Ocean Cove Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Guerneville

We had lunch at the Ocean Cove Bar and Grill on a weekday in June, 2023. We stumbled across the restaurant as they were one of the very few restaurants on a large stretch of the road. So we pulled in to give them a try. This was three days in a row with lunches at places with great views. Although the Ocean Cove did have a nice view. It was our least favorite of the three lunches. But I want to be clear, it had a very nice view. Upon entering the restaurant, we were immediately told that paper menus were on the side. It was a small menu. We were told that we must order and pay for your food in advance then sit and wait for it to be cooked. It reminded me of using a kiosk at McDonalds that we just did for breakfast a day or so ago. It already gave this seemingly nice restaurant a really cheap feel. So we order and then pay. Of course I paid with a credit card, to conserve cash. But now I get the slip asking for a tip before I even sit down. This gives me an uncomfortable feeling. Do I, or how much do I tip for basically a McDonalds style dining experience with a nice view? If I don't tip, do I now have to worry about possible retaliation by an employee that may feel cheated? To me, it feels like extortion in a nice way. So after paying up, and having a seat, our food comes out. I will say that the employee who runs the register and brought out our food was very friendly. Maybe because he was already tipped? But I would like to think that he was just a genuinely friendly person. We both ordered seafood and chips. She ordered Prawns and chips. I went with fish and chips. Both of us felt the food had little flavor. You could cover it up with a sauce or such. But if you tasted it plain, it had little flavor. Normally fried food has a decent flavor from the grease it's cooked in. Thankfully we loaded up the fries with salt and pepper. So we had the two lunch baskets, and two cokes. With a tip, it cost me almost $60 for this dining experience. I will say that we didn't feel that the food was anywhere worth the price we paid. Honestly I think McDonalds would have tasted better. And I'm not a fan of McDonalds either. I understand we probably paid a higher price because of limited options. And as I said, it had a nice view. But we were not overly hungry, but it was getting late. So we had this lunch as to not mess up dinner later. We both wish we would have just waited and not...

Upon entering, you place your order at front counter & then seat yourself, either inside or outside. Mid-afternoon on a Sunday & place was very quiet, with only one other table having customers. I would offer, the location does have a nice ocean view.

Ordered the Cod Po-Boy & a cup of the Clam Chowder. Don't know whether a lot of dine-and-dash occurs in this area, but found it odd to pay upfront. As I was interested in a mixed drink, also needed to order / pay at the same time rather than at the bar. Total for a sandwich, cup & well drink was almost $45 - way too rich for my blood. Obviously the locals know of other places to eat.

Chose to sit at the bar & when food was brought out, found it to be fairly bland & nothing special. Certainly nothing to write home about. In travelling about the area over the course of a several days, found other places to eat that were more appealing. I guess you're just expected to pay...

The food is certainly edible, though very bland. The po boy was pretty dry and the salad greens seemed unwashed. The calamari looked more like a mozzarella stick than it did traditional calamari but was still pretty tasty. It's at a nice location where you get a good look of the water, though it looks as if it hasn't been renovated since I was born in the 90s. Admittedly it gives it some what of a charm. Overall this is a place you can stop for some decent seafood on a budget if you're coasting along the 1 and don't want to drive an additional hour either north to gualala or south to bodega where there are certainly better...