Lunch and Dinner at Willamette Valley’s Best Restaurants
Our Oregon B&B’s have your breakfast plans covered, so where to lunch and dinner? Here’s our 2021 must hit list of restaurants in Willamette Valley Wine Country.
Whether you’re visiting Willamette Valley Wine Country for the first time, or happy to be returning soon, our Oregon Bed and Breakfast Group is here to fill you in on what you need to know and where you need to go to continue amazing meal experiences beyond our delicious breakfasts. While there are lots of Willamette Valley restaurants, we’re making it easy for you by picking one lunch spot and one dinner option in each Wine Country Town.
McMinnville, Oregon Restaurants
McMinnville, Oregon – a charming, bustling wine country town, equidistant from both the Oregon coast and downtown Portland – is the perfect place to stop for lunch in the middle of your wine tasting excursions, after a trip to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum or, perhaps for dinner, when you finally tear yourself away from your cozy, relaxing room at any one of our Oregon Bed & Breakfasts.
Lunch:
Providing a fun, youthful vibe and a chance to break up all the wine you’ve been tasting, Pura Vida Cocina brings together a fusion of Latin American flavors your palate will thank you for. Start with a refreshing Mezcal Mule, choose between an amazing array of delicious small plates (we love their fried plantains or pork belly Arepas), and then indulge in a hearty Sandwich Cubano (ok, maybe split it). Meat lovers, vegetarians or those who are gluten-free will all be happy here, sitting inside or out, on downtown McMinnville’s hopping 3rd Street.
Open Monday – Saturday 11-9 with reservations recommended.
Dinner:
For dinner at one of Oregon wine country’s favorite dining spots, head to La Rambla. Recently renovated for a grand-reopening in April 2021, the dining room and bar welcomes you with its warm, rich décor and furniture, and sets the tone for the Spanish-inspired cuisine you’ll soon partake in. With a seemingly endless choice of tapas, La Rambla is a great place to indulge in a myriad of dishes. But with selections like Grilled Lambchops or Seared Scallops and Risotto, or their renowned vegetarian (or not) Paella, it’ll be hard to pass up the enjoyment of an entire entrée to yourself.
Open Wednesday – Sunday, hours vary. Reservations recommended.
Dundee, Oregon Restaurants
Many tourists stop for a wine country vacation in Dundee before heading to the Oregon coast. Dundee has both welcoming bed and breakfasts and tasting rooms dotting either side of 99W and beautiful vistas and wineries up in the hills. It’s a perfect midway point between Portland and coastal adventures. Their restaurant scene is also not to be missed.
Lunch:
You’ve pictured yourself at a place just like Red Hills Market when you imagined your Willamette Valley vacation and you’ll find the idyllic little market tucked into a side street right off the main drag in Dundee, on 99W. Fresh, local treats from Oregon producers and artisans line the shelves, making it a picnic packer’s paradise. Get your fill of cheese, charcuterie and a wide selection of fascinating accoutrement to take with you to a nearby winery or park. Perhaps once you see the choices of made-to-order delights from the wood-fired oven in the kitchen of this gourmet market and eatery, you might want to stay awhile and eat your lunch at any one of their outdoor seating areas. Take your choice from anything on the men, but the Fried Chicken Sandwich, the Dundee Grinder, and the Avocado Toast are hard to beat.
Open daily without reservations.
Dinner:
The highly anticipated Field + Stream is Willamette Valley’s latest fine dining restaurant, and we couldn’t be more intrigued. On the south end of Dundee, Oregon, in the middle of slew of tasting rooms up and down Highway 99W, patrons will discover a creative menu of dishes featuring locally sourced meats, fish, game. With a chef bold enough to give us exactly what we always wanted -the aptly named Bacon Sandwich, along with other distinctive meals of Rabbit Leg Confit and Roasted Quail, it’s an exciting addition to Oregon’s wine country.
Open for lunch and dinner, with reservations recommended.
Newberg, Oregon Restaurants
Just 30 minutes from Portland, you’ll reach Newberg, Oregon, the gateway to the Willamette Valley Wine Country. This town is teeming with noteworthy wine country restaurants, shopping and over one hundred wineries and tasting rooms.
Lunch:
For a lunch that is as much of an event as dinner, head to Rosmarino Osteria Italiana in the downtown city blocks of Newberg. Chef Dario, hailing from Northern Italy, brings not only his family’s Italian recipes to your table, but his passion for hosting and delivering an exciting mealtime experience.
Open for lunch and dinner with changing daily menus, inside or outside with covered seating. Thursday – Monday. Reservations recommended.
Dinner:
From the moment you’re welcomed into the formal dining room of this Newberg Victorian home, you know you’re in for a special evening at the The Painted Lady. With an 8-course pre-fixe tasting menu, and an optional wine pairing, this is the kind of award-winning restaurant you celebrate those big, yet intimate, moments of life. Or, as a serious wine lover and foodie, it’s the eclectic dining experience you have come to expect from a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star wine country restaurant.
Open Wednesday – Saturday for dinner, with reservations.
Carlton, Oregon Restaurants
Twenty miles due west from Newberg sits the small agricultural town of Carlton. What was once a grain and lumber town is now 3+ blocks crammed full of tasting rooms (almost two dozen inside the city limits!), restaurants and shops.
Lunch:
The The Horse Radish is a staple of wine country visitors. Located on Carlton’s Main Street, they have created a wonderful space for your Willamette Valley wine country lunch. Hot sandwiches, homemade soups de jours, healthy and tasty salads, gourmet burgers and more. Eat inside or on their beautiful outdoor patio. The service, the food and the location are all spot on and live music is on tap Saturday nights.
Open for lunch Monday – Sunday.
Dinner:
Surf and turf lovers can’t get enough of Carlton’s new fine dining restaurant, Earth & Sea. But, truly, anyone that wants to have a real Oregon dining experience will not want to miss a meal here. With a menu curated from seasonal, locally-sourced meat, fish and produce, as well as a long list of local wine, inventive cocktails and dessert, and you’ve got a restaurant that must be on your Willamette Valley vacation bucket list.
Open Thursday – Monday 5-9, with reservations recommended.
Start Your Vacation with an Oregon Bed & Breakfast
Wine country, its farm to table dining experiences, and our Oregon Bed & Breakfasts await your vacation in Willamette Valley, Oregon. Book your vacation now as the valley springs to life, or in the summer months when patios will be warm and sunny, or during Fall harvest when the vineyards are the brilliant colors of Autumn. We can’t wait to host you, make you breakfast and help you explore all the fun adventures wine country has waiting for you!