Fort George, one of Astoria’s two biggest breweries, offers numerous dining rooms in a vaulted, industrial space. The main floor sports the brewpub, with a menu of staples like burgers and seafood, while a spiral iron staircase leads to an upper floor with more casual seating and a more-than-solid pizza program. Beer aficionados looking to try some of the brewery’s rarer, more experimental brews can head around out back and into the tiny tap room — alongside beers rarely or never seen outside the brewery, the place serves nachos and hot dogs, and the taproom operators are knowledgeable and chatty about the products.
*Buoy Beer Company: 1 8th St
There is a floor glass that you can view sea lions. Kids love it.
If you are lucky, you will hear many sea lions sound around the brewery.
Drina Daisy Bosnian Restaurant: 915 Commercial St (0.3 miles)
While Astoria is well-known for its breweries and Northwestern seafood, it’s also home to Drina Daisy, which serves cuisine from the Bosnian heartland in a homey and elegant space filled with white tablecloths and tchotkes. – Eaters
South Bay Wild Fish House: 262 9th St (0.3 miles)
A fishing company, seafood market, and restaurant, South Bay Wild offers ones of the most direct sea-and-river-to-plate experience in town.
Busu Astoria: 275 11th St (0.2 miles)
A literal hole-in-the-wall, Busu operates out of a single window with a few stools outside, mainly for take out. The menu features a small selection of Japanese comfort dishes that change regularly, with the owner posting updates on Instagram. Generally, visitors can find a ramen or two, okonomiyaki, and yakisoba, but specials like curry, chicken karaage, and udon have made appearances. Whatever the case, it’s always rich, flavorful, and filling.
Surf 2 Soul (food cart): 395 11th St (0.1 miles)
Soul food is hard to come by in Astoria, but luckily, Surf 2 Soul delivers. The food cart has a limited menu that regularly changes up and adds daily specials, but the menu often includes its signature dish, “chicken n the biscuit” — a Tillamook cheddar biscuit with fried chicken and gravy, all made in house. Chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, and po’ boys often grace the menu, as well.
Sasquatch Sandwich Shop (food cart): 1343 Duane St (0.1 miles)
One of a number of food carts in the evolving Astoria food cart scene, Sasquatch Sandwich serves sandwiches that can easily compete with those coming from larger cities. They tend towards the meatier side, with staples like a Korean pork belly sandwich, a knockout reuben, and an even more knockout reuben with the addition of pepper jack, kimchi slaw, and spicy mayo — a third reuben is a veggie option, with thick mushrooms instead of beef.
Baked Alaska: 112th St #1 (0.3 miles)
One of the few options in town for more upscale dining, Baked Alaska’s elegant dining room looks out over the Columbia River with its many windows. A popular spot for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays, the restaurant serves a menu that, like many Astoria spots, emphasizes seafood with its shared plates and entrees, including pasta dishes like prawn and crab spaghetti or a decadent Dungeness crab and pink shrimp mac and cheese; those looking for something a little more casual can find nicely charred wood-fired pizzas. A full cocktail and wine selection fills out the menu, and dessert features a number of items including, of course, the eponymous baked Alaska, with chocolate chip cookie and vanilla ice cream under a layer of seared meringue.
Blaylock’s Whiskey Bar: 433 13th St (0.2 miles)
One could be forgiven for wandering into Blaylocks and thinking they just entered a smaller version of the Multnomah Whiskey Library — with tufted leather chairs and an emerald green tiled back bar, the Astoria lounge obviously was inspired by the Portland mainstay. But as the town’s first dedicated whiskey bar, Blaylock’s stands on its own, with a list of well-executed cocktails and a robust menu of almost 200 whiskeys from around the world, as well as a variety of other spirits. It’s an elegant and welcome addition to the growing bar and restaurant scene in the sleepy town.
Mai Tong Thai Food (food cart): 400-498 13th St (0.2 miles)
A Thai food cart serving recognizable dishes like pad thai, pad kee mao, cashew stir fry, and a variety of curries, Mai Tong Thai may not have the most daring-looking menu, but everything here is made with aplomb. Most dishes are made with a range of spices, denoted by an amount of peppers from 0 to 5, and the higher levels actually pack a punch. Service tends to be quick, and like other food carts at the pod, Mai Tong Thai can be enjoyed in the adjacent breweries or out on the wide patio on sunny days.
*Blue Scorcher Bakery & Cafe: 1493 Duane St (0.3 miles)
A coffee shop, bakery, and cafe with hippie vibes, Blue Scorcher provides some of the city’s top baked goods, including rustic breads, pies, and occasionally pizzas. While there is a full breakfast and lunch menu, including sandwiches served on bread baked in house, the bakery’s claim to fame is its pastries — lines form at the door early for Danishes, fruit scones, muffins, cinnamon rolls and, especially, the sticky-sweet cardamom-almond rolls, which generally come in large and small sizes. Besides grab-and-go pastries and coffee, Blue Scorcher provides a popular spot for families to hang out over snacks or for people to work on laptops with a scone and coffee.
*Custard King: 1597 Commercial St (0.4 miles)
A tiny drive-in burger shop, Custard King channels vintage charm and serves a variety of straightforward burgers — including a pretty immaculate bacon cheeseburger — plus, fries, fish and chips, tacos, chicken strips, and chowder. Those with a sweet tooth can find the iconic frozen custard that gives the venerable drive-in its name, along with a selection of shakes and malts. Summertime offers some outdoor seating for the baskets of thick burgers and crispy, golden fries, but in more inclement weather it’s best to take it to go.
*Bowpicker Fish and Chips: 1634 Duane St (0.4 miles)
A popular spot for tourists and locals alike, Bowpicker, a walk-up window housed in a stationary ship, offers only two things — beer-battered fried fish, and golden steak fries. Rather than the more familiar fish species like cod or rockfish, Bowpicker exclusively serves fried tuna, which makes for a meatier, heartier fried fish, but with only al light breading. On warm, sunny days, diners can expect a line, though it moves quickly; on inclement weather days, it’s wise to check Bowpicker’s social media, as the store sometimes avoids opening.
*Coffee Girl: 100 39th St (1.9 miles)
Getting to Coffee Girl is a bit of a jaunt — built in an old Bumblebee Tuna cannery at the end of a large wooden pier towards the end of town, the coffee shop is nevertheless packed most days. The shop serves staples including pastries and panini sandwiches, along with Caffé D’arte coffee, but what’s most appealing is its decor, retaining some of the original cannery structure in the floor and ceiling, and displaying photography of the old facilities. In the spring and summer, the outside patio, directly over the river, offers ample seating, and inside it’s warm with a corner fireplace.
