About Canyon River Grill
Simply put, it's riverside dining at its best.
The Canyon River Grill, located in the heart of the scenic Yakima River Canyon about 15 miles south of Ellensburg (halfway between Ellensburg and Yakima), offers a unique dining experience, overlooking the Yakima River and its stunning Basalt Cliffs. It is there that Chef Kevin Davis—a James Beard Northwest finalist—crafts his seasonal award-winning cuisine rooted in the flavors and spirit of the Pacific Northwest.
Our Menu
The menu changes daily, closely following the seasons, it focuses on the truly exceptional ingredients this region has to offer. You will typically find (when in season of course) wild salmon, halibut, sablefish, oysters, foraged edibles, local beef, bluefin tuna and produce from nearby farms as well as Chef’s own vegetable garden.
The grill also has a stellar wine list and craft cocktail program featuring local wines, beers and spirits as well as carefully selected wines and spirits from outside of the valley.
Make a Reservation
Make reservations online and enjoy the stunning 20-minute drive through the Yakima River Canyon to a magical riverside retreat where nature, cuisine, and ambiance converge.
For group reservations larger than 16, please fill out our event request form or email us.
Our kitchen is where your culinary journey begins
Our restaurant has been completely reinvented at the hands of Executive Chef Kevin Davis, a three-time James Beard finalist for Best Chef Northwest. Featuring local ingredients, including morels, apples, cherries, poultry, fish, wild game, and herbs and vegetables from his own garden, Chef Davis brings his remarkable cuisine to life on the banks of the yakima.
About Chef Davis
Chef Davis grew up cooking and eating Cajun food, but was drawn to the classics, French and Italian. Given his Louisiana background, Chef Davis likened his dream to cook the classics as “a blues musician who wants to sing opera.”
His food radiates the comfort and warmth of the food of his youth; His incredible gumbo is not the kind you get served in restaurants, but “the kind you would be served in someone’s home.” It’s that attention to detail that runs through everything that comes out of his kitchen.
He has developed an excellent and well-deserved reputation as a seafood chef, but his cooking is both land and sea based, seasonally driven, and a blend of ideas, techniques and culture. It’s not mathematical, it’s emotional.
His raw ingredients are of the highest quality, his focus always on the food, he strives for excellence in taste, aesthetics and presentation. Every meal is a memorable experience.
Just as his beloved blues tell a story, so does his cooking. The skills and style he has honed over decades of doing what he loves has resulted in a culinary treat for all who take a seat at his table.
An avid fly fisherman and three time James Beard finalist for Best Chef Northwest, Executive Chef Davis “fell in love with this bend in the river over 20 years ago” and has been trying to find a way to make the Canyon his home ever since. He is elated to now call both the Canyon and the Canyon River Grill, “home.”
Our location in a single word? Magical.
Located on the river in the very heart of the Yakima River Canyon at the Canyon River Ranch, we are a world away from the frenzy and traffic of the city. Upon entering the 27 mile long canyon you will be instantly transported to a truly magical place. The meandering river is framed by sheer basalt cliffs rising 2,000 feet above the river and breathtaking rolling desert hills.
The Yakima is the only Blue Ribbon trout stream in Washington, rivaling those in Montana and Colorado, and is a trout fisherman’s dream. The surrounding canyon is filled with a myriad of wildlife. Big Horn Sheep, deer and elk can be seen roaming the cliffs and hills. Birders will enjoy hawks, eagles, osprey, great blue herons, pheasants, chukars, and more. The Canyon is an ecological and recreational playground.
The serpentine Canyon road hugs the river for the entire length of the canyon. Around every bend you will discover yet another remarkable vista. The activities and exploration opportunities are endless, but the drive alone will entertain and thrill beyond what you can imagine.