Restaurant Focus: ōkta

Restaurant Focus is your way to discover new and upcoming restaurants to know about. This time we’re visiting ōkta, a bucolic fine dining beaut in the Willamette Valley, Oregon.

What is ōkta?

ōkta is chef Matt Lightner's culinary love letter to Oregon, an ingredient-driven expression of nature through which he as a chef is merely a conduit. In meteorology, an okta is a unit of measure for cloud cover.

“Clouds are such a big part of Oregon's environment,” he says. “As a chef, you look at the ground a lot, but the atmosphere and clouds and rain all play a role in the biology of this place.”

Lightner opened ōkta in the summer of 2022 with partners Katie Jackson and Shaun Kajiwara, having previously served as Executive Chef at Atera in New York, where he achieved two Michelin stars. He began his culinary career in Portland so moving back to Oregon is a full-circle moment for him.

“Growing up, we never had the privilege of travel,” Lightner says. “When I boarded my first flight to Portland when I was 18, I was so inspired by all of the possibilities. I have travelled a lot in my career, but nowhere has given me a feeling of self and belonging like Oregon. It's the most beautiful place and our access to nature, and high-quality organic, regenerative food is something I will never take for granted.”

ōkta has its own regenerative farm just 10 miles away, and in summer months nearly all of the produce comes from there. Also located at the farm is a wood-fired oven where baker Haley Byer produces all of the bread and pastries for ōkta restaurant and the attached eight-suite Tributary Hotel fresh daily, and a larder where Larder Chef Larry Nguyen works closely with Lightner to preserve and transform the farm's harvest with global fermentation techniques.

If you're a fan of Harbor House Inn or SingleThread in California, you'll appreciate the culinary ethos and high level of hospitality here.

Tell me about the food

The menu changes dramatically with the seasons, but vegetables are the main focus for summer, inspired by the abundance of the plant world at this time of year. Chrysanthemum flower milk custard with the sweet pop of peas and a “soil” course of black truffle tart with braised kombu and artichoke mousse are just two examples. Several courses, including delicate slices of local geoduck served with celtuce, Douglas fir and pickled blossoms, resemble flowers on the plate. Lightner's vibrant, contrasting flavours and intricate compositions will arrest your attention throughout all 14 courses.

“The farm comes to life and is at its maximum in summer,” Lightner says. “We want to immerse ourselves in the vast inputs of biology that our farm and region have to offer, meticulously observing and preparing to capture unique flavours of each fleeting moment.” There's also an abbreviated six-course tasting menu available at the Cellar Bar, an intimate cocktail lounge below ōkta's dining room.

What are we drinking?

Wine & Beverage Director Ron Acierto oversees a truly global wine list with hundreds of producers represented. Willamette Valley wineries, including Corollary Wines, Et Fille, Bergström and Adelsheim feature by the bottle, by the glass and throughout wine pairings and there's a wide range of current releases, library, vertical vintages and reserve bottles exclusive to ōkta and Tributary. You can peruse the full 36-page wine list at leisure in your room.

What’s the dining room like?

The 100-year-old brick building was formerly a hardware store, and stepping inside, you'll first notice a beautiful display of raw ingredients on ice, surrounded by flowers, foreshadowing the dishes to come. A basalt rock service station in the middle of the dining room is from the Missoula floods at the end of the last Ice Age, paying homage to the cataclysmic force of nature that bequeathed the Willamette Valley its rich terroir. This behemoth was brought in via crane, with the entire 36-cover dining room being built around it.

A yarn tapestry by Hiroko Takeda hangs in the foyer, representing the clouds and rain that produce the farm's rich bounty. The subdued neutral colour palette with stone, leather and white oak keeps your attention squarely on the food, much of which is presented on custom flatware by Portland-based ceramicist Lilith Rockett.

How do I get there?

​ōkta, which is surrounded by walkable independent shops, restaurants and boutiques, is a 90-minute drive from Portland, in downtown McMinnville. McMinnville is the most charming town in the Willamette Valley (akin to Yountville in Napa or Healdsburg in Sonoma) and a great base for exploring Oregon wine country.

Should I stay over?

Without a doubt. The Tributary Hotel is Oregon’s first Relais & Châteaux property, with only eight spacious suites, each named for various rivers within the Willamette Valley. Your room's river is depicted in an original reclaimed wood and glass artwork by Greg Klassen hanging on the wall.

The luxurious bathroom is outfitted with Le Labo bath amenities and locally made bath salts for the soaking tub. There's even a Bluetooth speaker in the shower and excellent insulation, so feel free to sing your heart out. Complimentary snacks are tempting, including locally made gingersnap cookies, roasted hazelnuts, fresh baked sourdough bread and cheese, but try to only eat a little before dinner. A lavish multi-course breakfast is included with your stay too, and there's a Portland-made Ratio coffee maker for pour-overs.

Anything else to know?

Within walking distance of Tributary, you’ll find The Grove for Montinore Estate and Landlines Estates wine tasting, and Alchemist's Jam for jam lattes and preserves to take home.

Soter Vineyards is just 15 minutes away by car and has some of the best pinot noir and Champagne-method brut rosé in Oregon. The tasting room sits on a hilltop overlooking their certified biodynamic Mineral Springs Ranch vineyards. Soter's holistic farming practices include raising their own heritage breed chickens, pigs, sheep, cows and more, along with expansive gardens. Try the Provisions Tasting here to enjoy a taste of the ranch and farm-to-table food pairings with your wine. Just about every ingredient comes from the farm, and they have a similar regenerative farming philosophy that aligns with ōkta.