Samoa Cookhouse

I think this experience is best described by taking you through the first 5 minutes. Went to this place on a recommendation. Really cool location by the way. 6 miles outside of Eureka, very easy drive, it’s on a large island type thing. It sits between the ocean and the mainland. Ok here we go:
Waitress: hi have you ever been here before?
Me: nope
Waitress: ok so here’s how it works: all the courses are pre-​determined and served family style. You get salad, soup, bread, 2 main dishes, two sides, dessert, coffee/​tea.
Me: let’s do this.
All that, $ 17.95 per adult. They do have cheaper prices for kids, and there’s actually 2 different age categories for kids. But for that price, you will not find that much home cooked food anywhere.
Bread: fresh homemade? Tasted like it. So good. Like reallllly good.
Salad: basic house salad, solid.
Soup: Man. Really good soup. I can describe it like Campells vegetable soup but way better.
Main dish 1: roast beef. Thick cut, juicy, very good.
Main dish 2: pork steak. I might have dreamt about this dish at least twice since I’ve been there. Thin pork steak, lightly breaded, brown gravy on top. Simple, country, home cooked goodness. Insanely good.
Dessert: carrot cake. Just a small little square but the frosting is super good.
We went on a Friday by the way, not sure if the menu stays the same throughout the weeks. They did have the menu for the rest of the week at the counter. Everything sounded really good. There was a fried chicken and ribs night. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Excellent customer service, food was good but do you really come to this place for the food? To me it was the history and the food was a bilonus. One thi g to change, add sausage to the gravy. Everyone at our table was very friendly and definitely will be going back. This is a family style reataurant and they serve so many people who may be allergic to certain things so yes you do have to spice your food up.

Used to love this place but have noticed a drop in quality recently. Its still ok, but seems a bit pricey for the quality of food and drinks. The iced tea used to be fresh brewed, now its out of a soda machine and is terrible. The OJ is frozen and watery, and the portions get smaller and smaller the more food you order. Pancake syrup is very cheap and fake, and pancakes last two times have been under cooked and doe like.
Service is still friendly and fantastic. The sausage and bread still rock. And they still have high quality jelly and jam. But I worry when I see cost cutting in other areas.

Today was my second time coming here from my trips camping at Patrick’s Point. I really like their family style meals and got really full off their delicious food! Everything was great from our drinks to our dessert. I did however notice we didn’t really have our waitress check on us as much as I Would have liked. I was thirsty for water and never had a chance to ask her for some or even a refill on my drink. They served ribs, fried chicken, potatoes and corn. The potatoes were still a bit hard and not cooked as much as I would have liked. The chicken was perfect for my kids and ribs were covered in sauce which kept it flavorful. It tasted great but my ribs were a bit over cooked and dry on some pieces. Wish I could have at more than I did since for an adult it’s $ 17+!!! But, it balanced out since my 3 yr old ate free, which she didn’t really even eat & my 7 yr old ate only half his plate. my eldest at 12 was considered adult pricing and she ate a hearty plate. The over all experience was great and will be back. I just hope I get to try their other meals they offer if I get the chance to venture back this way North.

Don’t eat here is the best advice I can give you!!! Food very bland and served cold. Beef was tender and the pork was salty. Rice and peas were so cold couldn’t eat at all. Server dropped off food and then didn’t see for 30 min. Didn’t really matter but eat all you want is a joke. Never and I mean never will I ever eat here again.

Go back in time and eat like a lumberjack, nice home cooked meal served family style. Look over logging memorabilia after you eat to much.

Only other family style restaurant I have been to is in Nashville, and unfortunately this place gets compared to that. Limited entrée and sides (2– entrees, single potato and veggie choice). Had the Chicken Parmesan which was dry. Salad was basic bagged lettuce and veggies were overcooked. Their heritage is feeding loggers and I think they stick to that, just ok food, but lots of it.

Now this was a fun way to eat– family style! They had pot roast and fried chicken. Honestly I wasn’t a fan of the chicken but others in my party liked it. The roast beef was amazing though! We will definitely go again when we are back in town!

You have to come here just for the classic lumberjack eatery experience. The food is just ok, but the experience is worth it!

A Pretty cool place to eat. You sit and eat what is served. Soup, salad, dinner and dessert. All included. Very *Home Cooked* and reminds you of eating at Grandmas house on sunday. If you want something different, then this is the place for you.

I remember coming her with my parents several times on our trips up to Oregon. It’s nice to know that in a changing world, some things stay the same.
Food is all right. It feels like something a family would have for a Sunday evening meal. Nothing is too extravagant — it’s definitely got a «home cooked» vibe to it.
Their pork chop with gravy was superb. The fried chicken was simultaneously greasy and some how very dry. Soup and bread were both hearty. Brownie tasted a shade better than something I could do myself.
Overall, a decent meal.

Read or call ahead to see what’s being served. Don’t come here for breakfast. Not worth what you pay for. The gravy for biscuits & gravy tasted like literal poop– I gagged. The eggs probably weren’t real, and the servers are loud & rude. If you love the mess hall setting cafeteria and stuff your face with crap as much as you can eat style of life– then by all means go for it. Huge disappointment. Should have read more before coming.
Lots of history here to see. Good for kids.

Nice friendly staff but the food is so-​so.
Probably best to call in first to see what they are serving before going there. Some of the reviewers clearly had better experience. I didn’t care for the veggie soup and chicken parmigiana lunch special.

Probabaly should not have come here for Vday breakfast, but we slept in and missed our continental at the hotel. There was also a big party in the back room. More than an 75min wait just to get seated, but its hard to get angry at such a friendly staff…
Giant mess hall of picnic tables and familial strangers, food gets served to you, check the menu first. Breakfast was egg, french toast, sausage, and bisuit gravy. OJ and coffee/​tea also part of the package. Egg was bland, french toast was not bad but needed syrup, sausage was soggy in fat, and biscuits were darn delicious. A bit all over the place.
Pay up at the counter. Its all you can eat but we needed to hit the road so what we paid for seemed vastly overpriced.
Cute relics museum on the way out.

This is definetly a unique, historic, excellent place to try when you are in the area. The building itself is historic with a small museum inside and the drive out to the island is cool. The vibe has an old school, lumberjack cafeteria type of feel to it. They do not have a menu, the waitress will sit you and take you the items that are on the menu for the day. Our menu of the day consisted of a delicious pea soup with freshly, soft made bread, salad with homemade ranch, melts in your mouth, pot roast with fried, crispy chicken, potatoes, honey sweet carrots and to finish it off a sweet carrot cake. Also adding it is all you can eat, so if you want seconds of an item all you have to do is ask. Everything for under $ 20. For the customer service, it was excellent, the food is ready to go, and like I said, the place itself is awesome. Glad I got a chance to try this place.

Really, really enjoyed the experience. The night I came they had pork ribs and pot roast as the entrée. It was OK, but the other courses, soup, salad and bread were great. Even the iced tea was very good.
I would definitely go back, but would try another night for a different main course.
Also, AMEX not accepted.

I was told this spot was a must to visit. Boy were they right. We stopped for breakfast on our way home. Come hungry because you can have as many helpings as you want! This morning they were serving pancakes, eggs, and sausage. Oh yeah, they also start you with biscuits and gravy. They give you a BOWL of gravy, which i proceeded to generously pour on everything! The pancakes were literally some of the best I have ever had! I’m actually not really even a fan of pancakes, but these ones were so fluffy and had a really nice flavor! I was bummed that we were on our way out because fried chicken was for lunch!
This place serves simple food that is freshly prepared and delicious! No, it’s not some posh lavish place, but it’s a really neat spot which you will not leave hungry!

I’ve never been to a restaurant like this, to me it is unique. There are long tables and you sit with people you don’t know. I didn’t mind because it wasn’t crowded and I was not sitting next to a stranger but if I had to I might have been slightly uncomfortable because honestly I’m just not that friendly.
Other then that, the people who worked there were so nice! Our waitress explained the history of the cookhouse. Basically it was a place where loggers came to eat. There is no menu, you eat whatever is served. You can call and ask what they are serving for the week if you don’t want to be surprised.
The food all came out piping hot. We had biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausages and French toast.
They bake their own bread so the French toast was awesome! I have to admit, it was the best damn French toast I have ever eaten. No joke, legit.
The restaurant is also a museum, when you are stuffed full, take some time to look around and digest that yummy food!

Do you love the Monty Python lumberjack song? Yeah, me too. Have you ever wished you could actually be a lumberjack? Yeah, me neither. Seems dangerous, with all the sharp tools and giant trees crashing down.
Fortunately, you can still eat like one without having to risk life and limb. This place is a cool throwback, family style communal meals of hearty grub served at long tables, which I imagine must be how it was when this was an actual logging camp. I’ve only been for breakfast and you don’t order, just eat whatever they’re serving, but it’s always tasty and filling and a fun experience. Plus they have a room with a lot of historical artifacts, big saws and photos of what life in the camp was like. Come for a visit, get a little history, get some good chow, red flannel shirt optional.

This place is a historical landmark!
We ventured off the highway to check it out when I remembered that the CSU, Hayward football team (and many other teams) ate here when competing at nearby Humboldt State.
The building is from a past era when they were built to stand for many, many years. The history, dating back to 1890, was a time when lumber was the main industry and many folks had to be fed at one time.
Today the Samoa Cookhouse can still accommodate many and features inexpensive comfort food. What ever the «flavor of the day», you can count on it being hearty fare (not gourmet by any means). We stopped in for a dinner of pot roast, ribs, potatoes and candied carrots. Also included in the dinner price is soup, salad, dessert and drinks. Not bad for $ 16!