When we started planning our trip to the Oregon Coast, I didn’t intend on making it my mission to find the best fish & chips along the way. But once we started our journey from Astoria, Oregon traveling south along the coast, I felt it was my personal responsibility to try the classic pub fare in nearly every town we stopped in to decide which was the best. While I enjoyed all the places we tried, three stand out as the “best” in their own way. I’ve listed my three favorite places for fish & chips below, in no particular order, along with a bonus location which I thought earned honorable mention.
Bowpicker Fish and Chips in Astoria, OR: Bowpicker isn’t so much a food truck as it is a food boat in Astoria, Oregon. Seriously, it’s a boat parked on the side of the road near a large parking lot. While it isn’t necessarily much to look at and the seating options are limited if you want to eat it on the spot (your choices are your car, sitting on the curb, or the random picnic table across the street that belongs to… some building), the fish was my personal favorite out of all the places we tried. I mean, it’ll now be my standard to which I compare all other fried fish, it was that good. Bowpicker serves beer battered albacore tuna and steak fries. There isn’t anything else on the menu, your only choice is how many pieces of fish you want. I recommend getting the whole order (5 pieces of fish) and then some because wow, that fish was fried to perfection. The batter was light and airy and had the most amazing crunch to it. I’m not sure it mattered that the fish inside was also tasty because they could have fried a shoe in that batter and I would have enjoyed it. As someone who isn’t the biggest fan of steak fries, I found the “chips” part of the dish to be fine but not spectacular – nothing against the quality, it’s just not my favorite style of fry. But the fries were a nice compliment to the fish, and since the fish was so delicious, it didn’t really matter to me what the fries were like.
Riverside Fish n’ Chips in Nehalem, OR: Riverside Fish n’ Chips actually is a food truck (not a food boat) located in Nehalem, Oregon. It is tucked away behind stores on the main drag in town and had my favorite setting of all the places we tried (along the riverside, as the name suggests). There were plenty of picnic tables outside near the water along with a covered patio in case the weather is a little moodier (aka cloudy and rainy). Additionally, and probably most importantly, Riverside Fish n’ Chips had my favorite fries. Now when I’m ordering fish and chips, I’m primarily ordering for the fish. Great fish can make up for mediocre fries, but I don’t think great fries will make up for mediocre fish (gross). We ordered the cod (halibut was also an option when we were there) and it was good, but not as good as the fish we had at Bowpicker. However, the fries were incredible, like SO good. They were thin, but not shoestring thin, and were well seasoned and crispy. The homemade coleslaw was also delicious, so the combination of good fish, amazing fries, great slaw, and a beautiful setting made for an overall wonderful lunch spot. Eating fish and chips outside next to the river on a beautiful afternoon made for a memorable experience.
South Beach Fish Market in Newport, OR: South Beach Fish Market located on the southside of Newport, Oregon combined the best of Bowpicker and Riverside: cool location, great fish, AND great fries. The location wasn’t quite as nice as Riverside since you’re eating at picnic tables not too far from a busy road, and there were some aggressive crows you had to contend with, but I still really enjoyed the no-frills, kind of old-school seafood shack vibes of the fish market. The seafood counter was chock-full of fresh, local seafood, but I was a woman on a mission so I had to order specifically the fish and chips. The fries were similar in style to Riverside’s fries, though they had less seasoning. But they were perfectly fried – crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. They paired perfectly with the fish, which had just the lightest batter. There was just enough batter to give the fish some crunch but the focus was definitely on the fish itself. It was flaky and moist and just so damn good. While I still prefer a little more batter, like the fish served at Bowpicker, this fish was undeniably good. It basically melted in your mouth. And despite having to stay vigilant against the crows looking to steal a fry (I don’t blame them, they were good), I liked eating near the giant pot of steaming clams and feeling like I was at a legit fish market.
Squatchsami Fish and Chips Food Truck and Outpost in Gleneden Beach, OR: Honorable mention goes to the Squatchsami Food Truck in Gleneden Beach, Oregon just south of Lincoln City. This family run business had the most unique fish and chips we tried. The rosemary shoestring fries were amazing and the halibut was succulent with a nice, crunchy batter. The batter itself had more spice and flavor to it than the others. I would describe their fish and chips as an elevated version of the old classic. I only give Squatchsami honorable mention since I felt like my mission was to find the best, classic version of the dish, but I could see this as being a favorite of many if you’re looking for a different take on the standard pub fare.
So which one should you visit if you’re visiting the Oregon coast? Honestly, it depends entirely on what you’re looking for when it comes to fish and chips. I personally don’t think you could go wrong with any of the four places I mentioned, they were all amazing in their own way. And while this post is primarily about the best fish and chips on the Oregon coast, there are a few other food stops that I just have to mention.
First is Busu Astoria in Astoria, Oregon. Busu consists of a walk-up counter with a few chairs in case you want to stick around to eat at the counter. It serves, what I can best describe as, elevated Japanese street food, and it was some of the best food that I had on the entire Oregon coast trip. When we went, the menu consisted of three items handwritten on a piece of notebook paper. The menu changes daily, and as far as I can tell, the hours change daily, too. My general impression was that you just have to check their Instagram page each day to see if/when Busu is open. The evening we went to Busu, the Instagram post said “Open at 6pm til done or sold out.” I found the use of the word “done” to be hilarious – as in, “I don’t work until, say, 8pm… I work until I feel like I’m done, who knows when that may be.” The post also said that Busu might be open before 6pm, stop by and find out! The chef (and owner?) at Busu was equal parts eccentric, friendly, and talented. The food was packed with flavor – seriously, I will dream about the mushroom soup I ordered. If I lived in Astoria, I would probably be stopping by Busu at least once a week.
The next place that I think is a must-visit, and also sold food that I will dream about, was Neah-Kah-Nie Smoke House located in Wheeler, Oregon. This place had THE BEST smoked salmon that I’ve ever had (and I’ve had quite a lot). The king salmon was rich and flavorful, sweet and savory. The fish had a smoky, almost caramelized crust to it, while still being tender and juicy inside. While only open three days a week, I think it’s worth timing your visit to swing through Wheeler during one of those three days. The staff was incredibly friendly and welcoming, offering samples of literally everything to help you decide on what to buy. I wish I could have tried their award-winning salmon chowder, but unfortunately it was sold out by the time we arrived (we arrived at 12:30pm… they opened at noon). I’m also a sucker for a fun logo and I thoroughly enjoyed theirs, which consists of a fish smoking a cigarette (ha, get it?). If you’re unable to make it out to the Oregon coast, it looks like they ship their smoked fish (and apparel) around the country, so order it… order it all.
The last place that I need to mention was Kelly’s Brighton Marina. I’m not sure how exactly I stumbled upon this place, but if I could recommend only one stop along the Oregon coast, this would be it. Located in Rockaway Beach, Oregon, this place has it all – you can rent a boat to go crabbing, crab from the dock, order fresh crabs, clams, and oysters to cook at home, or have the fresh seafood cooked for you to eat right on the dock if you’re incapable of catching and cooking the seafood yourself (me, that was me). You can even camp right at the marina, and while I wouldn’t describe the marina as the nicest campground (I’m a campground snob), it seemed like a fun place to stay and many sites were right on the water (that’s hard to beat). We ordered a crab at the counter to enjoy on site. It was super fresh (and by that I mean it was still scuttling around when we were paying for it) and cooked simply, but oh man, it was delicious. Could we have found a nicer restaurant somewhere on the coast that served fresh crab with views of the water? Probably. And maybe we wouldn’t have had to work so hard cracking the crab ourselves to get at the meat in that scenario. But I think the setting at Kelly’s Brighton Marina is pretty hard to beat. Plus, I liked getting messy cracking the crab legs and keeping an eye out for seagulls that may be interested in sharing my meal. It may not have been the singular best meal I had on the coast (I like crab, I just happen to like Japanese street food and smoked salmon more), but it was my favorite meal experience. Bonus points for the staff removing the crab’s heart, skewering it on one of it’s legs, and pointing out that it was the most flavorful bite. I would love to go back and attempt to catch crabs myself, probably from the dock (with a beer or two in hand) but maybe from a boat if I was feeling daring. I can’t think of a better place to spend a sunny, nice day (if you’re so lucky) along the Oregon coast than at Kelly’s Brighton Marina. My husband would probably disagree and say to spend it at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort instead, but I think he’d say the marina is a close second.
Camping & Caviar 