9 Best Restaurants in Washington Cascade Mountains and Valleys, Washington

With a dining room and spacious terrace overlooking the downtown's Waterfront District and Bellingham Bay, this spacious craft cider taproom is an inviting, family-friendly place to sample the rotating selection of small-batch sippers. This is a legit dining option, too, with a kitchen that turns out well-crafted contemporary Northwest fare, from pan-roasted diver scallops with gnocchi to pork tenderloin with rosemary spaetzle and a mustard cream sauce. There's also an impressive selection of beer, wine, and cocktails. 

In a vintage brick building in downtown Chehalis, a 10-minute drive south of Centralia, you'll find the region's most sophisticated restaurant, a source of consistently imaginative, fresh Pacific Northwest fare at reasonable prices. The seasonally driven menu changes daily but might feature a starter of cheddar ale fondue with apple, artisan bread, and sausage, followed by Parmesan-crusted whitefish with a light lemon-dill sauce, or sliced duck breast with a black-cherry-and-walnut reduction—it's pretty urbane fare for this laid-back, down-home part of Washington.

On a breezy, sunny day, it's hard to find a more inviting spot for lunch or dinner than the deck of this upscale farm-to-table restaurant overlooking the pleasure boats chugging along downtown La Conner's Swinomish Channel. Whether you dine inside or out, expect a menu of stellar Pacific Northwest fare, perhaps lightly fried local oysters with lemon aioli to start, followed by a bone-in Kurobuta pork chop with stone-ground mustard demi-glace. 

Tucked in an alley near downtown theaters and nightlife, this cozy and romantic neighborhood bistro serves first-rate Northwest-influenced Italian fare, including bounteous salads and creative grills. It's worth seeking out this art-filled space with exposed-brick walls for such delectable fare as twin duck breasts with an apple-port reduction and cherries, and slow-cooked pork loin Bolognese with house-made pappardelle pasta. 

A couple of blocks from the river on a bluff with expansive views of the village, this homey restaurant with a rustic dark-wood interior serves superb seafood, including clams steamed in white wine with smoked tomatoes and bacon, and seared sea scallops with creamed-leek risotto. There are also always a few well-prepared French-inspired classics, such as baked escargots and dry-aged rib eye with confit potatoes and foie gras–anchovy butter. 

Exquisite farm-to-table Pacific Northwest fare stars at this upscale, dimly lighted bistro at the foot of the harbor, next to the Harbor History Museum. Dishes like coffee-rubbed pork tenderloin with sweet-corn tamales and a honey-walnut glaze, and pan-seared black cod with roasted beets and miso reveal the deft touch and creative inspiration in the kitchen.

The marina views are only part of the appeal of this bright, modern bistro overlooking West Bay and doling out equal parts well-chosen wines and stellar Pacific Northwest cuisine. The menu focuses strongly on what's local and organic, perhaps Totten Inlet steamer clams in white wine or local elk rib-eye carpaccio with juniper berries, followed by pistachio-crusted Parmesan seasonal wild whitefish with arugula pesto and gnocchi. 

Set in a rather ornately decorated country house beside the Willows Lodge, this nationally renowned dining destination helped usher in farm-to-table dining in the Pacific Northwest when it opened in 1986. The carefully choreographed, multicourse feasts here are quite the production and include discussions about the food with the kitchen team, tours of the surrounding gardens, and classical guitar music; thoughtfully curated drink pairings are included in the prix-fixe. The food on the seasonally changing menu is exquisite, with many ingredients sourced from the restaurant's 5-acre garden.

One of the city's top proponents of farm-to-table cooking, this unpretentiously stylish neighborhood bistro is worth the splurge for consistently artful, flavorful fare and a wine list featuring mostly lesser-known producers from throughout the old and new worlds. The menu changes to reflect the seasons but might offer braised elk with an ancho chili–huckleberry cream sauce, or local cod with golden beets, leeks, and a preserved-lemon vinaigrette.