7 Devils Waterfront Alehouse — Restaurant in Coos Bay

My wife and I have dined at the ale house numerous times in the last few years. They have a simple, well portioned lunch menu and several great options on their dinner menu.

The overall ambience and service is always consistent and even when they are busy, they manage to keep a laid back vibe that I personally enjoy. The view of the water only adds to it so I think it really comes full circle.

If you are coming for the beer. I think pretty much everything but the IPAs are excellent. I personally prefer IPAs but I don’t think their standard IPA or the Hazy are anything special. However, I think the Amber Ale and the Mocha Stout stand out above the rest. The session ale and the Coos light are also crushable.

For the dinner entrees we have tried the ribeye and the Teriyaki Steelhead. The Teriyaki Steelhead comes out consistent in both appearance and flavor. It genuinely is one of the tastiest pieces of fish I have had. I am no connoisseur but it is delicious. The filet is both smoky, salty, and sweet, with a slight bit of texture from the grill marks. It is phenomenal. The ribeye is also very good, I mean a ribeye should be. However, they kick it up a notch with a very flavorful compound butter.

In the past we have tried the fish and chips (bomb), the burger (delicious), and the crab cakes(the sauce makes it). I think they have solid fries to pair with the burger and the fried fish. However, if I had one suggestion for this restaurant, I’d say they need an overhaul on their sides. All of the proteins are really top notch and I can tell there is a lot of attention to detail. All the proteins are always cooked properly which is a difficult task when you have a menu containing burgers, several types of fish, and steaks. However, the sides are just boring and really lack flavor.

For instance with the teriyaki steelhead, if you are going to serve it with rice and bok choy, perhaps it should be plated as a bowl with a vinaigrette or some sort of sauce. That would really bring it all together and would seep into the rice to add some flavor. Or perhaps pair it with a fried rice to spruce it up. The bok choy could also use a little additional flavor and needs to be cooked slightly longer.

With the steak a garlic mashed potato would take it to the next level. Overall, the fingerling potato’s are good, but could at least use some herbs. The jasmine rice is, well it’s plain jasmine rice. The fries are good but they are best with the dishes they are typically paired with. Other than that, the asparagus could use some acid and garlic to make the flavor pop.

If the attention to detail on the proteins was placed on the sides this place would give be in my top 5.

I would recommend this restaurant to anybody in the area and this review may not mean much. However, for inquisitive minds this has been my experience.

I will absolutely come back again and again. Just wish there was a little more attention to detail...

Nothing I ate justified the price.

After tip, the meal for two was +$90.

I would have gladly paid $45 after tip, maybe $60 if we had gotten beers or drinks or deserts. But we didn't get any of that. Just a couple of salads and a meatloaf dish and a couple of sodas.

We were never sure who our server was as the person that took our order would walk past where we were sitting without acknowledging our existence. Other people refilled our drinks and took our empty plates. The person that took our order did bring us the check but didn't bring us a container for our leftovers. It was very weird. Is there a system we weren't aware of?

Back to the food.

The chicken cesar came with a few slices of chicken, and the only way to cut it up was with a butter knife. I spent a ridiculous amount of time cutting up the chicken with the butter knife. Why did they leave it up to me to finish making the salad for them? Why didn't they give me the right tools to do it if they wanted me to do it. The romane seemed to be mostly heart instead of leaf. Maybe mine was just that way. For a $23 salad, I was embarrassed that I spent that much on a salad and then to have to finish the cooks work sucked.

The meatloaf read really nice on the menu. However, it was more of a bread slice size portion of meatloaf, and it was still cold in spots and wasn't reheated all the way. Maybe I'm spoiled, but isn't meatloaf supposed to be juicy and flavorful? Ours wasn't. The sauce tasted good, but the meatloaf was basically a hamburger patty with some random stuff thrown in. I hope the people who designed the menu try this sometime to see if it is what they think an "upscale" experience should be like.

If I got the same thing in Bend, Ashland, or Hood River, it would be a good diner/bistro experience. It's definitely not upscale with cloth napkins.

The owner might reply by apologizing about not meeting expectations or whatever. The point is to make as much money during the up season in order to survive during the down season, and I get it. I really do wish you the best, and I hope all of the next guests have the best food and service.

We genuinely had set our minds on getting salads and splitting an entre somewhere and while it was nice, it seemed underwhelming for what was supposed to be an upscale experience according to...

Staffing has really gone down hill at this location (had been told by others go to the main one for more consistency… now I know why).

Context: In town for the holidays delivering furniture to our new place being remodeled, whose kitchen isn’t quite finished yet. Planned for Christmas Eve dinner at our favorite brewery. Walked in at 3:58.

Camryn (host): Sorry, we stopped seating at 4. Us (checks phone): That’s in a couple mins still… you wouldn’t be able to make a quick table for 2 work? We saw online and called to confirm that you close at 5, we can definitely be out before then.

Camryn (continuing to organize menus and not look at us): Nope, we were told to be very strict today. Us (having never been treated poorly at 7 Devils): Umm, ok, if this is that on the bubble, could we check with a manager if it’s ok or something?

Camryn: Don’t you get it? They all left for Christmas, and told us to be very strict. There’s no one to ask… and it’s NOW four… Us: Umm, ok then… can we get your name before heading out? This is surprising service for here

Camryn: Yup! It’s Camryn (finally stops shuffling menus and makes eyes contact to smile condescending) Us: Got it, thanks, and Merry Christmas Camryn: Uh huh (walks away from host stand)

Career sales and service people ourselves (including owning a hospitality business in Oregon that serves guests daily)… this was possibly the LAST expectation we had for what we’d experience walking into 7 Devils… on Christmas Eve… ON TIME. Guess that host wasn’t having a...