Housed in a comfortable craftsman-style space with only 15 tables inside and a patio when the weather permits, Amelia Wynn Winery Bistro serves as its namesake winery’s culinary outlet. Farm-to-table freshness makes the menu shine year-round at the restaurant along Bainbridge’s Winslow Way, a couple of blocks from the ferry terminal.
The menu features fresh bread, grilled octopus, Dungeness crab dip, fork-tender braised beef short rib with miso puree, and tallow-roasted carrots. All bites pair perfectly with Amelia Wynn Winery reds, whites, and more.
At the heart of every meal served is Chef Noel Spivey’s creativity and culinary expertise. The chef sat down with West Sound to talk about the Bainbridge Island food scene, how she landed at Amelia Wynn, and who cooks the dinner when she’s off the clock.
Q. Winslow Way is dense with restaurants; do you view your neighboring chefs and restaurants as competitors, or as constituents?
A. I feel like the latter. I feel like we have such a diverse array of restaurants, even on this street (Winslow Way), so it’s nice to feed off that. I feel like we’re one of the very few that are truly focused on farm-to-table.
Q. In a few words, how would you define your cuisine?
A. Comfort is one of them, and fresh! (The restaurant owner, Erika Johannsen, offers “Daring Ubiquity” or “Familiarity with a twist”).
Q. Tell us about your journey; how did you end up here?
A. I went to culinary school and received my bachelor’s in food service management in Providence, RI, with a concentration called sustainability, which is really farm-to-table cuisine. I am a military brat, so I’ve lived in a bunch of different places, but I knew after college I wanted something different than the East Coast, so I was searching around here, and I found a job on Heydey Farm (on Bainbridge Island) and worked there 5-plus years. That was my introduction to the Pacific Northwest, since I had never lived here before, and I figured I’d give it a try. It ended up sticking because I’ve been here since 2014.
Q. When did you start at Amelia Wynn Winery Bistro?
A. I assisted owner and winemaker Paul Bianchi in opening this restaurant back in 2019, three months before COVID. It was just me, and one or two other people in the kitchen, and for almost a year, we ran a pick-up food-based model like everybody else. I feel good about getting this restaurant through COVID! I was here for just over a year before I went to do some other things and came back in September 2024 as head chef.
Q. Who or what were your inspirations as a child?
A. My dad, during his journey, was a line cook at French restaurant, so our household had a great foundation in food standards as we made everything. And my dad was a marine, so we had structure … I was always either in the garden with my mom or in the kitchen with him. I remember from a very young age being able to make my own pancakes, so I’ve always known how to take care of myself with food. In high school, I figured out that I’m actually good at this, and nothing else interested me. So, I went to Johnson & Wales University for college, and that’s where it took off. I was born in California and lived in the Carolinas, so some of my most loved food is Southern. I love a good biscuit. I also lived in Okinawa, Japan, for 5-plus years.
Q. What influences your menu from your Japanese experience?
A. I feel like less is more in Japan. That is, they really focus on the quality of the ingredient and how fresh it is, not doing too much with it.
Q. Do you have an epiphany food?
A. In Japan, soba noodles with dashi broth, the egg, and fatty, delicious pork belly. All the little garnishes are always so cute. That’s one of my comfort foods because it’s hot and salty and rich with the fat and the egg. It’s one of my favorite things.
Q. Beer, wine, or spirits?
A. Yes! My husband is one of the managers at Bainbridge Brewing, so I love a Kolsch, also gin, and pretty much anything wine.
Q. Speaking of wine, how is it being a chef for a winery-owned restaurant?
A. We work a little backward. I’ll build the menu based on what’s available and then talk to the front house staff and pair wines afterward. Usually, I’m cooking with the wines anyway. I use the white wines for the octopus, and some of the red wine goes into our lamb ragu, so the wine will be incorporated into the menu, and then the staff is really good at pairing with our diners.
Q. Who cooks when you are home?
A. My husband and I both went to the same culinary school, so we both cook.
