Mo's Seafood & Chowder - Lincoln City — Restaurant in Lincoln City

A very popular place specifically known for their New England style (potato based, as opposed to Manhattan style tomato based) clam chowder (available in a fresh-baked bread bowl or several more conventional containers), with multiple locations along the northern and central Oregon coast and at Portland International Airport, this location in Lincoln City is the favorite of my wife, and apparently a lot of other folks. If you visit during normal meal time on a weekend or during spring break and much of the summer, expect to get in line OUTSIDE the building, and make new friends while you wait to be seated. They have good seafood including prawns, crab, halibut, and salmon served informally in dishes such as fish and chips or fish sandwich, or more sophisticated such as a full salmon steak dinner or shrimp Louie. They also have a few items for those not fond of eating from the ocean, including chili (also available on the bread bowl), burgers, and pasta. They serve a variety of bottled and draft brews and wine, spirits, and soft beverages. For kids, they have their "Little Mates"menu. Pricing is moderate, with a meal for two in the range of thirty dollars and nothing on the menu over eighteen bucks. The setting is very casual, with seating on wooden benches in a wide-open dining area and cargo nets hanging from the ceiling, great for a family meal, but suitable for a romantic weekend of you don't require quiet and privacy. The place can be quite noisy from both the hubbub of the staff in the open adjacent kitchen with others coming and going from there, and the lively chatter of the clientele, which may be part of the popularity. There is a wonderful view of Siletz Bay close at hand on the south, and at certain times of the year, one may see sea lions swimming in the bay or sunning themselves on the far shore. There is some view of the Pacific Ocean from the west end of the dining room. Sunsets are beautiful if it isn't cloudy, except in mid-summer when the sun sets farther to the north and is hidden by the nearby bluff, in which case a short walk along the bay out to the breakers eliminates that obstruction. Parking can be a challenge during popular times, but the city has various parking around the vicinity, and space is usually available if one is persistent in the search. In the event that you find nothing west of US-101, there is almost always parking at the city lot on SE Inlet Avenue behind the hardware store on the east side of US-101. There is also room at that location for trailers and recreational vehicles, which are pretty difficult to park nearer to Mo's. The walk from there to Mo's is less than half a mile and takes less than ten minutes each way. You can cross 101 with the traffic signal at 51st Street, eliminating the fun game...

Mo's Restaurant in Lincoln City, on 51st street, is an experience; however, it doesn't live up to the original Mo's in Newport. We arrived around 1300 on a Monday and it was busy. Parking can be difficult due to there being a public beach access way at the end of the parkway; however, there is plenty to be had if you're willing to walk a little ways.

There is a separate entry and exit; however, I was surprised at the number of people who entered through the exit. Just inside the entry is the gift shop which caused a lot of congestion and upheaval between those perusing the goods and those waiting to be seated. To my delight, we were seated quickly for a group of seven. We were able to order our food quickly and then things didn't really go terribly bad but didn't quite go well from here.

The menu had fewer options than the original Mo's which really limited what my daughter with celiac disease could order. For example, the fish tacos here are only available in cod or halibut; however, they were out of halibut. The menu didn't have a salmon option at all, which was available at the original Mo's Restaurant. The fish and chips also had fewer options to choose from.

When the food arrived, the corn tortillas weren't fried and the fish portions were smaller, a lot smaller than at the original Mo's Restaurant. The cod can be ordered in blackened or baked options. Choose the blackened, trust me. We ordered both and it was by far the better of the two options for fish tacos. Everything tasted delicious including the wonderful chowder.

Our server was too busy to check up on us and nobody got their drinks refilled. I don't remember her name as I did with Madison from the Original Mo's. However, I'm willing to overlook this a little due to how busy the restaurant was.

Overall it's very difficult not to compare this Mo's with the original Mo's in Newport which was an entirely more charming experience to dine at. The additional menu options, more attentive server, larger portion sizes, and the less congested entry way, give the original Mo's the win.

Overall I would give Mo's Restaurant in Lincoln City on 51st Street...

My TLDR; Mid. Tourist trap. Not worth the price. Food lacks flavor and lacks a homemade taste. Read on for more detail.

I think the food is pretty mid, and most definitely overpriced. For two adults and two children, the meal came out to 75$. I expected more from the clam chowder since people talk it up and chowder is literally in the establishment name, but it was very... plain? Unremarkable? It was basically just a simple potato soup, nothing to write home about; it also felt very processed and not homemade, similar to a canned soup. It needed more emphasis on the CLAM and less on the chowder. We were also served legit ice cold mac and cheese for my kiddo. I immediately took a small bite to make sure it wasn't too hot for her when it arrived at the table, and surprise surprise, it was ACTUALLY COLD. It also tasted highly processed and not homemade, it was basically just elbow noodles with what seemed like processed nacho cheese or Velveeta cheese mixed in, with no flavoring of real cheese or any other flavor whatsoever. My kid normally loves mac and cheese and wouldn't even eat it, and funny enough, I noticed the kid at the table in front of us also didn't eat any of her mac and cheese either. I had to ask them to heat it up since it was cold, obviously they are using microwaves to "cook" certain foods which is honestly pathetic for a place that charges as much as they do for the food. You expect a certain amount of quality, you know, when you go to eat at a nice seaside restaurant, but I digress. As for the fish and chips, I believe the fries are just "okay" and the halibut itself was a good piece of fish but the breading was lacking flavor. They do not add any spices or flavoring into the batter, it is essentially just plain. Again, you expect more from a dish that costs 25$. It was nice to try out Mo's once just to see how it was, but we will not be...