Okta Is Reopening in McMinnville

In the summer of 2022, an ambitious tasting menu restaurant opened in McMinnville at the Tributary Hotel. Helmed by chef Matthew Lightner—previously of New York City’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant Atera—Okta introduced itself to the Willamette Valley as a fine dining experience with a connected farm, larder, and fermentation lab. Lightner became a James Beard semifinalist for his innovative attempt to capture the DNA of the Willamette Valley in small, often abstract bites. Portland Monthly’s own Karen Brooks called it “Oregon wine country’s greatest restaurant.” The buzz was real: Okta was primed to take the Valley’s culinary scene to the next level. Then just two years after opening, Okta suddenly closed, and Lightner left the company entirely. But after seven months of silence, the dining room of the Tributary Hotel will fill with diners again, as Okta announces it will reopen in May. Those expecting a double-digit parade of artfully designed small plates, however, may be surprised to find a new menu format from a chef bringing 20 years of diverse experience in the Willamette Valley to the new Okta.

Now called Okta Farm and Kitchen, this new iteration’s more modest four-course prix fixe menu will reflect a collaborative project of a culinary team sourced directly from Oregon wine country. At the helm is chef Christy Smith–originally from Kentucky, Smith has been cooking in the Willamette Valley since 2002. Most recently, she was the chef of Guerra’s, an Italian restaurant in Silverton. Before that, she spent six years as chef de cuisine of Table Five 08, a downtown Salem restaurant beloved locally for its cocktail program and eclectic menu.

Smith, who grew up in a military family, brings a varied culinary background to the luxe dining room. She began cooking professionally to pay for college and has since worked across a wide range of kitchens, including some few other chefs could cite. “I went through every avenue I could to learn everything I could, from dive bars to fine dining,” she says. “I’ve done Subway, I’ve done correctional facilities, I’ve done delis. I’ve done it all just to be able to get my hands in it.” But to Smith, Okta is the strongest of the bunch, especially due to its connection to a working farm. “What a great opportunity to be able to work with things coming out of the ground literally less than 24 hours before.”

Though the dining format at the restaurant will pivot, much of Okta’s farm-to-table identity remains. The Third Street dining room will still showcase a menu largely inspired by the “micro seasons” at the restaurant’s acre-and-a-half namesake farm in the Dundee Hills, as well as Pacific seafood, pasture-raised meats, and the breads and vegetable ferments from its bakery and larder, respectively. Smith’s counterpart on the agriculture side is farm and vineyard manager Elena Mudrak, who is actively getting the growing season underway. They plan to continue sourcing local produce and meats from other area farms and producers as well.

Smith is currently in the R&D phase of developing the new spring and summer menu in collaboration with her new team. She’s joined by sous chefs Jose Cadena—a Dayton native coming from Lake Oswego’s Tavern on Kruse—and Gage Behunin, who spent six years at Portland’s Urban Farmer and a year at Newberg’s Painted Lady, another wine country destination. The new four-course prix-fixe menu will be divided into quadrants: field, sea, pasture, and pantry with around three options in each. Dinner is priced at $100 per guest, with the standard wine pairing priced at $65. It’s a substantially lower price point than the previous tasting menu which, even before beverages or gratuity, was nearly $300 per person. The restaurant will open with dinner service three nights a week in May before scaling up to five nights in June.

Besides the new direction of the menu itself, visitors should anticipate some changes in the overall dining experience. Christine Langelier, director of operations at the Tributary Hotel and one of the opening staff at Okta, wants to make the space feel more welcoming at the design level. While the dining room has largely been concealed by curtains, Langelier plans to open things up. “We’re leaning into that perspective of light and brightness and vibrancy that spring brings to everybody throughout the Pacific Northwest,” Langelier says. The Tributary Cellar, which once served as the restaurant’s bar, will become a private event space with seating for up to 20. By September, the team plans to add a café and market, offering breakfast and lunch service as well as retail produce from the farm. They’re also planning to add two more guest rooms and a small spa within the hotel’s footprint.

In some ways, the luxe Tributary Hotel’s restaurant seems to be turning the page from a hugely ambitious first act to a more grounded second one, while still maintaining a commitment to a very high standard. “This is an evolution of our dining program,” Langelier says, “but it’s a continuity in offering an elevated taste of the valley for locals and travelers.”