Pirate's Cove Restaurant — Restaurant in Garibaldi

here's our experience (4 visits so far, 4 visits all good) - I'd give it 5 stars and the ONLY reason it's not 5 is because my 5 isn’t other people’s 5. We focus on food and friendly service when writing about restaurants. Not decor. So yes, based off of other reviews the decor is outdated. We first came here for lunch, husband ordered a shrimp melt and I had the oyster club. Over priced? remember you're in an area where distribution can be a hassle and if it's coming from a local source maybe the catch of the day wasn't super bountiful - you can't dictate Mother Nature or a truck getting over a mountain range and through a forest getting the fruit of the day to this area: hwy 6 or the 101, each aren't the best for a semi or truck getting into town. Anywho - we both enjoyed our lunch, veggies on my sandwich were fresh, oysters weren't fishy, husband loved his sandwich. Server was great. Friendly and attentive even though it was only them. Enjoy the view, it's amazing and if it takes a bit for your food, you're server isn't going to be an a$$hat - they're all great and hustling. Also - we've found that getting great staff in smaller towns on the coast can be hard, so it's not like they aren't hiring it's that the population is tiny and servers aren't plentiful. Second time we came was for brunch. Ok this was a toss up for omg favorite. Hubby had the waffle and I had the crab eggs Benedict. I'm at a loss for words. Crab was sweet and cooked to perfection, the hollandaise was warm and not in your face flavorful and had instagram worthy poached eggs. I think my husband enjoyed the waffle because he didn't speak and they were gone in about 8 min and he had that doofy look on his face. Fresh insane amount of fruit on the side and perfect hash browns. Not super well staffed this time either but beyond friendly girl and even though she was busy as all get up she was smiling and just a great server in general. No complaints here, we took the extra maybe 15 minutes from the not overly staffed brunch time to do things like,talk... look at the bay... ogle the sun reflecting off of said bay... you get the point. Third time we came for hubbies birthday. Obviously the first two trips weren't a deterrent. Boom! Two wait staff and yep! Had to wait 10 minutes to get seated but we hung out and looked at the historical pictures and all was well even if we were on the verge of hangry. We ordered the shrimp cocktail to start - super awesome waitress said it would take a while which was fine, we had drinks and THAT VIEW... she brought the cocktail out and explained that the shrimp were fresh, as in, the chef quick cooks then then cools them quickly and serves them. Most places have them prepared in a fridge and waiting. There is a huge difference and that extra 7 minutes was beyond worth it. And the cocktail sauce was punch your tastebuds perfect horseradish goodtimes. For our dinners we had the seafood fettuccini and the halibut Benedict (I think that's the name). Dear lord... I don't normally commit the sin of dousing fresh seafood in Alfredo sauce but each type of seafood stood out. The shrimp, the salmon, the scallops. Not drenched in crappy white sauce, the white sauce complimented the sweet flavors of each and none were over cooked or weird or chewy. The pasta was the thick not mushy awesomeness you want. The halibut was the star out of the two though. Grilled perfectly and a little bit of fresh crab on top with hollandaise. The fish was melt in your mouth buttery and the addition of just enough of the topping made me want to switch plates with the mr for a bit. The whatever the heck they did amazingness with the mashed potatoes... wow. So needless to say bday dinner was a huge success. Still bringing up said dinner once a month and reminiscing. For realz. We went for brunch another time and brought my sister from AZ because we knew she'd freak over the Benedict....

So before we went I read all the reviews and I'll comment on some of those and give my own.

We went on a Tuesday at 5:30 in February. Probably one of their slowest times. But, were surprised to see 5-6 cars in the parking lot that early. So, I thought that was a good start. Many ppl complained about the wait to get seated. It's definitely confusing if you come in the street side entrance. This entrance is just wasted space in winter but probably used immensely in the summer busy times for guests waiting for a table. Remeber the coast is extremely seasonal. This could be fixed with a simple seasonal sign though explaining where to go. I saw complaints of smell but we didn't notice much and it looks like they had a brand-new dehumidifier which is a great idea on the coast. I run one in my vacation rental. Saw resroom complaints. I didn't use it but my wife said they were good. So, it looks like they listen to reviews and make changes which is nice 👍

The view was awesome and we went right at sunset. Boats coming in here and there it was great. Restaurant is dated but most on coast are and they have slowly updatimg like the their windows 👍. Carpet next . The food was great and our server got us everything we needed. Just one server and probably one cook on nights like these. Slow at times but again seasonal place and they did great with that in mind.

Reviews were mainly good on the seafood Alfredo, besides some sauce complaints. Here's the thing cooking is an art. There is no one way to do anything. It's like pizza crust sometimes you want thin sometimes you want thick. Sometimes I want smooth light Alfredo and other times I want super thick creamy and rich. Well that's what there's is and it was great. Usually when I order this dish at places you get a pound of pasta and just a little seafood. Not here! I had more seafood then pasta it was crazy and delicious. Ordered mine blackened it seemed like it was just added to the sauce not like the seafood was blackened. I can see why though so much seafood with little pieces it would take forever. Comes with bread and soup salad option. And they make there own blue cheese. Heck yea.

We had a great time and will be back to try the many...

When my wife and I arrived, the resturant only had two other tables occupied and two waitresses to serve us, so we thought the service would be good. We ordered the Oyster Stew, Salmon Caesar Salad with the dressing on the side, Blackened Rock Fish and a glass of Zinfandel. When the Oyster Stew arrived it looked to be a few days old. It was brownish-yellow and the oysters had been cooked so much they were reduced to small pieces and the soup had a mushy consistency. We have eaten at Pirates Cove regularity over the years, and have had the stew many times before. It has usually has been a favorite, but not tonight. This time we worried about whether it was safe to eat. About ten minutes after ordering dinner I asked the waitress if she had forgotten my wine. She had. About 10 minutes after I received my Rockfish the waitress asked my wife if she would like dessert. My wife explained she was waiting for her salad and maybe after that. It became evident that our waitress had forgotten to put the salad order in, and after another 10-15 minute wait, my wife received the salad with the dressing already mixed onto the lettuce. I told my wife that my fish was dry, and she asked me to try her already soft Caesar salad lettuce. At that point, I asked our waitress for a plate of plain romaine lettuce, no dressing, and she complied. After that, we didn’t see the waitress except to listen to her embarrassment about forgetting to bring a pen when taking our order. She rarely came out to check on us and we had to ask the other waitress to refill our waters. The meal was very expensive - $82.00. No reduction was offered. We have eaten at Pirates Cove many times and have never had such a bad experience. Honestly, it’s probably the worst dining experience we’ve EVER had, which is saying something as we are retired and enjoy eating out frequently. Pirates Cove just lost a...