tasting flights are available also. You'll find this restaurant
on the same block as the Greystone Inn and Café Mélange (around the corner).
22 N. First St.
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509/453-3769.
www.barrelhouse.net. Reservations recommended. Main courses $8-$19.
AE, MC, V. Mon-Thurs 11:30am-11pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-midnight; Sun 4-10pm.
Birchfield Manor Country Inn
CONTINENTAL Birchfield Manor, a
grand old farmhouse on the eastern outskirts of Yakima, doubles as both
Yakima's best B&B (see above) and its best restaurant. The dining room looks as
if a wealthy family had cleared out the regular furniture and brought in a few
extra tables for a holiday dinner. The menu changes with the season and includes
a choice of five or six entrees, and while the house specialty is salmon in puff
pastry with a chardonnay sauce, other offerings can be very tempting as well.
The filet mignon with cabernet sauce and steak Diane with a brandy-cream
sauce are two other standout dishes here. The dinner includes fresh-baked bread,
an appetizer, and salad.
2018 Birchfield Rd.
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509/452-1960.
www.birchfieldmanor.com. Reservations required. 5-course dinner
$29-$39. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Seatings Thurs-Fri 7pm, Sat 6 and 8:45pm.
Café Mélange
ITALIAN It's small and inconspicuous, but this restaurant
has long been one of Yakima's best and most popular restaurants. Pastas were
long the specialty, but you can now get more substantial meals as well. Try the
duck with huckleberry-port sauce, which is available both as an appetizer and as
an entree. Keep an eye out for the delicious smoked-salmon ravioli with basil-
cream sauce. A good wine list includes lots of local wines.
7 N. Front St.
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509/453-0571.
Reservations recommended. Complete meals $8.50-$23. AE, MC, V. Mon-
Thurs 5-8:30pm; Fri-Sat 5-9:30pm.
Greystone Restaurant
NEW AMERICAN Housed in, you guessed it,
a gray stone building, this restaurant has for more than 20 years now been
Yakima's favorite upscale downtown dining establishment. With its historic
character, lively little bar, and convivial atmosphere, this is an excellent place to
end a day of wine tasting. Gravlax salmon, pan-fried oysters, and spicy south-of-
the-border-style crab cakes all make good starters here, before moving on to
spicy prawns in Tabasco-cream sauce or salmon with a sun-dried tomato sauce.
Desserts are pure comfort foods—brownies, ice cream, cheesecake. Of course,
there's a long list of regional wines.
5 N. Front St.
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509/248-9801.
www.greystonerestaurant.com. Reservations recommended. Main courses
$14-$35. AE, DISC, MC, V. Tues-Sat 6-10pm (bar opens at 4:30pm).
IN ZILLAH & TOPPENISH
Heritage Inn Restaurant
AMERICAN/NATIVE AMERICAN
Located on the grounds of the Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center, this
casual restaurant is noteworthy for its Native American dishes, including a tra-
ditional Yakama salmon stew and fry bread. In fact, even the salad bar comes
with fry bread. There are also buffalo burgers, buffalo steaks, and buffalo stew.
For dessert, don't pass up the huckleberry pie.
Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center, 280 Buster Rd., Toppenish.
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509/865-2551.
Main courses
$4-$19. MC, V. Mon-Sat 7:30am-3pm.
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