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Nearly every seat in this urbane bistro has a view of its most important feature—a wood-fired brick oven used to prepare everything from local Kumamoto oysters and creatively topped pizzas to wild-mushroom cobbler. Soups, several well-constructed salads, grilled meats, and seafood round out the menu.
1630 F St., Eureka, California, 95501, USA
Known For
- House-made sausage pizza
- Polenta lasagna
- Affiliated 2 Doors Down wine bar steps away
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. No lunch
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An oasis of low-key sophistication in downtown Ukiah, Cultivo is known for inventive wood-fired pizzas (try the braised-pork or wild-boar-sausage pie, or go meatless with one starring trumpet mushrooms) but also plates up oysters on the half shell, fish tacos, a gem salad with bacon and buttermilk–blue cheese dressing, and entrées like grilled salmon and a hefty porterhouse. Meals are served on thick wooden tables in the downstairs bar area and mezzanine; there's also sidewalk dining out front.
108 W. Standley St., California, 95482, USA
Known For
- Something for everyone
- California beers on tap
- Well-chosen, mostly Mendocino wines
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No lunch
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Ask Bodega Bay residents where they go for superfresh, reasonably priced seafood in a casual setting, and many will suggest this unassuming order-at-the-counter shack. Boston clam chowder, seafood tacos and sandwiches, and fish (or calamari, crab cakes, or prawns) and chips are the hands-down favorites, along with raw or cooked oysters.
599 Hwy. 1, Bodega Bay, California, 94923, USA
Known For
- Tented open-air dining area
- Closes early evening
- Taffy, toffee, root beer floats, and other desserts
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The chef at this colorfully lighted, contemporary, Old Town restaurant applies Western European techniques to mostly locally sourced ingredients in dishes that might include a wood-fired steak slathered in sauce au poivre, fish with saffron rice, or a mushroom-laden meatless cassoulet. Many patrons start with a classic or specialty cocktail or one of the clever mocktails.
511 2nd St., Eureka, California, 95501, USA
Known For
- Small-plate and raw-bar starters
- Short but smart wine list
- "Bananas Fosters" cake with spiced-rum caramel
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. No lunch
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Japanese gastropubs known as izakaya inspired the menu and ambience of this sedate wood-paneled restaurant serving pickle, sashimi, gyoza, miso soup, and karaage (fried chicken) appetizers and slightly larger skewered items that might include mushrooms, pork belly, various chicken parts, and Wagyu beef. The husband and wife owners contributed to top Northern California restaurants before embarking on this well-received venture.
150 Main St., Point Arena, California, 95468, USA
Known For
- Ramen night last Sunday of month
- Beers and sakes
- Vegan and gluten-free options
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. No lunch
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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At the Sacred Rock Inn's fine-dining restaurant, meals are served in intimate room with an open-truss ceiling, hardwood floors, and tables inlaid with abalone-shell fragments. The chef prepares seasonal California coastal cuisine based on garden-grown and foraged produce sourced from impeccable purveyors, and the menu usually includes duck, fish, beef, and vegetarian dishes.
5926 S. Hwy. 1, Elk, California, 95432, USA
Known For
- Ocean views from some tables
- Wine list favors Mendocino County producers
- Elk House steps away for elevated pub fare
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Thurs. (but check)
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The chef at this ocean-bluff inn's redwood-paneled dining room describes the Mendocino Coast's most intricate meal—an 8- to 12-course, prix-fixe extravaganza—as "hyperlocal" seasonal cuisine revolving around seafood and vegetables (many of the latter grown on-site). The artistry displayed in every dish lives up to the raves the restaurant has received from local and national food writers.
5600 S. Hwy. 1, Elk, California, 95432, USA
Known For
- Breathtaking views
- Astute wine pairings
- Five-course prix-fixe lunch ($95)
Restaurant Details
Closed Tues. and Wed. (except in-room dinner for guests)
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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Set in a two-story house on a quiet country road north of town, this casually sophisticated restaurant—one of the North Coast's best places to eat—is often packed with people enjoying mesquite-grilled fresh seafood, beef brisket, St. Louis–style ribs, and vegetarian dishes. The garden setting and candlelight stir thoughts of romance.
1658 Patricks Point Dr., Trinidad, California, 95570, USA
Known For
- Refined but friendly service
- Rosemary-crusted garlic, Cambozola cheese, and toast points appetizer
- Superb wine list
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch
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Straightforward seafood preparations and seasonal cocktails best sipped from the ocean-view Whale Watch Bar rank high among the pleasures of a visit to the Little River Inn resort, opened in 1939 and still run by members of the same family. Start with clam chowder, flash-fried calamari, or Dungeness crab cakes before settling into cioppino, the day's catch, or a steak.
7901 N. Hwy. 1, Little River, California, 95456, USA
Known For
- Step-back-in-time feel
- Alfresco dining in garden courtyard
- 67-room inn with varied accommodations from lodge rooms to cottages
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch
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Captain Heather Sears leads her all-woman crew of "girls gone wild for wild-caught seafood" that heads oceanward on the Princess troller, returning with some of the seafood served at their harbor-view restaurant under the Noyo River Bridge. Chowder, crab or lobster bisque, crab rolls, shrimp po'boys, raw or barbecued oysters, and seasonal wild seafood plates that might include sablefish, salmon, rock cod, or prawns count among the stars here.
32096 N. Harbor Dr., Fort Bragg, California, 95437, USA
Known For
- Fresh, sustainable seafood
- Dozen beers on tap
- Crew members who clearly love their jobs
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.–Wed.
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This stylishly funky restaurant's chef, Perry Hoffman, got his start (at age five) working in the kitchen of Napa Valley's The French Laundry, which his grandmother founded and later sold to Thomas Keller. As an adult, Hoffman made a name for himself at three highly praised Napa and Sonoma spots before returning to Boonville in 2019 to prepare prix-fixe, California farm-to-table cuisine (including a few original French Laundry dishes) at his extended family's hotel.
14050 Hwy. 128, California, 95415, USA
Known For
- Many ingredients grown on-site or nearby
- Superior protein sources
- Alfresco patio dining
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.–Thurs. Nov.–Apr., closed Tues. and Wed. May–Oct. No lunch
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The hot tip at this low-slung cliff's-edge restaurant is to come early or reserve a window table, where the Russian River and Pacific Ocean views alone, particularly at sunset, might make your day (even more so if you're a birder). Seafood is the specialty—during the summer the chef showcases local king salmon—but filet mignon, duck, elk, a vegetarian napoleon, and pasta with prawns are often on the dinner menu.
11048 Hwy. 1, Jenner, California, 95450, USA
Known For
- Majestic setting
- Raw oysters and wine pairing
- Burgers, fish-and-chips for lunch
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Wed. and Thurs.
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Intricate but not fussy cuisine based on locally farmed ingredients and fruits de mer has made this casual yet sophisticated restaurant with an open kitchen a West County darling. Start with raw oysters, rich potato-leek soup, or (in season) Dungeness crab before moving on to halibut or other fish pan-roasted to perfection.
1580 Eastshore Rd., Bodega Bay, California, 94923, USA
Known For
- Intricate cuisine of chefs Liya and Andrew Truong
- Many locally sourced ingredients
- Signature hamachi crudo and Mediterranean fish stew
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Wed. No lunch
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A garden of heirloom and exotic plantings surrounds this popular restaurant inside a yellow Victorian cottage. Local ingredients find their way into dishes that might include Oaxacan-style ceviche, smash burgers, pizzas from a wood-fired brick oven, fish and prawn tacos, beef bourguignon, and oven-roasted cauliflower with house-made mole verde.
961 Ukiah St., Mendocino, California, 95460, USA
Known For
- Garden dining in fine weather
- Bowls and other vegan and vegetarian selections
- "Waiting Room" for morning pastries and other grab-and-go fare
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues.
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Amid Old Town's vibrant dining district, this rollicking spot in a former saloon and brothel turns out consistently fresh locally caught seafood—steamed clams, grilled snapper, oyster burgers, homemade chowder, and quite a bit more. Soups, salads, steaks, and burgers are on the menu, too, and breakfast, served only on weekends, is popular. After your meal, stroll a short way to Living the Dream Ice Cream for a gelato by the harbor.
102 F St., Eureka, California, 95501, USA
Known For
- Historic vibe
- Locally sourced oysters (raw and grilled)
- Victorian-style B&B upstairs
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Wed.
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$$$ | | Modern American
On a sunny afternoon or at sunset, glistening ocean views from the Coast Kitchen's outdoor patio and indoor dining space elevate dishes emphasizing seafood and local produce both farmed and foraged. Starters like a baby gem lettuce Caesar and grilled salmon wings precede entrées that may include seared scallops and aged rib eye.
Timber Cove, 21780 Hwy. 1, Jenner, California, 95450, USA
Known For
- Oceanview patio (frequent whale sightings in winter and spring)
- Sonoma County cheeses, wines, and produce
- Fresh ingredients
- Ocean-view patio (frequent whale sightings in winter and spring)
- Bar menu 3 pm–5 pm
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Conversation softens around sunset at this ocean-view restaurant whose chefs pride themselves on preparing meals from mostly local ingredients, as diners' eyes drift westward to often spectacular light shows. With such fresh source materials—seafood from the day's Bodega Bay catch, cheeses crafted as near as 5 miles east, and some vegetables grown even closer—the house culinary philosophy mirrors that of many a Sonoma Coast winery: minimal but wise intervention to bring out the best in them.
103 Coast Hwy. 1, Bodega Bay, California, 94923, USA
Known For
- Among the best area restaurants open daily
- Reservations difficult when resort is full
- Usually one vegan or vegetarian dish, other plates adapted on request
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch
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The culinary influences are Deep South and Californian at this vegetarian (mostly vegan) restaurant with salmon-color walls, teal tables, and white trim. The chefs' flair for the dramatic might exhibit itself in carrot-cake waffles at Sunday brunch, hush puppies and beet-dyed deviled eggs as happy-hour nibbles, and dinnertime fried-green-tomato biscuit sliders and Mississippi Delta–style hot tamales.
45104 Main St., Mendocino, California, 95460, USA
Known For
- All-organic Mendocino and Sonoma produce
- Outdoor dining
- Natural wines and local beers
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. No lunch Wed.–Sat. No dinner Sun.
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Grass-fed-beef burgers, pulled-pork and pork-schnitzel sandwiches, and cod ceviche are among the popular items this hip-casual restaurant serves all day, with heritage pork chop, rotisserie chicken, and similar plates appearing for dinner. Well-selected breads and buns, crispy fries with the burgers, perfect pickles with the sandwiches, and slivers of fresh ginger in the ceviche elevate the farm-to-table comfort fare, much of it showcasing ingredients from local purveyors.
13380 U.S. 101, California, 95449, USA
Known For
- All-day brunch
- Mendocino County wines
- Tastings at affiliated wine shop 200 feet south
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A plaque out front hints at the layers of history that have unfolded in this hangout's redbrick 1880s structure. The mood's invariably upbeat in the bar, even more so in the courtyard beer garden, where patrons chow down on burgers, sandwiches, chicken wings, and other pub grub.
13351 U.S. 101, California, 95449, USA
Known For
- California brews on tap
- Down-home atmosphere
- Live music some nights
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. (but check). No lunch Wed.