Seaside, Oregon is an easy 90 minutes from Portland and a wonderful weekend getaway any time of the year, but especially during the summer. Seaside has a beautiful beach as well as lots of fun, nearby attractions that make it the perfect destination for families.
While you are in Seaside, you will have many options for dining. While most of the local restraints are not what you’d consider five star, they are all family friendly, and many of them offer great food at a fair price. Many restaurants can be found on Broadway, the main tourist street in Seaside and are within walking distance of most hotels.
Here are a few suggestions for fun and affordable Seaside dining:
Pig ‘N’ Pancake
Pig ‘N’ Pancake on Broadway is a pretty basic family restaurant, but it offers a fun atmosphere and consistently good food. With a name like “Pig ‘N’ Pancake,” you know it has to be good for breakfast and it is! The breakfast menu offers everything from pancakes and waffles to eggs and omelets. The portions are generous and the food is tasty. You can order breakfast all day, but they also have plenty of items on the lunch and dinner menus.
Pig ‘N’ Pancake is a popular place to eat in Seaside, so make sure you arrive before the morning or evening rushes to avoid a long wait. There is not a lot room for waiting inside, so often people waiting for a table end up on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.
Vista Sea Café
Vista Sea Café is also located on Broadway, on the corner of North Columbia Street. It is a small restaurant with worn but warm wooden booths and tables. Because it’s on a corner, there are plenty of windows to let in light, so Vista Sea Café always seems bright and cheery. Vista Sea Café offers soups, sandwiches and salads, but their specialty is pizza. You can order pizza by the slice or by the pie.
Their menu has all the standard pizzas such as pepperoni, Hawaiian and sausage, but also includes lots of more exotic varieties like Thai and Greek pizzas. Pizzas naturally take a little longer to arrive to your table than other things like sandwiches and soups, but the wait is well worth it. The crust and sauce on Vista Sea Café’s pizzas are incredible and add to the overall excellent taste of the pizza.
Dooger’s Restaurant
It has been a tradition of our family to have at least one dinner in Dooger’sRestaurant when we visit the beach at Seaside. Dooger’s offers great steak and seafood with out a lot of frills. Most meals come with a side of fries or baked potato and a shrimp salad. The shrimp salad consists of greens, about a quarter cup of small shrimp and the dressing of your choice. It may be simple, but it is delicious.
Dooger’s also has a wonderful clam chowder. It’s not too thick and perfectly seasoned. They serve it by the bowl or cup.
Dooger’s is a popular restaurant with a warm, Pacific Northwest styled interior. They don’t take reservations and there will definitely be a wait during their dinner rush. However, they are efficient and even large parties can usually get seated with in 30 minutes or sooner.
Seaside, Oregon has many other restaurants to offer, but you can’t go wrong with these three: Pig ‘N’ Pancake is a great place for breakfast, Vista Sea Café makes a great lunch stop, and Dooger’s is delicious for dinner. While none of these restaurants is particularly fancy, you will feel comfortable and at home with your family or friends.
