Walla Walla Steak Co

Walla Walla's historic train depot is now home to Walla Walla Steak Co. and Crossbuck Brewing. There is also a custom mobile kitchen used for offsite events. All are locally owned and reflect Walla Walla's personality. Servers, managers, and owners wear jeans. While professional, service is friendly and warm.

Crossbuck Brewing resides at the other end of the depot and includes the production area and a family-friendly taproom. They make old- and new-world style craft beers that use locally-sourced ingredients wherever possible.

You'll find classic steakhouse items on the menu like a wedge salad and Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, Dungeness crab cake, and the usual steak suspects: New York, filet, bone-in prime rib, and tenderloin medallions. And like most steakhouses, there are non-steak items like salmon, chicken, scallops, and a pasta. But the menu also focuses on seasonal and local produce. They have a large wine list that includes 20 wines by the glass. Or you can enjoy a Crossbuck brew! Their bar offers specialty cocktails as well as traditional drinks.

Because we'd been wine tasting all day and each winery shared cheese and nuts with us, we found we weren't overwhelmingly hungry at dinnertime. However, all three of us were jones-ing for prime rib. We asked the server if we could split the large prime rib (16 ounces) three ways. Of course! We swapped out the baked potato for a twice baked potato and ordered a roasted rainbow carrots side. The Bees Knees cocktail (gin, lemon juice, lavender syrup, honey, vanilla) was delicious, and we tried the Washington Merlot Flight as well as a glass of Cab Sav. The evening ended with a Hearth Oven Cookie (chocolate chip, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ganache). Did I say something about not being very hungry? We did a fine job overcoming.

Photo courtesy of WW Steak Co.

Managing Partner Dan Thiessen stopped by (yes, he was at Yellowhawk in the morning - the man never seems to stop working) and asked if we'd tried the Wagon Wrench Sangiovese. We hadn't, so he brought tastes for us. The grapes are grown on his 8.5 acre vineyard. Apparently Sangiovese is a wonderful wine with steak. Live and learn (practice, practice, practice).

Steak Co. is clearly a Walla Walla favorite. In these days of struggling restaurants, it was busy all night. It was a pleasure to sit in a bustling, dimly-lit restaurant, surrounded by wonderful aromas, enjoying a lengthy meal.

Connie Adams/December 2021