Hattaway's on Alder

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Where the Southeast Meets the Pacific Northwest

Hattaway's on Alder brings the cooking traditions of the Southeast and rural America to downtown Walla Walla, Washington. The guiding idea is straightforward: honest food with the charm of Southern hospitality, built on local ingredients from one of the country's most celebrated wine and agricultural regions. That combination earned the restaurant a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2024 — recognition that reflects not just the thoughtfully assembled wine list, but the seriousness of purpose behind everything on the table.

The Food

The menu moves through a Southern American lens with confidence and specificity. Starters from the larder section set the tone: deviled eggs finished with salsa macha and flaky salt, house-smoked yellowfin tuna dip served with Alabama fire crackers and everything bagel furikake, and pimento cheese with tomato jam and crostini. Crispy rice with tallow-blackened tuna — cast iron seared, with comeback sauce and bourbon soy glaze — shows how the kitchen layers Southern technique with broader influences.

Main courses lean into the pasture and waters. Pan seared halibut cheeks rest on stone ground grits with tomato confit and manchego cream. Bourbon street pork noodles feature a six-hour roasted pulled pork shoulder with garlic and sherry braised greens, alkaline noodles, and sunflower chili crunch. Chicken and grits arrives as a fried chicken schnitzel over a spicy jalapeño grit cake with sweet pickled peppers. The bone-in ribeye from Double R Ranch, smoked over tallow with charred garlic and thyme, anchors the meat side of things at market price.

Desserts stay in the same spirit — a Deschutes Black Butte Porter bread pudding with whiskey butterscotch, an espresso pot de crème with rosemary citrus crumb.

Drinks and the Wine Program

The bar program earns its place alongside the food. Cocktails include Hatty's Old Fashioned with Four Roses and fancy syrup, and the Chef's Martini — Gray Whale gin, spicy onion brine, blue cheese stuffed olives. Zero-proof options are genuinely considered, from a sparkling tea by Valdemar to a strawberry shrub with honey and grapefruit.

The wine list is where the Wine Spectator recognition comes into clearest focus. Pours by the glass draw heavily from Walla Walla and the Columbia Valley — Bledsoe Family Cabernet, Cayuse Cailloux Vineyard Syrah, Leonetti Cellars Reserve Bordeaux blend — alongside French sparkling and European selections. Local draft beers from Burwood and Five Dollar Ranch round out the options.

The Experience

Hattaway's welcomes walk-ins and reservations alike, and offers outdoor seating, private event hosting, catering, and takeaway. The kitchen opens for dinner seven days a week starting at 4 p.m. It's a room where Southern American cooking, made with regional integrity, finds a natural home in wine country.