The last time I was at the Shipwreck Cafe (or whatever it was called then), I was 11 years old and finishing up a newspaper delivery route with my uncle. My main memory of it at that time (1971) was it being steamy, a little seedy, and full of working folks in booths eating burgers and fries and washing them down with Olympia Beer. In other words, your typical Pacific Northwest diner - and I mean that as a compliment. Today, for the first time in over fifty years, I went back for breakfast. It's been nicely upgraded, with port city artwork, freshly laid flooring, attractive chairs and booths, and well kept tables. It still seems to be popular - I was there around 11:30 and a decent lunch crowd was just starting to arrive - but it's a little hard to understand why. Yes, independent diners are more than just the quality of their food; they're also community gathering places where you see your neighbors and catch up on what's new. But the breakfast I was served was...ok. Just ok. The burger steak was well cooked and, rather than a frozen patty, appears to have been hand-formed, which is a plus. But the eggs over easy were, well, the eggs (I think medium rather than large) and the hash browns were, well, your basic frozen hash browns and the toast was just toast with what seemed to be margarine rather than butter. I had to ask for my coffee refills, I had to ask for my A-1 sauce, and the jelly was Smuckers in little mass-manufactured packets. The waitperson spoke very loudly, always. And the final bill was $21 before tip. It's always good to support independent restaurants when you can and, if my reviews demonstrate anything, it is that I appreciate it when "mom and pop" places go out of their way to make themselves unique in *some* way or other. But, today, what I got was a standard no frills breakfast with standard no frills service that I pretty much could have got at the Denny's up the road for about 1/3 less. It really should have been better. Maybe there are specialities for lunch that I should come back and try but I tend to judge a diner by it's breakfasts and, particularly, by it's hash browns. In this case, both were overpriced and disappointing. I don't wish them ill but, at the same time, I don't expect to be returning anytime soon. read more

Awesome job. The food was amazing and the people were great. Parking was easy and wide space. The ambiance was welcoming.

My wife went here for a work lunch meeting, and said I needed to try them. Today, we went and tried them out. The food on the menu is standard diner/cafe/restaurant fare. I got the bacon & eggs breakfast, and the eggs were cooked perfectly (not overcooked, not runny - just right). The best thing is that for a side for their breakfast items you can get a single biscuit & gravy if you want instead of the typical hashbrowns and toast. Their B&G was really good - I would have preferred a little more sausage in the gravy, but it had good flavor. My wife got hashbrowns with her order and loved them. They were cooked nice and crispy. They have good food, and are worth checking out. read more

Shipwreck cafe is a great stop in Olympia!!! It has good homestyle food- & service and management that really cares. This will forever be a stop for me on my way by. Fish and chips... pie.... Drive thru!!!!! How can you not want to support this small business?!! Yum read more

This place is spectacular! Food is wonderful and the service was excellent! great calm atmosphere with such nice people.

Shipwreck Cafe is the area's best place for a diner breakfast. We go here regularly when we want biscuits and gravy, good hash browns, or an omelette. My favorite breakfast is the Swabby with eggs: two biscuits and gravy, two eggs, and hash browns. Service is quick and friendly, and their waitstaff is always on top of coffee refills. Weekend mornings get busy quickly, so get there early to score a table. read more

Had breakfast with my husband and toddler here on Saturday morning...we had just beat the breakfast crowd and got a table right away. I had a Denver omelet and the hubby tried a corned beef hash. My omelet was delicious and hash browns were cooked on point (we asked for them to be really well done and they were perfect)! Corned beef hash wasn't really anything to write home about but my pancake on the side was the best I've had in a restaurant before. We'll definitely be back! read more

We read that Shipwreck won the best breakfast award in the Olympian so came in to check it out. The star of the day was our extraordinary server, Josie. Helpful, warm, & efficient with a great personality. Other diners were saying the same things about her! The menu is basic but our dishes were well executed right down to the perfectly buttered toast and crispy hash browns. We will be back read more

Service quick and efficient. Food was good however I did get one bad oyster with my fried oysters, hence 4 stars instead of five. It almost put me off the rest of my meal. I'll go back, though! My wife's chicken fried steak was AMAZING. read more

Thanks for the GREAT staff, yummy and always reliable food (only place that gets my eggs over-med right every time). Outdoor dining and drive through pickup for those of us still COVID weary. The Shipwreck Cafe is a regular go-to breakfast spot for us but lunch and dinner are good too -- although I'm pretty sure they do breakfast ALL DAY! I think they need a HWY sign on 101 that reads "Last Great Food for ## Miles Exit Here" read more

We've been meaning to visit this place for a while, after our favorite local place for breakfast closed. We now have a new favorite. The food was good, the portions were appropriate for the price, the service was excellent, and the whole place was very clean and orderly. read more

Haven't been here for a while as the food quality was lacking. Kiddo wanted to come back so here we are. BIG improvement! Back to classic diner food that is really well done We'll be back again soon! Oysters in hangtown fry were PERFECT. read more

Shipwreck Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Food was ok, but the service was good. Food came out luke warm for me and daughters eggs were cold. Descent atmosphere. Would come back if I was in the area. Otherwise, I won't make the 30 minute drive again. read more

Cheerful, efficient service, good prices, and the best fried oysters I have ever had!

Food was excellent. Service was extremely good . Would go back great ambience and great quality and tasteful dishes

While I was hoping to write a review of the food, I left Shipwreck with disgust and a loss of appetite. The service was vile. Greeted with a smug look by the blonde haired front of the house server I already felt unwelcomed. Once we were seated in the dining room to the left, the next waitress was far worse. Once seated, we ordered our drinks and food. The table next to us was seated after us and received their well drinks before. All we had ordered to drink was iced tea. The waitress came to the dining area eight times, checked on other tables, cleaned tables, etc. but never visited my table and never delivered the iced tea. After 15 minutes, I finally got up and went to ask the waitress for the tea and waited by the drink fountain for her to pour the tea. There was a poured tea already on the counter. If this is how atrocious the service was, I undoubtedly know the food would have been worse. I left in disgust. Although I am a believer of second chances, Shipwreck will not get a second chance, this business and its servers are a shame, disgusting, and unprofessional. A business in disguise of artless food and service. I hope the owner or hiring manager does a more cautious job of who they employ. read more

We've driven by here for years and finally stopped for breakfast today. The place was really nice inside and menu had many options. The server was so friendly and made great suggestions. The food came so fast and was delicious! We need to go back for lunch now! read more

See all

While the service was quick and pleasant, $17.00 for simple bacon and eggs is ridiculous.

This is a hidden gem. We go here very often and everything has always been delicious. The staff are friendly and very good. Breakfasts are wonderful as well as All other meals. The pulled bbq pork sandwich is awesome along with the crispy fried chicken salad. The atmosphere is friendly and great pictures on the walls. You can't go wrong here. read more

Best cod sandwich I can think of!! So glad I found this spot! Very fast, extremely friendly service. Nice and clean. Lots of parking.

Such a great spot for weekend breakfast! Prices are high, but we didn't mind, given the size of the portions and the quality of the food and preparation. The cafe is a diner classic. Great food, coffee flowing, lots of local customers and busy servers. Clean and efficient! read more

Highly recommended this place! Nice service, clean, food outstanding! !!! Plates are huge, filled you up for the rest of the day read more

Shipwreck Cafe - Frying oysters - Cafes Near Me - Olympia, Washington

See all

Way way way good food. Had the chowder, chili, pulled pork and roast beef sandwich. Everything was amazing. We will for sure be back read more

Shipwreck Cafe - Pulled pork sandwich, garlic tots, and and empty cup of the best damn chili ever. - Cafes Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Great food and atmosphere friendly service and clean, this is our new goto place ... Do recommend read more

Oh great food service great ambience goods worth the ride tell all your friends to come on down

It moved - love the new location. Great food with great people and the fried oysters made me consider moving away from being vegetarian full-time. read more

We stumbled upon Shipwreck Cafe on a road trip. We wanted to use the restroom and also, we were hungry. The cafe is cute, something out of a movie. We order fish and chips and a tuna melt and sipped on hot tea (it was cold outside). The lady serving us turns out to be the owner -- her husband is the cook. We enjoy our meal, and then were tempted by her offerings of the marionberry pie. We took the pie to go -- I don't even like dessert and I could not stop eating the marionberry compote and ice cream. It's so good! I don't ever remember eating marionberry anything even when I was going to U of O. If you happen to be out that way, make sure you stop in for the marionberry pie a la mode. It's really worth it! read more

See all

We really enjoyed our dinners from Shipwreck cafe. We got the best clam chowder, fish and chips, sandwiches. Service was fast, professional with very careful infection control techniques. We drove up, made our order, parked aside, and it only took a few minutes for our hot order. Really nice woman serving up the food. I will gladly visit this restaurant in the future. read more

Great staff but terrible food. The eggs had barely any flavor to them, eggs at a hotel are better than this. The pancakes taste horrible, the biscuits and gravy tasted like they were sitting out for a couple of days. I would highly not recommend coming here if you want to waste your money on crappy food. read more

We'd been meaning to try this place for a while but hadn't made it until recently. We had a veggie omelette and veggie scramble. Both were really tasty. The service was friendly and welcoming. We'll definitely be back! read more

I absolutely love the staff and the food at this restaurant. The Burger Dip & Tots or Cod Fish and Chips are my two most favorite items on the menu. Yum Yum! read more

The best Eggs Benedict I have had in a long time!! The eggs were poached perfectly and the hollandaise was delish!

Stopped here on the way to Ocean Shores. Great service and good food. We will definitely be back.

Stopped because our son wanted a pancake. It was a great experience. Child's menu was awesome. All good was great. Service was great.

Great people and food, nice place and music, go here every weekend, go eat there, chili burger was good and breakfast was good

My neighbor and I stopped for lunch had fish and chips coleslaw Substituted clam chowder for chips very fresh satisfying. Homemade tartar sauce was wonderful. Red haired waitress was very attentive great service. We got berry cobbler to go was delicious. Had he scoop of vanilla ice cream too. read more

This is a great place to eat. I've eaten here three times, and each time was great. The food is great and the service is great. The people are helpful, kind, and very nice. I recommend to anyone looking for a great place and consistency. read more

This has become a favorite restaurant of mine lately. The food is always good and the service is excellent too. It's a cozy little restaurant and my family likes dining here. read more

Busy little place. Coffee was hot food was great service good Bathooms Clean well worth it. we had breakfast. rhey do amazing.

Generous portions of standard American diner style fare in a whimsical little roadside cafe. The staff is dedicated and attentive. The coffee is great. And the menu is large. read more