My birthday was the end of May, and my partner surprised me by scheduling a trip to the Shakespeare fest over July 4 weekend. I have never been to the area, and partner was last there many many years ago.
I’ve looked through threads here, but if folks have recs for good meals, I’m all ears. We don’t generally go for $$$ fine dining tasting menu stuff, but anything else from great cheap pizza or street tacos to ‘nice night out’ more chef-y stuff and all in between.
Rogue Creamery is already on the list. Cheese is ALWAYS on the list.
We have three shows scheduled: Into the Woods, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and The Importance of Being Earnest, none of which I’ve ever seen live.
When are you guys arriving? July 4th is the biggest day of the year. Parade followed by the crowds moving to the park, with lots of food vendors + assorted other stuff going on.
Melodie is in Phoenix and her and her shop are delightful.
Are you on FB?
Our main food group is Southern Oregon Foodies and covers all of Southern Oregon with the emphasis on Ashland to Grants Pass.
Alas, I’m not on FB (I have no ‘social media’ aside from here and Reddit. But that’s a rant for a different thread)
Our plan is to drive up (about 4.5 hours) Thursday the third, arriving in time for lunch. We have shows on thurs, fri, and Sat evening, and will drive home Sunday afternoon.
Hi! What a great trip you’ve got planned. All of those shows are really well done and fun to see. I have some recommendations that are Ashland-centric and close to OSF (are you staying in Ashland proper?)…I can vouch for some of these places, but haven’t been to all of them. Nice/Get a Reservation: Cocorico
A lot of these restaurants above also have good happy hours which is a less expensive way to try them out- included in that list would also be Peerless and Alchemy.
There are a number of restaurants that are “creek-side”, meaning they have indoor seating on the plaza but outdoor seating in the back that runs along Ashland creek. You can walk down the alley way and check out the menus…Greenleaf, Bar Juillet, Skout are all back there…all of these places tend to get busy and some are better than others, but it’s a fun atmosphere back there, and super close to the theatres.
Other more casual places- Pangea (healthy, wraps and salad type place), Skout (mentioned above), Creekside Pizza.
Good breakfast places include Brother’s, Morning Glory, and if you like breakfast burritos- Ruby’s.
Mix, Noble, and Case have great coffee. La Vida is also really wonderful and do gluten-free pastries and brunch (delicious even if gluten-free isn’t your thing).
I can’t recommend enough getting reservations for places you want to eat prior to seeing a show, unless you’re looking to do super casual…these places fill up quickly and the last thing you want to do is rush around trying to find a place to eat before the theatre. Sorry I didn’t link all the places- but feel free to reach out if you have questions.
Fun fact: the co-op hot food bar generates the most $$ through the city meal tax, meaning the most popular place in town. It is usually pretty tasty stuff.
can’t make it this year, but we plan on heading to Ashland for the 2026 season. really appreciate this thread as we’ll be planning in earnest in a few months.
This is a pretty much one lady bakery/ breakfast & lunch spot just a few blocks from Rogue Creamery. Wonderful sourdough and desserts. Usually there Thursday-Sunday.
We’re just returned today and had a great time. 3 plays (Julius Caesar. Importance/ Earnest, and Merry wives. We ate dinner at Taj Indian, Thai Pepper, Greenleaf, and Omar’s. One breakfast at Rubys Each was good in its own way. Taj, very good spicy naan (about a 9 inch round quartered and goat curry. Thai pepper has a lovely streamside patio. Food was okay. Greenleaf w add good - also streamside. We learned there to go early. It’s a madhouse to get everyone served and out before the evening show. That took us to Omar’s before Merry Wives. It’s an old steakhouse (1946) with a period feel. I had chicken piccata that was great. We were glad to be in the cheap seats for Merry Wives we were under cover during the rain that drenched the front rows.
On the way down from Portland, we veered over to the coast and stopped for lunch at Tidal Waves in DePoe Bay. Right on the water with good food and a great view – that included a whale sighting.
Also, we stopped at Rogue Creamery in Medford for some of their blue cheese named the best cheese in the world in 2019 (https://johntannersbbqblog.wordpress.com/2019/10/30/the-best-cheese-in-the-world-is-from-america/) and a few others from their basket of small pieces. We enjoyed them while hiking among the redwoods down in the National/state parks in CA after we left Ashland for a few days in a Crescent City airbnb. And don't miss Crater Lake!
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