The food is good! We had oysters, half and half artichoke and green chile cream, their free sourdough bread, and a grilled cheese sandwich. There was a waiting room just in case you had to wait a little bit. (which we did) The soup tasted good, but it was a bit cold.
There was a bar and several rooms of tables, and even with all that room, it was still filled! The waiters were nice, and we even got a hat! For dessert we got two slices of pie, one being strawberry rhubarb pie.
We came with a large group for lunch (22 people) and they were ready and waiting for us! They were very friendly and helpful and the menu looked great, I had a hard time deciding!
I ended up getting the crab melt with onion rings and loved it. We were a little troubled because they could not do separate checks but it worked out.
I wish I had saved some room for pie!
When you are this close to San Francisco, you should have an anchor steam and oysters, Duarte's is sort its own destination. Â we always stop here when we drive up PCH1 from santa cruz to SF.
this is not a foodie destination, it's more of a chance to step back in time, enjoy small town pace and move on "Pescadero time".
I've been eating here for 20 years or so, and that's not a long time for Duarte's. Â the place has been serving drinks since 1894! Â that's before prohibition! Â and not a whole lot has changed.
the artichoke soup is always good, the sour dough bread is great, and the pies are good too. Â nothing too complicated at Duarte's. Â
you have to want to be there, and be ready to have a leisurely meal. Â it's not fast food.
Ridiculously overpriced, tourist trap.
We spent $45 on lunch for two people. We had two minimalist (not in a good way) sandwiches--the abalone and the shrimp. There's just bread and meat, a couple of sliced dill pickles from a jar and fries or onion rings and that's it. Â The abalone was fresh but had been converted into a fried oily puck. Â The shrimp had some cheese on it but it wasn't local or fresh.
It was like eating at a crappy Texas BBQ shack out in the boonies, minus the fixin's.
There is no way locals could afford to eat here. Â Definitely not worth the drive from anywhere no matter how close you live to this place. Â
Just keep driving down the Stage Road to San Gregorio. Â You have been warned.
My friend suggested this place but when I read the Yelp reviews I called her back and nixed it. She insisted, and I am glad she did.
(1) It's a lot of fun. Lively with lots of locals and tourists.
(2) The artichoke and chilli soup I had was excellent.
(3) The young waitress was very sweet and good at her job.
(4) There were a lot of expensive items, but I had an excellent tuna sand. ($6)
All in all it was a very positive experience. I would go back for sure. I would also be sure everybody in my party was on board to order modestly (or get separate checks)
Mike
Thought this place would be excellent since it was pretty crowded and had lots of seafood choices.
Food
Ordered an artichoke soup and a seafood sandwich --neither satisfied my palate.
Service
We had to keep calling the waiter for assistance. We did sit at the bar since it was packed but still the bartender was not so busy that he couldn't check in with us every once in a while. He was busy having a conversation with a local customer. Although I must say he did get us what we asked for in a timely manner
We really wanted to like this place. But the disappointment started when the menu hit the table. Â The prices seemed exorbitant: $15+ for a sandwich?? Â At a roadhouse? But we figured that with the decent Yelp reviews and all of the recommendations from locals, we'd try it....
I had the (special) Basque pumpkin and white bean soup. When it came I could confirm that it looked like a pumpkin soup that contained white beans. But it was so bland that no amount of salt could resurrect the flavor of whatever ingredients were used to make it. Â D's chili pepper soup was the exact opposite: full of flavor and very rich. So they broke even on the soup, barely. The prices, Â again, elicit much head scratching.
The sandwiches were another study in opposites. My crab melt was flush with tasty crab and cheese....
You know what? Â Forget it. Â This place is somehow riding on old reviews from some time ago when people were simply happy to have a hot bowl of soup on a cold day. Â Or something; I don't know. Â But it wasn't worth it. Â The food in other reviews has been misinterpreted as "comfort food". Â But when I don't feel comfortable shelling out the requisite cash for what I'm consuming, it's discomfort food. Â Or something.
There are plenty of better ways to fill up on better food that this place should best be viewed in your rear view mirror. Â Which, logistically, would be a pain given its location but I think you understand my meaning.....keep driving.....
Duarte's was not at all what I expected. Â I was prepared to have something tasty... particularly when I looked at the prices. Â Twenty-five dollars for an Abalone Sandwich and thirty-three dollars for Cioppino?!? Â All were very bland and below average. Â The abalone sandwich was nothing special: white bread, flattened abalone, a lemon wedge and fries; visually monotonous and banal for the taste buds. Â The Cioppino seemed to be vegetable soup based, possibly Progresso with a splash of white wine. Â I left with a significantly lighter wallet and still hungry. Â The next time I am in Pescadero, I will bring a picnic or find another place to eat.
Review Source:Worth the few minutes to drive inland from Highway One. Â And take a stroll through Pescadero while you're there.
Duarte's has character, an old tavern. Â Several dining areas.
Service was exceptional. Â Between the waitress and the busser, we were well taken care of.
Food is very good. Â Kind of comfort food. Â Two folks had pork chops. Â Others had shrimp salad, fried calamari, artichoke soup, chicken. Â All very good.
Great bread! Â We asked for a second basket.
An appetizer special that day -- fried smelt. Â I had to have it. Â No one else would even try it (wimps), but I loved them.
Save room for dessert, as Duarte's is famous for pies. Â Can be had plain, with homemade whipped cream or ice cream. Â All delicious.
Prices are nice, too.
Very well worth it. Â I plan to go back.
After an amazing day in Santa Cruz, my friend and I drove up the coast to get dinner at Duarte's. I first heard about Duarte's several years ago when I moved to northern Cali and saw the place mentioned on Food Network's Diners Drive-ins & Dives.
My first time at Duarte's was about 2 years ago when I went on a bike ride and stopped there for the famous artichoke soup. It was pretty good and tasted fresh, and I noticed most other things on the menu cost quite a bit more.
So fast forward to yesterday when my friend and I went to Duarte's. I decided to celebrate my new job by getting the cioppino, something I wouldn't normally buy considering it costs $33. It's advertised as having dungeness crab, clams, and prawns.
It was very tasty - took about an hour for me to eat it, and I probably decimated the napkin population with my mess getting the crab meat out. The prawns were in their shells and the tomato broth was delicious and not overwhelmingly filling. Worth $33? Maybe worth closer to $25, but worth it to celebrate the new job and a great day on the coast.
My friend got the artichoke soup and a whole steamed artichoke, and she liked both. We also were the clueless folks looking at other tables on how to eat the steamed artichoke - I tried eating whole leafs at first...
A lot of people got pie, so that'll be what I try next.
I have had breakfast here several times and am always happy with the service and amazed by the food. Â The breakfast/brunch hours get a little busy, so make sure to get in as early as possible and ask to sit at the bar if you don't mind sitting next to each other instead. Â All of the jams are made fresh and from local berries.
IMPORTANT: Â The pies here are to die for! Â I LOVE THE OLALLIEBERRY PIE!!!!
We really enjoyed the artichoke soup. Â It was probably our favorite thing that we had. Â The crab melt was good as well - there was a lot of meat on it and the crab had really good flavor. Â The cioppino was pretty good but nothing to get excited about. Â Probably would not order that again. Â Ditto on the ollalieberry pie. Â Just ok, nothing exciting.
But I would definitely eat here again and have another bowl of artichoke soup and try some of the other seafood items. Â By the way, the staff was friendly and we had good service.
3 stars. Â 4 if you like pie.
We came after a long long hike. Service was gruff, like the waiter was in a hurry to get somewhere else. Â He warned us that they were running out of food (8:30 pm). We got pork chop (generous 2 pieces + sides), crab melt, salad. Â Everything was rather expensive, but the portions were generous. Â My dish, the shrimp salad (17.50), was weird...there was a huge mound of bay shrimp but it did not taste fresh at all. Â The freshly baked bread was delicious, though. Â Two slices of pie: olallieberry (tart and well balanced), peach (warm and buttery).
My uncle's girlfriend sent me here on my road trip to SF, and she instructed me to have the artichoke soup, so that's what I had. I love artichokes, in fact I sometimes drive through Castroville (the artichoke capital of the world) just so I can stop and have some artichoke-related food. So my hopes were high.
Unfortunately, the soup was overrated. It tasted like someone had just put artichokes in a blender with water. It needed a little something like... oh, I don't know, spices?
The service was also so-so. A young girl was serving us and she asked a very leading question when we left a 20 dollar bill: "do you want any change?" I couldn't say anything but no, keep it, when she phrased it that way. I don't know if that's common, but I don't think it's ok.
Im a fishermen so when I come here I order the steak the soup and the pie
they did have smelt appetizer on the menu for I think 6.00 bucks I told them Id take an order if they were local, the waiter said they were from Eureka so I tried them and they were super fresh night smelt I think they might have come from a little closer. The steak was excellent and so was the soup as for the pie I ordered a whole one and took it home. I got the olallie berry as they were out of rhubarb the crust was crispy inside and out yummm. it is a bit spendy.
Seems like every review misses one glaring omission:
If you care what you put in your body and where it comes from then this is your place. No GMO's, no GMO's. Â Not difficult to see where the food comes from, the garden is right outside. Meat is from local farms with actual cows in actual fields.
The bloody Mary's are to die for. Bartenders are the best you'll ever find, interesting, funny and wonderful people, same goes fro all the staff and of course Tim and Ronnie who have brought so much to the community for so long.
If you want a less expensive meal then go to another restaurant and ask which pesticide & GMO ridden factory fields the food came from and it will be less, for a good reason, it will probably kill you.
Duarte's is busy and just have a little patience and support this wonderful place, not many left like this.
Best things: Crab (whole), Sat Prime Rib (go early) enough for two, soup (have the mixed artichoke and jal.) Mixed salad, mix the dressing with olalliberry. Clams (amazing).
very good reasonable wines and beers.
First time eating here. Went with a friend who lives nearby. I ordered the artichoke soup and he got the clam chowder. $8.00 for a tiny bowl of soup??? and I mean a tiny bowl of soup, and very bland. It came with bread and butter, which was really hot and tasty. Also got some fries and a couple of beers on tap. A tiny plate came out with a handful of fries for $4.50. They tasted good though. The best part of the meal was the beer. Should have ordered more beer.
Review Source:I still don't understand what an olallieberry is, but it's worth a trip. Â Duarte's is famous for its pies, and the pie it is most famous for is the olallieberry. Â The pie crust itself was only "ok." Â (Flaky but not crispy, as if it were a little old, maybe?) Â But olallieberry filling is an excellent thing-- it's tart, rich, and just a little sweet. Â I bought some jars of olallieberry jam down the street, and I'm hoping they remind me of the pie.
Unless you can bring yourself to eat pie for lunch, you have to find something else to eat. Â I tried the much-reviewed artichoke soup. Â It's a little bland, but vastly improved by a heavy dash of salt and a squeeze of lemon (which we asked for for our water). Â But you might just want more pie.
Been going to Duarte's periodically for 20 years. Have to say I was rather disappointed with today's lunch.
I've had the crab melt and artichoke soup in the past, so I thought I'd try something different: the French Dip sandwich.
Unfortunately, it did not include very good cuts of beef. There were "slices" about 1/4 inch thick of overcooked (grey in color) and somewhat gristly meat. You know the kind when you take a bit and the whole chunk of meat hangs out of your mouth? Â Don't think I'll order that again.
That said, the sourdough bread served prior to the dishes was excellent. Warm, crispy, and very sour crust. Â And I did grab a piece of pie to go.
One final note, they must be catering more to tourists because the prices of the lunch sandwiches, specials, and dinner entrees are pretty eye opening. Â A bit incongruous for a self-described "roadside tavern".
This review is for the short stack, ollaberry sauce, and syrup. I've been here a few times and I think the entrees are a slight measure overpriced for the quality. But the breakfast pancakes? DAMN!!! Among the best pancakes I've ever had in my life. Wanna climb a mountain afterwards? Fuel up at Duarte's. This is a wonderful old-timey, authentic restaurant. It's been around for decades & decades & you can tell the staff are invested. Just go for the pancakes & you will not regret it. Let Duante's introduce you to the wonders of the ollaberry. (Pie or pancake sauce form, you can do no wrong).
Review Source:I have been here 3 times already and today I finally had the artichoke soup and the green chili soup. I really like their artichoke omlette with the funny sounding white cheese. They have good french fries as well. If you can get here early like when they open then try to do that otherwise if you come on the weekend there is always a wait. I will be back here over and over again I love the drive up from Highway 1. Love this place absolutely.
Review Source:Such a great first time experience. The bread, the artichoke soup, the crab sandwich, the halibut, the bread pudding and the apricot pie a la mode were out of this world. My husband and I agree the bread was the best we've ever had. What a treasure this place is. My only minor complaint is where we were seated...right next to the kitchen. Lots of foot traffic and noise in an otherwise near empty restaurant.
Many thanks to my husband's aunt for recommending this place. We look forward to returning.
We were on a drive and decided to stop by for some food. Because we arrived at 11:15, we were presented with the breakfast menu and then the lunch menu when we asked for it.
Our table of three order one breakfast and two lunches.
The breakfast was homemade sausage and scrambled eggs with home fries and wheat toast. There is no way that I would recommend Duarte's for breakfast based on what I tasted. The sausage was presents as a rectangle of meat about five inches long, two inches wide and about 1/2-inch high. There was not nearly enough fat in the sausage so it was quite dry. Somewhat like a well-done hambuger patty. There were definitely herbs but not enough to save this mini-brick. The eggs were okay. The home fries appeared to be unsalted and lacked flavor until doused with ketchup. The wheat toast was wheat toast. While we were not offered any jams or jellies, we noticed that another pair of diners who shared our large table did get both.
The lunches of Grilled Halibut and Grilled Petrale Sole were both served with a fried mashed potato patty, sauteed squash and what appeared to be a crusty home baked sour dough bread.Tartar sauce was served on the side. The potato patty was okay; the squash was very good. The fish were both decent sized portions and good but not great. Perhaps I should have paid the extra $4 and had my Petrale Sole sauteed instead of grilled.
We also split a bowl of mixed cream soups. These soups individually are terrific and as a mixed bowl bring you the best of both worlds. The presentation that we received was a bowl of Cream of Green Chile Soup with "leaves" of Cream of Artichoke Soup laid on "top"
Another specialty of the house is the Ollalieberry Pie, warmed and ala mode.
So, skip the breakfast and stop in for a bowl of soup, a slice of pie and hit the road!
Road Trip to Pescadero!! It was a plus that this place was on "Food Network's: Diners, Drive-Ins, Dives." You have to try their Artichoke Soup. It's absolutely great!! and their pies are delicious. The service was fast, friendly and a lot of people love this place. People coming out the place were recommending us to try certain menu items. It can get pretty busy so plan ahead.
Review Source:Being a former Professional Race Car test driver I have a chance to test my skills driving on the backroads, and living in the bay area there are many. Â Just kidding about the Race Driver bit. Â I'm part of the NorCal Mini Cooper Car Club and on this weekend excursion it was trip from Woodside to Pescadero. After driving through the winding roads I was hungry while my co-pilot was feeling car sick. The final destination was lunch at Duarte's Tavern, in a town that appeared to be in the Alfred Htichcock's movie "the Birds".
Duarte's Tavern is an older Tavern with wood siding and splitting three rooms plus and an old fashion counter. This must be where the locals eat. They have a full bar that is amplely stocked and I notice alot of different types of beer.
I heard about the great artichoke soup but I wanted to check out the crab sandwich ($15.50). I was surprised by the size and the amount of crab, it was small on some slightly toasted sourdough. I have had crab sandwiches which had more crab at different locations. Note to them - Please add more crab to the sandwich.
Very friendly service and I also picked up a jar of the local preserves. I will be back again because I need to try the artichoke soup that is so boasted about.
So, my friend told me about this place and I think Guy Fiere was at this place. I had to go to get the cioppino. I had also heard the artichoke soup was awesome.
It was quite a way to go from SSF to Pescadero just for some food but I was under the impression it would be well worth the trip. Place was easy to find.
I ordered the large size cioppino and soup....which cost an arm and a leg and a couple toes off the other foot. The cioppino was pretty damn good, which for the price(30 something dollars) better have been. But sad to say, the artichoke soup was definitely not worth the 30 something dollars I paid for it. Pretty bland but nice consistency. I don't think I would pay anymore than $8 for that size soup.
All and all, I would probably not make another special trip to go back to Duartes but would go back if I was in the area. A bit pricey......
I'm astounded by the reviewers who gave Duarts's anything over one star. I could've gotten many better dishes in the freezer section of the grocery store. My aunt got the scallops and they came out sad and limp. They were fried in cornmeal and tasted, frankly, awful. I had the cheeseburger - a tiny precut patty surrounded by pathetic fries. Fries, onion rings, they're all al a carte. The prices are already substantially jacked-up and should at least include the usual sides.
Our server was extremely cranky. I'm not sure what we did to offend her other than being a party of six with a one-year old. What she didn't consider is that we're great tippers when the service is justified.
Seriously, keep driving and find better food and service elsewhere.
Hmmm....been here about 3 times over the years and my last visit was underwhelming. Â Food bland, selection limited and expensive. Â Lunch for 3 ended up costing about $48 and that was for a plate of homemade corned beef hash, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, side of fries, cup of seafood chowder, crab sandwich with no drinks....the staff was attentive and friendly but really not worth the price.
You're best bet is to head to Arcangeli Country Market (down the street) and grab their infamous (and always warm) artichoke and garlic bread, some cheese, some deli meat, grab a bottle of wine and sit by the water.
I've tried this place a few times, never again.
Way overpriced for bland food, we consumers can do better. Â Yeah the interior is dingy, but often it's made up in othe ways like charm, which this place lacks, so here my story goes: Â
Took my 70 yo mom here for late lunch with the family and I made a reservation for 4 in bar area. Â Checked in with hostess and was told that the table was taken, get this by two guys who appeared to have finished their meal hours before. Â So I politely asked hostess to request them to move and move to a two top next table over. Â She returned to say "no, I don't feel comfortable asking them to move, they bought a full meal!". Â What do you think we were there to do??? Â Instead she sat us in an annexed room near the smelly dirty bathrooms and a swinging door. Â The meal, service, pass!
Hard for me to give the restaurant 3 stars--really I wanted to give in 2 1/2. I've been coming to Duarte's since I was a kid--over 25 years. The quality has gone down and the prices have gone up. :(
The good--their soups are still delicious. As are the pies, bread and seafood.
The bad--overpriced food that isn't that good. $4.25 for a plate of fries? This isn't a heap of fries, more like a thin layer. In ADDITION to the $7.00 hamburger. Onion rings that are about $5.00 and there are only 5 of them.
What happened Duarte's? Sad--I LOVED coming to this place. It was such a family treat after getting our Christmas tree.
This is a fine seafood restaurant and roadhouse-style diner in the quaint town of Pescadero. Unlike many similar restaurants, this place is just as good as one would hope.
The fiancee and I visited Saturday afternoon for a late lunch and were treated quite well for a pair of tourists in t-shirts. Bernadette, our server, was quick with a joke, menu advice and extra servings.
As a note: as much as everyone raves about the cream of artichoke, the cream of green chile just may be the best-tasting thing this side of New Mexico.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
