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A few restaurants with national reputations, plus several more of regional note, entice palates on the North Coast. Even the smallest cafés take advantage of the abundant fresh seafood and locally grown vegetables and herbs. Attire is usually informal, though at pricier establishments dressy casual is the norm. Most kitchens close at 8 or 8:30 and few places serve past 9:30. Many restaurants close for a winter break in January or early February.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The chef at this small downtown restaurant with a clean but no-nonsense decor serves fresh-off-the-boat seafood, some caught locally but never too far afield. The emphasis on letting the main ingredient speak for itself extends to the meats and produce, which come from respected area purveyors.
The only thing separating this bluff-top wood-and-glass restaurant from the Pacific Ocean is a great view. Entrées evoke the flavors of southern France and include hearty bistro dishes—stews, cassoulet, and pastas—and large portions of grilled meats and freshly caught fish (though the restaurant is also vegetarian friendly).
The term "light rustic" applies equally well to this comely café's decor—plank flooring, wood-top tables, gas fireplace with a brick hearth—and its cuisine, which emphasizes local produce and seafood. The menu changes seasonally, with the grilled flatbread, albacore appetizer, Point Reyes blue cheese salad, and grilled organic pork chop among the year-round crowd-pleasers.
A wood-fired oven anchors the small kitchen of this contempo-rustic restaurant, whose chef references the Iberian peninsula in entrées that might include seafood cataplana (a fisherman's stew in the cioppino vein) or port-braised short ribs. Small offerings like marinated olives, house-baked focaccia, mushroom (cultivated and foraged) bisque, and imported tinned seafood served with hot sauce whet the appetite for the main event.
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