Hungry Clam — Restaurant in Oregon

First, I'll say the service crew was very good and attentive. We were there a couple hours before closing. The food was another story and the counter gal was even suggesting another restaurant close by if we were looking for cocktails with our dinner, which they didn't offer. They were so polite and friendly, we decided to eat there and figured we'd go get cocktails at the place the server had suggested after our meal there. We ordered two bowls of chowder and a crab melt sandwich to split. The chowder was very thick with a consistency and taste of what I'd describe as being like wallpaper paste. You literally could stand your spoon in it. This could also have been the result of it being day's end, bottom of the pot chowder that should've been thinned a little. The roux to thicken it tasted like it hadn't been cooked like it should've been giving it a raw flour taste. Despite having a goodly amount of clams, what they were suspended in was just not making the cut for me. It lacked in flavor. The crab sandwich looked wonderful, so in my mind all was not lost with the chowder. As I drew the generously crab packed sandwich close to my mouth, I was taken aback by its smell. I admit, I have an acute sense of smell, probably more so than most. I took a cautious bite, it was just tasted "off" to me. Instinct and experience dictated not to eat it as I thought I'd pay dearly later. I was so embarrassed apologized profusely to my companion who had joined me that evening and treated me to the meal. He jokingly said maybe this is why the counter gal suggested eating at the other place. Any appetite I had from not eating all day was dashed. He was hungry, though, and didn't mind it and happily ate his portion stating he wasn't picky. I offered him mine but he declined as between us, the split was so generous and the perfect portion for a hungry person. He said the crab had obviously been previously frozen and why it was the way it was. Call me spoiled, but I guess I'm accustomed to fresh crab, but even previously frozen crab didn't have that smell. I think somewhere along the way for this crab meat the proper holding temperatures were not maintained. I really wanted to love this place for its friendly and efficient staff, proximity to the harbor views and being dog friendly as I had taken my puppy with us. So far my friend has not had any ill effects though he did say as we were driving the nearly two hours home a couple of hours after eating, that when he belched he could taste that crab sandwich and it wasn't all...

This was my first stop after a 15 hour drive from Utah. I was staying close by and couldn't check-in until 4pm so I decided to order some food. The staff was very friendly and quickly took down my order. I ordered the halibut bites, the crab cakes, and the clam chowder.

After I placed my order I had to use the the restroom and I'm grateful it was clean and not just for employees. The place is a small diner with a very cute theme. The decorations are fun and well put together.

I asked for recommendations on what I should get, and was happy that I had ordered at least one of the items the waitress suggested. I took my food to go and sat in my car as I waited for 4pm to come. The crab cakes were only okay until I dipped them in what I'm assuming was their red pepper sauce. Combined with the sauce they were delicious, which is odd because the sauce had horseradish in it and I absolutely loathe horseradish. The tartar sauce was too creamy and didn't have enough tang, but I squeezed a lemon that was provided into it and it helped a little. The halibut bites smelled horrible and the only way I could eat them was by holding my nose shut. They tasted okay with the lemon tartar sauce. The French fries are your plain run of the mill crinkle fries that you can get at any grocery store. They provided some sort of buttered toast which tasted okay.

The clam chowder was very disappointing. I try to get clam chowder at any restaurant I go to because I love it, but this stuff was very unappealing. It was way creamier than necessary and that was due to the potatoes being the chewy frozen processed ones that you can get out of any can of soup. If they were fresh potatoes they would have had time to break down and give the creaminess a little better flavor. The clams inside the chowder were actually very good and probably the only good part of the dish. There is a place further up the coast called Local Ocean which has the best clam chowder I've ever tasted, but the rest of their food that I tried was only so-so.

Overall the reason they are getting 4 stars is because they were friendly, they had clean restrooms, good aesthetics, and they made me realize that horseradish actually can have potential other than being meant for...

Gross all around. This place is dirty. To start, the front and back doors were wide open when we got there, flies were buzzing around the entire restaurant. The back door is about 3 feet away from their grill, and gave you a great view into their outdoor walk-in cooler / plastic garden shed, where they keep such items as gallons of tartar sauce... maybe they have a portable ac out there?... the tiny kitchen's floor was just rough asphalt, like built right over parking lot. How does one go about cleaning that? When we did finally get our food, the fish was bland and rubbery, the frozen fries were what you get in elementary school, but somehow worse. So much for best fries in town. The chowder was questionable, and nothing to write home about. The ketchup tasted sour, like it was beginning to ferment in the bottle. I'm no foodie, and didn't even have the highest of hopes for this place, I usually eat everything good or bad, but I couldn't finish even half of this meal. We left, still hungry. I got to spend the following morning on the toilet from the little bit I did manage to eat. I guess health inspectors don't get to the coast very often. The place is just bad, Bad food, Flies everywhere, a Meth head on the grill, Dirty floors, Dirty tables and tacky "beach" decorations everywhere. Restaurant health codes are exist for a reason. This place is going to get...