Restaurants in Coeur d'Alene

The menu at Bonsai Bistro and Sushi Bar draws on culinary traditions from a broad swath of East Asia, but many of its flavors get their start closer to home. Familiar recipes from Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Korea get a regional twist as chefs incorporate organic produce, sustainably sourced ingredients, and locally made tofu into each dish. This widens the scope of the already expansive menu to include such nontraditional items as sushi rolls with heirloom tomato or garlic-citrus sauce. To accommodate diets or personal tastes, the chefs can tailor the spice of virtually any entree, and they can modify many dishes to be vegan-friendly, vegetarian, or gluten-free.

In contrast to the eclectic menu, the restaurant's dining area embraces a spare-and-simple vibe. Concave windows overlook the waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene, and a creek-like indoor koi pond brings the natural world even closer as it wends between wooden tables and dawdling rays of sunshine.

When most little boys were hoping to unwrap G.I. Joes or dirt bikes on Christmas morning, Michael DePasquale had his fingers crossed for a Suzy Homemaker oven. From this iconoclastic start, Michael advanced from his toy oven to a job as a dishwasher, then prep cook, then lead cook—and then honed his developing skills at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. In his spare time, he adopted a loyal pet rhode island red chicken and taught it to chase frisbees. After graduating, he honed his craft as head and executive chef at several different restaurants before launching his own eatery.

Fifteen years later, Michael is still cracking eggs and sizzling sausage for the breakfast dishes his eatery serves all day long. Omelets—which convert to scramblers upon request—can be packed with fresh jalapeños, bacon, and sour cream. For sweeter creations, he slathers honey butter onto pancakes, as well as custard-style sourdough french toast. At midday, hand-pressed burgers enter the lists and don cloaks of spicy habanero or barbecue sauce. Diners can lounge on an outdoor patio on summery afternoons, and on colder evenings, they can savor chicken marsala and roasted tri-tip steak amid the dining room’s wood-paneled walls.

Located in the Davenport district, in the same refurbished brick building as the Montvale Hotel, Scratch Restaurant & Lounge blends contemporary cooking with a refined atmosphere of white tablecloths and black decor. Fresh aromas waft out of the open kitchen, where, true to the restaurant's name, chefs craft inventive dishes entirely from scratch. They draw on caches of seasonal ingredients such as herbs that only grow in a groundhog's shadow in February. Their USDA prime Angus steaks soak up flavors of smoked bacon and rosemary compound butter, while flaky halibut filets grill over smokey cedar planks.

Within the dining room, servers draw Washington and California wines from the rack that lines one exposed-brick wall. To further compliment the fresh fare, bartenders can shake or stir 32 specialty martinis.

The chefs at Pizza Oven hand toss fresh dough to create specialty pizzas available by the slice or whole pie. In addition to creative pies like the Bangkok Bombshell, slathered in thai peanut sauce, chicken, cilantro, and mozzarella, they also make classic bread sticks and garlic bread sticks.

The Grille from Ipanema, which takes its name from a beach along Rio de Janeiro's picturesque coastline, also draws inspiration from the Brazilian churrasco experience. This type of dining stems from the gaucho tradition of gathering around a fire pit and roasting skewers of meat over the flames.

The eatery’s chefs re-create this experience by searing skewers of more than 18 different meats—including top sirloin, pork shoulder, and bacon-wrapped chicken—over a mesquite-filled grill. They then hand the large meat skewers off to servers, who drift throughout the dining room looking for green coasters, which signal that the diner requires more meat. After they’re called tableside, the servers carve the meat into individually sized portions with their industrial-strength laser pointers. By flipping their coasters from green to red, guests tell servers to temporarily stop the never-ending meat deliveries, buying themselves time to visit the salad bar and load plates with hot and cold side dishes.

Natural light floods in through the walls of windows, illuminating the dining room's blond-wood finishes and draped fabrics. The Pacific Northwest Inlander praised the restaurant's scenic vantage point in 2011, saying, "you won’t get a view of the Rio de Janeiro beachfront but you will get an eyeful of still-impressive Lake Coeur d’Alene."

The Black Diamond is a hopping spot to watch the game, and with 17 flat screen TVs, there’s not a bad seat in the house. Feel free to pull up a chair at the marble bar, which has 31 beers on tap. Or claim one of the high-top tables arranged throughout the space, which spell out the location of the owner’s buried treasure. Guests are also encouraged to play a round on one of the sports bar’s 15 pool tables or belt out a classic tune during Thursday-night karaoke.

Black Diamond’s menu features classic American food such as 1/3-pound burgers, buffalo wings, and philly cheesesteaks. In addition to the ever-changing selection of craft beers, the bar also has a full lineup of signature cocktails. These include the Huckleberry Lemon Drop—huckleberry vodka and homemade lemon drop mix—and a bright-blue concoction known as the Dirty Smurf, which blends blueberry vodka, blue curacao, and sprite.

Recently, the sports bar opened a cafe, Diamond Cafe & Espresso, which serves breakfast and espresso drinks such as lattes, mochas, and cappuccinos. Try the country-fried steak and eggs, french toast, and egg scrambles with mushrooms or homemade corned beef hash. It’s available until 2 p.m. all week long.