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We've compiled the best of the best in Bodega Bay - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Ask Bodega Bay residents where they go for super fresh, reasonably priced seafood, and many will suggest this order-at-the-counter shack with tented and uncovered outdoor dining areas. Boston clam chowder, seafood tacos, and fish-and-chips are the hands-down favorites, along with raw or cooked oysters, served for lunch and early dinner.
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, a rich velvety soup, or (in season) Dungeness crab before moving on to halibut or other fish pan-roasted to perfection.
Just off the highway amid a small strip of shops with million-dollar views, Dave Berry and team serve pastries, coffee, milkshakes, and cups and cones of Oregon-based Cascade Glacier ice cream. Affogato (espresso with ice cream) is a best-seller year-round.
Conversation softens around sunset at this ocean-view restaurant as diners' eyes drift westward to often spectacular light shows. With ingredients that might include sustainable seafood from the day's Bodega Bay catch, cheeses crafted as near as 5 miles east, and vegetables grown even closer, the house culinary philosophy mirrors that of many a coastal winery: minimal but wise intervention to bring out the best in them.
Brave the lines at this seafood shack that doubles as a bait-and-tackle store to feast on crab sandwiches on sourdough, lobster rolls, catch-of-the-day fish tacos, and fresh Tomales Bay oysters raw or barbecued. The family owners place a premium on quality and sustainably produced ingredients.
The eye-level bay perspective steals the show at this low-slung restaurant whose outdoor seating areas fill up quickly in good weather. For breakfast, the kitchen turns out oh-so-moist caramel-bacon monkey bread and burritos with scrambled eggs and brisket; lunchtime brings Italian-style scallop-and-clam chowder, fish tacos, 14-hour cherrywood-smoked beef and brisket, pulled-pork sandwiches, and, in season, Dungeness crab sandwiches awash in molten Havarti cheese.
Crab sandwiches, superb New England or Manhattan clam chowder, and weekend-afternoon crab cakes with roasted red-pepper sauce star on this stand's brief menu. Stand in line, place your order, and enjoy your meal to go or at a marina-view picnic table.
