Today we’re talking about something very close to my heart – food, yes, food. We’re talking about the best restaurants in Bentonville, Arkansas. These are the ones I’ve partaken in – I’m a frequent participant in their food, and it’s quite delicious.
My favorite restaurants in Bentonville are The Preacher’s Son, Press Room, Co-op Ramen Place, and Yeyo’s Restaurant. Others are Conifer, Wright’s Barbecue, Tacos and Tamale, and The Flying Fish.
In this article, I’ll explore the restaurants mentioned above in detail. It’s not an exhaustive list of all the amazing restaurants in Bentonville, but they’re excellent and my favorite. Read on.
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1. The Preacher’s Son Restaurant
The Preacher’s Son Restaurant in Bentonville is amazing for many reasons.
Firstly, it’s an old church redone into a restaurant. So we’re talking pews, stained glass, the whole thing. It truly has an ambiance of an old church, and it’s just cool, and I love that.
Secondly, the food is top tier. It is more on the higher end of the pricing scale. However, the food, the restaurant, and the actual menu are so good.
A really cool thing about the restaurant is that the main executive chef has Celiac Disease. So, all the food he produces and puts on the menu is gluten-free. Obviously, every chef has to taste test their stuff.
He’s done such an excellent job of creating fantastic food, and it’s just an amazing place. This restaurant is right off the square and is something to check out in downtown Bentonville.
You can find many restaurants that serve gluten-free food in Northwest Arkansas if you have dietary restrictions. Read my article for a comprehensive list of these places.
2. Press Room Restaurant
The Press Room Restaurant is next to Onyx Coffee Lab – literally on the actual square. The Press Room is like this hybrid bar, with good food and coffee.
The restaurant is fun because it has a great outdoor section next to the downtown section.
They also have a great indoor section with a cool vibe, cool ambiance, and big open areas.
You can hold a lot of parties there with a lot of people. There’s also a cool private area where you can hold your own private events.
The food there is exquisite. It’s definitely more of the customary, very experimental food. For instance, you won’t get a normal cheeseburger there. Instead, you’ll get some fascinating kinds of items on the menu.
That’s what to expect around downtown Bentonville and around the whole area. Most of the area around the north of Arkansas is experimenting – trying to do things, listing outside the box.
I recommend Press Room Restaurant, not because of something on the menu per se. However, I’m a big fan of their bacon, peanut butter, and jelly bacon burgers.
If you ever get a chance to have a peanut butter and jelly bacon burger, that’s a game-changer for me. Okay, they don’t have this on the menu, but they have a long list of menu items, including:
- Burgers
- Soups
- Salads
- Chicken
- Vegan menu items
So, the Press Room Restaurant is very, very good.
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3. Co-op Ramen Place
One of my favorite restaurants is the Co-op Ramen Place. It’s on 8th Street Market next to the Momentary Art Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.
I am a sucker for ramen, and Co-op Ramen Place is my favorite place. I love the ramen there because it’s super good, and the ambiance.
The ambiance is Japanese style, where you go to the bar to get the ramen. It’s really cool. So, if you want that more authentic vibe like ramen places in Japan, check out the Co-op Ramen Place.
Co-op Ramen Place is really fun because it’s next to the momentary. There are a lot of events that happen at the Momentary, including musical and art events.
So, if you’re going to the Momentary, check out the Co-op Ramen Place.
4. Yeyo’s Restaurant
Yeyo’s has different locations – it has two food trucks and one main restaurant. The main restaurant is in Eighth Street Market.
I love Yeyo’s because the food is amazing. Yeyo’s is literally in the top 50 restaurants in America by the New York Times, and it’s well deserved.
I recommend the sit-down Yeyo’s restaurant on 8th Street Market. Not because the food quality changes but because you get that whole sitting-down experience there.
Yeyo’s has great food, and I’ve had different things there. My favorite thing is their beef Taco Bowl – it’s amazing. It’s the most advanced taco bowl I’ve ever had.
You are probably thinking, “What can I do with a Taco bowl”? Well, Yeyo’s takes it not only to the next level, but they break the ceiling.
I love Yeyo’s because they do a good job there, and the food quality is top-tier. The owner is also amazing and passionate about what he does.
So, Yeyo’s on 8th Market Street is fantastic.
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5. Conifer Restaurant
Now, we’re going back closer to the downtown section of Bentonville. We’re talking about Conifer. It’s a very small restaurant in Rogers with a very long waitlist.
Conifer is super fascinating because it’s paired with the idea of the air limit to 1907.
It’s also paired along the same scale as Preacher Son, but Conifer is unique in that they focus on the food. For instance, their website is dedicated to the executive chefs who make everything happen.
They source much of the food from local vendors in Northwest Arkansas. So, as much as possible, all the food they use is locally sourced. Conifer is known for that.
They’re very good at experimenting with food types you never know. So, going to Conifer is always fun because it is just more of an experimental place with amazing food.
Suppose you’re looking for something similar to the Preacher Son. In that case, Conifer is right up there with him on that scale – experimentation and good food quality.
6. Wright’s Barbecue
One of my other favorite restaurants is Wright’s Barbecue. They have three locations; Bentonville, Rogers, and Uptown. They’re coming here very soon and also to Johnson.
The cool thing about the Bentonville location is that it’s right at the Slaughter Pen entrance. It’s next to the Compton Garden, close to Crystal Bridges, and very close to downtown Bentonville near the square.
Suppose you’re coming down to downtown Bentonville and towards the square area, and you love barbecue. In that case, you need to check out Wright’s Barbecue.
I’ve tasted many barbecues, whether Casey Barbecue or Texas Barbecue, but Wright’s is probably some of the best barbecue I’ve ever had. I can’t necessarily rate it, but it’s well worth the time if you’re a barbecue connoisseur or already love barbecue.
You need to check out Wright’s Barbecue because it’s truly a place where when it’s gone, it’s gone.
Wright’s Barbecue is the place for you if you love barbecues, and it’s right at the trailhead near downtown Bentonville.
7. Tacos and Tamale Restaurant
Another place that I truly love is Tacos and Tamale. If you want to lure me into a place, just know that I will go crazy for Mexican food, and Tacos and Tamale is my kind of style. It’s so good.
Also, Tacos and Tamale Restaurant is really fun because it has a great ambiance and a great bar section at the top level.
There’s also the bottom level, which has a lot more seating. There’s also another bottom level in the basement. If you want a more private party, you can check it out.
Tacos and Tamale Restaurant is really good with good quality food. There’s also a bar section which makes it a place to hang out downtown.
The cool thing about Tacos and Tamale is that it’s literally on the square. You can’t miss it because it’s at the corner of downtown Bentonville. It’s an enjoyable place to hang out and grab food immediately.
8. The Flying Fish Restaurant
Last and certainly not least is my other favorite restaurant, The Flying Fish. It’s in downtown Bentonville, literally at the square of Bentonville.
The Flying Fish Restaurant looks like they dropped it there from the 1950s. It has blue, older-style colors, and it seems like an old fish place because it is. It’s the Flying Fish.
Flying Fish got famous not only for the amazing seafood – amazing fish and hush puppies but also because they have this wall of the actual Billy Bass. You press the button, and Billy Bass comes down from the wall and starts singing to you.
They have a collection center there called the Adoption Center. Previously, you could bring your old Billy Bass, and they’d adopt it. You could then decorate it and put it on the wall.
They don’t do this anymore because they’ve quite a few of them.
It’s fun spending time around the Flying Fish because you can see all the different kinds of styles that people have. For instance, they have some Mardi Gras there where people have decorated their fly and Billy Bass. There are all sorts of fun styles there.
So if you are in downtown Bentonville, check out Flying Fish Restaurant because it is an experience for the whole family.