5 Best Restaurants in The San Juan Islands, Washington

Most of the tables in this warmly rustic dining room at Doe Bay Resort overlook the tranquil body of water for which the café is named. This is a popular stop for brunch or dinner before or after hiking or biking in nearby Moran State Park—starting your day off with breakfast tacos or shakshuka will provide you with plenty of fuel for recreation. The kitchen uses ingredients foraged from the lush resort garden in such artful, healthy dinner creations as crisp-skinned wild salmon with onion-port jam, dandelion greens, salsify-chevre-quinoa cakes, and walnuts; and Thai green curry with local spot prawns. Reservations are essential for dinner and if there are six or more in your party for weekend breakfast.

Only 50 yards from the ferry holding area (though that includes a lot of stairs), this pleasant little café and specialty grocery store makes fantastic sandwiches (try the roast-beef-and-rocket, which is served on a house-baked roll with spicy chili aioli). The soups and deli items—including a decadent macaroni and cheese—are also top-notch. Beer, wine, juices, and espresso are served as well. It's a great place to wait for your ferry to depart.

A charming small café with bountiful planters of flowers and artsy touches like a gorgeous forest-scene stained glass window, the relatively new Olga Rising has quickly become a neighborhood fixture.

Ingenuity and dedication to local ingredients are hallmarks of this stylish, contemporary restaurant, where locals and tourists alike come for dishes such as baked oysters, Nashville hot chicken sandwich, seared halibut risotto, and a popular house burger. During the summer, the hotel's outdoor Portside Patio serves small plates and craft cocktails. The restaurant's daily breakfast is popular with islanders and convenient for hotel guests: the brunch burger, topped with a fried egg and cracked pepper aioli, and stuffed french toast with mascarpone make for decadent starts to your day.