Restaurants in Anacortes

When Jordan Brown took over the breakfast cart of a local diner in 2010, he couldn’t help but notice that waffles sold like hotcakes. He spent the next few months creating his own batters, from regular and gluten-free waffles built with buckwheat to a sugar-free recipe that satisfied his diabetic diet. His creations were a hit, and within a few months, he was able to transition from a mobile business to a brick-and-mortar eatery, West Coast Waffles.

Adding local and organic ingredients to his batters, he's developed a menu of inventive waffles that fall into one of three categories: traditional real-fruit waffles coloured with clusters of raspberries and banana slices or cranberries and chocolate; sweet waffles that are decidedly decadent—the Yummy Gummy is decorated with gummy bears and whipped cream; and savoury waffles, including the Mexican Sunrise with scrambled eggs, spinach, salsa, and cheddar. Since the recipes defy the waffles-as-breakfast notion, the restaurant is open through dinner each night and until 2:30 a.m., Thursday–Saturday.

Mad Magazine’s freckled mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, once said: “We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavours and furniture polish is made from real lemons.” This quote can be read at the top of Sauce Restaurant and Lounge’s menu, whose many dishes, which span small and large plates meant for sharing, serve as evidence of the eatery’s commitment to serving natural, seasonal ingredients from local sources. The evening tapas menu hits every major food group: startch, beef, veggies, poultry, and seafood. Guests share bites of phyllo wrapped brie and a bistro chicken sandwich, which stars the poultry of island farmouse in cowichan bay. The kitchen also prepares brunch every Sunday, fortified by steaming mugs of Oughtred Coffee.

With its soaring 15-foot ceilings, Show Case Restaurant and Bar evokes images of airy cathedrals where guests dine on white tablecloths among a wall of windows, white oak pillars, and spindly floor lamps. In contrast to the streamlined dining room, chef Frank Gort prepares a complex, exotically spiced menu of upscale fare. He and his kitchen crew drizzle succulent cuts of beef tenderloin and free-range chicken with flourishes such as a lemongrass kefir emulsion, which ties each bite into an artistic and decadent package. Additionally, the restaurant uses Ocean Wise-approved sustainable seafood almost exclusively. The restaurant is also open for breakfast and lunch, whose menus take the stage with the same emphasis on unique flavour combinations.

The chefs at Red Pagoda Bistro stock platters with savoury tastes of Asia, including spring rolls, chicken and pork brochettes, and vermicelli salad. Diners also hover over steaming bowls of Vietnamese pho, known to clear the respiratory system faster than a fledgling comedian clears a banquet hall.

Sporting the half-timbered siding and narrow windows of the traditional English Tudor style, the Tudor House Pub provides a nostalgic neighbourhood meeting place for diners and revellers. The kitchen staff concocts traditional English and Scottish recipes, which grace tables alongside dishes with American, Thai, and Japanese influences in an eclectic mélange as multicultural as the contents of the U.N.'s vending machines. Traditional pub snacks sate small appetites, and dishes containing high-profile ingredients such as AAA sirloin beef assuage more persistent hunger pangs. Sports games regularly grace TVs, and the pub's space hosts live DJs on Wednesday and Friday nights, free-for-all karaoke on Thursday, and live bands playing varied musical genres on Saturdays. Tudor House Pub’s adjacent licensed liquor store stocks bottles of spirits and grants discounts to active and retired military members.

Taso's Family Restaurant's cadre of chefs and servers has satiated palates with homestyle Italian and Greek cuisine since opening its doors in the late 1960s. Topped with 100 per cent mozzarella cheese and a house tomato sauce, more than 25 pizzas arrive sliced and adorned with delectable ingredients such as capicollo and pineapple. Leather booths flanked by framed paintings bracing the dining-room walls shelter families of patrons scarfing down piles of pasta, Greek dishes, and meats and seafood fresh from the charcoal broiler. The eatery also hosts private parties for up to 50 guests in its back room, where celebrants can feast from preselected menu items, gather round their favourite TV program, or toast at a fireplace that abets the environment by burning breadsticks instead of wood.