Spokane’s Best Local Restaurants, North Side To South Hill

The multiple award-winning Wild Sage American Bistro is a ‘comfortable fine dining’ establishment in a warm and intimate environment. Serving creative dishes that highlight fresh locally sourced ingredients, the team at Wild Sage also offer a gluten-free menu and will happily create dishes for other dietary restrictions. Succulent choices on the menus include the gluten-free goat cheese stuffed chicken breast with balsamic bing cherries, wild arugula salad, Kansas City bacon lardons, and white cheddar grits and the bouillabaisse with halibut, wild shrimp, scallops, and mussels in a tomato broth with garlic bread and saffron aioli.

Established in 2007 by Casper Fry co-owners, mother-daughter duo Deb Green and Megan VanStone, Madeleine’s Café and Patisserie is a little piece of France located in the heart of downtown Spokane. This delightful café serves French pastries and Provençal rustic cuisine in a charming French atmosphere and is open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week plus dinner on Friday and Saturday. The large menu features various croissants, crêpes, salads, classic dishes, such as coq au vin and steak au poivre, and mouth-watering desserts, including chocolate soufflé and lemon tarts. Plenty of vegetarian options make this a great culinary experience for anyone’s taste.

Voted as the best diner and breakfast for over 14 years in a row and with two locations, Frank’s Diner is doing something right. Established in 1931, each diner is housed in an early 1900s railroad car and serves dishes made from scratch with locally sustainable ingredients. Their menu is large which allows a variety of tastes to be satisfied. Highlights from the breakfast menu include spicy Creole benedict made with lobster, rock crab, poached eggs smothered in a spicy hollandaise sauce and gourmet purple oatmeal, which consists of Snoqualmie Falls oatmeal with Priest Lake huckleberries. They also offer a variety of burgers, sandwiches and salads for lunch.

The creation of Bethe Bowman and Anna Vogel, general manager and chef, respectively, Italia Trattoria is a unique restaurant serving regionally inspired Italian cuisine located in the historic Browne’s Addition neighbourhood. Chef Vogel and her team create seasonal dishes using the finest and freshest local and artisan ingredients from Italy and the Pacific Northwest. Past offerings have included charred octopus with spicy tomato oil, potatoes, and lemon parsley salad, rabbit raviolis (all pastas are hand made) and for dessert, brioche banana bread pudding. They also serve lunch three days a week, offer a weekend brunch, and have a great selection of wines and handcrafted drinks. Reservations are recommended.

For over 70 years the steam plant in Spokane produced energy for local residents and businesses; now it houses a restaurant and pub called Stacks and Steam Plant Brewing Company & Pub, respectively. The team at Stacks works with local farmers and ranchers in order to bring the freshest ingredients to the kitchen to create their new American cuisine. In a truly unique ambiance with 80-foot ceilings, old broiler pipes, and catwalks, diners can feast on seasonal dishes such as the black and bleu sirloin with Cajun spices and Point Reyes bleu cheese or the black and white halibut with fresh vegetables and spicy ginger soy sauce served over yaki soba noodles. With the brewery on-site, ask the server for suggestions on which microbrew to pair with your meal for the full Steam Plant experience.

Located in a century old building downtown, Mizuna delights foodies with its local organic fare in a charming, modern ambiance. The lunch and dinner menus change seasonally but feature meats, fresh seafood, and numerous vegan and vegetarian options (as it used to be a strict vegetarian and vegan establishment). Diners may choose between delectable dishes such as grilled Idaho rainbow trout with roasted shallot and shitake mushroom risotto, grilled baby bok choy, glazed beets, and coriander gastrique and the vegetarian dish, house-made chickpea gnocchi in a sage and walnut pesto cream sauce.

Located in the historic Saranac Building, which was a single room occupancy residence from 1910 to 2004, the Saranac Public House features American fare made with locally sourced organic ingredients when available. Serving lunch and dinner, the menu changes with the seasons and is vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free friendly. Highlights from the summer menu include the original Thai flatbread with spicy peanut sauce, roasted chicken, cheese, peppers, carrots, cilantro, and roasted peanuts (order with tofu and vegan cheese for a tasty vegan dish) and jalapeño glazed salmon served with coconut rice and sweet mustard coleslaw. With a great selection of regional beers and wines and plenty of indoor and outdoor patio seating, diners will enjoy this culinary experience.

Sweet Frostings Blissful Bakeshop is a truly tempting bakery featuring an array of delicious baked treats. Stop by in the morning for a breakfast of coffee and a freshly baked cinnamon roll, muffin, or homemade pop tart or step in for a little afternoon treat, including cookies, cake pops, and more. While the selections can vary from day to day, patrons can count on cupcakes being a daily feature. With mouth-watering flavours such as red velvet, salted caramel, banana split, and gluten-free chocolate sugar cookie, everyone will find something to satisfy their sweet tooth in this colourful whimsical shop.