Lincoln City has some of the best food on the Oregon Coast. I was not expecting to be so wowed by the food, it was a wonderful surprise and we will be talking about specific meals for years to come. We ate a lot of seafood there because it’s a coastal town and it just fit the mood, but there are plenty of options for other types of food as well. Almost everywhere we went had fantastic servers and we felt super welcome which made us enjoy our food all the more. Here are my top picks for the best food options in Lincoln City.

 

Blackfish Cafe

Blackfish Cafe was the inspiration for my Lincoln City trip to begin with, and it was one of my favorite meals while I was there. The atmosphere is bright and upbeat with modern art all over the walls and interesting details like comical iron piranha fish coat hooks in the entrance. We got there early, but it filled up fast, so it might be a good idea to have a reservation before you go.

 

 

The Fish & Chips were excellent, especially the Cole Slaw. Seriously, the best cole slaw I’ve ever had in my life. I think there was kale in it, or some darker greens that gave it depth and texture I’ve never had in slaw. The next time I go back (and I for sure will), I’m going to try to get the chef to tell me how to make it because I need that in my life on a regular basis. The fish was cooked to perfection and was not at all greasy which is a deal breaker for me. This is the small portion by the way, and we shared it.

 

 

For dessert, you have to have the house made Ding Dong. We got the full size version, but barely ate half because it’s so rich and satisfying, so unless there are more than two people, I’d recommend the half size. My favorite part is the berry sauce drizzled on the side.

 

 

The next time I go back to Blackfish Cafe, I will order the exact same thing because it was fantastic. Also, I love it when restaurants serve half portions, especially when traveling because I can’t take it home and restaurant portions are so huge even half the size is usually more than enough.

 

Kyllo’s

Kyllo’s is located on the beach, stilts right in the sand, so the views are wonderful and you can go for a nice seaside walk when you are finished. We ate here when we first arrived in Lincoln City after driving all day and not eating a thing because we wanted to save our appetites for dinner. It was totally worth it. We were famished, and the food did not disappoint. We left satiated with me in a swoon over the Kale Salad and my friend giddy over the Marionberry Cobbler.

 

 

The tap was broken, but luckily they had a local Watermelon Wheat Beer from Sessions Full Sail Brewery in Hood River, Oregon, and it was delicious. Another one I will look for to enjoy at home I liked it so much. We started with the Organic Kale Salad and Crab Cakes with Red Bell Pepper Sauce. That salad might have been the best Kale Salad I’ve ever had. It was something different with cilantro, mint, crunchy peanuts and a little bit of a kick from spicy peanut dressing. Amazing! Even my friend who is a cilantro hater loved the salad.

 

 

We dug into the Fish & Chips before I took my pictures, hence the bite, and we loved the panko crust. Not a trace of grease and the fries were crispy and delicious. The Cole Slaw was great too and one small size portion was more than enough food.

 

 

Dessert was the Marionberry Cobbler, obviously because why would you order anything else if you can get your hands on marionberry anything? I’m a little obsessed with marionberries because they grow in Oregon and they are hard to get. I’ve never seen them in the store, sold as berries, only as an ingredient.

 

 

My friend said it was one of the best desserts she’s ever had. I loved it too, but was more focused on the kale salad and trying to figure out how to make it at home. Kyllo’s set the bar pretty high as our first meal in Lincoln City because we loved everything we had. Luckily, fantastic food is not hard to find there, so it set a precedent that was easy to maintain for the whole trip.

 

Black Squid Beer House

The Black Squid Beerhouse is a tap room that is dog friendly. They serve a wide variety of local beers and kombucha and have a fantastic selection of bottled beer, ciders, sours, and wine.

 

 

I tried the Rose Kombucha and it was so wonderful I am kicking myself for not bringing home a growler. I did bring some really fun beers to save for a special occasion, one Peanut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter, and one Toasted Coconut Chocolate Porter. Don’t they sound amazing?

 

 

As a non-wine drinker, it’s exciting for me to browse all the interesting labels and types of beer that are now available to us. The owners of Black Squid are extremely knowledgeable about how different beers are made, what glass they are served in and why, and can answer pretty much any question you have and recommend things you would like.

 

 

There is an adorable patio with bistro lights–I was there in the day, but I bet it is so cute at night. Black Squid has a very local, relaxed vibe. You BYOF (bring your own food), grab a beer and a board game, and chill out with friends in a wonderful atmosphere. It’s only a year old, but I think it’s destined to be a classic.

 

.

Olde Line Lanes & Kitchen

Olde Line Lanes & Kitchen is the coolest bowling alley I’ve ever been to and their food is fantastic. The pizza is off the charts awesome–some of the best I’ve ever tasted, and the atmosphere is wonderful with a mid century modern vibe and warm, welcoming people. This is the first place I want to go the next time I’m there, it was one of the highlights of the trip.

 

The Rusty Truck

The Rusty Truck is a big brewery with a really fun, eclectic atmosphere. I suspect kids would love this place, I did. We sat on the patio, but the inside would be wonderful on non-sunny days. There are dollar bills all over the ceiling rumored to be in the thousands. Traffic lights, a shark head, and lots of stuff to look at lend a quirkiness to the place, it’s a fun environment.

 

 

We had the Strawberry Wheat beer and it was smooth as velvet and perfect as a summertime beer. For food, I had the Fish & Chips, and Salad. We were especially impressed with the homemade tarter sauce and salad dressing. Portions are huge and more than enough to share one dish between two people.

 

Wildflower Grill

We went to the Wildflower Grill right after our spectacular horseback ride on the beach and we were hungry and thrilled to be able to sit in an atrium like sun porch with a view of a creek where we were entertained by a raccoon family.

 

 

I had a local Saison from Depoe Bay Brewing which was delicious and very herbal tasting. It was so good I stopped by to get a growler to take home but they were closed that day.

 

 

Vegetarians will probably enjoy the house made Veggie Burger which is made from lentils, oats and vegetables and has a crispy on the outside texture. I loved it and it’s always a thrill for me to get a quality veggie burger out. Fries were good too, nice and crisp. My friend had the Turkey Sandwich with cranberries and said it was wonderful.

The Wildflower Grill has their own coffee blend from a local roaster called Sisters, and I really wanted to have that with the homemade Marionberry Cobbler, but I was just too full and satisfied for anything else.

 

Side Door Cafe

Located in an old brick and tile building in Gleneden Beach, the Side Door Cafe has an open, industrial-farmhouse atmosphere. Greenery and fresh flowers give it an atrium vibe with comfortable mint green leather chairs and lots of color. Decor is sourced from re-claimed local Oregonian materials from buildings like the Lincoln City Police Department and Salishan Resort.

 

 

The Side Door Cafe understands presentation, and our salads were beautiful, as were all the plates that we saw go past our table. Those are side salads and they are huge (those are large dinner plates), and the Seafood Chowder was delicious with loads of seafood. It’s a a good idea to have reservations, as it does get busy.

 

 

The Bay House

We appropriately ended our Lincoln City  trip with a luxurious meal at The Bay House which is one of the only three four-diamond restaurants in the state of Oregon. It has gorgeous panoramic bay views and a warm, welcoming energy. I got the impression that this is where locals go for special occasions.

 

 

It has the feel of a  converted house with big stone fireplaces, but it was actually once a tavern. The dining room where we sat had an airy, open atmosphere focused on the views. You’re so close to the water that you almost feel like you are on the water.

My friend had the salmon and I had the Halibut which satisfied my year-long craving for a baked lemony, buttery fish which surprisingly isn’t as easy to find as you would think.  It doesn’t look like a whole lot on the plate, but it was so rich and perfect I could only finish about half and I never made it to the potatoes or dessert.

 

 

Part of that was due to the Crab Cakes which were wonderful with little shavings of pickled fennel and micro greens. But the piece de resistance was the Corn Chowder Soup. We both agreed it was probably the very best soup either of us had ever tasted in our lives, and that it tasted like butter cookies. I’m a salad person and wouldn’t have thought to order the soup in the middle of the summer, but my friend said she ordered it because she saw the table across from her going crazy for it.

 

Best Places to Eat & Drink in Lincoln City Bottom Line

There are so many good places to eat in Lincoln City that the hard part is having enough time and working up enough appetite to fit them all in.

Like it? Pin it!

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

 

 

 

 

 

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave