Restaurant in Woodinville, United States
Woodinville's best reason to stay for dinner.
Barking Frog at Willows Lodge is the strongest dinner option in Woodinville wine country, with Chef Lyle Kaku's Pacific Northwestern American cooking at a $$ price point and a serious 500-selection wine list led by Torrey Lewis. Washington State, France, and Oregon are the cellar strengths. Booking is easy, the $35 corkage is fair, and it rewards repeat visits across seasons.
Barking Frog is the leading reason to have dinner in Woodinville rather than just taste wine there. Chef Lyle Kaku's Pacific Northwestern American cooking sits at a $$ price point (expect $40–$65 for a typical two-course meal), the wine program under director Torrey Lewis runs to 500 selections and 4,120 bottles of inventory with a particular strength in Washington, France, and Oregon, and the whole operation is anchored inside Willows Lodge. For food-and-wine explorers making a day or weekend of Woodinville's wine country, this is where to end the day. Book it first, then plan the rest around it.
One visit to Barking Frog is good. Two or three, spread across seasons or wine-tasting trips, is where the value compounds. The kitchen works in American and Pacific Northwestern registers, which means the menu shifts meaningfully with what's growing and available in Washington State. A spring visit will look different from a fall one, and that variation is the point. Treat your first visit as a baseline: work through the food with one of Torrey Lewis's Washington State pours alongside. On a second visit, the wine list rewards going deeper — France and Oregon are both strong suits, and at $$ wine pricing (a range that spans accessible bottles under $50 up to serious $100+ options), there's room to explore at different spend levels. If you arrive with a bottle from one of the Woodinville tasting rooms you visited earlier in the day, the $35 corkage fee is fair by any regional standard.
The third visit, if you're a wine-focused traveler, is the one to use strategically: ask the sommelier team to lead. With 500 selections in the cellar, Torrey Lewis's list has depth that most casual visits won't surface. This is the kind of wine program — regionally focused, seriously stocked , that earns Opinionated About Dining's casual ranking (#634 in North America for 2025) and justifies repeated engagement.
This restaurant works for several different types of dinner. Couples doing a Woodinville wine weekend will find it a natural anchor. Corporate groups or small celebrations benefit from the hotel setting and the professional service team led by General Manager Anthony Berkau. Solo diners who want to explore the wine list without a full table commitment will find the format accommodating. It is not a destination for anyone chasing tasting-menu theatrics or avant-garde technique , the $$ cuisine pricing and American/Pacific Northwestern framing signal an approachable, ingredient-driven experience rather than a progressive or experimental one. If you want that register in the Pacific Northwest, you're looking at a different city entirely.
For context on where Barking Frog sits in the broader American fine-casual landscape, the 4.5 Google rating across 1,159 reviews signals consistent execution rather than occasional brilliance. That consistency is exactly what you want from a hotel restaurant in wine country , a place where a good dinner is reliably available, not a gamble.
Barking Frog pairs naturally with a full Woodinville day. Browse our full Woodinville wineries guide to build a tasting itinerary before dinner, check our full Woodinville hotels guide if you're staying overnight (Willows Lodge is the obvious call if you're eating here), and see our full Woodinville bars guide for a nightcap. For the full picture on where else to eat, our full Woodinville restaurants guide covers the options. If you're building a broader Pacific Northwest experiences itinerary, our full Woodinville experiences guide is worth a read.
For wine-country restaurant comparisons further afield, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg sets a higher technical and price bar in California wine country, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown is the reference point for ingredient-driven American cooking tied to place. Neither competes directly with Barking Frog on price or accessibility. For American cooking at a comparable casual register on the West Coast, Hilda and Jesse in San Francisco and Selby's in Atherton are useful reference points.
Yes, with the right expectations. The $$ price range, hotel setting at Willows Lodge, and professional service team make it a reliable choice for birthdays, anniversaries, or a wine-country celebration dinner. It is not a white-tablecloth tasting-menu experience , think well-executed Pacific Northwestern American cooking with a serious wine list, not culinary theatre. If you want the latter, venues like The French Laundry in Napa or Alinea in Chicago are in a different category entirely. For a Woodinville special occasion, Barking Frog is the answer.
The database does not confirm bar seating specifics, but as a full-service hotel restaurant (Willows Lodge) with both lunch and dinner service, bar or lounge seating is common in this format. Call or check directly when booking. Solo diners and couples looking for a less formal entry point should ask about bar or lounge availability when reserving.
The hotel restaurant setting at Willows Lodge is well suited to group dining , corporate dinners, wine-country celebrations, and private events are the natural use cases here. Specific private dining room details are not confirmed in our database, so contact the restaurant directly through Willows Lodge for group minimums and availability. For groups of six or more, booking several weeks ahead is the safe approach.
Specific menu items are not available in our database, so we cannot recommend dishes by name. What the data does tell you: the kitchen works in American and Pacific Northwestern registers at a $$ price point, which means seasonal, ingredient-driven plates rather than elaborate tasting-menu constructions. Ask your server what's driving the menu on the night , Chef Lyle Kaku's cooking responds to season and regional produce, so the leading order will depend on when you visit. Pair whatever you choose with a Washington State pour; that's where Wine Director Torrey Lewis's list is strongest.
For the full picture on Woodinville dining, see our full Woodinville restaurants guide. If you're open to a day trip for a higher-end Pacific Northwest experience, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg is the closest analogue in West Coast wine-country fine dining, though at a significantly higher price point. For progressive American cooking at the national level, Lazy Bear in San Francisco and Addison in San Diego are worth knowing about for future trips.
No dress code is confirmed in our database. The hotel restaurant context at Willows Lodge and the $$ price positioning suggest smart casual is appropriate , the kind of thing you'd wear to a good wine tasting followed by dinner. Overdressing is unlikely to be a problem; showing up in hiking gear from a day in the vineyards probably warrants a quick change.
Yes. The wine program is the main reason: with 500 selections and Wine Director Torrey Lewis available to guide choices, solo diners who want to explore Washington State, French, or Oregon bottles have real depth to work through. The $$ price point keeps a solo dinner at a sensible spend. Ask about bar or counter seating if you prefer a less formal solo setup. For solo wine-focused dining in this price tier, it competes well with anything else in the Woodinville area.
Booking is rated Easy, which means same-week reservations are generally achievable outside of peak wine-country weekends. For Friday and Saturday evenings in summer and fall , when Woodinville tasting room traffic peaks , book at least one to two weeks ahead to get your preferred time. If you're visiting as part of a Willows Lodge stay, the hotel can often assist with reservations. Walk-ins may be possible midweek at lunch, but don't rely on it for a dinner with a specific wine agenda.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking Frog | American | Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #634 (2025); WINE: Wine Strengths: Washington, France, Oregon Pricing: $$ i Wine pricing: Based on the list\'s general markup and high and low price points:$ has many bottles < $50;$$ has a range of pricing;$$$ has many $100+ bottles Corkage Fee: $35 Selections: 500 Inventory: 4,120 CUISINE: Cuisine Types: American, Pacific Northwestern Pricing: $$ i Cuisine pricing: The cost of a typical two-course meal, not including tip or beverages.$ is < $40;$$ is $40–$65;$$$ is $66+. Meals: Lunch and Dinner STAFF: People Torrey Lewis:Wine Director Wine Director: Torrey Lewis Chef: Lyle Kaku General Manager: Anthony Berkau Owner: Willows Lodge | Easy | — | |
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | $$$$ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Lazy Bear | Progressive American, Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Alinea | Progressive American, Creative | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Atelier Crenn | Modern French, Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Yes, and it's one of the stronger options in the Woodinville area for it. The $$ cuisine pricing (roughly $40–$65 for two courses) keeps a celebratory dinner from becoming punishing, and the 500-label wine list with Washington and French strengths gives you real range to mark the occasion. Ranked by Opinionated About Dining in 2025, it carries enough credibility to justify the booking.
Bar seating availability isn't confirmed in available venue details, but the restaurant operates lunch and dinner service out of Willows Lodge at 14580 NE 145th St — worth calling ahead to ask about counter or bar options before you arrive.
Groups are a reasonable fit here. The Pacific Northwestern American format and $$ price point work well for corporate dinners or wine-trip groups without requiring everyone to commit to a tasting menu. For larger parties, check the venue's official channels through Willows Lodge to confirm private dining or reserved section availability.
Chef Lyle Kaku's menu runs American and Pacific Northwestern, so lean into whatever's regionally sourced. The wine program is the real draw alongside the food — Wine Director Torrey Lewis oversees a 4,120-bottle inventory with $$ pricing and a corkage fee of $35 if you're bringing something from a Woodinville tasting room. Pair accordingly.
Woodinville's sit-down dinner options are limited, which is part of why Barking Frog holds its position. If you want a more casual post-tasting bite, several tasting rooms offer food pairings, but for a full-service dinner with a serious wine list, Barking Frog is the clearest choice in the immediate area. Seattle's broader dining scene is the realistic alternative if format or price is a mismatch.
The $$ price range and Willows Lodge setting suggest a relaxed but put-together approach — think wine country casual rather than formal. Jeans are fine; you don't need a jacket. If you're coming straight from winery tastings, you'll fit in without changing.
It works for solo diners, particularly those doing a Woodinville wine day who want a proper sit-down meal. The $$ two-course pricing means a solo dinner stays reasonable, and the wine list is a draw in its own right. Bar or counter seating would make it more comfortable — confirm availability when you book.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
