okta Restaurant
A refined dining experience in Oregon wine country.
okta Restaurant
McMinnville, Oregon
9,000 SF
Client Notes
Two-Michelin Star Chef, Matthew Lightner, sought to create a new restaurant in McMinnville, Oregon, expressive of the Willamette Valley landscape. The cuisine needed to work in concert with the space and create a spiritual dining experience punctuated by a tangible sense of luxury. The menu would include food crafted from local ingredients, harvested by Matthew, and full of wonder; the interior space would follow suit, quietly setting the table for an evening of delight.
Designer Notes
Curated into three contrasting dining experiences, the restaurant's entry is defined by soft seating evocative of the cloud cover that often envelopes the surrounding farmland of Yamhill County, contrasted with the warm crackle of a wood-burning fireplace. Into the dining room, guests are greeted by white oak banquettes and locally crafted tables, which lend a softness to the space. The space centers on an open kitchen grounded by a massive erratic basalt boulder, a remnant of the Missoula floods that carried the boulder into the Willamette Valley over a million years ago.
A hidden cellar bar fitted with a mix of lounge seating and an expansive wine library is located below the restaurant. Intentionally curated to feel like home, every surface is a unique exploration of texture and craft. Where cool tones graced the upper lounge and dining room, the cellar takes on a warm earthiness featuring rich leathers and burnt sugar-glazed terracotta tiles to pair with a spread of house-made larders, crafted cocktails, and spectacular wines. Throughout the restaurant, hand-troweled plaster walls remain a constant, unifying the guest experience from one space to another, celebrating the craft and beauty of Oregon.
People
Emily Knudsen Leland / Keri Woltz / Joe Swank / Lewis Williams
