My Personal Best Restaurants as of August 2026
Intro: I live here in Hood River, and I love to try new foods, eat out, and explore the food scene here and this list was difficult to do. I have so many restaurants in mind that I wanted to put into here for various reasons, but I wanted to do this article and come up with the top five for visitors based on of course quality of food, what would I want to eat if I was new to Hood River and had only about one or two days to explore to get the best food we have to offer, unique as well. Lets get into it….starting with Celilo:
Celilo
Note: As of this writing, they are scheduled to close at the end of October 2026 after many years here in Hood River!!! Catch them before they close as they will be missed!!!!!
Celilo Restaurant has been a cornerstone of great food for years, but sadly they will have until the end of October 2026 to experience Celilo. They are great because the menu features high quality food, a lot of it locally sourced and I have always both heard and experienced only great things from Celilo.
Celilo is located in downtown Hood River, somewhat near the train station for our little train ride that goes around the fruit loop.
Phone: (541) 386-5710
Address: 16 Oak St, Hood River, OR 97031
Mesquitery
The Mesquitery is an amazing place and could easily take the top spot here in my opinion. Never had a bad experience and one thing that stands out as unique here is they use a wood fired grill, right when you walk in you will notice they are using actual wood and when they say something is grilled, yes indeed it is grilled over open flame on wood. I like that, being into grilling myself, I love howw they use wood inside the Mesquitery to cook. Just about everything on the menu I have ever tried has been something to go back for, and many will put this as the top restaurant.
One thing to keep in mind if you are visiting Hood River is this restaurant is not located in downtown Hood River, but up on what we call “the heights”. You can walk from most of the hotels but still advisable to drive as you can figure about a 20 to 30 minute walk from the riverfront and going uphill much of the way so my advice is that if you do choose the Mesquitery, try driving there. It is located on a one way street, so if you go to “the heights” you will most likely go up a one way street, then you have to turn around and go back to Hood River on another one way street. Parking is free on the heights so that will/might save just a bit of money there.
If you are not in the mood for a nice sit down meal but a more casual atmosphere of a sports bar, located right next to The Mesquitery is “the Shed” which has a more bar feel to it, a pool table and sports going on, if I remember correctly.
Phone: (541) 386-2002
Address: 1219 12th St, Hood River, OR 97031
Pfriem
Like beer? Like beer and want an amazing dine in place to go? Pfriem is my choice if you or someone you like wants beer, but also want an amazing dining experience. One thing about Pfriem is they have won awards for their beer. I personally love the Blonde Belgium Ale or Japanese Lager they have there. I believe the Japanese Lager they have has won many or a few awards, but be sure to ask about that when you go there.
They sometimes change their menu to fit the season, which makes it nice for locals to go back and see what they are doing next. I do recommend their bread and butter, amazing! Everything I have tried has been impressive. One thing I like about Pfriem is their dishes and foods are different, I love how they take some risk in their menu items which are usually all so unique.
Outside of the food another nice thing about Pfriem is you can go for a nice walk either before or after your dinner or lunch. They are located right on the waterfront, conveniently located amongst other places to eat like Solstice or Stoked Coffee.
Phone: +15413210490
Address: 707 Portway Ave #101, Hood River, OR 97031
Solstice
Another hit here, both with locals and with outside visitors to Hood River. Solstice has some amazing pizza but they don’t stop there. They have all kinds of wonderful things, menu items, and they use actual wood to fire their pizza. I love solstice and they are also located right on what we call the Riverfront, where you can find other places to eat if you are just not in the mood. I will include a list of great places to eat on the riverfront at the end of this article. They have quite the selection of good beer here as well.
Phone: +15414360800
Address: 501 Portway Ave, Hood River, OR 97031
Double Mountain
I love pizza, and Double Mountain does pizza so well, along with other menu items they have available if you are not feeling quite like a pizza you can get something like a tuna sandwhich or other things like their nachos and salsa is a hit here. They make their ingredients in house, which I love, plus they are a brewery themselves so just like Pfriem you are going to get a great selection of beer there. They have seating both indoor and outdoor available, I like the atmosphere and as of now I don’t think I have ever heard of anything negative about Double Mountain. Idea: IF you are going with a few people to the movies located right on the other side of the building from Double Mountain this has become for me a go to place to catch a dinner/usually pizza, then a movie right around the corner from here. Great for a family outing as well.
Phone: (541) 387-0042
Address: 8 4th St, Hood River, OR 97031
Other Places In Downtown that are great
Places to eat on the Riverfront:
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