Old Oregon Smoke House — Restaurant in Rockaway Beach

Update 09/23/2022

I had to knock down my review from four to two stars. My last visit to the Smoke House on 09/05/2022 was subpar at best. I ordered fried claims and chips which would have been delicious if they had been served HOT. They were pretty cold by the time I got them. The chowder was disappointing. It was watery as watery clam chowder gets. For $35.00 I got cold food and watered down soup. I’m still not happy after three weeks because I used to love this place, which is the only reason for two and not one stars. I probably won’t be back.

First review 08/10/2020

It’s not a complete trip to Rockaway Beach without a stop at the iconic Old Oregon Smoke House. Located right of Highway 101 in the middle of DT Rockaway, the restaurant has been serving some of the best fish & chips for 17 years. It’s a must-stop, especially if you are staying in Rockaway.

My husband and I shared the Prawn & Chips plate ($14.95). All orders come with tartar, fry sauce and house made coleslaw. The meal was fantastic! I was very surprised how non-greasy the prawns and chips were. There was hardly any greasy residue soaked into the carry out container. The coleslaw was excellent, reminded me just like KFC’s.

The only reason I had to knock down a star was the God-awful wait time. I get everyone has bad days. This was one of them for the Smoke House. It may have been plausible if not for the inconsiderate attitude of the individual who handed us our food. I mean, what did I expect? It’s a run-down “fast” food joint, I shouldn’t expect 5-star service, right? Or should I...? At the very least, respect your customers - don’t roll your eyes and say you’re too busy to hand me the extra ramiken of fry sauce I PAID FOR. I was so dismayed by the abhorrent service, I left as soon as she said that. Not worth my breath.

Great food, delicious and fresh! It would be downright disrespectful for me to leave anything below 4 stars. It’s disappointing one person, one statement, took this opportunity away, though. I’d be willing to give this place a go again, because I do believe in second chances and I don’t think I could walk by this place and not think about how delicious my last...

Not the kind of place you’d want to go to on vacation. The actual seafood was good quality…as it is everywhere in this town.

The service was meh. They’re pushy about tips (for carry out). Apparently, you get a number on your receipt. But I wouldn’t know bc the cashier kept the receipt after I signed it, not me. And said nothing about how the food comes out. So I stood there waiting for my food. A food runner comes out and keeps calling out order numbers but nobody knew their number…so every time the food runner came out with an order and called a number, all the people waiting would say “what’s the order? We dont know our numbers.” And she would say what it was and another table would go “that’s ours”. I asked if they could tell me my number after that and they just told me to get in line and ask the cashier. So I did. And she says “I put your number out for you”. Obviously I, and all the people outside, did not know that this was their system and did not know our numbers. Would it be that hard to just say “here’s your order number” or something? I finally got my order, after asking if it was ready several times. Turns out it had been ready for some time and gone cold but nobody knew it was my order without my receipt number, which I didn’t have. And she gave it to me on a plate instead of packed to go. So whatever, I sit down and I’m eating and I have one sip of my water bottle and the cashier comes and points to a sign and says I can’t drink my water here bc she doesn’t know what could be in my bottle (implying I’m drinking alcohol out of a clear water bottle at noon?)

And my crab melt just tasted like a huge lump of melted cheddar. The crab under it was good after I dug it out but it was basically just bread, plain crab, and a huge blob of melted cheddar.

Hospitality and service was just bad. It wasn’t even busy….like 4-5 groups there in total. They need to figure out their service system. For the money, I could’ve gone to a sit down restaurant. Or somewhere with sone concept of...

There are places that feel curated. And then there are places like Old Oregon Smokehouse—which feel lived in. No artifice. No spin. Just fish, fryers, and humble Americana served without apology.

We arrived on foot, skirting the edge of a cartoonishly cinematic mini-golf course. The menu was posted on a board at street level—brief, confident, and laminated against time. Old Glory waved above it all, not as a political statement, but as a weathered given. Inside the open-air corridor, picnic benches claimed their own tiny nations of ketchup and vinegar, while a case of smoked fish and a row of hardworking deep fryers framed the passage to the counter.

The crew wore psychedelic tie dye, each a swirling badge of affiliation. Family, likely. Or at least, crew bonded by grease and good humor. The man in charge—grillmaster, patriarch, vibe manager—called shots and cracked jokes while hauling out the trash with his kids. It wasn’t quaint. It was real.

The Order: Fried halibut and clam strips, golden and crisp, with a gentle brine that tasted like it remembered the sea A heap of potato spears—not fries, not chips, just exactly what they were supposed to be Cole slaw, creamy but light, playing backup without begging attention Tartar and cocktail sauces, predictably necessary, perfectly functional

This isn’t culinary theater. It’s a well-rehearsed family rite. A sequence of gestures honed by years, grease, tide tables, and the occasional tourist who gets it. There’s no attempt to impress. Just the pleasure of being done well, again and again, within earshot of the ocean.

I bought a hoodie. A XXXL tie-dye monument to this place—shrunk slightly in the wash, but still loud enough to double as a beacon if I’m ever lost at sea. Just like the Smokehouse itself: a little faded, absolutely unmistakable, and warm...