RustyMoose — Restaurant in Manzanita

I have “not so secretly” been wanting to visit this place for awhile now, but the last few times I’ve been to the coast I haven’t had the opportunity for one reason or another. But this weekend my husband and I came down to Manzanita for a quick trip from Portland, and it was quite literally right down the street from where we were staying, so now I finally had my perfect opportunity.

We arrived here around 5:00 on a Saturday, and while the tables were already starting to fill up, we were able to get seated right away, which was nice for such a popular spot. After being seated, we were greeted at our table by the owner, Chip MacGregor, who proceeded to answer any questions we had about the items on the menu and to take our drink order. Then Chip himself came back with our drinks and engaged in conversation with us while we waited for our food. All I can say is wow, what a personable guy. It’s easy to see why his business has done so well. This is the kind of owner who’s establishment you want to visit again and again and who’s employees probably love coming to work every day because you can tell how much he cares.

As for the drinks and the food - perfection! First of all, the presentation on everything is spot on! Each item looks like a work of art, and is almost too pretty to eat… I said almost. We ordered the Mac’s Old Fashioned and the Kentucky Peach, which were both equally yummy and oh so smooth. We also tried a taster of the Jameson Cooper’s Croze since we’re big Jameson fans but had never had that one before. For dinner/snacks, we had a pastie, the Manzanita pretzel (the cheese sauce is to die for), the lobster bisque and the mac and cheese. All were super tasty, but my favorite was probably the mac and cheese, which was some of the best I’ve ever had (and this southern girl has had her fair share of mac and cheese over the years, let me tell you).

When we were getting ready to leave, Chip came back out and brought us each a sample of some amaretto type liquor that his family makes as an after dinner drink, and it was AMAZING! Not overly sweet like regular amaretto is. Just subtle hints. If I could buy it bottled, I would. Like I said before, he just seems like an all around good guy.

Final thoughts? This is definitely a stop worth making if you’re visiting the coast anywhere near Manzanita or you can visit their other location in Cannon Beach. Especially if you’re a whiskey or bourbon drinker, because they have everything you could possibly think of, and then some. The service is fantastic and the food is delicious too.

Well done, Chip! I hope your business continues to grow and thrive throughout the years. Never lose that personal touch. And we will definitely be back the next time we’re in Manzanita. Maybe by then you’ll remember who it is I...

This place used to be a nice cocktail bar. Sure, sometimes they didn’t have the food they advertised, but overall it was a decent cocktail experience and the food we were able to get had always been high quality.

Fast forward to today. We arrive and it’s not table service as it used to be. We ordered at the bar. Which is honestly fine but it was my first sign of a vibe shift. The menu is all blacked out as far as cocktails go. Only a few remain. This is the second sign.I order the black cherry whiskey sour which I am quite certain is (was) their signature cocktail. I see him pouring sour mix into a glass. I didn’t register that it was my glass. Couldn’t be possible.. this place serves the best whiskey sour I’ve had on the coast! My drink is presented to me. I look at it confused. Is this the black cherry whiskey sour? I am told that it is, that they just don’t make them “with egg whites anymore” I asked if he could at least shake it. He did. And then poured it into a warm glass with no additional ice. I sound like an asshole. Yes. I know. But this was just a bit of a shock. I go into a dive bar. Sure. Give me a pour of shitty whisky over ice with a squirt of sour mix. I know what I’m getting.

But charging luxury cocktail prices for a shitty dive bar drink is not going to keep you in business. They were nice and explained some things had happened with management. But they are not handling it well. And it’s not worth going here until they get it together. Which it sounds like they won’t. Because they are just going to drive anyone away. Be a dive bar or be a cocktail bar. They had food available and although I didn’t try it, from what they offered for drinks I would expect their charcuterie board to be ritz crackers and Colby jack cheese with soggy red grapes for $25 or whatever their good charcuterie board used to cost.

Also they used to play decent music and they played shitty post grunge garbage the whole time I was choking down my drink. (Creed, staind, you...

I'm editing a previous five-star review down to a two-star review. My wife and I have been visiting MacGregor's Whiskey Bar since shortly after they opened when we visit Manzanita. In all fairness our last visit was back in 2019 before the pandemic and it is unclear if the pandemic may have played a role in my greatest concerns. I fell in love with MacGregor's because it offered some unusual whiskey finds at what I felt was a reasonable price. I used to belong the Multnomah Whiskey Library and I left because their prices inflated greatly from the time they opened until I ended my membership. MacGregor's pricing is now on-par with the Library and there are no more rare finds at reasonable prices (roughly 2-3 pours pays for most bottles at Oregon flat liquor rates). And the mixed drinks that we had were weak. I may return in a year or two and see if things have changed but if my experience is similar I won't be back. This review was for the Manzanita location; I have not visited the Cannon Beach...