Call it a renaissance, but there’s been a fairly recent uptick of new cuisine in Yakima, Washington, and you can add Crafted to the list to try next.
The gastropub is chef-driven and farm-to-table at its core, and that was the vision for Dan and Mollie Koommoo. The husband-and-wife team was previously living and drawing inspiration on Orcas Island, where Dan was the head chef at The Mansion Restaurant in the Rosario Resort. Mollie’s family is based in Yakima, and the two decided to take a chance on the valley and start their own restaurant.
Crafted began as a catering service in 2015, making food — and plenty of exposure — at local events and locations like Bale Breaker and J. Bell Cellars. Once the Koommoos found the perfect space in Yakima’s historic downtown district, they quickly jumped in on the window of opportunity, opening the restaurant this July.
The space is completely renovated, awakened inside and out. It boasts fresh elements like new flooring and the open, stainless steel kitchen, while staying true to original elements of the space, like beams and exposed brick. A fresh coat of white paint wraps around Crafted with a mural of hands on the south side of the building — fit to the vision of handcrafted cuisine. But it doesn’t miss any details: patterned subway tile lines the bar and Edison bulbs bring a familiar, vintage glow. I might have forgotten I was in a restaurant — the contemporary, yet warm environment is more reminiscent of a livable space than a business.
An agricultural hotbed like Yakima is fit for a restaurant like Crafted. The menu rotates day-to-day, depending on the season or whatever local ingredients the Koommoos can get their hands on. With an ever-changing menu, sharing is heavily encouraged as part of the dining experience. Each dish is plated with detail, reflecting the couple’s prior restaurant experience. Ask to sit at the chef’s counter next to the bar to witness the action.
The menu maintains a wide selection of sharables and entrees, from light to substantial, like baked seastack cheese with local huckleberries, roasted cauliflower with Yakima-grown fuji apples and candied pecans, farm egg tagliatelle with duck and braised Korean-style short rib with kimchi. The Koommoos also bring a little of the San Juans with them, offering several seafood entrees on the menu.
If decision-making is not in your wheelhouse, you are welcome to let the chef take the wheel. With the Chef’s Menu, Crafted intervenes and serves sharable entrees for the entire dinner party to enjoy in community, even plates not listed the menu.
Regional beer and wine compose much of the drink list, but the restaurant also offers craft cocktails with in-house ingredients. Rotating standouts include the Violet Fizz with egg white, citrus and violet liqueur. Or try the Old Pal with rye whiskey, Campari and dry vermouth, barrel aged in the Crafted kitchen.
Crafted enjoys showcasing its creative side with little boundaries, and it seems to be bustling most days during its Thursday through Monday dinner schedule. I asked the server while I first sat down, “Is it like this all the time?”
“All the time,” she beamed.
