EATS- Seaside, Cannon Beach & Tillamook

(Seaside to Tillamook)
From Astoria to Brookings, the Oregon Coast offers 363 miles of jaw-dropping coastline and natural beauty — sandy beaches, scenic viewpoints and quaint waterfront towns. But the Coast also serves up a host of culinary gems. Don’t miss the best chowder, fish and chips, craft beer and world famous hot dogs along Highway 101.

• EATS/DRINKS SEASIDE:
  • Buoy's Best Restaurant (1800 S Roosevelt Dr.) - Fresh Dungeness crab is synonymous with winter in Oregon. While crab is almost always on the menu's, the top season is Dec through mid-August, peaking in February.
  • ​Dooger's Seafood & Grill - Right on the boardwalk is Dooger's, a popular seafood restaurant.
  • FINNS FISH HOUSE
  • Twisted Fish Steakhouse (Sunday Brunch Buffet 9am-2pm)
  • MAGGIE'S ON THE PROM
  • Fultano's Pizza
  • Big Kahuna Pub & Grill ("That's One Tasty Burger")
• EATS/DRINKS CANNON BEACH: https://www.yelp.com/local_yelp/q0mlwghd1KKaPzUUVi30oQ
  Road Trip to Cannon Beach (YELP)​
  • Mo's Chowder - Cannon Beach, also Newport, Tolovana Park, Lincoln City, Otter Rock & Florence. A trip down the Coast wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Mo’s. Mo’s creamy, hot clam chowder has been an institution for more than 70 years. A hot bowl of chowder, oyster stew or seafood cioppino always hits the spot. You can also find house recipes on their website. Their clam chowder was featured as one of the Smithsonian's "Best American Regional Foods".
  • Chef John Newman of Newman's at 988 (French Italian Cuisine) in Cannon Beach offers fine dining.
  • The Ecola Fish Market in Cannon Beach is a good place to stop and pick up raw or cooked seafood or get it fried/cooked and eat it there. We picked up a couple of dungeness crabs ($4.99/lb cooked and cleaned - they were HUGE and very meaty) and some gorgeous 15/20 count shrimp ($12.99/lb. deveined but not shelled - very nice) - they sell all the sauces, lemons, crab cracking implements, oyster crackers, etc. there too.
  • Bruce's Candy Kitchen - Cannon Beach; the stickiest, most delicious saltwater taffy ever.
  • Tom's Fish n Chips in Cannon Beach (no-nonsense/Get a really cheap dinner; 240 N Hemlock St.)
  • Cannon Beach Hardware & Public House (a humble hardware store that also has 6 taps-Drink with the locals; 1235 S Hemlock St.)

EATS/DRINKS FURTHER SOUTH:

• Blackbird in Manzanita - Freshly caught Halibut or truffled mac and cheese catches diners' fancy on the contemporary NW menu. 503 Laneda Ave.
• Offerings at Bread and Ocean Bakery and Deli in Manzanita include a sandwich of local line-caught albacore tuna with artichoke hearts, dill Havarti, and olive tapenade on ciabatta, plus a revolving selection of fluffy quiches. The air hangs thick inside this tiny bakery with the smell of fresh bread — pumpernickel, polenta honey and potato rosemary leek, just to name a few. But there’s more on offer from sweet, sticky cardamom rolls to gourmet sandwiches and fresh salads. Grab a seat or pack a picnic.
• Save room for a SECRET dessert at the Sand Dune Pub in Manzanita, which has hamburger's, sandwiches and a killer, silky-smooth peanut butter chocolate pie that sits off-menu, because it was too popular. The pie should be washed down with a $5 pint and enjoyed on the patio.
• Buttercup Ice Creams and Chowder in Nehalem- Eat some of the best chowder on the coast (35915 N US Hwy 101)
• Rising Star Cafe - offers gourmet food in Wheeler.
• Get that hamburger at the Salmonberry Saloon, made with Nehalem River Ranch’s lean, grass-fed beef.

The Salmonberry Saloon in Wheeler. Nehalem River Valley’s delectably spicy salad greens, Phil’s Wild Bread, and CSF’s fresh-off-the-boat rockfish. ("All of it is local,—right down to the Monarch vodka in the bar well.") And every order comes with a killer view of Nehalem Bay. This past March, the Salmonberry Saloon opened in a rough-shingled, bay-facing space most recently home to the Tsunami Grill. Like its dive-y predecessor, the Salmonberry makes the most of its stunning waterfront views. The Salmonberry’s menu proudly touts a cornucopia of high-end North Coast foodstuffs, from Nestucca Bay Creamery cheeses to seafood from Nevør Shellfish and Jeff Wong’s Garibaldi-based CS Fishery. Try the wild CSF halibut slathered in romesco and edible flowers from Manzanita’s Bird Song Bouquets..  Portland Monthly

• Old Oregon Smokehouse - Rockaway  9 Restaurants along the Coast you must try before you die.
• Fisherman's Korner - Garibaldi; Lunch at the marina. You'll quickly learn how this humble diner got its name: There are fisherman on the adjacent corner! As you munch on your great clam chowder or halibut fish & chips meal ($13.95), you can watch guys yell at each other while transporting giant garbage tins full of crabs. After eating, walk on Oregon's longest pier.
• The Fish Peddler @ Pacific Oyster Co. (5150 Hayes Oyster Dr. Bay City) - Voted by the Portland Business Journal as one of Oregon's Most Admired Companies.  "...but the Clam Chowder is still probably the Best I have ever had. We also had the baked oysters in the shell and they were excellent and fresh served on a bed of Salt which I think is very cool."   "Best chowdah on the North Coast, probably the whole coast and likely the whole planet.  Every visit to Oregon Coast includes a trip to Pacific Oyster.  Have I mentioned their chowder?   Yeah.  It's good."  "First and foremost, Pacific Oyster is a seafood processing plant. You'll know it by the smell wafting up from the water and the piles of oyster shells on the ground nearby... The ambiance of the "dining room" is similar to that of a snack bar (But you don't come to Pacific Oyster for the ambiance, you come for the super fresh, amazingly cheap seafood (think 12 baked oysters in the 1/2 shell over a bed of salt for $18!). And while you eat (if you arrive before Noon) you can watch the oysters being packed to be shipped all over the country. A window-lined back wall offers a view of workers showing their mastery of knives and muscles.

Wednesdays ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT Oysters. $13.95
Fridays ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT Fish.

• In Tillamook, pucker up to a wild-ale sour beer at the newly located De Garde Brewing; old-world style brewing. video
• On Whiskey Creek Rd:
  • In Tillamook, Nevor Shellfish Market (Lg Oysters- 1 Dozen $10 / 2 Dozen - $18 / 5 Dozen - $40) video
  • In Tillamook just 1 minute from Nevor Shellfish is Whiskey Creek Salmon Hatchery - Oregon's only all volunteer non-profit hatchery raising more than a 1/4 million salmon annually for anglers. Feed the fish, enjoy the grounds and come back regularly to monitor the growth of the salmon. Whiskey Creek Hatchery always welcome guests and new members to join in clipping, special kids fishing days, feeding fish and other events.
  • In Tillamook just 2 minutes from Whiskey Creek Fish Hatchery is Jacobsen Sea Salt (The Best Salt in America!) video
• Blue Agate Cafe (Oceanside) serves an array of filling breakfast dishes in a cheery dining room bathed in natural light with black n white photos of the city. The Breakfast Sandy, stuffed with scrambled eggs, diced avocado, tomato, cheddar and bacon or sausage, is a steal at $8. For $1.50 more, the Beachcomber is a more traditional plate with 2 eggs, any style, the option of long, thick strips of bacon; country style potatoes and your choice of toast or biscuit.
• Roseanna's Cafe - Oceanside. Local Seafood.

The North Coast Food Trail - These are thrilling experiences, about 60 excursions that are part of the new self-guided North Coast Food Trail, a brand-new initiative that makes it easy for visitors to explore the fishers, producers, harvesters, grocers and dairy farms along the 70 miles of coastline from Cannon Beach to Lincoln City. Choose your own adventure based on your interests — whether it’s breweries, wineries and distilleries; cooking schools; farmers markets; farms; foraging excursions; coastal lodging; restaurants; retail experiences; or special guided tours (or all of the above). Also check out the artisans and producers spotlighted in the trail’s first video.