Drakes Sonoma Coast - Bodega Bay, California

Amanda C. S.

We made reservations for their earliest dinner at 5pm and they accommodated with helping us push it out 30minutes. Our server was, Kelsey, and she was super friendly and helpful. We arrived with our baby and was able to choose a booth to sit at so we can sit next to her and feed her too. We had the Hamachi, baked oysters, black cod, mussels with noodles, and a peach mocktail. The drink was a little on the sweeter end but the ice melting helped dilute it. My favorite were the chewy noodles with the mussels and the crispy exterior of the cod with corn sauce. We also ordered the artisan bread (comes freshly warm) with yummy seaweed butter. There’s a beautiful view by the windows too and lots of seating outside with a fire pit to relax at if you’re there for drinks. We also love the convenience of it next to the lodge we were staying at.

Tiff

I was a bit hesitant to try this place out due to some of the mixed reviews, but it was an incredible dinner experience! Beautiful coastal views and outstanding service from the restaurant staff. My daughter’s “butter noodles” were even delicious. Highly recommend the clams with chorizo and the pork chop mains.

Grace W.

The best place to watch a sunset with a cocktail and great food.

Drakes has outstanding service, a vegan/vegetarian menu, and the view from the bar is the best kept secret.

N ?. M.

This restaurant was definitely the lowest point of my stay at Bodega Bay. How it has such a high star rating, does not make sense to me. I strongly recommend skipping this restaurant. The experience started off shaky. There is not enough parking for the amount of patrons this restaurant can service. We were seated by the window which had excellent views of the bay. Hence the three stars for atmosphere. My first dish was the soup of the day, New England Clam Chowder. It did taste pretty good, not the best one I have ever had but good. My husband outside of getting the wrong order at first, his baked clams were good. After glancing around the room we noticed that people were provided with bread. We never got bread nor asked if we wanted some. The main course…oh the main course. The positive: the sauce for the scallops was delicious. The scallops could of been cooked better but most of the plate was edible. Now the very not so positive: The ribeye steak was suppose to be cooked medium rare and it was tartare, had no flavor and I had to send it back. A manager stopped by our table and told us a round of drinks would be on the house for the inconvenience. We were grateful. The return of the steak, which took a while, was still not cooked properly. Now it was on the rare side but at least edible. So instead of sending it back I just ate most of it. The fingerling potatoes were bland, the pickled onions did not go with the meal. The fried onions were stale. I put a lot of salt on them and it did not help. This was a $56 steak!!! Not worth it. The dessert was good. I had the Pavlova. Avoid this restaurant!!!

Tongke Z.

It is a beautiful place, in a fancy hotel. The waiters are very helpful and welcoming. We went for breakfast and it was very quiet. We had a nice breakfast at the window seats with a fantastic bay view. The food is good, large-size, not pricy at all.

Marti B.

Our table was by the window, so we had a beautiful view of the bay. Scarlet, our waitress did a great job of pacing our meals so that we could thoroughly enjoy our cocktails before dinner arrived. Both dishes, the pork chop and halibut were divine. The pork chop was cooked to perfection with a lovely mango salsa and mushroom bread pudding. A unique and yummy combination. The halibut was stewed in a corn miso broth with fresh tomatoes and summer squash. Both dishes had wonderfully developed flavors.

Anthony L.

We started with the tomato salad and the scallop crudo. Neither was great. The tomatoes seemed cold which dampened their flavor, the dish lacked salt and the sour dough croutons were totally left off the plate. The crudo just didn’t taste good. Too much “stuff” ruined what should have been a simple dish highlighting the scallops. Orchiette was ok but also lacked salt. Salmon had a great crust to it but was overcooked and lacked flavor. Neither dessert was to our liking either. They forced a prix fixe menu which in almost every combination ended up more expensive than the individual dishes which I didn’t really appreciate. I know restaurants are struggle with staffing issues so I’m not going to ding them for that. Service was friendly and trying their best. If you’re staying at the lodge it’s obviously a convenient option but I personally would never go back for dinner again. Breakfast saved it a star since it was pretty good. Dinner was almost a total miss.

Derek P.

Went here for my wife’s birthday, and for what you pay this place simply isn’t worth it. Old decorations, outdated all around. I heard the food was supposed to be amazing. Steak was borderline inedible with the pickled onions on it. Do not eat here if you are expecting affordable or amazing food.