Take a leisurely drive south on Highway 238 and you’ll quickly find yourself at The Honeysuckle Café, where co-owners Colin Cox and Monique Cordova have gathered the bounty of the region “to bring delicious comfort to every plate,” since 2015.

The couple met while working at a restaurant in Jacksonville, then moved to Idaho—for fifteen years—where Colin worked as a corporate chef. While there, he says, “Monique began cooking up this idea for our own breakfast-lunch place.”

Then Monique made a trip back through Southern Oregon. “I was driving toward Ruch,” she states, “and I decided to stop at a café I remembered.” Kismet! The establishment was up for sale! She called Colin and—“We made a quick decision.” In short order, they purchased the business and moved to the Applegate in time to open on Bastille Day.

“Other restaurants had been in this space, so we researched their menus, found what had and hadn’t worked, and figured out the customer base,” Monique explains. “It’s an eclectic mix: farmers, vintners, ranchers, retirees, and people coming from the Fellowship up the road. We’ve gotten to know them all.”

Their next task: create a roster of delicious dishes. Colin, who had attended the California Culinary Institute, says, “We didn’t want to do just standard stuff. Of course, you need to have a great standard breakfast, and a great hamburger at lunch.”

Along with that standard breakfast (eggs, potatoes, toast, choice of meats), the menu includes tantalizing gems: the signature Honeysuckle Breakfast Bowl, for example—cooked grain of the day (like farro) topped with spinach, sautéed organic veggies, and farm-fresh eggs—a customer favorite. Or unique twists on classics like Eggs Benedict. “I start with a base, be it bread, cake, fritter, sweet potato, or asparagus,” Colin explains. “Then I add meat, or salmon, or a veggie. And of course our freshly-made sauces—usually Hollandaise, but sometimes Béarnaise or a mushroom sauce.”

Lunch offerings are as diverse. “We offer American, Asian, Mexican, and Middle Eastern dishes with vibrant flavors,” says Colin. There’s something for every craving: Pork Carnitas Tostada, Asian Noodle Bowl, Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich, or Fish & Chips.

And Monique always showcases something tasty from the oven: cakes, pies, cobblers—and that enticing stack of cinnamon rolls greeting customers just inside the door every weekend.

Scratch cooking is The Honeysuckle Café’s true specialty. “We make everything,” says Colin, “like our lemon and rosemary salad dressings, white balsamic vinaigrette, ranch, or blue cheese dressings. We slow cook pork shoulder for the carnitas tostada. It’s all from scratch.”

“Even the Bloody Mary mix,” Monique adds.

THE HONEYSUCKLE CAFÉ
7390 Medford-Provolt Hwy (OR-238)
541-702-2525
Wednesday-Saturday 8:00am-3:00pm
Sunday 8:00am-2:00pm