South Beach Fish Market

3640 South Coast Highway, South Beach, OR - (541) 867-6800

Overview Reviews(3) Rate Restaurant Upload Photos Bookmark Email

Posted By Jeff Bartlett on 1/11/2008 5:29:00 PM

I had heard about South Beach Fish Market and wanted to try it when we were in Newport. My wife and I were spending a weekend on the coast last summer, but we weren't expecting to be close to Newport and consequently didn't write down any details about the place. As it happened we ended up taking a drive down the coast and were within 10 miles of Newport one afternoon. I tried to remember the location and we drove around South Newport trying to find it. We gave up (we were hungry!) and stopped at a roadside seafood market for a quick lunch. We soon found out we had stumbled upon the very place we were looking for. Eureka!

The first good sign as we pulled up: fresh Dungeness crab boiling in huge vats outside. The second good sign: commercial fishermen standing in line getting ready to order. These guys know their seafood.

Our lunch was fabulous. I had rock cod and my wife had halibut and chips. It's all about the fish, tremendously fresh, cooked perfectly. The batter is light and crisp, with a delicate flavor that doesn't interfere with the fish. We sat at a roadside picnic table with the traffic roaring by and huge grins on our faces.

This is Roadfood at its best; world class food at reasonable prices at a restaurant with owners who are passionate about their product. The owner of South Beach Fish Market serves the freshest seafood caught on the Oregon Coast. Hope you can make it out to visit them; it's entirely worth the trip!

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Rate this place

"Halibut is a gentle-flavored sort of fish, but it blossoms in South Beach's crisp-fried coat. The meat's moistness is enhanced by that golden crunch."
Michael Stern

"The chips are nothing special, but the fish is so fresh-tasting, and has a nice garlic hit from the batter."
Terry Taylor

"Smoked fish."
Terry Taylor

"There's 1/4 pound of crab in this baby!"
Jim Scheppke

"There are lots of choices, but I like the fresh tuna the best."
Jim Scheppke

"Dungeness crab needs no adornment whatsoever. This cocktail is a fine way to precede a fish-and-chips meal."
Michael Stern

"You know the crab is fresh when you walk by the pots on the way in."
Jim Scheppke

"Place your order at the counter and watch them fry it up."
Jim Scheppke

"Located just south of the bridge on Highway 101 in Newport, Oregon."
Terry Taylor

"The Captain's Platter is 2 oysters, 2 hunks of halibut, 2 scallops and 2 prawns."
Michael Stern

"Signs along the parking lot fence tell the variety of things available. Not listed: salmon jerky and 'salmon candy,' the latter moist, sweet, and smoky."
Michael Stern

"South Beach boasts that its salmon burger, like the shrimp burger and crab burger, is made on premises. Maybe, but the salmon and chips is so much more salmony and rich, I would always pass on the burger to get the whole pieces of fish."
Michael Stern