Noyo Harbor Restaurant is part of the historic Noyo Harbor Inn in Fort Bragg, CA. They have a good sized multi level patio for outside dining that overlooks the active marina and flowing river. Many of the metal tables, but not all, had umbrellas to provide shade, were set on the patio’s tile floor, had some heaters and no music was in the background. Servers wore masks and each table had a small bottle of hand sanitizer. The bathroom was inside by the inn’s check-in desk. The lovely view and multiple levels made it a very pleasant place to sit enjoy your meal. The restaurant had wild caught and daily catch from the harbor as well as vegetables and herbs from the Chef’s garden. We were there midday and they had a brunch menu as well as daily specials. It offered the aforementioned seafood as well as a number of breakfast items. They had cocktails, beer and wine by the glass or bottle. Service was friendly but less refined (one of the servers splashed coffee on my blouse while pouring). I saw some of the breakfast food come out and the plates looked generous.
We chose the Chef’s Fish ‘n Chips which was called a Noyo Harbor Classic. It was made with local Rock Cod that is lightly fried in Chef’s housemade batter and served with crispy chips. The moist fish did have a wonderful crispy coating that was not too thick or thin. Each portion had 3 good sized pieces of fish with the fried potato wedges, tartar sauce, ketchup and vinegar. The tartar sauce was particularly good. It was a proper enhancement to the delicate fish and didn’t dwarf the flavor. The potatoes were nicely crisp with good soft interiors. It was a really tasty plate of food.
For dessert we had a special that was not on the menu – apple tarte tatin served with ice cream and caramel sauce. The apples were nicely softened but not mushy and the sweet caramel was perfect with the fruit. The ice cream was on the light side but basically blended well with all. A good pastry was under the pie. With a cup of coffee this was a perfect end to the meal.
