The Kitchen at Abeja

We enjoyed a marvelous fine dining experience here, the first week of July 2024. This was actually the first night with their new James Beard nominated chef. We had made a reservation in advance for the seven course meal. They called a couple weeks out to share they would now be closed the day we had a reservation, but they were able to accommodate us a different day. However, they only had the five course meal for us - which they didn't tell us until we arrived. All told, the experience was pleasant, but honestly we felt it was a little overpriced. - Signage/directions as to where exactly the dining room was, was poor. We definitely stumbled around a bit, and once we found the right place, no one even noticed we had arrived for about 10 minutes.

There was a lot of positive about this place and two negatives. I will start with all the good. I saw in a previous review, a person mentioned that it was hard to find the restaurant due to lack of signage. When we arrived last night, there was ample signage to quickly direct a person to the restaurant. Kudos to you for taking suggestions and rapidly implementing solutions. We arrived 10 minutes early and were quickly greeted and seated. The restaurant is small, providing a more intimate experience. The service and wait staff were wonderful. The five course meal costs $135 per person and the courses were: a palate cleanser sorbet made from one of their wines, some fruit, and fennel seed (*forgot the name of this one), Poached Scallop, Cavatiedda, Smoked Salmon Salad, Elk Loin, and foe dessert, Berry Semifreddo. We also added the cheese plate for an additional $20 which was served after the Elk Loin and before the Berry Semifreddo dessert. We also added one wine pairing for an additional $55. Each dish was perfectly prepared by Chef Mike Easton who is a four-time James Beard Award nominee. The food was fabulous all around and the variety of flavors was an adventure for the taste buds. Now I want to touch on the two negatives we encountered. The first was the amount of time we had to wait between receiving the smoked salmon salad and thr Elk Loin. The total time we had to wait was approximately 40 minutes between them taking our salad and bringing the Loin. Our pairing for the loin was poured about 5 minutes after the salad was taken and it was difficult not to drink the wine while waiting. The waitress did apologize for the long wait time. The second negative is that when we left, we were not full, we both felt slightly hungry. I feel that the portion sizes were just a bit too small. I understand not wanting to have people leaving uncomfortably stuffed, but when spending over $440 (tax and tip included), I do feel like we should have left feeling a bit full and satisfied. We have done many multi-course dinners and have never left hungry at others. I do want to finish this with saying that we were overall impressed with the experience. The food tasted amazing and the staff were wonderful. I think you guys have a great thing going, especially after hiring Mike Easton (though I didn't have the opportunity to try your restaurant prior to him joining your time). If there is an improvement on portion sizes, my husband and I will make this a regular place to celebrate our special occasions.

A magical setting to eat an incredibly special dinner. Courses were perfectly curated, wine pairings were spot on and the food out of this world. Staff were exceptional; professional yet personable. Chef Jake and crew put together some of the best dishes I've ever eaten balancing savory, sweet and bitter creating beautiful bites. Highly recommended!!

Decor and atmosphere invoke a relaxed yet clean and elegant feeling. The grounds were well cared for and organized. The staff, all of them, were exceptional. Evident in their positive, cooperative, and professional excitement to share all Abeja had to offer, we will return again. Our wine tasting was well organized and timely with a beautiful setting inside. There was a bit more noise than we wanted because of the excitement and conversations of the others within the tasting area. There would be value in some extra decor with an acoustic focus to take the experience up a level. The dinner adventure was amazing! It was 5 courses of balanced and elegant flavors with and mix of local flare and innovation. Prawns and sweet corn soup, tortellini, roast quail, and capped with a red wine demi glaze NY strip and morels. Meeting the chef as he visited each table was a pleasure. The two wait staff and hostest were attentive and informed us of the details of each dish while providing enough privacy for personal discussions.

This is a very nice restaurant. We judge a dining experience along five key criteria. FOOD All the food was delicious. Considering there were five courses, the size of each course was appropriate. Any larger and we would have been over eating. I am 6'1", 210 pounds and left more than happy. SERVICE Our server was professional, attentive and friendly. She made the experience that much better. NOISE LEVEL Although music was playing, it was on low volume, fitting perfectly into the background. Some restaurants play loud music which we find annoying. We never go to a restaurant to listen to someone else's music selection. AMBIANCE The dining room is well lit and attractive. The surrounding grounds are beautiful too. We had a special treat outside the restaurant in that we saw a hawk moth visiting the flowers. These moths are distinctive as they are large and fly like a hummingbird. SEATING There is plenty of space in between the tables, and the seats are padded. The seats are the proper height relative to the table top. We shall return.

This is fine dining, best meal we have ever had. It was multiple courses and each was as delicious as the last. The environment was great and so was the service. Perfect way to spend our third anniversary and will be back soon!

Holy moly! So delicious! The night before we ate at Kinglet so we had pretty high expectations for another amazing meal and this did not disappoint. The property here is absolutely beautiful. One of the prettiest places in Walla Walla we visited. Our sever was super friendly, knowledgeable and down to earth and his wine pours were very generous and so appreciated. The food was out of this world amazing. Every single course we had was a bite of heaven. I was dying worth each bite. Would highly recommend anyone come here for an awesome culinary experience.

Seven course dinner with wine pairing was absolutely awesome. One of the best meals I've ever had and the presentation was over the top. Service was 5 star!!!! And the grounds are just beautiful.

This restaurant just opened in July of 2021, and it's a bit hard to find until they add signage. It's not in the Inn at Abeja, but next to the winery. So when you go up the driveway and park you need to walk to the back and right. For a restaurant so newly opened, they are doing a lot of things right, and I'm pretty sure this is the most upscale dining experience in Walla Walla. The dining room is under the experienced direction of Tom Uberuaga. Winemakers Dan Wampfler and Amy Alvarez-Wampfler also visited our table. The tasting menu was created by Elodie Li, a young chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Seattle, and with Michelin experience in France. She also made a point of visiting diners' tables. Highlights of the tasting menu included a wonderfully complex Amuse Bouche of cherry tomatoes, and a stunning dessert with flavors of blood orange and Earl Grey. Chef Li notes she isn't a pastry chef, but she certainly could be! We also enjoyed the Tenderloin course, especially the oyster mushrooms in Cabernet jus. As one would expect of a brand new restaurant, there were a few missteps, but nothing major. The dining room was much too bright, but Tom indicated dimmers were already being installed. It is also a bit noisy, but that may be addressed with some softer floor treatments. Service needs a little polish, and some dishes would have been better served on warm plates, but overall everything was quite good. A wine pairing of Abeja wines is available and fairly priced, although a broader range of wines might find better matches with the food. Over all I would say this is a must -stop restaurant for all foodies visiting Walla Walla.

My husband and I came here for the 5-course tasting menu. While the property was beautiful, the restaurant disappointed. The Dungeness crab and the heirloom tomato appetizers were not memorable. Served cold, it did not help with the freezing temps of the restaurant. I was wearing shorts and my husband had to grab me a blanket from the car since I was so cold. The meal started to improve with the sea bass, although the portion of fish was the size of the fork prongs. The Denver steak really redeemed the menu; it was so tender and had lots of different flavor profiles. I loved the accompanying vegetables too. We also thoroughly enjoyed the unique white chocolate tart. Not sure we'd come back for the restaurant but may try to book a stay at Abeja.