Yakima, WA

A James Beard-nominated farm-to-table counter at the heart of downtown Yakima where chef Dan Koommoo sources ingredients within roughly 100 miles and changes the menu with what's actually ready to eat. The format is small plates meant for sharing — think fermented black garlic flatbread alongside seared scallops with foraged mushrooms — and the wine list leans heavily on Washington and Oregon natural producers. Dinner only, Thursday through Monday, with a two-hour table limit that keeps the room moving.

A polished but casual American tavern in a restored downtown building, known for a menu that takes Pacific Northwest ingredients seriously without making you feel like you're in a tasting menu restaurant. The firecracker shrimp, double-smash burger, and rotating fresh fish specials have been reliable favorites for years. The bar program is deep on local ciders and Washington wines, and the space fills up fast on weekend evenings with a mix of regulars and wine-country visitors.

A neighborhood anchor in a restored 1915 commercial building on the edge of downtown, with a broad menu of contemporary American food that skews toward fresh, lighter preparations — the ahi salad and fish tacos draw a repeat lunch crowd of downtown workers. The building's original pressed-tin ceiling and bar fixtures give it a genuinely local feel that contrasts with the newer constructions nearby. Open seven days, all-day, which makes it useful when other downtown spots are closed.

A TripAdvisor top-ranked Yakima restaurant set in a scenic northwest-side location near Creekside, with a menu that moves between elevated American comfort food (Thai chicken nachos, Southwest salads) and straightforward steaks and salmon. The Wednesday all-day happy hour is a local institution and gives access to the full menu at reduced prices. Its waterfall-and-stone aesthetic skews slightly formal but the crowd is relaxed.

A fourth-generation family-run burger drive-in that has operated at the same South 1st Street location since 1948, making it one of the oldest continuously running burger joints in Washington State. The Miner's Burger is a full-pound single-patty construction stacked with fresh vegetables; the milkshakes are made from local dairy. Order at the window and eat in the parking lot or one of the booths — there is no pretense, only the food.

A James Beard America's Classic award winner operating since 1990 from the same Union Gap storefront, selling fresh-made tamales by the dozen wrapped in corn husks to order. The year-round pork and chicken tamales are the baseline; the seasonal asparagus and pepper jack tamale available April through June is the reason people drive down from Seattle. There is no dine-in experience — this is a counter pickup operation and the lines form early.

A small taqueria on South 1st Street with a 4.8-star rating and a menu built around al pastor, asada, and chicharron cooked to order on a flat-top visible from the counter. The quesabirrias with consomme are among the most talked-about in Yakima, with the tortillas gridded in the birria fat and served with a cup of braising liquid on the side. It operates out of a compact space where the line forms outside, but moves fast.

A North 1st Street taqueria open daily from morning through late evening, known for a broad selection of traditional meats including carne asada, adobada, tripa, and lengua, served on house-made tortillas with fresh salsa from the bar. The chicharron taco is cited in multiple reviews as the single best thing on the menu. Its proximity to the North Front Street historic district makes it a natural stop before or after winery walks.

A 25-year-old Yakima institution on Tieton Drive that blends central Italian technique with Pacific Northwest ingredients — house-made pastas, local mushroom risotto, and a wood-fired oven that turns out charred-edge pizzas. The room has the lived-in quality of a neighborhood place that has earned its regulars, and the happy hour wine-and-appetizer program is one of the better deals on the west side. TripAdvisor ranks it consistently in Yakima's top five restaurants.

A small-batch artisan bakery in the heart of downtown that opens at 7am on weekdays and draws a queue before the door unlocks, particularly for the almond croissant and daily sourdough loaf. The Palouse wheat bread and fresh-from-the-oven pretzel rolls have regular customers calling in pre-orders. Lunch sandwiches and paninis round out a menu that runs until sellout — usually by early afternoon.

A 4.8-star Indian restaurant on Summitview Avenue that consistently surprises visitors with the depth of its regional menu — the lamb curry and the tandoori sampler are kitchen showpieces, and the garlic naan comes out of the tandoor with a char and chew that matches the best urban Indian kitchens. The space is small and fills up on weekend evenings, making a reservation worthwhile. Butter chicken and chicken kalonji pudina are the most-praised dishes in recent reviews.

A downtown Yakima dim sum spot with a 4.8 Google rating and a kitchen that turns out har gow, shu mai, and lo mai gai in generous portions at prices well below what you'd pay in a large city. The restaurant is small and the menu is focused; owners are attentive and the quality of the wrappers and fillings indicates a kitchen that takes the format seriously. Weekend lunch fills quickly and reservations are not always possible — early arrival is the best strategy.

A 4.4-star Thai kitchen on South 1st that draws a consistent local following for its boldly seasoned curries, well-balanced pad Thai, and a green papaya salad that holds its own against much larger cities' Thai scenes. The service is attentive and the portions are generous for the price. Located near the southern part of the city, it serves a neighborhood that does not otherwise have strong Thai options.

A 4.6-star brunch spot set in a residential-feeling property on Kern Road with an interior that feels more like a large farmhouse dining room than a commercial restaurant. The breakfast menu runs classic but well-executed — biscuits and gravy, egg Benedicts with local-sourced ingredients, and seasonal specials tied to valley produce. It draws a mix of families, bridal shower groups, and weekend regulars who factor in a wait as part of the experience.

A no-frills North Yakima breakfast counter that has been serving oversized portions of classic diner fare since before the brunch trend arrived, with waffle-centric plates, biscuits and gravy, and a straightforward egg menu that covers the range without a long wait most weekday mornings. The kitchen opens at 6am, which makes it the practical choice before a greenway walk or an early drive out to the hop fields. Priced noticeably below comparable downtown spots.

An 18-mile paved multi-use path that runs along the Yakima and Naches Rivers from Union Gap through Selah, threading through riparian forest, past fishing lakes, community parks, and the Yakima Area Arboretum. The core stretch near Sarg Hubbard Park is the most-used section and connects directly to the Arboretum trailhead. Flat, paved, and entirely accessible, it functions as the city's backbone for walking, running, and cycling without needing a car once you reach any of the multiple trailheads.

A 5.3-mile out-and-back trail (2.9 miles one-way) following a decommissioned 1913 railroad grade through a dramatic basalt canyon west of Yakima, with creek crossings, columnar basalt walls, and wildflower meadows that make it one of the best spring hikes in the region. The Cowiche Canyon Conservancy maintains over 30 miles of trails on the connected uplands, so the canyon trail is really an entry point into a much larger system. Moderate canyon floor hiking with optional steep climbs into the upland terrain.

A Washington DNR natural area preserve about 7 miles north of Yakima protecting the largest known population of basalt daisy — a state-threatened species — along the Selah Creek canyon. The 2.3-mile out-and-back trail (with an ADA-accessible half-mile loop) passes under towering basalt cliffs that are active raptor nesting habitat, with prairie falcons, red-tailed hawks, and kestrels visible year-round. The geology is outstanding: 12-million-year-old Pomona basalt columns draped in orange and green lichens.

A 266-acre state park on the Yakima River floodplain northeast of the city, with two miles of walking trails looping through cottonwood and willow groves, a children's fishing pond stocked with trout, wildlife observation platforms over Duck Lake, and one of the only accessible wetland boardwalks in the Yakima Valley. More nature reserve than destination hike, it is where locals take kids on weekday afternoons when they need to run around near water without driving into the backcountry.

The elevated counterpart to the canyon-floor railroad trail, the Uplands system climbs out of Cowiche Canyon onto the shrub-steppe plateau above for panoramic views of the valley, the Cascade foothills, and Mount Adams on clear days. The trail is maintained by the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy as part of its 900-acre protected parcel and connects back to the canyon floor, allowing loop options of varying length. A moderate climb with significant payoff at the rim.

A 27-mile stretch of Highway 821 where the Yakima River cuts through 2,000-foot basalt canyon walls between Selah and Ellensburg, forming one of the most dramatic high-desert corridors in Washington State. The road itself is a drive worth taking slowly, with multiple pullouts for fishing, wildlife watching, and short walks along the river. The canyon hosts the densest concentration of nesting raptors in the state — bald eagles, prairie falcons, and golden eagles are reliably visible from late winter through early summer.

Washington's most hop-forward taproom, built in the middle of a fourth-generation hop farm on Birchfield Road, so the raw materials for the beer are literally growing around the outdoor tables. The Top Cutter IPA is one of the defining beers of Pacific Northwest hop culture. During fresh hop harvest in late August and early September, some beers go from bine to kettle in under five minutes — the resulting fresh hop ales taste nothing like their year-round counterparts.

Downtown Yakima's neighborhood brewery and coffee shop hybrid — in the morning it operates as a full cafe with Catalyst Coffee espresso and breakfast sandwiches; by afternoon it transitions to a full taproom with fresh-hop IPAs, lagers, and guest ciders. A Great American Beer Festival gold medal anchors the beer credentials. The space is deliberately welcoming for families (kids' corner, board games) and dog-friendly outdoors, with a fire pit on the patio for cool evenings.

A craft distillery on Industry Lane producing PNW whiskey and brandy from regional grains and fruit, with a 4.8-star taproom known for small-plate food as much as the spirits. The bourbon board, lobster puffs, and chicken-and-waffle sliders have developed a regular evening crowd that treats it more as a dinner destination than a distillery tour stop. The building and production space are visibly connected to the tasting room, giving it a genuine working-distillery atmosphere.

A brewery and farm-kitchen perched on a 45-acre hop and barley farm in the hills west of Yakima, with outdoor tables overlooking the valley and a menu that takes food seriously — USDA Prime burgers ground in-house, house-made pastas, and specialty events featuring oysters, prime rib, and birria tacos on rotating weekends. Kids and dogs are welcome on the lawn, which makes it a natural weekend afternoon destination for families who want beer and a view without city density.

Washington's dedicated sparkling wine house, founded by an Austrian winemaker applying traditional Methode Champenoise to Yakima Valley fruit — the resulting Riesling brut, blanc de blancs, and rose sparkling wines punch well above their price point. The tasting room at the winery property near Wapato has 4.7-star reviews from 500 visitors and a Sunday brunch service that pairs the wines with locally sourced food. It sits 18 kilometers south of downtown Yakima within the service radius.

The last intact early 20th-century interurban electric railway in the United States, operated continuously since 1907 and running vintage 1920s streetcars through Yakima on summer weekends with volunteer crew. The carbarn on Pine Street is open as a museum year-round, but the actual trolley rides (Memorial Day through late September) are the main draw — a working piece of transportation history that tours the city at 10mph, narrated by volunteers who genuinely know the history.

A Selah brewery set in a converted century-old barn 6 kilometers north of downtown Yakima, with a full restaurant menu that punches above most taproom food — the bison burger is made with local Yakima Valley bison and is consistently the most-recommended dish. The brewery lives by a 'first class for the working class' motto and prices its food and beer accordingly. The barn setting gives it a distinct atmosphere from every other brewery in the area.

A free 46-acre living tree museum wedged between the Yakima River and the freeway, with over 1,000 woody plant species, a Japanese garden, and a quiet xeriscape loop that feels nothing like the surrounding desert. The grounds open dawn to dusk year-round, so locals use it as a morning walk before the heat sets in. Spring brings the iris and rose gardens into full color; fall turns the Japanese maples a deep rust.

A 1,500-seat Italian Renaissance-style jewel that opened in 1920 as the Pacific Northwest's largest theater, burned to near-ruin in 1975, and was painstakingly restored — including the original dome murals repainted by the same artist who first made them. Today it hosts the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Broadway touring shows, and comedy acts that regularly draw audiences from Seattle. The lobby and ceiling alone are worth a walk-in during box office hours.

A 65,000-square-foot regional history museum with an unexpectedly strong collection: a full carriage room of horse-drawn vehicles, a working 1930s soda fountain, Yakama Nation cultural objects, and a neon sign garden that documents the valley's mid-century roadside commercial culture. The William O. Douglas gallery covers the Supreme Court Justice who grew up in Yakima and spent his career defending the outdoors. Give it two hours and you'll still leave with exhibits unseen.

A walkable grid of late-19th and early-20th century commercial buildings on North Front Street, including the restored 1910 Northern Pacific Railroad depot and Yakima's first opera house — now home to local boutiques and wine tasting rooms. The cobblestone stretch between Front Street and 1st Avenue is where the city's First Friday gallery walk happens each month, and summer weekend evenings bring farmers market overflow and street musicians. Gilbert Cellars and several other tasting rooms are right on this block.

A producer-only Sunday market that strictly limits vendors to local farmers, bakers, and artisans — no resellers, no out-of-region produce. In a valley that grows over 75 percent of the nation's hops and a significant share of Washington's apples, cherries, and asparagus, the selection reflects what's actually ripening right now. Expect Mexican street food stalls, honey vendors, lavender bundles, and lines for the hand-pie baker who arrives with a cooler and a folding table.

A small family winery set among 50 acres of organic orchards and vineyards at the southwest edge of the city, with a tasting room offering Yakima Valley AVA wines and scenic high-desert views across the orchard rows. The Hackett Ranch location hosts live music and a full outdoor event calendar from spring through fall, making it more a community gathering spot than a standard tasting room. The five-or-six wine tasting flight is one of the best-value introductions to Yakima Valley varietals.

Washington's original wine region, with over 90 wineries across five American Viticultural Areas producing more than half the state's wine grapes from 17,000 vineyard acres. The landscape shifts between orchard rows and basalt canyon walls as you drive south from Yakima toward Zillah, Grandview, and Prosser. The best-value route for first-timers follows the Yakima Valley Highway south through the established tasting rooms at Treveri Cellars, Owen Roe, and Naches Heights — a half-day loop with a picnic lunch at one of the wineries.