New Leaf Cafe

Fish au poivre — very good, tender, nice sauce; good peppery flavor, but not overwhelming; truffle potatoes, very tasty.

If you are on Orcas Island, you are in for a treat. Whether brunch or dinner the food is always incredible. They locally source their menu and the chef is a master. The wait staff are friendly and make you feel at home. You must stop in and treat your taste buds to a wonderful meal.

We read several reviews when we were exploring our dinner ideas during our stay on Orcas Island. This place received several great ratings so we tried it out. We started with the crab cakes and my wife got the sockeye salmon pasta and I got the grilled salmon. Both dishes were excellent. My wife said «I don’t know what yours tasted like but you chose wrong» because hers was so good. We ended the evening with coffee and dessert. We shared the apple upside cake and it was really good.
We sat in the bar and the bartender did a great job. He provided great recommendations and was very attentive to our needs.
The 4 star instead of a 5 is because the portion size for the salmon was a little small and the prices were a little high. But overall it was a fantastic experience.

New Leaf was recommended to us by not one — but more like five — locals that we didn’t want to miss it during our last visit to Orcas Island. We were staying at the Outlook Inn anyway, so we were going to try it eventually, but the fact that it was recommended by everyone we met intrigued us all the more. We came in on a very busy Saturday morning for brunch and were delighted that we got to sit down right away. We got a table for two very close to the window where we could enjoy the magnificent view of the bay!
We loved the atmosphere here — sincere, intimate, cheery, and serene. Servers were friendly — some warmer than others, and all the patrons appeared to be having a great time. They were playing some good indie folk in the background, and I couldn’t help but tell my fiancé how good this whole scene really made me feel. Good vibes all around.
Food was delicious. I got the wild mushroom and spinach omelette with egg whites only, no cheese. It came with potatoes, sundried tomatoes, and a fine drizzle of truffle oil! I didn’t expect it to be that good, honestly, because I had them take out the yolk and the cheese, but I was very impressed by how thoughtfully they concocted this otherwise basic breakfast dish.
My fiancé had the smoked salmon eggs Benedict, which was beautifully presented and delicious as well.
After these two dishes and two cups of coffee plus tax, we had a $ 40 bill. I thought it was a little much, but I really enjoyed my time here, so we will come back the next time we find ourselves in Eastsound.

Great local spot on Orcas Island. We were here with a local and sat at the «community table» in the back. What a treat!
Who lives in Orcas Island Island and what do they do? Well, i know.
The food was delicious and locally sourced. The local oysters are off the charts served with a house made mignonette. My buddy had the lamb steak, i had the roasted cauliflower, hubby had fish, of course. Everything was great. The service was attentive and not overly so.
A must do if you are on the island.

Busy! They fit us in the bar and great experience. Fab wine (try the Lullaby red blend) and the steak I had was perfect. Hubs is on no carb so had less options, went for clams and French onion soup but tried to remove the croûton. Very good Caesar salad too. All in all I would eat here again. I recommend reservations and the desserts I saw were fab, but not part of our diet, insert sad smiley here!

Excellent dinner! Salads are excellent, sliders are a good choice too! Crab cakes over the the top!

I’m so glad I checked with Unilocal during my Orcas Island stay and found this place. At first glance, you might think it’s odd that this restaurant in a hotel could be so good, but the food is actually very good! My boyfriend and I ate here for dinner; we ordered clams as an appetizer and it was delicious! The price is kind of high, but hey you’re on vacation so why not enjoy yourself? The staff was attentive and friendly as well.

We went for breakfast on a relatively light Saturday in town. Location & view are delightful — the people & staff are too!
I had the ham & smoked cheese scramble with roasted potatoes, but was not overwhelmed. The potatoes were large chunks that could’ve been cooked longer and had a more appealing crispy exterior. The ham was also in large chunks, and though cooked seemed to lack a certain presence or panache. I suppose the ham was a soft picnic variety, which is not my favorite. Cut smaller, to distribute the flavors, or sautéed for a little browning would have helped. I should’ve had the forethought to request a bacon substitute.
My wife had the wild mushroom and spinach omelette. It needed salt and also could’ve had a deeper and more interesting flavor. Same potatoes as mine, with the same comment as above.
I would not avoid the place, but I would be more inquisitive about ingredients and preparation where I to go again. Also, I suspect their dinner might be a much more interesting affair than breakfast.

we loved our meal here. The food was fresh and delicious. I also recommend the Outlook Inn.

Fantastic meal in a fantastic location. If you are ever fortunate enough to visit Orcas Island, this is one of the finest meals you’ll encounter during said visit.

New Leaf Café is located within short walking distance from the condo my boyfriend and I are leasing during our stay on Orcas Island; I was excited to give it a breakfast try. We got there right when it opened this morning and the staff members we encountered were polite and friendly. We chose to eat outside on their covered patio seating area; it was lovely, as long as there were no passing cars. I ordered the «two eggs your way» breakfast, which consists of two eggs, sausage or ham steak, potatoes and brioche toast with jam. The breakfast looked and tasted like a diner breakfast — the eggs didn’t seem fresh, more like powdered eggs. The ham steak was very skimpy and the brioche toast was forgettable. I chose not to have potatoes, so I can’t comment on how those are.

French onion soup could be a meal in itself. The broth is to die for, the amount of gooey cheese is delightful, and the onions are so delicate that they melt away. Tried the eggs benedict for breakfast the next day. The hollandaise sauce was buttery good. The butter syrup for the waffles was a blend of almost caramel/​buttery goodness as well. Will be back.

A meal on the front porch of this quaint and vintage hotel is a great introduction or finale to a weekend of island relaxation! There is a road in between you and the amazing view of the ocean, but other than that it’s easy to forget about civilization.
The food is excellent, a bit rich for my taste but that’s my problem, not theirs. We all agreed that the duck confit was the winning meal at our table but it was a close call. The service was perfect. On the way to the restroom I walked past the big, gorgeous, wooden bar, and definitely want to come back sometime and sit there!

Service was just ok. The food, however, was amazing! Warm goat cheese salad with Crab cakes and i was a very happy camper!

The New Leaf Café was one of the few restaurants open for dinner on Monday, May 4^th, and we were lucky for that reason because we may not have dined there if the restaurant in our Inn had been open instead. The halibut was done to perfection. It came with pine nuts and a green sauce that complimented it perfectly. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the type of sauce as described on the menu. If the restaurant reads this review I hope they will kindly provide that info along with the ingredients/​recipe. I’d love to try and recreate it. The baby kale salad was out of this world. As a vendor I’ve sold many varieties of greens at my local farmer’s market yet I’ve never tasted baby kale as fresh and delicate as those served in this salad. The salad was simple with a delicious dressing that wasn’t overpowering. A magnificent full arc rainbow that appeared before our food arrived was an added treat. Half the restaurant ran outside to take photos. All the tables have a view of the water and the service was good. Don’t miss an opportunity to have dinner here while you’re on Orcas Island.

The food was great however I am not a fan of automatic gratuity for parties of five or more, especially when our fifth person was 3 years old and only ordered a plate of fries. I should be able to decide how much to give. Luckily our waitress was great though!
I had the cauliflower steak with cheese curds and loved every bit of it. The steamed clams were amazing and the beef filets, halibut and salmon we ordered were all top notch. Definitely not an inexpensive place though. $ 12 for their version of a Moscow Mule was steep.
Loved the atmosphere and location though.

Gorgeous views in a quaint hotel where you get service that’s reminiscent of bygone days. Didn’t mean to sound like an embittered 80 year old man, but the friendly folks at the front desk really do make you feel welcome in a way that doesn’t often happen in the service industry anymore!
The New Leaf Café sits at the front of the hotel. Great variety on the menu, and the dishes were very good. Started with a chipotle bloody mary — two thumbs up. Had the garden benedict for breakfast — all the flavors were really good, but the potatoes in particular were really well-​seasoned and brought the dish together. Great service — got our orders perfectly right, and made sure our coffee stayed fresh.
This plays checks off on all the requirements of a good breakfast place out on the islands. I’ll definitely come back!

I am truly on-​the-​fence about my experience at New Leaf in June, so I will reserve selecting how many stars it gets until the end of my review. Admittedly, this is rather anti-​climactic for all of you since you have already seen the result of my self-​deliberation; but it makes me feel like a real Unilocal-​maverick right now.
Food: I ordered the fresh Halibut with a Yukon Gold Mash for dinner, while those who I dined with all ordered the scallops. In addition, we ordered the Truffle Fries and the Crab Cakes with a pear and ginger beurre blanc and habanero cream. My meal was good — not great — just good. The fish was obviously fresh, it was seasoned alright, and was cooked so that it was still moist and tender. For me, it was missing something extra that would have sent it over-​the-​top. It was a ‘special’, and it was supposed to have some sort of sauce on it, but it didn’t have one that I could identify on my palette. It was good, but I probably could have made something better at home.
The scallops got mixed reviews. Some loved them, and some thought they were good. I did not try them, but they were wildly inconsistent. Some had a nice crust on them, others did not. That is disappointing. Most likely, they overcrowded the sautee pan they were cooking the three scallop dinners my table ordered. So the ones on the outside did not develop the appropriate sear, while the ones on the interior did. That is disappointing. Is that what happened? I don’t know, but as an experienced chef, it sounds likely.
The star of the meal were the crab cakes and fries. With how delicious those appetizers were, I had much higher hopes for my entrée. The Pear and ginger beurre blanc with habanero cream introduced me to a whole different flavor profile regarding crab cakes. I give those 5 stars for sure. The Truffle Fries were also very tasty. Crispy, well-​seasoned, and appropriately dressed. I have had some Truffle fries in the past that were just over-​truffled (if that makes sense).
Dessert was another course with mixed reviews. The crème brûlée was a letdown — a little bland; but the chocolate thing (don’t remember what it was) had an incredibly rich and decadent flavor.
Food: ⁴⁄₅ (³⁄₅ + 1 bonus point for a crab cake that blew me away)
Service: This was definitely a high-​point for New Leaf Café. Our Server was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, prompt, and pleasant. I literally could not have asked for a more professional server.
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Atmosphere: It is situated in a beautiful spot, that overlooks the water, and is nestled right on the outside of the main village. It is clean, quaint, with many windows to let-​in a lot of natural light, and it feels very classy. I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere.
Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅
Price: For what we got, I cannot say that I felt like I got my money’s worth. In fact, I was a little disappointed in the price compared to the overall quality of the meal. We definitely made-​out well on the Fries and the crab cakes, as well as the chocolate dessert. Everything else was probably not quite up to the standard I would expect for the premium price that New Leaf charges. This was a little disappointing.
Price: ³⁄₅
Final Thoughts: Honestly, New Leaf Café teeters on a 3 and 4 in my mind, but the numbers never lie, and there is no option for me to round up or down since it is a hard ⁴⁄₅. I suppose if I were to classify this meal, it would go something like this: A beautiful setting and friendly service make-​up for food that although is good, is somehow lacking the delightful and memorable flavor that the menu seems to allude to.

After reading the reviews, I knew this was going to be the perfect place for our last meal before heading out of the island. As you can tell, it did not disappoint.
Conveniently situated right next to the water, the patio view was amazing. We beat he lunch crowd and got seated instantly. service was steady and the waitress checked in pretty often.
The food was so great — it’s like they have mastered a few solid things and continue to do it well. I love how everything was made fresh in house, including the smoked salmon on my eggs benedict. I usually avoid the smoked salmon in many breakfast places because they end up being overwhelmingly salty, but not this place. The potatoes were perfectly seasoned, as was everything else. Loved the duck confeit hash as well. And did I mention how delicious their raspberry jam was? Ooooff!
I think I can sum it up with what my husband said in the end: «We should have been eating breakfast here every day.»
Will definitely return and bring back more people to this place!