Expansive views of the base and surrounding mountains; delicious, hand-prepared dishes; reasonable prices and sit-down dining with fast service - this is the Bakerview Restaurant dining experience.

Bakerview is perched atop a bluff that overlooks Clover Valley and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. It is the only locale from which someone can clearly view the takeoff and landing of Navy aircraft that range from the Navy Flying Club’s T-34B to sleek EA18-G Growlers to workhorse EA6-B Prowlers to low-humming P-3 Orions to commuting C-130s, choreographed with military precision.

Morning fog dissipates as the day progresses and the thick robe of white lifts to reveal the shoreline along Hammer Road, the granite-peaked dome of Mt. Erie, Anacortes’ seaside cottages, the San Juan Islands, Vancouver Island, and finally, the North Cascade Range’s crowning jewel, Mt. Baker. This is the visual glory the restaurant was named for: the view of Baker, as it is affectionately called.

Each morning, Baker-view’s chefs begin their daily preparations: firing up the hearth oven, seasoning and simmering homemade soups, chopping garden-fresh vegetables and kneading pizza dough that has spent the evening rising.

At 11 a.m. the restaurant’s glass-accented French doors open to welcome its first diners. Each customer steps to the register, selects from a range of menu options and makes their payment.

Prices for a lunchtime meal range from a daily special for just $5 to the lunchtime favorite of an herb-rubbed prime rib sandwich. On average, from when the hostess presses “send” on the register to deliver an order to the kitchen to the customer’s meal is delivered, a mere eight minutes has gone by. Just enough time for a diner to make a drink selection and select a seat — each of which boasts that magnificent view. When that mouthwatering meal is finished, there’s no need to wait for a check, pass along a credit card and wait for it to be returned for a signature. It’s already been taken care of.

Bakerview is the restaurant at the Chief Petty Officers’ Club and located off-base, just to the west of Langley Boulevard on Ault Field Road. Bakerview was given its own designation and corresponding sign several years ago in order to reinforce to interested diners and passers-by that the restaurant is open to everyone, not just the chief petty officer community. The only portion of the building that is exclusive to Chiefs’ Club members is the lounge. During lunch, a wide variety of diners pass through Bakerview Restaurant: everyone from retired admirers of Naval aviation to ladies out to lunch to airmen and their shipmates to officers donning flight suits to chiefs enjoying lunch with their wives to plain-clothed civilians.

If a diner chooses to forgo dining with a view for a takeout, desktop lunch, to-go orders are a great option. Just give Bakerview a call, and an order will be ready in 15 minutes or less.

For diners looking for an evening dining experience, and the opportunity to enjoy some of Bakerview’s more elaborate dishes, the restaurant is open for dinner every Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. Dinner at Bakerview features cedar plank salmon, seafood fettuccine, chicken neptune and spicy shrimp pizza as well as an always popular prime rib dinner. Bakerview’s dinner menu also includes lighter fare, like sandwiches and salads.

Additionally, Bakerview hosts seafood buffets once a quarter, a smorgasbord of clams, crab legs, salmon, shrimp, mussels and more.

Catered options are available for community groups, retirement ceremonies, weddings, birthdays and anniversaries. Conferences are a specialty and with the recent installation of WiFi systems, as well as new audiovisual and projection equipment, Bakerview can truly provide a comfortable meeting space with all of the electronic features a group needs.

Bakerview Restaurant is open Monday through Friday for lunch, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and for dinner on Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. Bakerview can be reached by calling (360) 257-2891. To go orders are available by calling (360) 257-6587 anytime the restaurant is open. Lunch, dinner and catering menus are available at http://www.navylifepnw.com by clicking on “Request a Price List or Menu,” then selecting NAS Whidbey Island.