Cannon Beach, for those not familiar with the Left Coast, is a coastal town due west of Portland. The town is 1.54 square miles, tucked between HWY 101 and the Pacific Ocean. Ever see the movie The Goonies? That’s Haystack Rock. Wikipedia considers Cannon Beach to be an affluent tourist resort destination, with a warm-summer Mediterranean climate. Don’t worry, that one tripped me up too, the first time I read it, but upon second thought, it hit me just how true it is.
Summer in Cannon Beach is about as close to perfect as you can get. Wellllllll, until the stormy weather hits, that is. I’d put stormy beach weekends up there with the sunniest of beach days. Storm watching at the beach, it even has it’s own art festival. The first weekend of November is the Stormy Weather Arts Festival.
Growing Up Left Coast
We’ve had a house in Cannon since 1993. I was eight. When I talk about growing up on the West Coast, it’s not euphemistic.
Getting to Cannon Beach from Portland is easy. Straight West on Sunset Highway, South on HWY101 for four miles, and you’re there.
Cannon Beach is unique in the fact that chain stores are completely discouraged from building and setting up shop. So much so that when Safeway (a West Coast grocery store) and McDonald’s went in, they went in in Seaside, the next town to the North. Everything in Cannon (except for the tourists) is local, and it’s been that way for decades, and it’s one of the best things about the town.
Eating Our Way Through Cannon Beach
The last time that we were all together at the beach (which much to my chagrin has been a YEAR ago) My brother, his fiance, Jeff, and I decided that we were going to start the day, like all beach days, with Coffee from Sleep Monk, a walk down the beach through town to Ecola Seafood, and eat our way back to the house in Midtown stopping for slices at Pizza a’ fetta, burgers at Bill’s Tavern, beers and fish & chips at Screw & Brew, and a final slice at the pizza shop that’s tucked into the back of the Surfcrest Market down in Tolovana.
Starting the Day at The Sleepy Monk
Ask any coffee drinker about their favorite coffee shop, and they’ll likely rattle off a list of what it is that makes their favorite so wonderful. The amount of love that we have for our favorite coffee shops, it’s not small.
Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters is in Midtown Cannon Beach run by purveyors Victor and Jane Harding, who’ve been making coffee since 1989.
Their. Coffee. Is. Life.
In the summer, you’ll know it by the line out the door, the people and dogs lounging outside, and the festive chatter. Come winter, you’ll know it by the steady stream of regulars, the steam of the espresso machine as a winter storm lashes against the windows, and of course the festive chatter. – sleepymonkcoffee.com
The benches the line the shops interior are lined with pillows, the tables are often adorned with that day’s paper and local magazines for the browsing. Sharpies are the pen of choice and the whoosh of the steam a steady constant. Welcoming AF.
The space that houses the coffee shop (and roaster, as they do all roasting on site) turns into The Irish Table at night, where restauranteurs and chefs Crystal and Sean Corbin fuse Pacific Northwest cuisine with classic British Isles favorite.
You can check out their menu here.
1235 S Hemlock St A, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Ecola Seafood
Ecola Seafood used to be located at the other end of downtown Cannon Beach, on the first floor of the building that sits next to the Piggin’ Pancake. Ecola was the first true seafood market I remember going to, walking along the long glassed-in cases full of fresh seafood on a bed of ice, soaking it all in was something that we did every time we were in town. There was a bookstore on the second floor (back when that building was more of a mall than it is now) that we’d visit after stopping at Ecola. Each visit I was given the opportunity to choose a new Babysitters Club Book.
Weekends look a bit different now than they did when we were young, the trips to Ecola however, have remained the same.
Ecola Seafood has since moved from that first location, and is now tucked back a block or so off of the main drag through downtown, right across the street from the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce, and there is *almost* always a line to order.
100% worth the wait.
We started our foodie walk with the shrimp cocktail (for everyone else, what with the shrimp allergy I have), a crab melt (holy delicious), a couple of big ass bowls of clam chowder (easily the best on the coast), and beers all around.
Ecola has both indoor and outdoor seating and offers take away orders as well.
208 N Spruce, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Pizza a’ Fetta
The next stop on our foodie walk, Pizza A’ Fetta. There are three pizza joints in CB, Pizza A’ Fetta, Surfcrest Market, and Fultanos. (pro tip: Fultano’s & Surfcrest delivers, Pizza A’ Fetta does not)
Pizza a’ fetta first opened its doors on August 22, 1988 in Cannon Beach, Oregon. It started out as a 369 square foot space selling mostly pizza by the slice and whole pies to go…It is no secret that our reputation is well earned; it has been referred to as a Cannon Beach icon in many publications and by a large portion of our customer base. In 1996 we earned a ranking as one of the Top Fifty Pizza Restaurants in the Nation by Pizza Today Magazine – pizza-a-fetta.com
Standing on the curb, looking at the building itself, the front door serves the do get the downstairs dining room, while walking back to the second door, that’s where the true magic is. The door that’s set back (walk through the breezeway, turn right) opens to a walk-up counter where you place your slice (or pie) to go orders. Also where you order your beer.
Just outside the walk-up counter, in the courtyard, there’re a handful of tables and chairs for outdoor seating. The courtyard is shared with a couple of galleries and a coffee shop so while seating can be a bit tricky, taking your slice and beer and walking while you eat is a far better option.
Get the pepperoni. It’s a classic for a reason.
***Cannon Beach and Las Vegas share the same open container laws. Take it with you while you’ll walk. Completely legal.***
231 N. Hemlock, Cannon Beach, Oregon, 97110
Bill’s Tavern
The oldest of Cannon Beach’s brewery scene, Bill’s Tavern sits smack in the middle of Cannon Beach, where it opened in 1997. – pdx.eater.com
Bill’s Tavern has stood in the same place since it’s inception 40 years ago, and while the original building no longer stands (it was torn down and rebuilt to accommodate and add the onsite brewing that exists now) the smack-in-the-middle-of-town location remains the same when Bill’s was established in 1977.
Seeing as I was never of age to enjoy the original Bill’s Tavern, I enlisted the help (and memories) of my parents’ recollections.
The outside wood siding was old beachy, weathered gray that had been blasted by decades of sea salt air. Inside? Dark, warm and friendly. Comfy with great service for locals, pleasant with tourists. Great cheeseburgers and fries (which is still just as true).
The new building, while far more functional from a brewery standpoint, lacks the charm and originality of the old building, leaving it feeling a bit sterile, the cheeseburgers, however, remain the same.
188 N Hemlock St, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
The Screw & Brew
The “Screw ‘n’ Brew” claims to be Oregon’s first and only combo hardware store and pub. Though it does sell doohickeys to the people who own the beach homes clustered along the shore near Haystack Rock, it’s a decidedly upscale spot. Fish and chips are $20, the best-known dish is an ahi salad, also $20, and if the staff doesn’t know you, expect the tourist treatment. It’s charming, and the food and beer are both way above average for the coast. – willametteweek.com
Cannon Beach Hardware sits in Midtown Cannon Beach adjacent to the Sleepy Monk. The space that the Screw & Brew occupies now has been everything from a video rental store to a wine bar, and a few iterations in-between. The idea for a hardware store/pub isn’t a new one, though it is (relatively) new to the Cannon Beach food scene.
Across the street from the VFW hall, the Screw & Brew offers outdoor seating via picnic tables either just in front of the building or tucked around the side, or, if you’re visiting during the rainy months (let’s be real, that could be any given day) an array of tables indoors that invite you to sit down with friends, order a pint (or five), and enjoy each other. Or keep time with whichever game happens to be on.
The food is top notch, the beer and cocktails flow freely, and all who dine are encouraged to enjoy the meal slow food style. (pro tip: the Screw & Brew is not the place to choose should you be in a rush.) You cannot go wrong with anything you order, everything is flavorful and fresh. Pro tip: the tots are great for sharing.
1235 S Hemlock St, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Surfcrest Market
The last stop of our day was pizza from the Surfcrest Market, for slices of Biggie’s pizza.
Best pizza in town.
The Surfcrest Market is in Tolovana, which is a 10 or so minute drive south down Hemlock from Midtown, or, a 20-minute walk down the beach. Highly recommend the walk down the beach.
I’ve driven past the Surfcrest Market for YEARS and had no idea that there was a pizza kitchen in the back, so when my baby brother (ha, he’s 6’5 and towers over me) announced that we had one more stop on our foodie tour of town, we were all in, and it was so worth it.
Biggie is a cheeky, junk-food-loving maximalist… Among his junk-food-mad-scientist creations: a crust made of ground-up Doritos, dough infused with bacon fat, and a biscuits-and-gravy pizza, just to name a few. Biggie’s pies have a few other defining features besides the vintage oven: The crust is soft and medium thin; the sauce, light on spices and unsweetened, is made from roasting then food-processing onions, peppers, and tomatoes, which gives it some depth; besides salami and pepperoni, the red meats are ground in-house. – discoverourcoast.com
One of the best parts of traditions, it’s adding to them.
3140 S Hemlock St, Tolovana Park, OR 97145
Read more about beach house weekends here
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