Steph C.
Yelp
One of my best friends married the man of his dreams last month, and they had a beautiful wedding at Doe Bay Resort, with a wonderful reception at Doe Bay Cafe. Mike K. has been my companion in gluttony throughout our over 20-year friendship, and his new husband Gino G. is an actual chef. Their wedding hashtag was #iwastoldtherewouldbefood, and they fed their guests marvelously.
Doe Bay Cafe is Doe Bay Resort's restaurant, and while I enjoyed Doe Bay as a whole, the cafe was definitely the most impressive part. It serves both brunch and dinner, and while I'm sorry I missed the brunch service, I did have an astonishingly good ham and cheese croissant when I needed something fast to go. I also loved the hors d'oeuvre and signature drinks they provided for the cocktail hour--there were stuffed dates, marinated olives, and addictive lemongrass prawns; refreshing Palomas and excellent Paper Planes.
The reception was fantastic. Mike and Gino rented out the whole restaurant, and it was fun and intimate, one big dinner party with all the guests seated at long tables. The food was all family style, served on big boards and platters. There was plenty of wine, and the staff did a good job facilitating while remaining as unobtrusive as possible.
Doe Bay has its own garden and sources its other ingredients from local, organic, etc. purveyors, and everything we ate was fresh and delicious. We sat down to find giant cheese and charcuterie boards laid out on the table, heavy with meat, cheese, fruit, pickles, preserves, and mustard. There was crusty sourdough bread and butter made with herbs from Doe Bay's garden. Next, we had a gorgeous salad of garden greens with stone fruit, feta, almonds, and sherry vinaigrette.
For the main course, we had Salish Sea halibut with Doe Bay garden salsa verde and herbs, made pretty and colorful with edible flowers. On the side there was Anson Mills polenta with morel mushrooms and parmesan, as well as cauliflower and romanesco with preserved lemon, pine nuts, and mint.
Instead of cake, there was pie, and oh my, was it good. I loved both the rhubarb and the raspberry, served with whipped cultured cream. After dessert, we danced on the patio, and after that, we moved to a campfire, where the cafe provided us with supplies for s'mores.
I had an amazing time celebrating Mike and Gino. My heart is full thinking about these guys, and I'm so glad Doe Bay Cafe helped them put on an unforgettable wedding.