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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.
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.
In a weather-beaten shack that doesn't look like much but whose outdoor tables perch over the Russian River Estuary near the Pacific, this order-at-the-counter health-oriented café attracts meandering tourists, serious cyclists tackling curvy Highway 1, and West County residents soaking up the views and countercultural vibe. Sandwiches and salads, many incorporating locally caught fish and seafood, are the lunch mainstays, with avocado toast, eggs cooked various ways, and yogurt-granola parfait among the breakfast selections.
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.
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.
Aided by her mother, Barbara, a former pastry chef at famed Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Franny, turns out sophisticated and inventive baked goods. Morning favorites include scones and sweet and savory pastries; there are fruit tarts and strawberry-apricot crisps, plus a mouthwatering assortment of cookies, candy, jams, and jellies for indulging anytime.
The eye-level bay perspective steals the show at this low-slung self-described barbecue and Italian 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, pulled-pork sandwiches, and, in season, Dungeness crab sandwiches awash in molten Havarti cheese.
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.
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.
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.
Before a day of hiking and exploring, fuel up on organic espresso and coffee drinks, freshly baked breads and pastries, house-made granola, frittatas, and bagels with lox, chèvre, local jams, poached eggs, and other toppings. The lunch lineup includes soups, salads, and panini. This cozy and art-filled place is great for people-watching and mingling with locals.
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.
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.
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.
In a rough-hewn structure that, for years, housed a beloved coffee haunt called the Horn of Zeese—the local "Boontling" lingo for a cup (horn) of coffee (zeese)—international wine expert Wendy Lamer operates this combination wine bar and gourmet mini-mart. Well versed in the local wine scene and generous with advice, she pours wines by the glass or bottle and serves up sliders and other "disco snacks."
You'll often see cyclists sitting on benches outside Elk's general store, wolfing down well-made salads and deli sandwiches after scaling the coastal highway's hills. The staffers at this modest pit stop for all travelers are consistently welcoming, and the ocean views is a bonus.
Brave the lines at this seafood shack that doubles as a bait-and-tackle store to feast on crab sandwiches on sourdough, catch-of-the-day fish tacos, and fresh Tomales Bay oysters raw or barbecued (the latter with sauces that include piquant chorizo butter). The family owners place a premium on quality and sustainably produced ingredients.
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.
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.
Boonville locals and frequent visitors love Lauren's for its down-home vibe and well-sourced comfort food—vegetarian and ground-beef burgers, hand-cut fries, chicken tostadas, fish-and-chips, and Thai-curry bowls. Chocolate brownies and (seasonally) apple tarts and honey-baked pears are among the desserts worth a trip on their own.
The tastefully eclectic Mayan decor at this restaurant near the Skunk Train depot hints at the layers of complexity in the Yucatán-inflected cuisine based on the chef-owner's family recipes. Tamales, empanadas, sweet Mexican corn, fish tacos, and pork slow-roasted in banana leaves form the menu's backbone, with pork osso buco and the meatless, mildly spicy Thai burrito (or add coconut prawns) typical of the fusion plays.
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