Orchard Kitchen

Attentive unpretentious service, great wine and fantastic farm to table food in a relaxing whidbey island environment. A "must do" on the island.

perfection. fancy and delicious foods (all local and seasonal, yay!), but unpretentious; sometimes a rare combo. the vibe was warm and welcoming, waitstaff and chef were so nice. i loved the kitchen cat Willoughby and am looking forward to coming back again one day!

Orchard Kitchen surpassed all of our high expectations. Friendly and funny waitstaff, an engaging chef and team, and creative food using their own grown food first. Every course was fantastic and I can't wait to go back on our next trip to Whidbey.

This 10+ course exquisite high Michelin-star like dining is quite a treat if you can get in and pay for it. The closest comparison is probably Herbfarm which is more famous and accessible to Seattle crowd. I tried to reserve couple of weeks in advance and got on waitlist and finally got table for special Christmas Eve meal. Bless thy who canceled :). This place is farm-to-table and unpretentious despite of very fine dining experience. I loved the distinct barn like setting with painting of chickens, no formal dress code, friendly staff with usual working cloths, which all gel well in to nice relaxing casual atmosphere unlike many uptight luxurious sounding places of similar caliber. Try to get sit next to kitchen if you can, it’s quite an inspiring theater with pots and pans systematically hanging with cutting board surface. Each of the courses are small, creative, spoon full and masterfully crafted tasting courses. Every single course was delicate, nicely designed, unique and something you would enjoy with very slow relaxed pace even if you initially thought you didn’t liked those ingredients. The ingredients are however the key, as all master chefs would tell you. Here they are sourced from specialized places or the farm itself so you can count on freshness and very high end quality. They also made last minute replacement for my allergy although I would have wished there was more systematic process at the time of reservation. Each course reflected specific techniques, used multiple ingredients and sometimes many layers. One thing I felt missing was having a good story line or even just a theme tied up with menu so eating your food feels like turning a page and reading a story, but I won’t hold this up as chefs reserve their rights to be creative as they prefer. As it is usual at this level of culinary excellence, there was a surprise out-of-menu ending course but, as an obligatory nitpick, there wasn’t surprise out-of-menu welcome course. Number of staff taking care of diners was probably in similar number of diners, although going in and out, which meant highly attentive service which came with good dose of casual friendliness which makes you feel you are part of the system as opposed to just consumer. It is possible to contain the cost to around $200 (not recommended) but a full experience would usually cost $300 or more. Dinners here are one of a kind treats that you may remember for a long time, so don’t think twice if you get a chance.

We had dinner at Orchard Kitchen with friends and it was amazing meal and experience. The setting is gorgeous; it felt like we were in the south of France. The courses were perfectly spaced and just the right amount of food. There was a lot of variety and everything was absolutely delicious. The eating area is situated between two beautiful flowerbeds and all in all it made for a perfect evening. This is much more than wonderful food, it’s a memorable, relaxing and lovely dining experience.

What an amazing experience. The owners are fantastic, the food was perfect and we were treated with some cider samplings from nearby cidery misfit island cider before dinner. What a treat!!