Hayward — Restaurant in McMinnville

We had an "astonishingly good" meal here last night. That was just one of the superlatives from our gourmet/foodie guests who joined us. Every course, all aspects of the service, the atmosphere, were without fault. It was our first visit but I followed them a year ago after the chef was nominated for the James Beard best chef in NW and I am sad now I didn't eat here sooner. Our party of 5 had a variety of the beverages. At first some of us were disappointed there were only a few wines by the glass. Once we had them paired with our food, we understood that they knew what they were doing guiding us to those specific choices. Our table sampled 6 of the food options, two desserts and the focaccia. Our favorite overall was the corn gratin, but every one of our dishes was delicious, balanced, somewhat surprising in a really good way, and suited a wide variety of tastes at the table. Our servers were all super pleasant, quick to fill glasses and take empty plates, and offered explanations of the dishes as they arrived. We sat with a view of the kitchen where the staff were clearly very focused and on their game as they prepared and plated the dishes. Our dishes came without long waits in between and in a logical order served family style on our table for sharing. The pictures of the restaurant on the website don't do it justice, it is lighted well but atmospheric, would be nice for either a romantic date or a group dinner after wine tasting or a casual meal sitting at their bar. They have a small but lovely patio space, which would be nice when it isn't 100 degrees out like it was last night, the inside a/c was perfect. I honestly expected and would have forgiven some missteps last night because they are new in their location and still staffing up, but there wasn't a fault. The panzanella salad bread pieces were somehow both juicy and crispy, the gratin was bubbing hot when it came to us, the fried onion was perfectly cooked, the pork sliced beautifully. But overall the best part were the flavor profiles and textures of each dish which stood out from most Portland restaurants. Fig leaf cream paired with the freshest sweetest corn, paired with just a little heat from peppers, and then the bubbly cheese and potato component that still says "gratin". The surprising and welcome bitterness of radicchio contrasting with the perfectly ripe sweet tomatoes in the panzanella. The way the toasted coconut worked with the unusual flavor and smooth texture of the black sesame ice cream. The right amount of salt in each dish. The way the dessert wine perfectly complimented the plum curd in the almond cake. They are creative AND it works. I do recommend budgeting at least $75 each if you want to have drinks and a variety of dishes to share. They do have a rule clearly stated on the website and reservation page that parties of 6 or more must do the kickback tasting menu, so don't get surprised if you have a big group and want to order specific items. I noted for groups under 6 that there wasn't an automatic gratuity added which I know some people hate. But you won't begrudge a 20% tip anyhow. I will be telling our friends to try this place. I will be back to see what interesting things they come up with on the menu in the future. I honestly feel like we ate some of the best Oregon products, imagined, prepared and served by some of the coolest Oregon folks, in a sweet location worth a trip to visit, with visible heart and care about what they...

Wanted to love this place, instead was left with conflicting thoughts. The flavor of the dishes we had overall were very good and enjoyable. But there were misses as well.

Bread - A+ . wonderful with soft insides and crunchy crust. Pickled Vegetables - C- . Nothing special and nondescript. In fact, some of the least tasty pickled vegetables we have had at any restaurant. Beans - A . Who knew simple beans could be elevated to something so special. Perfectly cooked. Pasta - B + . Very elegant and cooked very well. Too much salt which left everyone saying I better drink water. Pork Chop - B - . Too salty. Once again it was cooked well and moist, but the salt overwhelmed at the end. And it was a very thin pork chop. Kaan's is around the same price and 3 times as thick. Kaan's was much better too. Sturgeon - C+ . Great taste, but really it should have said rice with a taste of Sturgeon. It was literally 1 inch wide and 3 inches long. As a place that advertised sharing it was a tiny bite for each person. A "Taste" of sturgeon. The taste was really glorious mind you, but for $36 it would not even have been enough for one person for a meal let alone sharing dish.

I don't mind paying for wonderful food. I don't mind small sharing portions. But they better leave me in awe. If the bread was not such a huge portion, we would have spent $75 each or more without tip and left hungry. And very thirsty because there was...

Very underwhelming. Our first time here yesterday and we decided to do their $75/person experience, which was about 6-7 courses. Let's just say, our favorite was the bread and butter, that's it. We also had their goat head cheese- it was okay, nothing to blow my mind. There was no flavor in any of the dishes- I don't know if they're afraid of salt. And this "experience " was not a cohesive one, none if the dishes flowed with one another. We're talking, pickled veggies with kimchi- spicy, and then there was a pasta, a do it yourself sushi wrap, a salad that they included their yummy bread in, and then a very inedible, overcooked and dry chicken steak. We arrived at around 6pm and didn't get out if there until 9pm. Granted, they were busy, and we understand- we also work in the industry, but no urgency/awareness from the staff or kitchen...no one apologized, nor thanked us for our patience. Our tab was over $200, which is what we expected to pay, but for them being a james beard award nominee and to charge this much- your food and service better match that , and it didn't. We sat right next to the open kitchen and none of the cooks ever tasted their dishes before serving them-...