Where Should I Eat in Gearhart, Oregon? What's Open in 2026 (and What Closed)
- littlefieldmarly
- Aug 26
- 6 min read
Quick answer: Gearhart's food scene changed significantly in 2026. Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe, the town institution, closed permanently. What is open now: King Tide Bakery at 609 Pacific Way for morning pastry, By The Way at 564 Pacific Way for coffee, Daughter's at 567 Pacific Way for wine and small plates in the evening, Prep Kitchen at 3601 Highway 101 for sandwiches, El Trio Loco at 3615 Highway 101 for Mexican, Grandma's Corner on Highway 101 for a big breakfast, and McMenamins Sand Trap Pub at the Gearhart Hotel for pub food by the golf links.
Gearhart is the quiet one. No arcade, no taffy shop, no crowds on the promenade, because there is no promenade. About fifteen hundred people, a grid of cottages under the pines, ridge after ridge of dune grass, and a golf course that has been there since the 1890s. People who buy here are usually buying the quiet on purpose.
Which is why the food question comes up so often. You cannot eat your way through Gearhart in a week the way you can in Astoria. You can, however, eat very well here, and the town center just went through the biggest shakeup in decades.
First, the thing everyone asks about: Pacific Way
Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe sat at the corner of Pacific Way and Cottage for decades and was, for a lot of people, the entire reason to stop in Gearhart. The cafe side closed back in 2020, came back under new owners, and then the whole operation closed permanently in early 2026. If you drove out here specifically for it, that is why the door is locked.
The good news, and this is the part the out-of-date guides miss entirely: the same one-block stretch of Pacific Way now has three separate places worth the trip, and the bakery lineage did not actually die. It changed names.
The Pacific Way block
King Tide Bakery — 609 Pacific Way
This is where the bakery went. Lisa Allen, who ran the Pacific Way bakery for years, is a co-owner here, so the pastry case is a direct continuation under new branding rather than a replacement. Around 4.8 stars, open roughly 8am to 2pm. Marionberry anything, the ham and cheese croissant, and good scones. Go early on a summer weekend or the case will be picked over.
By The Way — 564 Pacific Way
Half coffee bar, half gift shop, entirely charming, roughly 7:30am to 4pm and sitting around 4.7 to 4.8 stars. They pour Sleepy Monk, the Cannon Beach roaster, which locals will tell you is the best coffee on the north coast. Rotating local pastries and donuts. This is the low-key morning stop where you end up talking to whoever is behind the counter for twenty minutes.
Daughter's — 567 Pacific Way
The most interesting new thing in town and the answer to the old complaint that Gearhart had nowhere to go at night. A small wine bar with a short, well-built food menu, open evenings from about 4pm, currently sitting at a perfect 5.0 across a modest number of reviews. Small room, so it fills up. This is now my default recommendation for a Gearhart date night.
Out on Highway 101
Prep Kitchen Deli & Catering — 3601 Highway 101
A deli and catering operation that has quietly become one of the highest-rated food stops in the area at about 4.9 stars. Sandwiches, house-made sides, the kind of place you hit on the way to the beach. Opens around 9am and closes early, so it is a lunch play, not a dinner play.
El Trio Loco — 3615 Highway 101
Around 4.5 stars over eight hundred-plus reviews, which on this stretch of highway is a strong signal. Generous portions, fresh and well seasoned, opens at 11am. Reliable family dinner without driving into Seaside.
Grandma's Corner Restaurant — 4030 Highway 101
About 4.7 stars across nearly nine hundred reviews, which is remarkable for a roadside breakfast spot. Big plates, low prices, extremely friendly. If someone in your group wants hash browns and bottomless coffee rather than a croissant, this is the stop.
By the golf links
McMenamins Sand Trap Pub — 1157 N Marion Avenue
Inside the Gearhart Hotel, right at Gearhart Golf Links, sitting around 4.2 stars. It is a McMenamins, so you know the deal: solid pub food, house beers, quirky art, and a room with actual character. What makes it matter here is that it is the most dependable place in Gearhart for a full sit-down dinner, and it keeps longer hours than almost everything else in town. There is also a smaller bar in the hotel if the pub is packed.
The honest truth about eating in Gearhart
Gearhart has maybe seven or eight places total, several of them close by mid-afternoon, and a few run reduced days in the off season. That is not a knock, it is the whole character of the town, and it is worth knowing before you plan a week here.
Mornings are Gearhart's strength. Between King Tide and By The Way, the breakfast and coffee situation genuinely punches above the town's size.
Dinner options are thin. Daughter's and the Sand Trap Pub carry the evening, and both are small. Seaside is five minutes south and Cannon Beach is fifteen minutes further, so plan on driving for variety.
Check days, not just hours. Small coast businesses commonly close two or three days a week, and those days shift seasonally.
Gearhart Grocery is a real asset if you are renting a cottage. A lot of the best meals here happen on a deck with something you cooked yourself.
Winter is quiet in a way people either love or find alarming. Call ahead between October and March.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe in Gearhart still open?
No. Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe closed permanently in early 2026. The bakery side of the business continues under a new name, King Tide Bakery, at 609 Pacific Way, with one of the longtime Pacific Way bakers as a co-owner.
How many restaurants are in Gearhart, Oregon?
Roughly seven or eight, depending on how you count coffee shops and delis. Gearhart is a town of about fifteen hundred people, so the scene is small by design. Seaside, five minutes south, has dozens more.
Where can I get dinner in Gearhart?
Daughter's at 567 Pacific Way for wine and small plates from about 4pm, or McMenamins Sand Trap Pub at 1157 N Marion Avenue inside the Gearhart Hotel for full pub dinners. El Trio Loco on Highway 101 is the third option. Everything else in town is a morning or midday place.
What is the best breakfast in Gearhart?
King Tide Bakery for pastry and By The Way for coffee, both on Pacific Way, or Grandma's Corner on Highway 101 if you want a full plate of eggs and hash browns. All three rate 4.7 stars or higher.
Is Gearhart worth visiting if the food scene is that small?
Yes, but come for the beach and the quiet rather than the restaurants. Gearhart has one of the widest, emptiest stretches of sand on the north coast, a golf course dating to the 1890s, and almost no commercial development. The food is a bonus, not the draw.
What this tells you about Gearhart real estate
Here is the realtor part, and it is genuinely relevant. The reason Gearhart has eight restaurants instead of fifty is the same reason people pay a premium to own here: the town has deliberately stayed small and residential, with strict limits on commercial sprawl and no boardwalk economy. That scarcity is the product.
It also means a few things practically. Short-term rental rules in Gearhart are their own animal and differ from Seaside and Cannon Beach, so verify before you count on rental income. Inventory is thin, particularly the classic cottages west of the highway, and good ones move quietly. And the flip side of the quiet is that you should visit in February, not just August, before you commit.
If you are eating your way around Gearhart and starting to look at cottages in the windows of the real estate offices, I am happy to walk you through what actually trades here, what the rental rules allow, and how Gearhart prices compare to Seaside and Cannon Beach. No pressure and no obligation.
A note on this list: Small-town coast businesses change hours, days and ownership constantly, and star ratings move. Everything here was verified in July 2026, but always check before you drive.
Marly
Oregon Coast Collective
Real Broker
971.227.5140
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