Mo's Seafood & Chowder - Astoria — Restaurant in Astoria

Sadly Mo's isn't the same since Mo died and they went corporate. My family and I have gone to Mo's for 50 some odd years and it's not what it used to be.

Mom & I made a day trip to Astoria August 29th, 2022, and decided to order a late lunch takeout from Mo's. We both had Shrimp melts, one with coleslaw and one with riced cauliflower. The shrimp melts were lackluster. Basically shrimp on garlic french bread toasted with a slab of cheese on top. No spices, seasoning, onions, chives, or paprika. The sides were fine, but didn't make up for the disappointing main course.

We got the order to go so we could watch the pilot boat come and go from the Pilot House next door, watch a Coast Guard ship called Elm, a buoy tender vessel, move from one dock to another, and take in the view if the river and wildlife; a perfect spot on a sunny, warm end of summer day.

Our drinks were served in small coffee cups with tiny coffee straws rather than 16 oz. cold drink cups. With the cup full of ice, my rootbeer was less than half a can worth.

It makes me sad to write this because I have so many happy memories dining at each of the Mo's locations over the years. Growing up, trips to the beach included dining crowded in shoulder to shoulder with my family and other people at the long shared tables and benches, everyone laughing and talking while happily eating delicious food. One of my earliest memories was having chowder on a rainy day at the Siletz Bay location when I was about 5 years old. We'd been camping in the rain on the D River in Lincoln City, soaked and cold, we came in to warm up, dry off and enjoy a warm meal. That delicious, hot chowder was wonderful! It warmed us through and through, clear to the toes and fingers. Every bite had clams, and it was piping hot so you had to blow on it several times to take a bite. It was made with such care and love, like Mo herself gave me a big hug to fend off the storm's chill. That memory and years of similar wonderful meals at Mo's made my family and friends loyal customers for decades. We noticed changes after Mo passed away and the company went corporate, but still enjoyed our meals, though it wasn't quite the same.

Today I'm in my 50's. Mom is 95, and this was probably her last trip to Astoria where she grew up, making our lunch that much more disappointing.

With so many options for excellent food in the area, my next visit to Astoria or the coast I'll...

Hubby and I went here on vacation to satisfy his seafood craving, afterall we were on the water. We were very happy with the food, service and atmosphere. Our waitress, I believe her name was Nancy, was amazing! She has this great, bubbly infectious energy and personality, and it's obvious she loves people and cares about them. She helped the cutest elderly woman who came in with her daughter. She wasn't able to sit on the bench seat due to physical limitations, and without missing a beat, Nancy (I really hope I remember correctly) ran and grabbed her a chair she could sit in and made sure she was OK, helped her sit and was so compassionate. The customers were so thankful. She easily made conversation with us and her other customers. She let us know what was good and made sure we enjoyed everything.... Ok, now on to the food. My husband had the clam chowder and loved it! And he had the seafood plate with shrimp, clams and fish, and was really happy with it. I had the fettuccine alfredo without meat and it was sooo good! Big portions, good price, good quality, fresh food. And it's on the water so no complaints there either. It is a very casual restaurant, which I wasn't expecting. It was a nice surprise being able to sit on the water, with beautiful scenery and great food without a high price tag! I actually called my parents on video call to show them the scenery and our plates. They are from Massachusetts on the shore and love clam chowder and seafood, but have a hard time getting it in Arizona. So I had to let them enjoy vicariously through us, lol. Definitely...

Once you enter this restaurant, it is much more spacious than expected! It looks a lot smaller on the outside with a narrow entry. Picnic style tables with bench seats set apart enough to give adaquate room all around. Friendly greeting with friendly service throughout our stay. Reasonably quick service and food prep. The food looked great. That's where their 4 to 5 star rating began to slip. There were 4 people in our party. We all ordered different items with pretty much the same results. The food was ok, just not flavorful.. Not as bad as bland hospital food. Just Ok. Items ordered were fish and chips. Chicken Alfredo. Grilled cod sandwich. Grilled cheese sandwich and crab sandwich. Of those items specifically, the crab sandwich was good plus, the grilled cheese was good... All the rest were fair to ok. A bit disappointing when spending $90 on lunch. For those who caught it... There were 5 meals ordered for 4 people. One person (me) was hungry and ordered 2 meals. Luckily I ate the grilled cheese last as it was better than the grilled cod sandwich. People were friendly and service was good but the food was disappointing. Not bad... Just not anything I'd want to recommend especially for the price. We've only been here one time. I'd say it was just enough to have me try it again. Looking at the pics the food looks great. For us it just didn't deliver up to expectations on taste....crab sandwich was...