The Tides Wharf Restaurant

Crab cakes were wet. Salmon was dry and mealy. Clam chowder was good

We have gone to the Tides Wharf several times over the years and the only thing that keeps us coming back is the location. Bodega Bay is a very nice destination.
The food at the Tides, at least for us has been good, But the service has been marginal. We have sat at our table at least a half hour before the server noticed us a few times. Other times once they the food is delivered you don’t see them again until the check comes.
The last time we were there our 7 year old granddaughter bought a neckless from their shops sale table. Once we got outside she showed it to me, still sealed in the package you could see the clasp was missing. I went back inside to return the neckless and was told that the items on the sale table are «as is» and no returns. I checked out the sale table and most of the items were defective in some way. Be careful what you buy in the shop.

Over rated, over priced, has been going down hill for some time. On my visits, to Bodega Bay, and I’ve been going there for 35 years, sometimes, I’d have breakfast, lunch and dinner at The Tides. Tippi Hedren, the blond lady, that starred in the Alfred Hitchcock movie, used to make personal appearances, I would give it one star, but the parking is easy, and they have a take out window, and fresh fish market. We won’t return, there are better choices in the area. It really is a shame, to watch such an iconic restaurant, let itself go like this. If you’re just looking for the view from here, park, walk through the restaurant, and make a left to the out side pier :) Truly am sorry to have to write this review.

RE: The Tides Wharf Restaurant
My wife and I have been going to The Tides Wharf Restaurant for more than twenty years and have always experienced good service and seafood. Our last visit over the Valentine’s Day weekend wasn’t as good, the fish dish we ordered was not well prepared and the entire entrée was dripping with butter. We were hungry and ate it, later during the evening things were not pleasant for us.
A couple of emails were sent to the restaurant without any response being received.
Today (March 1, 2016) out of frustration my wife called The Tides Wharf Restaurant to complain about our experience last month and spoke with the general manager Mark.
Mark said he had received her emails but decided not to respond, Mark seems to lack any training in customer service or interpersonal relations; Mark berated her over the phone. My wife who is a strong professional woman was completely taken by surprise as she’s never been talked to in such a rude manner by any male, much less a manager of a well-​known restaurant.
If your dining experience is not what you expected, do not expect a polite business like exchange
We will not be returning.

Over priced but great view. The shrimp cocktail good with a salad. More of a tourist spot.

Went for lunch with my Mom we waited 15min to get two cherry cokes the restraunt was dead since it was around 2:00pm (slow time) the waitress was rude. We orderd our food fish and chips (split) and appetizer crap cakes. It was less than impressive food the crab cakes are tiny and only two. When I asked for a refill on my cherry coke I was told no! She will give me a coke but not cherry and she offered no explanation. We spent $ 58.00 for a split lunch 1 tiny appetizer and two cherry cokes… BASIC, BASIC food. Save your money go to Lucas wharf or the sandpiper. Final opinion on this restraunt; a tourist trap over priced place to stop.

So far all I have had at the tides is their shrimp Louie salad. Love it! Refreshing, tasty, not heavy in the tummy, just right.

We came for dinner — was told we had to wait over an hour, so we went to the bar to grab a drink and an appetizer. The bartender never came over to us to help so we ended up leaving. Came back the next day for breakfast (free voucher from hotel), the service was better but the food is not great. Overall, it’s over priced and needs a face lift.

The Filipino waiter or host is a rude jerk that doesn’t know good customer service for a place like this. Our money is just as green as the other customers jerk. I’m sorry you have to service people. Maybe a career change?

I stopped by to get a desert to go and bought a $ 2 cookie which was not a bad deal but my $ 7 piece of apple pie was garbage and WAY over priced. I thought well I will go ahead and pay for it, since it was all boxed up and ready to go. The manager who got the to go order together came out with the two items and was going to put the cookie on top of the pie in the little styrofoam to go container and I said no, we would like the two separate. So both item’s we’re handed to us and I payed $ 9.
I got home and tried to eat the very small piece of pie but it was dry, stale and tasted very badly. I can say we will never go back. This was the second time we gave this place a chance after experiencing a very very bad hamburger and fries dinner. I mean how does anyone screw up hamburgers & fries! This place is over priced with terrible food.

Stayed at the hotel and was offered the free breakfast at the restaurant. This building has seen better days and the smell from their fish market isn’t the best way to be greeted when you walk in. The eggs were bland and the hashbrowns were dry and over cooked on the outside that it was so difficult to eat. The view is nice, situated right on the water. Our server was as cold and run down as the restaurant. A true shame, with such amazing property they should really spruce up the place– give it an extreme face lift and fire the chef.

** Review of The Tides Wharf Snack Bar **
It was one of the only places open on Christmas Day! We saw the bad reviews of The Tides Wharf restaurant and were skeptical to go in but we didn’t really have a choice… Entering the building we saw that there was more than a restaurant, also a little shop which sold really cool unique snacks, a pastry shop and the snack bar we ended up going to in an open space with gorgeous views on the water and small Boardwalk.
We got fish and chips, clam chowder and breaded prawns and salad (I substituted the fries for a side salad!).
The fish (cod) was sooo fresh and from the waters we were looking at! It was delicious and only about $ 9! The prawns were big and fresh as well, not too fried, just great! I’m usually not a fan of fried foods but this was cooked so freshly and it was not oily at all! Very thin breaded part.
You get to eat at tables with so much sun around lunch time, inside or outside and lots of sauces are available for you to put on your food (tartar, cocktail, mayo, malt vinegar…). As much as you’d like!
Great spot and friendly staff! Go!

Short & Sweet: Overall, a very poor dinning experience. The food was just ok for the high prices, ambience is drably dated, service was the WORST!, and the view wasn’t worth sitting through a lousy lunch experience. We brought a friend in her 80’s as a coastal treat and left very disappointed. Note: While posting this review to Unilocal,I’m amazed to read the large number of similar complaints that have been posted over recent months. There is obviously an ongoing systemic problem here that management ignores and defends rather than corrects.
The long version is… We arrived at 11:30 a.m. and were seated immediately. We received menus quickly however, although I waved down the waitress two times over the next 15 minutes to order, she kept saying I’ll be right back. We finally asked a busboy for water. Many tables around us were occupied by what appeared to be senior (75+) locals who were getting all the attention… Jovial chit chat, drink refills and repeated checks from the waitress. Likewise, a table of four arrived after us that also appeared to be locals on a lunch break. That table ordered and received their food long before use. It was distractingly obvious that the waitress (an older woman) was acquainted with all of these folks and was eagerly meeting their needs while ignoring our table. While she was chatty and jovial with them, we were treated as an inconvenience.
Waving her down a third time, we were in the middle of ordering when a senior woman at the table next to us raised her arm in the air and began waiving a wine glass. The waitress immediately excused herself, apologized to the woman and left to retrieve her more wine… Really?!! After ordering my wife and guest soon received their appetizers however, my appetizer salad arrived on a full-​size dinner plate at the same time as our entrées. The window tables are small and with all that was now on ours, my salad plate was sitting at the corner edge of the table. When I told the waitress I no longer wanted the salad because it was an appetizer and the table was too crowded, she dismissively told me she forgot to bring it out and took it away. However, minutes later she brought it back in a to-​go box and placed it on the corner of the table again and walked away… Again, I thought really?!!
Bodega Bay locals may enjoy their familiar wait staff and quick service but, as a touristy diner don’t expect the same level of attention. As a Petaluma local, I can honestly say there are many great lunch choices in the area, this is not one of them. Leaving with a tab and tip of $ 120 (yes, I still tipped) for three people would suggest a quality experience but not at the Tides, this place is an overpriced diner quality hangout for locals. Often times a friendly wait staff makes up for other notable dissatisfactions however here, they often compound a negative experience. While others may have complained, that typically only causes more frustration (as noted in other reviews) from defensive staff so I simply paid the bill, left the to-​go salad they charged me for and we won’t be back.
If Bodega Bay is your lunch destination and you want a view, try Bluewater Bistro near the Bodega Bay golf course; less expensive, quant dinning area with a bar and fireplace… And much better food and service. We would have taken our guest there but she can’t climb the stairs to the restaurant.

I love the bar here. It is separate from the restaurant and you are guaranteed an awesome view! I’ve never not been able to get a seat or table at the bar and they have a few of the menu items available as well as an awesome appetizer menu inside the cocktail napkins (super cute)!
I love to sit down at a table and order a drink while watching the bay as the sun goes down. This restaurant is also one of the only in town that I have found to serve fried clams. I grab a plate of fried seafood (the calamari is also pretty good here), some oysters and a drink and I am totally happy here. No need to bother with the busy restaurant. As long as you don’t have kids. The bar is the place to sit!

My mom recommended this place based on her experience a couple years ago. However, the experience we had today did not meet those previous expectations.
First it took two women to forget a child’s menu until my sister had to approach the hostess for it again.
We ordered the Calamari and Chips, Fish and Chips, Linguine and Clams in «White Sauce», and a kids cheeseburger. Both the Calamari and Fish had no flavor (Simple salt would of sufficed). Parts of the Calamari were still intact when it should of been removed. (See Picture) Our Linguine and Clams in «White Sauce» had flavor thankfully but the sauce was more of a butter and oil than cream sauce of any sort (See Picture). In other restaurants, when guests order any kind of long pasta dish it is presented with a spoon… don’t expect one here.
My daughter took two bites of her undercooked burger and stopped eating. (See Picture) When we asked for ranch sauce for her fries, it tasted like sour cream with evidence of small specks of a ranch packet seasoning.
And for the Coke and Pespi lovers out there… do not look forward it having those needs met here either.
But I heard the Clam Chowder is good!

First time out in «The Tide Fisherman’s Wharf» and the scenery is the first thing that grabbed my attention. A+ on that! The food is great as well. I got the «Calamari Grande» and the taste really defines the «grande» its huge in taste!

The view is amazing that’s the one star; the service was among the worst I’ve ever experienced.
We arrived as a party of 6 on Friday ¹⁰⁄₃₀. The Restaraunt was mostly empty the hostess sat us in the back of the place.
When we asked to be moved to an empty table close to the window they said that is for 7 – 8 people, but there was no reservation she had to ask the manager???
When we were seated we sat for 15 min without anyone coming to give us water or take a drink order there was waitstaff checking their text messages and chatting, while busboys rushed to clean up tables as if they were quickly turning them while there were about 30 empty tables and we sat ignored. I have rarely walked out of a Restaraunt but when I suggested that we leave everyone in the group agreed.

The two stars is because our waiter was good, otherwise we’d be down in single digit category. He was well informed about beer, gracious. He should get a job at a better place.
I’m so sorry we didn’t have any cell service to check restaurant options before sitting down for lunch. There were obviously way better places to go.
The food was an issue. Oysters on the half shell had been «hosed down» with ice water because, explained the waiter, some customers were complaining about «stuff» in the oysters. Whether that’s true or not (maybe the shuckers weren’t good at one point?) the effect of rinsing down a good, local oyster is tantamount to asking Rudolph Nureyev to dance a beautiful ballet in army boots. Thunk.
The seawater, the oyster’s natural juice… it’s half the experience of the oyster. To wash it down with water is… moronic. To argue that customers complained so we’re going to hose down oysters is like saying «Since our customers all want sweet wine, we’re going to add a teaspoon of sugar to your glass of local Pinot.» You’d laugh if they did that, wouldn’t you? Hosing down an oyster is like that. You kill it. Gastronomically speaking anyway.
Shrimp/​crab Louie was maybe a 3. It was covered in sliced red and green peppers and canned black olives… like pizza. Louie isn’t pizza. But the real telltale «Klunky Kitchen» clue is the HUGE chunks of tomato on the plate. Giant, «how big a chunk can I stick on there» kind of no-​brain approach to salad. Oh… and cucumber. Thwacks of cucumber and monster sized hunks of tomato… under green and red peppers and black olives. Ugly. By the time I yanked all that cr*p off, the salad underneath was ok. But really… I had to remove a pizza’s worth of garbage first.
Fish and chips were fine.
Staff seemed ok, but the whole place has this strange, slightly down-​at-​heel, nobody goes there much anymore feel. Despite the fact that lunch business was brisk on a Friday. Prices are high considering the execution doesn’t measure up to airport lounge food. (If you must, order fried stuff — it’s harder to screw up). Stay *away* from the oysters, holy god… If you have any respect for oysters at all. (Isn’t there some Sonoma County tourism person who can come in and tell them not to screw up the local bounty?)
But the cool kids, the locals, and folks who checked out their choices before leaving home… those guys are eating at better places in Bodega Bay. And so should you.

A friend who makes yearly visits to Bodega Bay highly recommended Tides Wharf Restaurant, and it did not disappoint!
Food:
I ordered the Crab Cioppino, which came with a small cup of Bodega Bay Seafood Chowder.
The chowder was a tomato base soup with fish. On a cool, nice day, this soup hit the spot just right.
The Crab Cioppino was simply amazing. The sauce was super tasty and the seafood was very fresh. I highly recommend!
The table is also given sliced bread at the beginning of the meal, so I used the bread to soak the remaining sauce.
For the amount of seafood you get, the $ 28.95 price is totally worth it!
Side Notes
Ambiance:
The restaurant offers great views of the bay.
Service:
Staff was friendly and knowledgeable.
If your party wants to split the bill, I’d recommend telling them before you order. Apparently, it takes 20 minutes to get the manager’s approval.
Overall:
The food is on point!

Unfortunately if you’re heading out to Bodega Bay you’re not going to have too many lunch options, this is one of the few.
Stopped by here with my aunt and cousin before hitting up the ocean.
I’ve been year before about four years ago and had a ceasar salad with chicken, I remembered it being a-​ok so figured we’d just go here.
Bad choice.
I’m not sure what happened but the only good thing about this place now is the view.
The service was OK and I mean OK. The waitress had a bad case of resting B face, very sour looking. No smiles.
We were seated and open the menu to find crazy prices for subpar items.
My cousin got the cheeseburger. Nothing special, just a cheeseburger…$ 14. She said it was ok. I’m sure Carls Jr would have been better and more filling. (With employees who smile)
I got the chicken ceasar salad (again)…it was ok. Not very awesome, bland chicken. Very small considering it is over $ 12…like a mini salad. Lots of suspect looking lettuce too.
My aunt got the chowder, she said it was alright, but nothing more.
Crappy service and subpar food served for a nominal fee. Boo.
I’d suggest packing a picnic or stopping by the Wild Flower bread place before heading out to the ocean…