Puffin Cafe — Restaurant in Washougal

If you aren't aware of the Puffin Cafe, it's likely going to fly under your radar unless someone tells you about it, because it's kinda hard to find. This "floating" restaurant on the Columbia is nestled away at the Port of Camas & Washougal, and is surrounded by the marina, port authority, a boat launch, etc. The road that leads to it is more like a driveway for riverside businesses and warehouses, and parking utilizes spaces up the hill from the cafe, past the RV/boat trailer lot.

However, this place is a real gem, and serves up a smorgasbord of spicy seafood with Calypso flair, honoring the cuisines and culture of the Caribbean in a humble riverside shack. We ducked in for a quick Happy Hour on the way home from Skamania Lodge. It was my wife's first visit, but she immediately fell in love with the location, decor and cuisine, so I know we will be back very soon. She remarked that it was "cute" and "romantic", and perfect for a date, either on a sunny afternoon, or on a moonlight night, when the passing riverboats, their lights twinkling like stars reflecting off the inky surface of the water, create a second sky that stretches across the horizon.

As we were just in for a quick snack on the way home, we ordered a cup of the Calaloo Voodoo soup, which comes with a warning that guests should sample it before ordering, as it is quite spicy. Ignoring the warnings, as we often do, we dived right in, and absolutely loved it. Sort of a spicy seafood chowder, although the broth more water-based than cream based which, in our opinion, is a good thing, as this makes the soup light and tasty, not heavy and filling). The Cuban bread that accompanies it adds a little kick itself, but calling it bread is a little disingenuous, as the two pieces we received were more like croutons, but then again, we weren't looking for a fill-up, anyway. Still, that soup is really fantastic. We considered ordering a bowl to take home with us, but instead decided between us to just come back in the near future.

Another place where the Puffin truly shines is in its selection of Caribbean-inspired cocktails...which means rum. A lot of rum. I like rum, so this is a good thing. If you're like-minded, you're gonna enjoy yourself here. I went easy on myself this time with a Cuba Libre (fancy rum and coke), but it's hard to resist the Execution Dock (Habanero + Pina Colada!), a Caribbean Screwdriver, or a nice hot Jamaican Coffee. For those who aren't big on rum, there are plenty of vodka cocktails & margaritas as well, but if you're ordering one of these, you belong on the mainland, landlubber!

I have been to the Puffin before on several occasions, and every time I pass through along Highway 14, I remember how much I like it there, and that revelation usually means I'll be making a detour there again soon. Now that it's left an impression on my wife as well, I imagine this will occur with...

Wonderful views of the Columbia River, such a great location! Inside has cute decor. The food was awful unfortunately. The older manager women was rude when we walked in, almost insisting we eat outside. When I asked how long the wait would be she acted like they didn't do such thing. I felt she wanted us to walk away. So after our long wait she seated us in the only table without a heater while the doors were open. But when I asked the same manager to please move us to the empty table with a heater and the beautiful view she said NO as she passed by. She said that she didn't want to wipe down my table again (we had just sat there it would have taken 45 seconds) so she insisted that we needed to stay put. I ate with my coat on while the rest of the restaurant guests were warm and cozy. By the way, I watched them clean the tables around us as people left and it took them about 25 seconds from start to finish, so we are not worth the 25 extra seconds is how we took the mean manager. As for the food....One of the four meals came out incorrect from our order, we ordered a hamburger and received a cheeseburger. The waiter even said to us, no that's what you ordered lol however he has NEVER eaten a burger with cheese since I've know him. The staff must be uptight from the horribly mean manager. My battered halibut was so gooey it was almost nonedible, very undercooked but after the troubles from the cheeseburger I suffered in silence. My daughter's hamburger bun was 100% burnt, kids have a hard time eating the cooks problems in silence. The food overall tasted very rushed and is absolutely very low quality which then makes this place over priced for what quality you actually receive. We were wondering if the hamburgers were even beef?? The house made ranch tasted way too garlicky, ketchup tasted genetic and left out. Overall extremely disappointing. Such a great location, just not worth the pricey low quality food and having to eat while watching...

We hoped for the best. The jerk chicken tacos (Montego Bay Chicken Tacos) were not good. The portions were generous, but the chicken was dry, bland and totally lacked in flavor. I would recommend that the cooks marinate the chicken, overnight, so the flavor is there within the chicken. And please don't overcook the chicken. The taco shells were store bought generic types, not prepped for this dish as it should have been. The fried Okra had no flavor. The Okra could be seasoned a bit before breading it and deep frying. Just not worth the $10.75 price for two. The slaw wasn't too good and they use canned pineapples. The beer was fine, but that was bottled, can't go wrong with that. This place has such potential and I cannot understand how it cannot strive to offer something more, something people can't wait to return back for. We'd return, but maybe for the beer and next time we'll try the waffle fries. But we wouldn't try any other dish on the menu, maybe except for the desert. We were going to head of to the Tin Shed Cafe in Portland, which is our regular place, which by the way has the best tacos de pescado ever, made with wild caught salmon and seasoned to perfection for only $7.00, but we wanted to give this place a try. Next time we'll drive out to Portland. The cooks really need some chef training. They looked pretty young and inexperienced. Cooking is an art. If this place wants to make a lot of $$$$, it must pay attention to the details with regards to how their food is bought, prepped and cooked. The devil is in...