The location on the waterfront in Old Town Eureka is enviable, especially given the charm of the old building itself. I've been here a few times, and have never been blown away by the food, but it is solid. They try to utilize seafood a lot which is logical given their name and location. Check the board by the door for specials. This location is prone to being crowded in the summer months at peak hours. See above for location. Sadly, all that foot traffic doesn't seem to have encouraged the ownership to invest in renovating the interior. It's not really bad, but it could use some sprucing up. I don't know, maybe they're going for a little bit of a worn-down chic? read more

Such a beautiful location! The inside of the building is wonderful and you have great views of the bay. The owner puts so much time and effort into this place, I'm pretty sure he's been here working every time I've ever been in! The staff is always so friendly, you can tell a lot of heart goes into this place. The food is Awesome, always fresh and delicious! read more

Café Waterfront - Seafood Near Me - Eureka, California

See all

The 1/2 hamburger with ham & bacon was a monster burger and delicious. Being a garlic lover, the beaucoup garlic bits on the fries were primo. I would re-order this meal in a heartbeat. The clam chowder was fairly plain maybe a step above canned clam chowder. My wife had a wonderful salad and grilled red snapper. Both of which she enjoyed. The wait staff was friendly, efficient and checked back with us frequently. They were great. We'd gladly come here again. read more

Unbelievably great halibut. Prepared to perfection. Broiled oysters for appetizers and some Pinot Grigio. Heaven! And the warm atmosphere makes everyone feel at home with a view of the bay where we watched folks dancing by the marina. What a fabulous place for great food and great company. read more

We ate breakfast here twice during our stay, and it was terrific! Our friend also came separately and said he had the best burger he's ever had. The location is great as well! read more

I enjoy dining at Cafe Waterfront: the atmosphere is great, the staff is welcoming, and the food is consistently good. I especially like the beer batter shrimp, because it is light, more like a tempura batter than a heavy beer batter. Yesterday, my day had not allowed time for lunch until about 4:30. I remembered that precovid, the kitchen closed at 4 or 4:30 to transition to dinner service. I checked the website to see what time the kitchen closed and there was nothing about the kitchen closing. I arrived about 4:40 and guess what? The kitchen was closed. I explained to the manager if I had arrived with grandkids in tow, it would be really frustrating and we would have to leave. He explained that my server could begin taking my order at 4:55. I replied that the point was that a notice on the website would be ever so helpful. He said that it was not a problem and so on....This is my public service: Cafe Waterfront's kitchen closes some time between 4 pm and 5pm--i am still unsure of the exact times. I don't know if you call if they will tell you this secret. read more

After we ordered from the limited menu, my wife noticed some daily specials on a board on the wall. I wish our server had mentioned those to us. Servers' attitudes are indifferent. Once you're served your meal, you're on your own. I understand that the server may have been slammed (though it wasn't very busy) , but that's for management to work out. I think this is one of those places that doesn't provide good service because they don't have to. The good location is all they need. We won't be back. read more

Good service and great art-deco room -if a little dim lit-, but food is totally bland. It doesn't taste bad but neither does it taste good. For the prices you'd expect a little better.. Clam chowder was particularly mediocre. Clam Fritters, same but even more boring.. Chili soup tasted like a Prego tomato can with a little meat beans and peppers inside.. The sourdough bread they serve with food is ok though. read more

Full house, reasonable serve time, & great tasting food! We always come here when we want the best. ..... Joe is always very professional, personable, & fun. The FOH & BOH staff rocks with great smiles & even better team work. This is why they are very successful & always full at peak hours. It's a good feeling when you look around & see everyone smiling & enjoying themselves while accompanied by live jazz music, good eats, & happy people. Welcome to Eureka & a experience @ Cafe Waterfront. read more

Café Waterfront - Great food, family, & all that jazzzz on a Sunday afternoon..., - Seafood Near Me - Eureka, California

See all

Came here for the first time yesterday and had the best breakfast and the best service, Henry was our waiter and a true rockstar. Hands down my favorite restaurant now in Humboldt . read more

The food is spectacular! I don't know who they have working chef in the back of this tucked out of the way location, but wow!!!! My Spicy Shrimp Bisque and my Fish Stew with crab, shrimp, snapper, and clams was superb! Three star review??? Service. It is incredibly slow and chaotic... and with a place that only has about 15 tables, it's hard to believe. This place needs a front of house manager in the worst way. (Suggestion: get the experienced bartender/waitress i had last night from out behind the bar to fill that job.) Don't order before you look at the specials board. Don't do it!!! Even if you have to ask your server for the board, then ask!!! It will be worth it, believe me! read more

This place has pretty good food. Unfortunately the service was so bad. The waitress was extremely rude with a bad attitude and she rushed us when it came to ordering our food. She kept rolling her eyes if we asked for anything. I wish they could train them better. However, I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who has family in town or just in general. read more

This place is very small and one of the fry-cooks was very rude to my mother and I. We tried to open the bathroom door and it wasn't opening so instead of helping he laughed and scoffed at us. This place also advertises their ant problem in their kitchen,( picture attached shows their instructions to get rid of their ants). The service was slow and very unfriendly, except the older lady in the purple apron who was very helpful and friendly. The food was good but the "chef" said that there was quote " something in the broccoli but I just threw it out and gave the lady the broccoli anyways." For a cute little town this restaurant was a disappoint and dragged down my experience of this beautiful city of Eureka. read more

Café Waterfront - Seafood Near Me - Eureka, California

Just was walking by and saw some tasty fish n chips, stopped to grab an order. Ended up ordering twice since it was so bomb! Very nice, quick friendly staff as well. 10/10 we will be back :) read more

Cool historical building, comfortable & low-key. Locals at the bar. Food was good but not so great that I would go back.

Along with Ramones, I really wish Windsor had a place like this. Very homey feel to it. And, there's definitely some colorful history to be told! It's a fairly small space, with a full bar and just enough space for live music (a jazz duo), which was happening at breakfast this past Sunday. I ordered the huevos rancheros with extra crispy homefries. All flavors were what I was hoping for, and service was efficient and correct. I was dying to have one of their famed bloody marys, but I was doing the 3.5 hr drive home that morning, so perhaps next time. Some other items my companions enjoyed were the ham and green chile omelet (rave reviews), the coffee cake (outstanding), and the waffle and croissant (both gobbled up by my young'un). Orange juice tasted freshly squeezed and the iced tea is exactly what I want - strong orange pekoe. read more

The best fish & chips I've ever had hands down. Made with fresh halibut and cooked perfectly. The clam chowder was delicious. The waitress was very helpful and answered questions/gave suggestions. Will definitely go out of my way to come back here again. read more

Café Waterfront - Seafood Near Me - Eureka, California

So disappointing. We waited almost an hour for food that was barely edible. My boyfriend ate chicken fried pork with the coffee cake, and I had halibut fish cakes with eggs and a biscuit. The coffee cake and biscuit were the only items that tasted good. The eggs and chicken fried pork were edible. The halibut fish cakes were...well, I don't know what the cook was going for but they were flat, dark and dry. We felt like we spent $45 for two pastries. read more

Excellent spot! These 3 guys were running all around a packed house making sure all guests were taken care of. Great chowder Great specials (I had fresh halibut on spinach bed) (hubby had a spicy cioppino-like dish) We will be back! :) read more

The best way to describe this place is Applebees in Eureka Old Town. On an off night. I'll likely never come through the town again, and rest assured if I do I will not be coming back. The overall ambiance is nice and old timey, and the gentleman who greeted us was lovely, but otherwise this was a total disappointment and not worth the price. First off, they were out of oysters when we came to visit (early in the night, in season, too!) and their draft beer selection was 4-5 beers. Not that it was a deal breaker as the local IPA we had was great. However everything else was horribly below expectation. The waitress seemed harried the entire evening and we didn't get our (requested) water until the bill came. The food was not good. In fact when I asked the waitress what the freshest catch on the menu was she replied the Alaskan King Salmon. We're on the coastline in a working Northern California port city, right? Both my boyfriend and I got the Salmon and we're totally underwhelmed. I've made better Salmon-- frozen, transported to the east coast, from Trader Joe's. The wild rice? Bland, tasted like it was found under a heat lamp. And the under seasoned 'mushroom and spinach'? Ugh. Texture and taste was all off. I almost forgot about the frozen vegetable medley that rounded out my plate. Yes, that may have been from a Bird's Eye bag. And if not it certainly tasted like it. For 2 beers and 2 entrees for $70+ I would expect far far better. I wish we had stayed to eat at the 301 in our hotel. read more

The best Bloody Mary I've had in a while! The blueberry pancakes were great! Bacon was cooked perfectly but the quality of sausage links were not the best. The casing was a. It tough and chewy. Eggs over easy was perfectly cooked. Potatoes and biscuit were delicious. Atmosphere was very nice. Jazz band started playing around 11:00. Service was fantastic! My only OCD problem was watching another waitress hold glass by the rim and serve plates were the food was touching her hand. Then my wife dropped her napkin on the floor and she swooped by, picked it up, and put it back on the table. A little training is needed here otherwise great place and we will be back! read more

This is our go to spot for a weekend brunch. The chicken fried pork loin is delicious! Staff is always friendly and the owner always has fresh flowers on table. Historic building with a nice view. read more

Great turkey dinner special! Nice cozy restaurant. And being located in Old Town, the neighborhood felt safe.

Very Disappointed. The service was terrible, with rude attitudes. The food was below average, the clam chowder was overly salty and the French fries were hard. The veggies were nothing special. The sourdough bread was cold and subpar. Our waitress did not come back to check in with our table. Would not recommend and will not be coming back. read more

I'm so glad they were open for a quick bite at 9 pm on a Monday, but maybe we should have expected the mediocre food at that time of night. My clam chowder didn't need to be cooled at all. And that's all there was. No crusty sourdough bread, just a packet of Saltines. read more

We were driving north from Oakland and eventually got hungry, so we decided to try this place to satisfy our random crab craving. We walked inside and were told that there was a 20 minute wait, but it was so not crowded. We noticed that there was a bar, so we sat there and were ignored for a few minutes. That's when we looked around and noticed that if this was a picture in a children's book and they had to circle Who Does Not Belong, it would be us, the tattooed girl and the brown girl. The rest of the people fit the demographic of my birding classes, except they weren't friendly or equipped with binoculars. Right as we were about to walk out, someone came to take our order, so we decided to stay. Bad idea. The crab cocktail was like a nasty can of crab thrown on bloody mary mix or something. The oyster burger was blah.. A few minutes into our meal, this traveling sales guy comes and sits down. He turns to my friend and says, "You girls look like locals. What would you recommend here?" The server who ignored us spend the next twenty minutes flirting with the salesman. read more

This was the first place we went to when we got into town. The service was so rude and that is a huge turn off. I really questioned the residents of Eureka after eating here. Thankfully other people were way nicer at other establishments. We had the crab cakes and fried clams. Nothing was good. The crab cakes were blan and I felt sick all day after them. The food was okay, the clam chowder was good, but go to Lost Coast Brewery for better service, oysters on a half shell and nicer people. Also, when we were leaving, the bartender was picking his nose AT THE BAR! Disgusting. read more

Amazing food. Live music. Victorian atmosphere. It's the perfect little place to get breakfast on your way out of town. The secret daily menu is to the left of the door when you walk in, make sure sure you check it because that have some delicious options. read more

The space and location are beautiful. The food has a homey feel to it. BUT they have terrible service. Long wait, rude responses, and bad attitude. First time in this area and definitely will not be going back. read more

I like fresh food and friendly service. $1.50 tacos or $40 scallops, and everything in between. This restaurant was disappointing in the categories of food quality, hospitality, service, and food price. I came to this restaurant to find fresh, local seafood. Mostly I wanted to taste pacific northwest oysters and have some fresh wild salmon. I chose Café Waterfront based on the good Yelp and Urbanspoon reviews and the confirmation that their seafood was indeed locally caught. The oysters are the worst I have ever tasted. I'm pretty sure they were kept in a freezer. The texture was like paste! Somehow in all my life...eating thousands of bivalves, good and bad...i never tasted shellfish so poorly stored/kept. The flavor was bland and tasteless, but not rancid or anything. I haven't gotten sick, yet. The salmon was an average cut of fish that was sadly overcooked. The vegetables were grey from being oversteamed and not fresh. The wild rice was boring and like a $2 box at the supermarket. The fruit salsa on the fish was actually a nice sweet tropical mix. Service and hospitality were aggravating. We asked for a beer and wine list 3 times before receiving it. I don't require much from a server but i was appalled at the snarky remarks we got after commenting on the pre-frozen oysters. Where i come from service means that the customer is always right and you apologize to them if they are unhappy. The food quality in general reminded me of some novelty restaurant in a tourist trap that succeeds only on volume and location and has below average ingredients. Is Eureka just a bad town for food? I would not go back. read more

Living at the beach on the east coast, we've gotten used to fresh seafood. The wife and I were visiting Eureka and realized how long it had been since we had eaten fresh seafood. We chose Cafe Waterfront to satisfy that longing. We were not disappointed. We both ordered the grilled halibut which was served on a bed of sautéed spinach. It came with a chicpea and bean salad. We had the blueberry vinaigrette for our salad dressing. It was all extremely delicious. Our service was great and we were seated immediately. My only complaint would be the coconut rum and coke... Small glass and full of ice, yet it was well mixed and was good...I would consider it a 4 dollar drink instead of a 6 dollar drink. Our visit here was still fabulous and we would definitely eat here again. read more

Café Waterfront - Seafood Near Me - Eureka, California

SO GOOD! Exactly what we needed. Strong bloody marys, delicious fresh oysters & wonderful efficient service! Thank u to the staff for seating us right away serving us diligently and accommodating all our kids! read more

Café Waterfront - Fresh yummy oysters #slurp - Seafood Near Me - Eureka, California

Amazing clam chowder. And oyster shooters were exactly what I needed. I've been complaining about getting chowder all day and this really hit the spot! read more

It was a bit chaotic, but all around great vibe. I was craving for brunch and seafood while visiting the town of Eureka. I recalled walking past this place during a past visit, so we decided to give this place a shot. At first, it was somewhat insane. We walked in and there was some live jazz performance, which was cool. The hostess/waitresses all greeted us but were somewhat distracted. They couldn't really give us an answer of how long the wait was and they were frantically looking around. However, they did suggest going to the bar if we didn't want to wait. Therefore, we sat down and were offered menus by the bartender. Let me tell you, this was the best service I have ever received by a bartender. He was attentive and patient with us every friendly. We ordered a few meals to share. We ordered blueberry pancake combo, two orders to Dungeness crab cocktails, sausage and gravy. We drank coffee for our drinks. While delicious, the pancake had more the consistency of a muffin, so it was a tad weird. The eggs and bacon were delicious, but it's hard to butcher such amazing ingredients. The sausage and gravy satisfied my southern roots, but they weren't the best I've ever had. Finally, the crab, simply amazing. So fresh and so delicious, after we ordered one, we had to order another. Overall a pleasant experience. The live band helped with the cool and easygoing vibe of the place. read more

It's a seafood cafe. My girlfriend and I had a couple of appetizers, the clam chowder and mixed fry. I want to say it was awesome but, my expectations were simply much higher. My waitress was honest, friendly and made some suggestions. I suspect the majority of what we ate was from frozen. read more

It is sad to see decline the quality of a restaurant. I used to love this place for the clams. We went on Saturday and the half-bucket was "half" full, obviously same price, the butter/white wine sauce lack character...and it took forever to land on our table. Since the two oldtimers that used to run the place are not there anymore it just went down...you can do better read more

We were looking for the most popular place to have oysters in Eureka. We found it... only they ran out at 5pm on a Sunday. They must be mighty delicious to run out so early. What we loved: Clam chowder. Yum! It's seafoody without taking like it came straight out of the water. If it weren't for the pretentious old couple staring our way, I may have picked up my cup and started to lick the inside of it. My boyfriend always says that it's the biggest compliment to the chef to have clean plates, but I suppressed this urge. Steamed clams. When it came out, I was really disappointed by how small the clams were and how there was immersed in butter and oil. Against my better judgment, I decided to try them, and wow, was I impressed. What I thought was butter was a light brothy, bisque-y goodness that my boyfriend actually drank most of. They filled it with fresh tomato and far too much garlic for the normal diner, but the perfect amount for us garlic lovers. It was pretty darn good, and half a bucket gets you quite a bit. The service. our server was pleasant with just the right amount of attentiveness. What we didn't care for: Halibut cakes. They weren't bad, but they weren't fantastic either. They were just a little flavorless and the texture of the cake was soft and flat. I wouldn't order these again. read more

Fast service, with a very relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. From a bar to a cozy tables for couples. Great place to end your day at Eureka with some great seafood. I had the grilled red snapper (slightly breaded and fried, go figure. lol) and a delicious bisque spicy shrimp soup. Get there an hour before they close or your food options will be very limited. read more

See all

I have to say I was pretty disappointed in the oysters&deep fried platter, for being 40ft from the ocean, but to each there own, not saying they were not fresh,just didn't like the preparation, clam chowder was awesome though. read more

Looks like a good menu. Good specials board. A Few good bears on tap...I just drank a beer, I didn't eat anything... read more

Café Waterfront - Beer - Seafood Near Me - Eureka, California