Dupuis’ Restaurant was a large place that was established in 1920 by Joe Dupuis as a tavern with beer, wine and a dance floor.  He pumped gas out front (which is the entrance today).  He started serving food so he could sober up customers who had imbibed too much  During its 100+ year history it has gone through a number of owners with Toni Rieger taking charge in 1998.   Through the years the various owners have loved to collect things and many have remained with the restaurant so take time to appreciate all the nostalgic and quirky things.  The booths and bar were in the oldest section which had the original furnishings.  Now a wrap-around porch area is being added or maybe it started when Covid was upon us.  Famous people have visited the place like Barbra Streisand and husband Brolin as well as Tommy Lee Jones and Princess Margaretha of Belgium.  The many rooms are different with the entrance room wood covered with lots of knicknacks.  The room we dined in had a fire place, curtains covered the windows, tables were covered with white cloths and chandeliers hung from the ceiling.  Music was in the background, carpet was on the floor and it was lovely to be able to chat with my husband and hear his response.  The food was quite good and I would put this place on your list to visit when you are in the area.

Set-Up

 

Food

We enjoyed martinis with our meal and they were excellently made and generous.

 

Dupuis’ Famous Crab Cakes are made with local Dungeness crab and served with house sweet and sour pineapple-cranberry compote.    They came 3 to an order and did contain a good bit of filler with the sweet crab meat.  The compote was excellent and a tasty accompaniment.

 

Amaretto Prawns are almond flour fried wild prawns with a silky amaretto honey sauce served on shredded cabbage and fennel.   They came 5 large ones to an order.  The shrimp were cooked perfectly and the coating was about the right amount to go well with the sticky sweet sauce.  They were fun.

 

Entrees included fresh baked bread and garden salad.  We chose an Italian vinaigrette (came to the table in a bottle) and bleu cheese as dressings for our salads.  The vinaigrette had more flavor and was perfect with the fresh leaves and tons of vegetables.   The freshly baked rolls came with softened honey butter and they were wonderful.

 

Macadamia Crusted Halibut with mango sauce was fresh local halibut baked with a macadamia crust and came with your choice of starch for which we chose Potatoes Dupuis’.  These are diced baked potatoes in buttermilk, like a scalloped potato.  The potatoes were wonderful as was the thick piece of halibut.  The nuts adhered nicely and made a good contrast of textures.  It was a fabulous plate of food.

 

Creme Brulee Bread Pudding had creme brulee on the bottom that was topped with brioche bread pudding and then creamy bourbon sauce.  It could have been warmer but it did have lots of nutmeg and a very moist center.  The creme brulee on the bottom was more like pudding but not gritty and was fairly thick.  It was fine but not exceptional.

 

Chocolate Turtle Bundt Cake was a warm chocolate bundt cake with a lava caramel center that was then topped with toasted pecans and a couple fresh raspberries with cream on the side.  This one was nicely warmed but there was not nearly enough caramel center to moisten all the cake.  It was also fine but not exceptional.  Stick with the early dishes on the menu.