This little cafe has dynamic and delicious food. Don't let the size fool you. Fresh baked cookies the size of your head and flakey sticky cinnamon rolls, are just the first thing you see. I ordered the seared scallops. They were crispy on the outside edge and soft and tender on the inside. My husband got a pulled pork sandwich with bacon, my nephew got the blt with bacon so thick he kept calling it a burger. My mom opted for a salad, crab cake, and asparagus. Everyone was quiet during dinner; enjoying all the beautifully cooked food and flavor. Great prices too. I only deducted a star because there were a few shells in the crab cake. At least we knew it was real!
Review Source:An impromptu jaunt delivered us to Stinson Beach during a beautiful weekend.
We got detoured by an Open House sign, and a local real estate agent recommended we eat at Parkside during our casual conversation.
We were seated relatively quickly; the hostess was friendly. Were served waters fast, too.
But then we waited. And waited. Finally, our server came by, placed a drink order, then waited and waited more. We received the wrong drink, and had to again wait.
The food took forever too (they didn't seem understaffed or too busy?).
The food: BLT was really good. Then again, a little hard to botch that. The fish tacos were, meh.. okay.
Getting the check and having it returned took forever as well. All in all, pretty poor service. Decent food. Seeing how it's basically one of three eateries in Stinson Beach, we likely will wait 3 more trips to return and give it another shot. Otherwise, I'd suggest trying a different spot.
After doing the DipSea Trail, food and beer were necessary and was our single motivation to finish!
My friend recommended Parkside and said it was the single must go spot to go to in Stinson. Food did not disappoint.
We had oysters, Quinoa and Asparagus pilaf, Seared Scallops with English Pea Puree Bruschetta, a few beers and mimosas. Delish!
Service and food times were super super slow though. I think we waited close to 30 mins for our food. I ordered a side of quinoa which I think the waitress forgot and I didn't receive it until I had finished my scallops. Still yummy tho.
What an excellent surprise!
My parents were visiting from Kentucky, and my dad REALLY wanted to see redwoods, so we sojourned up to Muir Woods. Afterward, my mom wanted to go to Muir Beach, but it was closed down, so we headed toward Stinson, and we needed some lunchies. Ok, Stinson Beach isn't a big town, so there wasn't a lot of choice, but it was a lovely spot to stop.
We were seated promptly and given menus. They have a lot of choices for breakfast and lunch, and the ingredients really surprised me. It's quality looking food. I noticed they had freshmade bread available.
My mom got a BLT, and they have a lot of different choices for toppings on your BLT. Crab, salmon, pulled pork, etc. Dad got a burger, and I got the cod tacos. We also got a set of onion rings as an appetizer.
Onion rings came out and YUM. The batter was super crunchy, the pieces were big, and the sauce with them was delicious. A couple of the pieces had gummy batter bits, but for the most part they were kickin', and quickly disappeared. Food arrived not too long after. The cod tacos were somewhat deconstructed - big piece of cod with salsa and sliced avocado, on a little bed of lettuce. 3 shells came with it - 2 flour and one corn. I ate every little morsel. The cod was perfectly cooked, the salsa had good flavor without being too spicy, and the combination of all the ingredients was really delicious and very light. Perfect lunch choice.
Mom finished her sandwich and really liked it. Dad said the burger was off the charts, but his fries were just meh. I have to admit, compared to everything else, they were a letdown. With everything else being so fresh, it seemed like basic bagged fries. If they popped that up to some fresh made chips or handcut fries, it'd elevate the whole burger experience.
It was a real surprise to me to find such a great meal. Awesome experience to top off our day.
Beautiful outside seating on a beautiful day. When we arrived, very few were seated outside. The service however, was very slow. We needed to remind the waiter that we wanted to order - and later had to ask about our food. The biggest disappointment was the pulled pork sandwich. It was horrible!
Review Source:Update based on take-out pizza. Â See my prior review below for my review (2-star) based on their dine-in experience.
Short version: Â Since there are zero other choices for pizza in Stinson Beach, you'll probably eat here anyhow and be underwhelmed too.
Longer version:
Two nights ago we ordered their version of a Hawaiian (#8) and a Basil Pesto pizza (#2). Â The Hawaiian was really underwhelming (too little sauce and toppings) and the Basil Pesto was actually really really good. Â
When I walked in to pick up the pizzas I had to stand around for three or four minutes while several staff persons and the hostess puttered around. Â It was raining and they were busy, but that's no reason to completely ignore someone. Â (A simple acknowledgement and a "I'll be right with you!" would have gone a long way).
Tonight I called in at 4pm and was told, "We don't start take-out service until 5pm" Â Okay... Â "So, call back after 5pm." Â Yeah, thanks lady. Â
Pizzas: Â 3 (great Basil Pesto, sub-par Hawaiian)
Take-out service: Â Nearly as abysmal as their dine-in service.
This was such a deliciously fantastic surprise we stumbled along for lunch. The vegetarian options are great. I ordered the polenta burger. The bun was homemade and the burger divine. Very fresh food and service with a smile. My partner ordered the fish tacos which were lightly pan-fried and delicious. Dessert looked amazing but we were too full. We will definitely make a point to visit here next time we're in the area. The only complaint and reason for 4 stars instead of five is there is only one bathroom for the entire place resulting in a continual line of 3-4 patrons throughout our lunch. Waiting for ten minutes in a crowded area for the restroom was no picnic. The food made it all worth while though. If only they could add one extra bathroom.
Review Source:Over-priced for the quality of food we were served. Â
As a start, we had an overwhelmed hostess, and were given dirty drinking glasses, filled with highly-chlorinated water. Â (That color of lipstick doesn't work with my skin-tone.) Â We'd been hiking all day, and couldn't handle the chlorine, so we pulled some water bottles our of our car.
We ordered wine, bread, crab cakes, baked oysters, and the day's special- halibut served on bruschetta. Â (What can I say, we were hungry from hiking.) The wine, the bread, and the crab cakes were delicious. Â The baked oysters were overdone and the halibut was served very overcooked, on a bed of frozen peas and lima beans (the kind you find in the bag in the freezer section at the supermarket) with a couple of chopped tomatoes and burnt crostini (not bruschetta). Â It was pretty disappointing, neither of us finished the fish. Â After the $120 bill plus tip, the quality of the food does not match the price. Â Regardless of the price, the halibut was gross. Â I wish we'd stopped somewhere else. Â That said, we had a fantastic, yet apologetic waiter, and tipped generously. Â It's not his fault there are problems in the back.
This place is delicious! Me and my boyfriend actually hiked 5 miles from Muir Woods through Mt. Tamalapis to Stinson Beach and stumbled upon this place before reaching the beach. We were starving and decided to try this opposed to the snack bar that was right next door. It took a bit of  time for us to get our orders in but other than that it was a hot, beautiful, nice day to enjoy iced cold water with a blt burger with chicken and chicken strips both served with fries. It was so good! Definitely recommend this place.
Review Source:Our favorite place in Stinson - and just plain one of our favorite places. We have tried a couple others but this is our go to place. We head out of the city to here for things like mothers-day or a birthday or just because. We were here a few weeks ago on a super nice day and were pleasantly surprised to be able to have our choice of tables at around 6 p.m. The place completely filled up later. We haven't had to wait long ever and we've been here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We've had a variety of meals and haven't had a bad one yet. Service is generally decent. We've never sat out at the patio although it looks nice - but the cafe inside has a nice atmosphere.
Review Source:Ok, so after reading several of the good reviews (which I tend to agree with food wise) and then some of the bad reviews (which is why I am writing) I'd have to say that the Parkside is struggling with a few rotten apples on the staff side.
Let me qualify by saying I have 10+ years working in great restaurants, a few more in a couple award winning restaurants, and more than enough customer service background to spot a bad apple.  Let me also say that if you live  in Marin there are a lot of "entitlement" jerks that come over the hill and are simply rude.  No manners, all attitude, just bad people.  I'm very anti "entitlement" on either side (as a snobby restauranteur or waiter, or a some a-hole customer). Â
So tonight around 6:00, with my 4.5 year old daughter waiting in the car with my wife, I come into the Parkside, which I have frequented for 22+ years, after buying snacks at the take out window next door. Â
I politely walk in and I ask to use the bathroom. Â Simple request, and I might add, I am properly dressed, no alcohol, and I try to ask nicely if I can use the bathroom. I am also clean cut, and low key. Â
Today's hostess or front house manager refused my request to use the bathroom (at a slow time where the place was 1/2 full) as though I was a vagrant, a lowly beach goer, or some rude guest that had no respect for the establishment. Â I tried to reiterate my love for the restaurant and her reply to me was more disdain, less understanding, and hit the public beach bathrooms. Â I mentioned my long support and patronage, and her response was leave please, "we have a sensitive septic system and it's only for sitting customers". Â Hey I wanted to use the bathroom before I drove back over the hill, no biggie! Â
We live in a world of accountability, especially in the restaurant business, and especially for local spots that we all love. Â I love the "Sand Dollar' Nick is a friend, and have been going to the Parkside for many years. Â Whomever that person was at the front of the house, fire her. Â She had no sense of judgement, respect for her customers, or the very simply courtesy that someone of my age and respectable nature should never be denied the use of a bathroom. Â
Great restaurants are as much about the staff as they are about the food. I've loved and supported the Parkside for many years. Â No mas, you just lost $1000 of my annual business, and who knows how much more after reading this poor review? Â No restaurant is bullet proof; bad staff need to be fired quickly or eventually you will go out of business!
I'll admit it- I can be snobby about food.
That being said, I had a meal here last September and was so blown away by it that I'm still thinking about it 8 months later.
After a day of woods and beach, a friend and I stopped here on a whim. I ordered the soft shell crab special (which I posted a picture of), which consisted of lightly fried soft shell crab over green beans and fingerling potatoes tossed in a shallot vinaigrette. Insanely good! Just...wow. I think about this soft shell crab at least twice a month.
My friend got the fish and chips, which she was not very fond of. I reluctantly shared a few bites of my soft shell heaven.
Oh and the patio is awesome.
Bottom line: EAT HERE!! Don't order the fish and chips. Try the seafood specials. Have a glass of wine, sit on the patio, enjoy.
Note to restaurant owners/employees: Please put this soft shell crab on the menu permanently. I want it, I need it.
Dont be decieved, at one end it is beach food ,Hot Dogs, Burgers, ands soft serve. The other end is a wonderful little local restaurant with great food, fresh, local seafood and produce. Sitting on back patio after some beach time is a nice experience. Only downside is $28 entree's  is a bit pricey. A very pleasant surprise.
Review Source:Wanted to purchase a couple muffins and coffee and was told I could not stay in the restaurant to eat and drink my purchase!!! Seating is for customers only I was told!!! WTF!!! I said forget it!!! Will never go there or recommend anyone go there!!! Very rude!!! I DID NOT EVEN WANT TO GIVE THIS ONE STAR!!!!
Review Source:pizza listed on menu but cant sell you it in the restaurant = craziest rule ive ever heard. 2 meals sent back as they came to the table cold. Kids grilled cheese the worst ive ever seen. really really bad food, sorry! If you say you sell pizza THEN sell it in the restaurant. YOu are not a fine dining establishment so good god its ok to serve pizza if a kid wants it and can get it next door in your snack bar.
Review Source:Meal was good. Waitress asked us to leave as soon as she dropped off dessert because she had our table reserved and then again when we paid the bill, which was brought IMMEDIATELY. We had not been lingering and were asked to finish our meal OUTSIDE...in the wonderful cold foggy weather. She probably should not have sat us at that table if it was booked soon thereafter. I've never had that experience in a restaurant before.
Review Source:Bottom Line: Top-of-the-Line cuisine
Appetizers: BBQ Oysters and Crab cakes.
Meal: Fish tacos caught in our Bolinas Bay backyard (not the tacos - the fish). My lunch pal had the Cod caught in the same locale.
Breakfast here is terrific. The rest of their menu is better. This was my first non-breakfast. What a smash for an out of town guest who claims to have eaten worldwide but loved Parkside Cafe as much as anywhere.
Tip: Don't go at high noon. Go earlier or later for much better service. And eat outdoors if the weather is good enough, which it often is. The sun is a direct bead on the patio and it is glorious.
Then walk off your meal on Stinson Beach. Yesterday it was pretty windy, but as my pal observed: "There is never really a BAD day on the beach."
OMG! The Niman Ranch hamburger on a homemade brioche bun was one of the best I've ever had. All of the sandwiches seem to be on these melt in your mouth delicious brioche buns. The service was good and the other diners were enjoying their lunches as much as we were.The house made bread and the lemon tart are also so good. I am looking forward to Stinson weekends with the delicious Parkside bread. I hear they are opening a bakery soon - I would love to take their bread home.
Review Source:Javier, Liz and gang are just a pleasure to see when I come here. The food here is FANTASTIC and CONSISTENTLY wonderful! In the morning I love their oatmeal and biscuits/strawberries/honey entree. Their homemade baked bread (onsite) is hard to beat and a wonderful compliment to all of their dishes! Their strawberry cobbler is out of control wonderful!
Review Source:We were hungry after coming off of the beach, and noticed the restaurant's sign while walking from the beach. As the location was quick and convenient, we chose this restaurant to eat at. We were a party of four, and were promptly seated at a pleasantly lit booth. The staff were pleasant and agreeable. The ambiance was casual and clean. Our main disappointment was the food. The presentation was nice, but the ingredients tasted canned, or previously frozen. Â The food combinations were pretentious, at best. This, I presume, is to justify the artificially inflated prices of the menu. We live in Napa, CA, and are accustomed to eating really good food. I can see that the restaurant tried to offer variations with the menu selection, but fell flat in it's execution.
Overall, the place is clean and neat. However, the food quality is poor and overpriced.
Found this place by accident on the way back to SF after our night's lodging reservation got bumped in Pt. Reyes.
Wow! Â The scallops and salmon were both off the hook!
Service was friendly, knowledgeable and relaxed.
It was so good, this was my requested destination for my birthday dinner 2 nights later! Â Drove all the way from the Mission district just for dinner!
Pretty decent laid back cafe next to a scenic playground just off of Scenic Highway 1. Â Coffee's good. Â It gets the job done. The food's not bad either. Â For breakfast, the pulled pork eggs benedict is really good. Â Their hash browns are pretty tastey too and this is coming from a person who normally ignores the hash.
The service is very fast, reliable, patient, friendly, uninvasive, and sincere. Â Would come here again.
The perfect place to eat at after 12 miles of trail running in and around Bolinas.
A big fan of this place. Â Whenever I hike the Dipsea from Mill Valley, a cold beer or two and lunch at the Parkside is what keeps me going. Â Extensive menu, including for kids, and always a couple of interesting specials. Importantly for us, it's dog friendly, and although we like the Sand Dollar too, I think this place has the edge both for food and for setting. Â Highly recommended.
Review Source:During a day trip to San Fran, we discovered this little gem on the coast. Â Stinson Beach boasts a population of less than 500 residents, but the number of cars competing for parking lots has to triple this number. Â After we finally scored a parking spot, and being hungry as hell, this was the first place we stumbled into. Â
The service was fine, nothing special, nothing terrible. Â The menu was nice, had some interesting dishes. I had the pulled pork sandwich on ciabatta. Â The pork was nicely cooked with a delightful honey BBQ sauce. Â The fries were frozen, which at this point, kind of pisses me off, but at the same time, when have I ever turned down french fries? Â The coleslaw was mayo-naissey, which I hate, I'd rather have a tart vinegar-base. Â My husband had the club, one of his favorites, and loved it, but it came with chips, and they didn't appear to be handmade. Â The prices are a bit high for the quality of the food, in my opinion, which is why I'm only giving it 3 stars. Â With this kind of menu and pricing, I expect that you hand-make your fries and chips. Â I know, technicality, but just writing an honest review.
During (HOT) summers, this place is bitchin'. it's the best place to be on a warm summer day-no matter if you're alone or with your family or friends. This place always has a line outside the fronts takeout window. Sometimes, it takes up to an hour just to get your hands on one of the best burgers and drinks in the whole county of Marin.
This place is awesome. I've been coming here for over 10 years and still find the food and service to be out of this world. The only thing i hate is that sometimes it takes forever to make the food, the the patience is totally worth it. I love bringing the food to the beach and eating it there.
I should have known that at 3 PM on a Sunday it would be hard to get in for lunch anywhere near Stinson Bay. My preferred Coast Cafe in Bolinas just shut their doors to new lunch customers and we needed to eat before going to Muir Woods. I didn't actually realize there was anywhere to eat in Stinson but in our desperation we discovered Parkside Cafe. What a disappointment! Â I really wish we had followed the fish n' chips sign to the beach instead. Â Service was friendly but slow. Food was passable. Â My fish n' chips were covered in heavy, greasy batter which was gross and inedible. Â I had to eat the fish from inside the batter. And I got to pay over $10 for this privilege. None of my tablemates food looked any better. We simply ate all of it because we were hungry. Damn you Coast Cafe for not letting us in and leaving us to fend for ourselves!
To my disbelief a young lady at a neighboring table asked the waitress to send compliments to the chef.
Good food, decent service, but prices a bit incommensurate to food (but that's okay, i guess).
Our party wanted a late lunch/early dinner and so we went with the more affordable entrées...we all either went with the Fish and Chips or the Burger. The former was a much better decision with extremely generous portions and the homemade tarter sauce really stood out.
The Burger was good, but nothing mind-blowing... the buns were kind of gross, small and substandard...and they burnt the hell out of the bacon :(
If you've just completed a beautiful hike from Stinson, around Mt Tam and back and you're hungry for a bite, come here for a chill place for an energy refill. Or if you're just hanging out with your special honey on a sunny SF day at Stinson, come on over and share a nice smoothie.
The food is decent, the prices reflect location location location, but if you're tired/hungry or just hanging with your honey, what more could you want?
Parkside cafe is one of my favorite burger spots in the bay area. Â I always come here for a bite when I am in Stinson Beach. Â When the weather is nice, we take a table in the outdoor patio and when it's foggy and cold we dine inside. Â
The menu here is comprised of your usual American style fares, and pretty eclectic at that. Â But that is not why I come to Parkside cafe; as I said earlier I come here for their burger.
It's not like they serve a huge variety of gourmet burgers. Â It's in fact quite simple. Â You can order their standard "parkside" burger, veggi burger, or turkey burger, and they all come with grain mustard aioli, braised red onions, roasted tomatoes on toasted onion buns. Â Extras include bacon, cheese, and avocado.
What I dig about their burger is how they do their tomatoes and onions. Â The roasted tomatoes and their braised onions are slightly tangy, and when you put them in your burger they really brighten up the palate like nothing else. Â
The memory of this taste is virtually at the tip of my tongue whenever I am sitting at home on a sunny day, looking at Mt. Tam across the bay. Â I think of the sunny taste of Parkside burger on the other side of the mountain. Â If I make it over the bridge and have had a burger here, I usually stick around for an old-fashioned soft serve ice cream from the corner stand, and a long walk on the beach. Â You could say I've got my priorities straight or mixed up, depending on which side of Parkside you stand.
I might have been very hungry, or it might have been the unseasonably warm beach air, or the high from a perfect day spent with my beloved boy and dogs...OR it was the great service, the delicious food and the the comfortable outside patio that made my meal here last night one of the most pleasant meals in recent memory!
It should be noted that this was the only sit down restaurant in Stinson Beach that welcomed our dogs on the patio and the lovely man brought them water. Â All the others turned us away and did not allow us to eat OUTSIDE with our dogs...it was fortuitous, since it brought us to Parkside Cafe!
We shared a couple of starters and then a burger. Â The food was delicious, came out hot and fast and completely hit the spot.
The meal ended perfectly as the lovely man gave our coffee to us in to go cups since we were in a hurry! Â How awesome is that? Â Oh yes, the coffee was great, organic Graffeo coffee...yum!
I would and WILL come back to this place...I recommend it for all the dog people out there who are sick of being discriminated against. Â Plus you get great food served up with a warm smile.
Parkside Cafe is the best resto in town. Food is pretty good, sometimes great, although it and service fluctuates wildly depending on whether Mercury is in retrograde or wherever it goes when it's not in retrograde.
Dinner is probably the best bet, when all the daytrippers have skedaddled, but I'll never forget ordering the "Day Boat Scallops" only to have a singular scallop delivered....it was the last one they had, and it was tasty, but I am of the firm belief that if you're going from the plural to the singular you just might want to warn your customer in advance.
Visits from my mother require some ingenuity and planning. Â We're talking about a woman who believes vacations should be jampacked with activities, experiences and adventures. Â Every day. Â At all times. Â I'm not completely sure how I am actually related to this unending bundle of energy - my idea of a grand vacation day usually involves a blanket, a comfy scenic spot and a cocktail - but when she comes to visit I revert to tour guide persona just to stay a step ahead of her.
In tour guide mode, I planned a day that included the beach, a drive up the coast, a hard talk to dissuade her from a mid-weekend trip to Muir Woods (are you crazy? do you know how many people will be there by now?) and a brunch stop at a lovely little seaside cafe. Â It was perfect, especially the brunch stop.
Parkside gives off the impression of a hidden-away local hangout. Â You approach it down a narrow side street after spotting the tiny sandwich board sign on the corner. Â Attached to the actual restaurant is a typical beachside snack shack, complete with wavy-haired young surfers manning the register and that weathered 50's-style architecture reminiscent of an era when the Beach Boys were the soundtrack to life. Â The restaurant itself is comfortable and smallish, with vaulted wood plank ceilings, large windows and scarred floors. Â
My first visit to Parkside was on a rainy winter day. Â The windows were steamed up, the place was packed with happy folks and the food was hearty and filling. Â That first impression ('well, this is just perfect!') has held through several visits including this recent one with the energizer bunny woman. Â This time was sunny and bright, the flowering vines outside the sparkling clean windows were nodding in the breeze and the food was just as filling and nice. Â It's not magical cuisine, just hit-the-spot food. Â
After getting my mother to stay in a chair for at least an hour, we were up and off again. What, no mimosa? Â I know we look alike, but are you SURE we're related?
These people are so MEAN!!!! I was on my way to Stinson Beach, and wanted to get a cup of hot coffee to take with me... and they looked at me as if I offended some unspoken law... No, I don't want to sit down, I just want a cup of coffee TO GO.
Anyway, the coffee was pretty good, and maybe the guy at the register and the girl by the coffee machine were having a rough day... but I wish they were a tad nicer.
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