Doe Bay Cafe — Restaurant in Orcas Island

I don’t know what happened the night we came here, but this was one of the absolute worst dining experiences we’ve ever had. When we left, we told ourselves we just made $150 donation to a small business. We made reservations, but when we got there, it was pretty empty. The chicken we ordered had zero flavor, the risotto was cold and the only part of the meal that we actually felt ok about was the nut and olive appetizer. We didn’t end up eating much of our food (we are foodies so this isn’t normal). Our drinks were extremely weak. Everything was sooo expensive. It really felt like they ran out of food, it was so odd. This was the one expensive dinner we wanted to have, so for it to be so disappointing, especially with all the other good reviews, was shocking to say the least. We came here February 2023 and this experience has stuck with us ever since. I finally decided to write a review. I wish we would’ve said something that night, but it felt super awkward. We almost called to speak to a manager or owner or something the next day, but we just left it. But all other mediocre restaurant experiences we’ve had since then are by far better than the meal we had here. Our server was very nice though, so I’ll...

Beautiful view. Tip: go before 7 especially on a Sunday as they sell out of a lot of items quickly And change their menu weekly. Great service, everything was flavorful. The menu was all fresh and local and were good but needed just a few small changes to be a five star rating for me. Plating was also beautiful. -Mushroom toast was a little too toasted. Bordering on Cajun style. -shrimp romesco sauce was so delish we skipped the infused oil and put our bread in this. But the shrimp were a bit small. Could have been larger and juicer. -halibut was beautiful fresh and flaky but turmeric was a weird spice for the fish. Kind of overpowered and make it a strange color. Great corn side. -Limited wine by the glass list. My dining parter doesn’t drink so no point in a bottle. Pie was perfect texture, but would have been great w a side of homemade whipped cream. So easy to have inside be too gelatinous or too loose this was perfect. The crust could have been flakier but was flavorful. If you’re not already, the secret is using ice cold vodka and not water to your crust + only butter, no shortening. It’ll make it...

Called for a Saturday night reservation. Left a message on their recorder. No return call, so we drove over in hopes of getting in. We were an hour or more early and asked at the store about the restaurant. The owner came out and said he had called and left a message that they were too busy on Saturday evening. I later check and found no call or message. (Could have been bad cellular phone service.) We agreed to take a early Sunday night reservation. We arrived at 5 Pm and they were not quite ready for us, but seated us at a booth with a view of the harbor. The server came by with water and menus a few minutes later. I ordered Bok Choy with pesto over white rice. It was a good meal however the corn meal topping on the food was slightly charred and some had to be pushed aside as it was bitter. My partner had clams that were flavored with a bacon sauce that was very strong. Dessert was a chocolate torte that was very rich. The plates were attractively presented, my drink was a strawberry lemonade that was ok but not impressive. Mood was good as the restaurant was playing soothing...