Big Wave Café

Short Sands Long on Mystery

July 10, 2013

Just a few miles north of the Big Wave Café is the hauntingly beautiful Smugglers Cove and Short Sands beach. The Salem Statesman Journal recently published a piece on the spot’s allure to surfers. However, while the surfing there is widely acknowledged as excellent, the beach makes a fine spot for meditating, picnicking or just […]

Big Wave Cafe

4.5

Based on 757 reviews

Steve Clovis

18:53 18 Mar 20

Love this place when we visit Manzanita! The food is wonderful & service is spot on. We are visiting the end of this month, so I hope they are doing take-out in the light of this virus thing!

Beverly Russell

15:17 13 Feb 20

Don’t miss stopping at Big Wave for a fantastic meal! The service is superb and the halibut fish and chips couldn’t be better—it even includes a large delicious side salad! It has become a true favorite restaurant when we are in Rockaway, as only a few miles farther for a meal we will recommend to all our friends!!

Heather Wold

22:35 08 Dec 19

This place is bar far the best all around place that we have eaten at on our weekend travel. Greeted promptly by Taylor G as we walked in the door with a warm and friendly smile to be seated in a comfortable booth to look out the windows. Taylor was great at letting us know the specials and answering menu questions we had. Knowledgeable on menu and prices. Everything we ordered was without a doubt spectacular, from taste to presentation, from texture to quality. Prices were reasonable with the exception of the Deviled Eggs. They were amazing but definitely could have been a little less, maybe $10.00 maximum. Thank you Taylor G and Chef 👌💕

Kimberly Maty

14:53 28 Nov 19

Charming place with great tasting food. Everything is made fresh, and we are never disappointed. The staff is super friendly, and you always feel welcome!

Tiffany Lee

06:21 25 Nov 19

Awesome dinner, excellent service and the food was great. Family owned place and feels good in there, positive ambiance. Ate the crab cakes - was tasty and came with some yummy veggies and a side. Wine list was satisfying and felt well attended to. Nice small menu of seafood and seasonal specials. The oysters were on point and all ingredients were locally sourced.

Andrew Coward

19:00 26 Oct 19

Wonderful place! Staff are very nice and give a warm greeting upon entering. Food is very good. And their fries! Crispy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. Everything a plate of fries should be. And they serve Portland Organic Ketchup, on the money! Desert was absolutely perfect!

Glen McHenry

04:05 19 Oct 19

A nice place to get a fantastic meal. You will not be disappointed. Please go and enjoy your night out.

Brianna Moser

01:38 14 Oct 19

My son and I stopped here for dinner. He loved the kids grilled cheese and I had the fresh chinook salmon special which was nicely done. Service was good, albeit a little slow. But my experience went downhill fast during the apple crisp dessert - there were 2 hairs in it. That’s pretty unforgivable and I won’t be back (or recommend either).

Rita Fan

06:02 01 Sep 19

We went on the labor day long weekend. The service was great and the food was very delicious. We had clam chowder, tsunami burgers, and bay shrimp salad. The beef patty for the tsunami burgers was so fresh and juicy. I would love to come back again.

Karl Johnston

03:36 24 Aug 19

Comfortable, clean , fast , service timing was perfect. All Food my wife and I had was.... make you slow down and want to savor and enjoy. Portions were great , price right for the quality of food and service. Family owned and operated. Were from Portland, I would do a round trip just for dinner.

Mitesh Master

02:34 21 Aug 19

This is a solid seafood restaurant. We had some razor clams, halibut, and clam chowder. We also had the French dip. Everything was good. Nothing screamed amazing. But with so many places failing to do seafood right, it's nice to have a place that does. Portions and prices are what I expect it to be.

Pilar Oun

01:47 19 Aug 19

Great stop for a meal on the coast. Fresh seafood, quality ingredients, reasonably priced, solid service. We would definitely go back again.

Alicia Riley

03:16 08 Aug 19

Stopped in for the first time while I played tour guide with my visiting family. Delicious seafood and amazing marionberry pie. Friendly folks. Loved seeing owners and their son working in the restaurant. I overheard the owner bring out the dinner special for his waitstaff to try. Very sweet man treating his staff right. We will definitely be back!

Corey H

02:45 17 Jul 19

Wow! This place really impresses.Food: 5/5Had the special, sesame crusted seared ahi tuna (pictured). Was perfectly cooked and a wonderful presentation. Split that and the standard burger with my wife. The burger was one of the best I’ve had in a long time, and I get a lot of gourmet burgers. Service: 5/5The most surprising thing was the great service. They were very attentive. The exec chef Brian came around to ask how meals were and even topped off a few draft beers for a very hospitable touch.Atmosphere: 5/5The outside is very unassuming, but the inside shows a close attention to detail. Beautiful woodwork and very clean. It gets a little loud when crowded, but nothing that distracted from the experience.Overall: 5/5

Richard Shannon

03:22 15 Jul 19

This place is excellent. My family and I just had a big seafood dinner there. It was fairly busy but the service was still good; atmosphere had a nice bustle to it too. Food was all high quality and nicely prepared. Calamari to start was delicious. Kids had fish and chips and chicken strips - all really good. Chicken was actual chicken - not some processed garbage. I had grilled halibut with baked potato and green beans - all were cooked to perfection; the green beans tasted very fresh and were not over cooked. I’m Irish, so I’m big on potatoes and I was very happy. My wife’s halibut fish and chips were good too. The salads were full and fresh and I really like the raspberry vinaigrette. We just wrapped it up with marionberry pie and apple crisp - so yummy! I want to go back to try the clam chowder and crab cakes...

Ronda Burleson

01:21 03 Jul 19

The waiter, Sam, was great. I'm always leery about restaurants with "cafe" in the name. The atmosphere was indeed cafe style, but had a bar, which was nice since I was traveling alone. The clam chowder was very good, I had to add a little salt though. They may go light on salt to accommodate people more. Side salad with bay shrimp was fantastic. Lots of shrimp and only $3 more to add it. I think it was $8. Could've just had that. Ranch dressing had dill in it, which I enjoy. Wine selection was good. I expected super cheap tasting wine.

John Black

23:12 22 Jun 19

Really good Alaska halibut fish and chips. Fast service, very clean. The wait staff was extremely friendly and accurate. The food was a little pricey, but well worth it.

Scott Haney

01:41 20 May 19

ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL!!!So many delicious choices, and all of them are amazing.Great service. The owner blends in with the waitresses.The best seafood I've had anywhere.If you live anywhere within a 200 mile radius, definitely worth the drive. Plus, the road to get here, 101, is one of the most scenic drives in the country.

Will Schleve

04:36 14 May 19

Wonderful dining experience and the food was amazing. The staff was very friendly and the restaurant was nice clean and comfortable. Hadn't seen the owner there in 40 years and he recognized me. The owner Brian & his lovely wife Carol are wonderful people. Highly recommend you go even if it's a little out of the way.

Joy Baum

00:02 13 Feb 18

We had never been before and checked reviews. They seemed good so we stopped in for Sunday lunch. Very cool place. Very clean and a great vibe. Super friendly staff. My order was messed up but they were more than accommodating to fix and quick! Good clam chowder and crab cakes! Would definitely come back and recommend.

Sonya Byars

20:13 11 Feb 18

This place is a must stop! The food is amazing, service is great and the owner is very hands on. Really fresh seafood. Will define back!

April Wright

02:00 08 Feb 18

The service is excellent! Our server Sam was attentive and very good at his job , and the food is amazing! The Wagu tip steak was one of the best I’ve had! The atmosphere is great too! I would highly recommend this place!!

Angie Bitner

05:05 05 Feb 18

It was good food a little spendy. The staff was great he was friendly and helpful.. We had a good lunch and the pie was awesome...

Jennifer Hasting

04:33 16 Jan 18

I visited here recently for the first time. Part of our order was wrong but I'm sure it's just because they were very busy. We didn't want to bother with changing it. I had the halibut fish and chips. It was very good. I was at first very disappointed to see the fish was salted but it was a very small amount that wasn't overpowering. The two people we encountered working were extremely friendly and made it a pleasant experience.

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Big Wave Café

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