Restaurant O

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

An American Dream on the Southern Oregon Coast

Restaurant O opened in December 2017 as the shared vision of MasterChef Eoghain O'Neill and his wife, Dr. Kariktan Cruz — a Michelin-trained chef and a pediatrician, united by a conviction that a rural coastal community deserves the same quality of dining as any major city, without the price tag to match.

Chef O'Neill's path to Coos Bay is anything but ordinary. Born in Ireland, raised partly in Trinidad and Tobago, schooled in Canterbury and seasoned across kitchens in Gstaad, London, Paris, and the Caribbean, he eventually opened his first restaurant — Ristorante O — in Alghero, Sardinia in 2013, earning recommendations in both the Michelin Guide and L'Espresso Guides over three consecutive years. In late 2016, he closed those doors and moved to Oregon, drawn by the promise of something new.

Three Spaces, One Kitchen

The 3,000-square-foot property on South Broadway in downtown Coos Bay houses three distinct experiences under one roof. The lively Tapas Cocktail & Wine Bar sets a relaxed tone from the moment you arrive. The Brasserie offers approachable elegance for dinner. And upstairs, the intimate Tasting Room overlooks the bay — the setting for multi-course tasting menus and the winemaker dinners that have become a signature of the restaurant's calendar. It was also among the first open-concept kitchens on the Southern Oregon Coast, giving guests a direct line of sight into the craft behind each plate.

The cuisine draws on Chef O'Neill's classical French training and Italian experience, with Mediterranean and local influences woven throughout. Ingredients are sourced with intention: Pacific Northwest seafood, Clausen Oysters, Flora Valley produce, Face Rock Creamery cheeses, and foraged wild mushrooms from local foragers Hannah & Perry all find their way onto the menu. The result is French and Mediterranean cooking that tastes unmistakably of where it was made.

Recognition and Roots

Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence — earned in 2024 — reflects the seriousness with which the wine program is curated here, a natural complement to a kitchen built on classical technique and local terroir.

But Restaurant O's identity runs deeper than accolades. Chef O'Neill has consistently recruited from local schools and colleges, trained young cooks and front-of-house staff, and watched alumni go on to lead kitchens and dining rooms of their own. Cooking classes for children and adults, fundraisers for organizations including the Boys & Girls Club, Coastal Families Relief Nursery, and the Egyptian Theatre, and a "Pay It Forward" program launched during the pandemic to feed schoolchildren and frontline workers — these are not side projects. They are, as the chef puts it, the point.

"For me, cooking has never been just about the plate — it's about people, culture, and community."