Dillon Beach Cafe

Turkey sandwich had a single slice of turkey and was full of three layers of bread, lettuce and tomatoes? Clam chowder was good, grilled chicken sandwich was over cooked and hard as a hockey puck? $ 120 later and a family of unhappy tummies. Thank god for the extra clam chowder we ordered!

We came here last week and it was delicious! The clam chowder is a must, I wish I would have tried the bread bowl, along with the calamari. Probably one of the best I have ever had, not heavy batter which was great. very inexpensive especially for the location. Our server was very nice and attentive, we were surprisingly the only ones in there. Try this place out!

Can’t beat a $ 5 fish & chips special; friendly people and great view of the water. Only minus one star because it did take a long time, yet some of the fish pieces still seemed really soggy loaded with fry grease. But it’s good cheap grub with a great view.

Not a lot offered for vegetarians but my husband really enjoys their fish and chips! Beautiful view of the water and offers outdoor seating.

A bit disappointed. Planned to have lunch here but found that there was no provisions for dogs as advertised. Clearly no canines in the building and the only outside seat was a dirty picnic table occupied by customers of the store. Ended up eating elsewhere.

Went here with my husband and kids for lunch after driving around Dillon Beach. I read on Unilocal that customers like the clam chowder… so we all ordered it and it was SO good. The clams were tender (not chewy) and fresh. We noticed the kitchen staff filling up the huge warming pot with fresh clam chowder as we sat in the dining room, so you know it was fresh. The bread bowls added to the heartiness. My husband also had the fish and chips and said it was outstanding. The kids ordered hot chocolates and they came out in large cups with whip cream and chocolate sauce, which they loved. Also, our waitress was attentive and very helpful. We might just need to make a road trip to come back!

Excellent clam chowder and bread bowls… once you get your food. I’m pretty sure we waited 30+ mins and that was the only thing we ordered.
BUT, the clams were soft… not chewy. And you could tell the bread was freshly baked and warm all the way through. Will go there again on our next trip but will bring playing cards or a board game to keep our attention while waiting.

Had lunch here while visiting, service was great. They let us move to a window seat once one was available. Ordered the clam chowder & burger with garlic fries. The food was really good, we stayed for a while talking and enjoying the view with no pressure to leave the table. Will most definitely come back!

Good things: nice wait staff and good coffee.
Bad: you are on a beach and use canned clams! This is what the waitress told us. Not making it up.
Fish and chips were dis-​gusting! Again, you are on a beach! And the fish tasted old and the batter was packaged. It tasted like an old sponge. This thing could sop up dust, it was so dry, yet retained none of the flavor you poured in it! Not salt, lemon, tartar sauce or malt vinegar. This is against some law of science, somewhere…
Fries were not fresh and you could taste the stale oil on all of it.
Gross. One star for the good listed at the top, and I’m being generous.
One more thing… you are located on a beach!!! Freshness is at your fingertips! Oh the horror!

I have never given a restaurant review without at least ordering food with which to judge. That being said, our foursome went to enjoy a lunch on a Thursday afternoon, but we sat at our table for at least five minutes with NO water, NO menus, NO greeting so what could we do, we walked out and even then no one came forward to ask us why. Amazing experience!
There were plenty of employees out in their kitchen, all milling about and doing this or that. But, we were not going to get fed. We went up the highway a few miles and had a great lunch and that saved the day.
So, two stars it is, just for being a restaurant. BTW the premises were spotless, and I would have no quarrel about any of that. I guess we hit them on a bad day!

I’m giving these guys 5 stars for food & great service!!!
Came here with a few friends on a Saturday around lunch time. The place was empty at first, but started to fill up later during our meal.
Being a strict diet. I ordered the salad and asked for some grilled chicken. Our friends had told us that they only use local produce & organic meats. Great!!! We received our salads, but we noticed they had put parmesan cheese on it. Their menu didn’t say anything about parmesan cheese on the salad. Since I couldn’t eat cheese I told the server and she was apologetic & kind enough to bring it back & order me a complete new one. I apologized as well because I felt bad they had to waste a whole salad. I would totally have ordered «without cheese» if I had seen any description on the menu. About 10 minutes later I received a new salad without any signs of cheese, which proved to me they made me a complete NEW salad. Unlike some places which would have «tried» to still give me the old one and just «try» to take off the cheese from it.
Friendly servers and great service for those with dietary restrictions!

THE ONLY GOOD THINGS: the BREAD (from the clam chowder bread bowl) and the popcorn shrimp.
There’s many BADs:
Why are you out of all chicken things on the menu on a Saturday night and you tell us that it’s because you ran out of all things at lunch? (GO BUY SOME CHICKEN BEFORE DINNER). You should warn people of that on a sign outside because over half our group was looking forward to the fried chicken!
The clam chowder was… Meh. Tasted fake.
The pot pie is NOT a pot pie at all
The fish n chips needed to have the oil changed TWO YEARS AGO.
Overall, me and my group of six think this places has only survived because they’re the only place to eat in town. Honestly we recommend you make the trek to somewhere else!!!

Open only Thursday-​Sunday, if you’re lucky enough to be around while it’s open definitely stop in!
Lots of favorites on their menu but our repeat orders include: their hearty clam chowder (one of the best in the bay!), fish & chips, calamari, cheeseburgers, hot sourdough loaf and their house wine is pretty delish.
Great service and friendly staff! Very dog friendly with water bowls outside and picnic tables in front.
Great spot to sit and enjoy the sunset!

Dillon Beach Café was our last stop for the day while on vacation here. We made sure to get here before 5 since only their dinner options are available (5 items) after 5 and a few of us wanted a sandwich. I ordered the french dip and it was delicious! The meat was tender and juicy and the ciabotta bread it was on was so soft. My hubby ordered the fish and thought it was really good while it was still hot. Please make not that if you bring your dog (because it is a dog friendly place) you will have to pay $ 1.50 per meal to make it a «to go» order so you can sit outside with Rover. It’s a great view so not that big of a deal. If you do sit outside, buy your drinks from the general store next door and save yourself some money. Good food, awesome scenery and the only place to eat in town = WIN, WIN for everyone!

Our first trip to Dillon Beach – decided to stop for lunch before heading to the water. Unfortunately, wished we had brought a picnic, because we were disappointed with our lunch here.
Pros: Great ocean view and super friendly wait staff
Cons: My husband and I both ordered fish tacos – mincemeat rubbery fish, a side of watery pinto beans, and an expensive bill. I only ate my meal because it was barely edible and I was hungry.
Definitely bring your own food when heading out here – and we found out there’s fire pits and picnic tables at Dillon Beach – something to look forward to next time.

Salad great fish and chips rubbery and mushy obviously frozen. Yuck

This place was great! The prices are completely reasonable and the service was exceptional. Average plate cost is around $ 9-​$ 10 and Laginatas/​Sierra Nevadas are $ 4, which was way cheaper than I expected for the area. The view from the back porch is worth the visit alone!

I wasn’t expecting much from this little beach café attached to the Dillon Beach General Store. We wanted to watch the sunset on the sand at Dillon Beach so we stopped in to the Café around 6:30pm. We arrived for dinner on a Saturday night in June and were surprised to find that we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. We were invited to pick a table and we found a window table with a beautiful ocean view. A few regulars came in while we ate but the restaurant was still quiet when we left. I wonder if the café does more lunch business?
The menu offerings were limited and I was not interested in anything heavy or fried. I was thrilled to find grilled fish tacos. I have a dairy allergy and the waitress not only perused the menu with me but made sure to inform the kitchen staff so that my meal would be carefully prepared. I requested a side salad instead of beans and was treated with fresh romaine and chopped bright red tomatoes — no iceburg! The tacos were light but flavorful. The corn tortillas were soft to the last bite. I was full but not stuffed or feeling overwhelmed by grease or spice at the end of my meal.
We will definitely stop at Dillon Beach Café again on our next adventure to that part of the coast.

After a full day of hiking along the coastline, I was in desperate need of a nutritious salad – green, green, green! We returned to our beach house to find that we had used the last of the spinach greens for breakfast! I was mortified! What to do?!
The time was 7:30pm, but we HAD to check in at the Dillon Beach Store to see if they had greens. To our surprise, the store had closed at 7pm. However, all was not lost. The Dillon Beach Café was open until 8pm! :)
My husband ordered me a chicken caesar salad to-​go so that we could take it back to the house. The service was great – everyone was so quick, friendly and helpful. I had my salad within a few minutes, and we were out of there before they posted the «closed» sign.
While we were waiting, we had a seat in the sunroom. The music was soothing, and the heaters were on – warming those finishing up their dinner. It seemed like such a nice place. I’d like to go back and check it out for a dine-​in experience.
The chicken caesar was great! – just what I needed. And, the dressing was mixed in perfectly – even. That is very important for salads in my opinion. Also, I really enjoyed their caesar dressing!
Great experience.

We both really like the place. The customer service (young lady) was great and attentive. The view is partially of the beach (and the parking lot). It was just what we were expecting and wanting, a very casual, inexpensive, burger place, with decent food and a decent view. The burger was very good, although they could have included more fries. My boyfriend has the au jus, and he liked it very much. There is also a picnic table out from for you and your dogs to enjoy a «to go» order. We will definitely come back.