With the best waterfront view of the Astoria-Megler bridge in town, Bridgewater Bistro is North Coast dining done right. Recently sold to new owners, the spot promises to keep a similar menu including seafood specials and a Pacific-Northwest-centric wine list. On most days, outdoor dining is a great option in sturdy, covered pods on its deck; portable heaters warm up four-seater tables, as does a bowl of the restaurant’s curried clam and mussel chowder or smoked gouda mac and cheese. The restaurant is also open for takeout and serves Sunday brunch.

In the quieter cove area south of Seaside’s bustling downtown, warm and cozy Osprey Café rocks breakfast and lunch with an internationally eclectic pantry. Nasi goreng, or Indonesian fried rice, with a sunny-side-up egg at 10 a.m.? Yes, please. Watch surfers or trek up Tillamook Head, then warm up with a plate of cheesy arepas or Korean fried chicken sandwiches. Takeout is available and the specials are stellar, so be sure to ask what’s new that day.

With frequent live music, intricate entrees showcasing Pacific Northwestern seafood, and a charming brick patio with blooming flowers in season, the Bistro proves Cannon Beach’s dining scene can be creative and fun. An easy walk from downtown hotels, the Bistro is home to chef and owner Jack Stevenson, who slips kombu and bonito into cioppino for a deeper savory note and bolsters his tom kha with an array of shellfish. Vegan and vegetarian dishes include hearty options like savory zucchini and grain cakes with chickpea purée. Visitors traveling with dogs can ask for the canine menu, so both owner and pet can enjoy a meal on the patio. The restaurant is open for dine-in and takeout.

House-made pasta and wood-fired pizza doesn’t get much better than what’s served with pride at waterfront bistro the Salmonberry in Wheeler. Daily toppings and sauces reflect the season and the bounty of nearby fishing vessels and ranches. You might find Garibaldi-harvested bay clams or Nehalem-sourced beef. The sourdough bread from nearby Wolfmoon Bakery, slathered in honey chèvre, is worth the drive alone. Dine on the waterfront deck or garden patio, or hang out in a long dining room overlooking the bay. Those who drink should sample liberally from the small-but-excellent wine menu.

With an invitingly nautical, fully renovated space smack in the center of the Port of Garibaldi marina complex, Garibaldi Portside Bistro specializes in giant portions of quality comfort food featuring meats finished in the smoker they built themselves. After offloading their catch, fishermen from the local fleet happily refuel with microbrews, heaping rib platters, the biggest prime rib French dip in town, and a slab of carrot cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting. The house special — a blueberry-sauced, goat cheese, bacon, and avocado burger — is best paired with a Bistro blueberry martini. The restaurant offers dine-in and takeout.

Pacific City’s understated, simultaneously casual and upscale restaurant on the Nestucca River makes for a great evening out after a day on the dunes or out fishing on the area’s historic dory boats. Focusing on Oregon seafood fisheries — think dory boat-caught ling cod enrobed in a blonde ale batter, line-caught Coho salmon, and all types of oysters and clams harvested by small family businesses from nearby bays — Riverhouse provides a menu that’s as eco-friendly as it is delicious. Drinkers should ask about pairings from Pacific City-based Twist Wine Co. The restaurant is open for dine-in (reservations recommended) and takeout.

Storied Oregon coast breakfast and lunch spot Otis Cafe — equally famous for its from-scratch shredded, cheesy German potatoes and its marionberry pie — rose like a phoenix from the flames of its longtime location in Otis, which tragically burned in 2019. The new spot in Lincoln City (sporting its original sign) has three times the seating, and it’s been embraced by generations of Oregonians eager for more biscuits with sausage gravy or Pacific rockfish sandwiches for lunch. Try the spicy hot St. Claire Fire Station omelet with chorizo, pepper jack cheese, and habanero sauce, playfully named in tribute to the first responders who fought the fire. All the baked goods and breads are still made in-house.

For Italian comfort food, Newport is the place to visit, and chef Justin Wills — famed for his farm-to-table fine dining destination Restaurant Beck in Depoe Bay — is the man to provide it. Sorella, his charming one-room Italian restaurant, brightens up Newport’s Nye Beach with bold Oregon coast-created art on the walls and a full bar. Choose among handmade pasta offerings like baked rigatoni or cavatelli with Italian sausage and vegetables or opt for seasonally changing toppings on beautifully charred Italian-style pizzas. Save room for a triple-scoop of house-made gelato.

Natural food lovers on the central coast rejoiced when Yachats Brewing came to this little seaside village nestled into the forested cliffs north of Cape Perpetua. Not only did Yachats acquire its own clever brewery, with a varied list of coastal-themed beers like the Marbled Murrelet stout and Thor’s Well IPA, it gained a rambling taproom with a menu heavy on vegan dishes and ferments. Open-faced mushroom sandwiches and salads with house-made sauerkraut will satisfy anyone who has eaten one too many fish-and-chips baskets. The restaurant also offers Sunday brunch and to-go meals and brews.

Hawaiian-born chef Christian Jakobsen is one of the most motivated chefs on the central coast: Moving from temporary pop-ups in a steakhouse to a food cart during his years in Florence, he finally found a home for his Pacific Rim sushi, grill, and tiki bar. Jakobsen presides over a comfortable dining room that serves as the setting for an exuberant menu. Island-style specialties like spam and egg musubi with a sweet shoyu glaze and loco moco platter with rice and Hawaiian mac salad join creative specialty rolls, burgers, tacos, and more. The restaurant is also open for takeout.

With a commitment to sustainable fishing — a particular challenge on the south coast, where sourcing is difficult — Pacific Sushi owner Mike Horgan has managed to stay the course beautifully. Colorfully plated sushi and traditional rolls hit tables in a rustic, wood-paneled space, including sustainably sourced uni and sablefish as an unagi substitute. Outside the world of sushi, the house tonkotsu ramen is particularly special, as is the adjacent cocktail lounge with Japanese-inspired libations. Open for dine-in, takeout, and delivery through a local service.