What a great restaurant, let alone in Nye Beach (Newport area)! This is fine dining with outstanding food and service but in a relaxed atmosphere. My wife and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary here and had just a great time.
First of all, let's get the logistics out of the way. Zach is very careful to enforce the health and safety COVID precautions - gloves, masks on both sides, LEGITIMATE table spacing (look, I've been to several restaurants in 2020 that claim to have table spacing and many of them either barely achieve the 6 foot distancing are flat out DON'T even make it six feet), sanitizing between guests.
Secondly, the food is just great. You won't find these dishes just anywhere. I had a great elk and bison sausage dish with some kind of root vegetable that resembled broccoli but wasn't (sorry, Zach, I should have remembered!) that was just delicious! My wife had the salmon cake and was equally happy with her entree. The crab (cake) appetizer was absolutely outstanding, too. Not full of bread crumbs. Just delicious local crab, YUM. Also the bread is delicious, with soft warm butter, and gluten-free. In fact, Zach doesn't even make a big deal out of it but everything's gluten-free in the first place, no need to modify any dishes if you're on a gluten-free diet. That is PRETTY RARE!
Finished off with a great hazelnut bread pudding with fresh ice cream. Everything is sourced locally, so it supports the community and the supply chain. And the local St. Innocent Pinot Gris was just great and a perfect complement to the food.
Given that we were on a road trip and had put our faith in an important wedding anniversary dinner, and didn't know for sure what to expect, we were just WOWED by this place.
And Zach's Bistro is not ONLY for special occasion dining, either. While we were celebrating a wedding anniversary, I would feel totally comfortable here dining casually as well. Zach provides outstanding food and incredible service, but not in a stuffy or stodgy way.
On top of that, I had no problem with the wine or food prices. We enjoyed a wonderfully paced, delicious meal here. The fact that Zach can easily accommodate dietary restrictions and needs is just another huge bonus.
I would even go as far as to say this is destination dining. If you are even reasonably close to Newport, OR, I would make a point of dining here. I'm upset with myself for not having dined here until now, and I assure you we'll be back and will make a POINT to return. read more