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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 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.
The Noyo River Bridge looms high above this family-owned harborside restaurant, whose outdoor tables have views of the river emptying (via Noyo Bay) into the Pacific. No surprises with the straightforward, beer-friendly, seafood-oriented cuisine—fried calamari, fish-and-chips, prawns scampi, and the like—but it's executed well, especially the grilled local salmon.
Gourmet wood-fired pizzas, many with ingredients grown a mile away at Campovida winery, are the main attraction at this country-casual restaurant and bar. Menu staples include burgers; grilled vegetables; pasta dishes; and seasonal soups, stews, and salads.
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 short stroll from Trinidad's bayfront, this unpretentious combination gallery and seafood-oriented restaurant is known for tasty meals, starting with breakfast's buttermilk pancakes and Dungeness crab Benedict. Clam chowder, salads, burgers, and several melts star at lunch; for dinner, consider an ahi poke bowl or coconut shrimp starter, followed by more seafood (cioppino and steamed clams or mussels usually appear on the menu) or a burger or chicken dish.
