By Julie Lindow (June 16, 2025)

Are you planning to attend a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this summer? It is a terrific season with classic works like Julius Caesar, The Importance of Being Earnest, As You Like It, and The Merry Wives of Windsor to contemporary shows including August Wilson’s Jitney, Shane, Fat Ham, Quixote Nuevo, and Sondheim’s Into the Woods. The season runs through October 26. If you don’t have plans yet, I highly recommend you make them and along with a reservation at the dreamy new restaurant, Nous (pronounced new).

Nous revisits the cuisine of the Alsace region of France with a blend of Germanic and French culinary traditions and an outstanding selection of wines and that are stunningly paired with the dishes.

The restaurant was founded and is run by co-owners Chef Charlie Hutchinson, Molly Shaughnessy, and Julie Vandenberg, a most charming power trio! They aim to be more than a restaurant, to be part of the community which is reflected in the name, Nous, meaning “we” or “us” in French. Nous is a charming, cozy, yet elegant space where the owners come out to chat with you about wine, culture, and the joy of eating and sharing their outstanding culinary creations.

We started with the petit flambé, a flat bread with pine nuts, gooey brie, and a drizzle of honey, and it was gone in seconds.

My cocktail, the Vesper Refresher was delicate with gin, vodka, Lillet Blanc, cucumber, and aloe juice which gave it a freshness and yet soft mouth-feel. We also enjoyed the divine trout with asparagus (which are both far superior to the trout and asparagus we can get in California). The black cod was probably the most unique with notes of dill, anise, chestnuts, and radishes. Not a combination I would have ever thought of and yet flavors that played together in a delightful new way and danced with a dry Riesling like lovers in a waltz.

We discovered Nous because my parents and I were longtime fans of Chef Charlie’s culinary creations at Irving Roberts Vineyards in the gorgeous mountains of Ashland. We fell in love with Charlie’s French-inspired, farm-to-table, innovative dishes that were always strikingly paired with the wines. When we heard a rumor that Charlie was leaving the winery, our hearts sank. Fortunately, Charlie was leaving to join forces and start Nous, and fortunately, I was visiting Ashland the very weekend of their soft opening. We swung by to say hello and were honored and thrilled to be invited to the friends-and-family first night rehearsal, and to be served their very first dish!

I am not a professional food critic, but I was taught to eat and cook by my mother who was obsessed with Julia Child and Alice Waters and used to cook and host five-course dinners with for example, a beef Wellington for each guest that had a pastry design based on their interests such as a football or flute or some such. My grandparents owned a restaurant and were so tired of cooking after a long day at work, they made my mom learn to cook for the family when she was ten-years old. Food has always been an art form in my world, and one that should be shared with others as one of the highest forms of loving.

So, when I describe Chef Charlie’s culinary art works, I speak from my own personal experience when I say that his food is some of the most inspired and joyful that I have ever come across, on par with Le Chateaubriand in Paris, Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and Foreign Cinema in San Francisco (which you must go to, if you haven’t already).

Chef Charlie grew up partially in West Africa and China as the son of a foreign service professional, and studied at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, before working at the iconic Paris restaurant Le Taillevent. His international background and exceptional training are apparent in his creations. His palate is rounded, balanced, subtle. Acids are perfectly balanced with fats, herbal notes layered with citrus or nutty notes; there may be some bittersweet and tangy notes calmed by a cream. Rather than loud and brash notes, Charlie’s food and the wine pairings are melodic, harmonious, and complex, like a fine symphony. Every plate is beautifully arranged with some lovely local flowers, though not too precious so that one doesn’t want to dive in. And textures are always interesting with gooey Alsatian cheeses and crunchy pine nuts, melt-in-mouth flakey trout, and especially, the Grand Marnier soufflé that marries mean, zesty citrus with the fluffiest, gentle mouth-cloud.

Speaking of dessert, try the Rooibos Flan. The musky, earthy caramel notes of the rooibos tea mixed with the creaminess of the flan was a new and memorable experience that I look forward to ordering again.

Don’t be alarmed by their prices, they include 5% for the Ashland meals tax and 20% gratuity so you don’t have to do any math when you pay your bill! Nous is committed to creating a respectful and supportive workplace and to environmental sustainability.

In summary, Nous is not to be missed! It is, I believe, the only Alsatian restaurant on the West Coast, and they offer not only outstanding food, wine, beer, and cocktails, but also a warm, charming, elegant place to enjoy community, conversation, and a few moments of heaven.

(Nous photos by Julie Lindow)

Nous is at 358 Main Street in Ashland, Oregon.

Nous website

Instagram for lots of tasty photos.

Facebook for current special events

 

Ashland Shakespeare Festival Calendar

More Shakespeare Festival Trailers.

There are a series of outdoor concerts through September 27 called The Green Show.

Ashland is a beautiful place to visit for culture, great food and beverage, and outdoor adventures.

Visit Ashland.

Julie Lindow is a writer and editor living in San Francisco, California, and Athens, Greece. She is a semi-regular contributor to Eat Drink Films. Living in and creating a continuum from past to present makes for many a foggy evening walking through time, up and down hills, from libraries, to downtown, to the grand Pacific Ocean. As editor of Left in the Dark: Portraits of San Francisco Movie Theatres she wishes she were spending more time in San Francisco’s historic movie houses, what is left of them, but there has been a lot of work to do lately. You can find her at www.julielindow.com