The North Coast Restaurants

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.

Sort by: 40 Recommendations {{numTotalPoiResults}} {{ (numTotalPoiResults===1)?'Recommendation':'Recommendations' }} 0 Recommendations
CLEAR ALL Area Search CLEAR ALL
Loading...
  • 1. Brick & Fire Bistro

    $$

    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
    707-268–8959

    Known For

    • House-made sausage pizza
    • Polenta lasagna
    • Affiliated 2 Doors Down wine bar steps away

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Tues. No lunch
  • 2. Café Aquatica

    $

    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.

    10439 Hwy. 1, Jenner, California, 95450, USA
    707-865–2251

    Known For

    • Organic ingredients
    • True-trade coffee, prebiotic sodas
    • Live music on weekends

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 3. Cultivo

    $$

    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
    707-462–7007

    Known For

    • Something for everyone
    • California beers on tap
    • Well-chosen, mostly Mendocino wines

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No lunch
  • 4. Fishetarian

    $$

    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
    707-875–9092

    Known For

    • Tented open-air dining area
    • Closes early evening
    • Taffy, toffee, root beer floats, and other desserts
  • 5. Five Eleven

    $$$

    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
    707-268–3852

    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
  • Recommended Fodor’s Video

  • 6. Franny's Cup and Saucer

    $

    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.

    213 Main St., Point Arena, California, 95468, USA
    707-882–2500

    Known For

    • Dazzling specialty cakes
    • Delightful ambience
    • Cash-only, closes at noon on Sunday

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. No lunch Sun. No dinner
  • 7. Gama

    $$$

    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
    707-485–9232

    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
  • 8. Ginochio's Kitchen

    $

    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.

    1410 Bay Flat Rd., Bodega Bay, California, 94923, USA
    707-377–4359

    Known For

    • Alicia's Crackling Nachos with or without meat
    • 14-hour cherrywood-smoked beef and brisket
    • Wine list favoring small Sonoma County producers

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 9. Greenwood Restaurant

    $$$$

    At the Sand 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
    707-877–3422

    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 Wed. and Thurs. (but check)
  • 10. Harbor House Inn Restaurant

    $$$$

    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
    707-877–3203

    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
  • 11. Larrupin' Cafe

    $$$$

    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
    707-677–0230

    Known For

    • Refined but friendly service
    • Rosemary-crusted garlic, Cambozola cheese, and toast points appetizer
    • Superb wine list

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch
  • 12. Little River Inn Restaurant

    $$$

    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
    707-937–5942

    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
  • 13. Princess Seafood Restaurant

    $

    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
    707-962–3046

    Known For

    • Fresh, sustainable seafood
    • Dozen beers on tap
    • Crew members who clearly love their jobs

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Mon.–Wed.
  • 14. Restaurant at The Boonville Hotel

    $$$$

    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
    707-895–2210

    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
  • 15. River's End

    $$$

    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
    707-865–2484

    Known For

    • Majestic setting
    • Raw oysters and wine pairing
    • Burgers, fish-and-chips for lunch

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Wed. and Thurs.
  • 16. Terrapin Creek Cafe & Restaurant

    $$$

    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
    707-875–2700

    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
  • 17. Beachcomber Cafe

    $

    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.

    363 Trinity St., Trinidad, California, 95570, USA
    707-677–0106

    Known For

    • Bagels with creative toppings
    • Strong, organic coffee
    • Vegetarian options

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 18. Cafe Beaujolais

    $$

    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
    707-937–5614

    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.
  • 19. Café Waterfront

    $$

    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
    707-443–9190

    Known For

    • Historic vibe
    • Locally sourced oysters (raw and grilled)
    • Victorian-style B&B upstairs

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Wed.
  • 20. Coast Kitchen

    $$$ | 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
    707-847–3231

    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

No Restaurants Results

Please try a broader search, or expore these popular suggestions:

There are no results for {{ strDestName}} Restaurants in the searched map area with the above filters. Please try a different area on the map, or broaden your search with these popular suggestions:

Recommended Fodor’s Video