Sol Duc Resort

888 896 3828

12076 Sol Duc Hot Springs Road

We usually stop by at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort on our to hiking up to Deer Lake, and we usually pack sandwiches for the trail, so we have never actually eaten at the resort. The menu always looked interesting, but dinner at the resort never quite fit into our schedule. However, fate intervened. Our car would not start when we returned to the trailhead, and AAA was going to take a couple of hours to get a tow truck to us. This was our big chance to try the restaurant.

We settled down at our table, and we had a very nice meal. To start with, there was a good, well chosen wine list including a number of local wineries, and a good selection of wines from around the world. We started with a rather nice pair of crab cakes and a New Zealand sauvignon blanc. The mixed greens with the crab cakes were fresh which is always a good sign. Then we moved on to the wild salmon cooked on a cedar plank. The wild salmon was indeed fresh and wild, which is not always the case, even at restaurants advertising wild salmon. The preparation was simple, but there is no point in ruining a good piece of fish. The salmon was served with zucchini and roast potatoes. The zucchini was good, not too bland, and the potatoes were properly roast, not swimming in grease. We had to admit, the place had standards. We topped off our meal with a marionberry crisp which was indeed crisp and loaded with marionberries.

All told, we had a very nice meal. One of the park rangers had recommended the black angus burger, which was in the lower priced "diner" section of the menu, but we had decided to go whole hog. We wanted Olympic Peninsula comfort food, and the Sol Duc Resort came through. We may even arrange to stay for dinner after a hike.

REVIEWED: 17 August 2008