The 411 on The Wood Shed #

Address: 8590 Washington Highway 410
Naches (close to the Nile), WA
Open: Wednesday–Sunday, brunch available on the weekend
Website: https://nilewoodshed.com/
Phone: (509) 658-2100

The Vibe: The Wood Shed is one of my mom and stepfather's favorite restaurants in the greater Yakima Valley. They live in Tieton, WA, so Naches is a scenic 20-minute drive up the road. And the restaurant has quite a scenic view on its back patio!

It's part of the Eagle Rock Resort off the 410, right near the Nile area. It's also one of the few spots to get a cooked meal along with drinks in that whole stretch. Luckily for folks who live there, the grub is good!

The Wood Shed is a bar and grill, so it can get on the louder side, but I sure appreciated the welcoming feel of the staff and patrons when I headed there to place a to-go order and nurse a beer while waiting for it to cook.

Lots of seating, including high tops and four tops, and that patio is really appealing. The food is pub fare + comfort food platters + pizzas, with some creative takes on standard salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and the like. A full bar is available along with local beer on draft.

The variety of potato preparations sets The Wood Shed apart. Most meals, except pizza and salads, come with a choice of sides. The Wood Shed offers many: fries, woodchips (thick, freshly fried potato chips), tots, baker potatoes, or mashers (I think this is mashed potatoes). Premium upgrades for a side include jojos (potato wedges dredged in a flour batter with herbs), sweet potato fries, onion rings, soup, chili, or salad. Can't say they don't give you options!

My Take on The Wood Shed #

The Food: I picked up dinner to-go for the fam twice during my visit, and I was pretty pleased with the dishes. My parents absolutely love the Wood Shed's club sandwich and typically split it for a full meal.

The ham and turkey are shaved super thin, which sure makes the club appealing, and I can attest that my parents are quite enthusiastic about its tastiness. And about the fry sauce that comes with an order, which is a bit of a mayo/thousand island/chipotle type of dip.

My first order was the The Beast smash burger, whose patty is a smorgasbord of elk, boar, bison, and wagyu. Honestly, that many meats in one patty weighed it down—I ordered it because I just couldn't imagine how they would all taste together. The answer is dense, they taste dense. But the plentiful pepperjack and the extra rich layer of bacon jam are appealing.

I ordered the Beast with jojos, and those were fantastic. At least a whole giant potato's worth of wedges came with the order—possibly two!

On the next order, I opted for the Bleu Collar sandwich instead.

This one was delicious. It's made with thinly sliced prime rib, close-to-caramelized onions, blue cheese dressing, and melted cheddar. Every bite satisfied my needs that night for a greasy, flavorful dish. The prime rib was melt-in-your-mouth. I also thought the woodchips quite good with sufficient crunch despite their thickness.

My parents opted to get their own meals that trip, which is rare with the Club on offer! My mom loved the prime rib dip with au jus and woodchips.

It didn't look like a large sandwich, but she couldn't finish more than half and thought the meat provided was substantial.

My stepfather went for the Lumberjack salad with turkey, ham bacon, and a variety of additional toppings.

Y'all, look at the size of that cornbread that comes with it. OMG, it was humongous! Pair that with the substantial salad and once again, you have two meals' worth in one order. He also liked the raspberry vinaigrette.

One last note: My parents always order a side of ranch to go with whatever potato side they get because it's delicious. Definitely worth asking for it in addition to the fry sauce.

As for the beer, I went with a Cowiche Canyon Tynamite Hazy IPA both times.

It had a full body, which I love, and bright citrus to wake me up. Thumbs up, would order again and I appreciate the variety of beer available on draft at The Wood Shed, especially the local selection.

Would I Go Back? I'm 100% sure that I will! My family loves them so much, that it's nearly as sure of a thing as picking up dinner from Don Mateo when I'm out on a visit. I would happily try that Bleu Collar sandwich again, or finally try the Club for myself. Plus, none of us have ever had their pizzas. And each of their smashburger options can be made with grilled chicken or a black bean patty or even The Beast mélange for those wanting to try that smorgasbord of flavors for a surcharge. Endless variety available!

I look forward to seeing what I love the next time! And actually having time to enjoy it out on the patio with this view.

Happy feasting at the Wood Shed!

Reviewed September 2024.