Robin Hood on the South Shore

This dinner at this South Shore landmark should have been last night. It's where I wanted to celebrate my milestone birthday, but we couldn't figure out how to make it to our cabin a day earlier. So, tonight we finally made it here.

In the old days (when we first bought our lakeside cabin), this place was called Victoria's (the owner and chef). We loved it, spent our birthday dinners here, and loved to stop by for lunch and a glass of wine.

But then the restaurant changed hands... not a pretty picture. Fortunately, it changed hands again, and we were determined to try out the third iteration.

The first time we stopped by was after a drive around the canal, and our timing was off. We were an hour early and they weren't open yet. Our bad.

The next time, we found out the hard way that the restaurant isn't open every day. Our bad. Again.

Still, we persevered. We checked days and time, and headed off on a drive along the South Shore on a gorgeous day, one of our favorite drives. We pulled in, and they were closed. We double checked the hours, then our watches. Not happy. Their bad. 

A year later, on my birthday weekend, we made our annual drive around the canal. At dinnertime we pulled into the lot, perfect timing. But they were closed for a private party. Bill Gates? Just a guess. (The Gates' family beach home is just up the road.)

As of today, our sad saga of trying to connect with this landmark restaurant is all in the past... and so is perhaps my longest introduction ever... sorry.

Tonight we had a reservation, a quiet table for two by the fireplace, and a wonderful meal. The restaurant was just as I remembered, a tall A-frame style building with rustic wood interior and windows that look out on gardens and the creek. It's a beautiful spot. We both ordered the salmon, and it was amazing. Perfectly cooked, with a tasty salt & pepper crust, and a tasty buerre rouge sauce. It came with risotto (equally fabulous) and crunchy green beans. Awesome.

My Oregon Pinot Noir went perfectly with my salmon (sounds odd, doesn't it? but it was one of those rare Pinot Noir wines made to be robust, not flabby.)  For dessert (hey, it's my birthday after all!) I had key lime pie that was really good, and Dave had rhubarb pie.

If you'd like to check out this wonderful restaurant for yourself, and don't mind a bit of a drive, I highly recommend it. It's in the tiny Hood Canal town of Union, Washington.

Copyright Robin Hood Restaurant & Pub