Otis Cafe

Review by: Michael Stern

The Otis Cafe is an undersize roadside diner serving oversize meals. Located next to the post office, featuring a picnic-table patio as well as counter-and-table seats inside, the modest eat-place has received national acclaim for great pies, and lumberjack’s (or more accurately in this case, fishermen’s) breakfasts. Sourdough pancakes have a tang beautifully haloed by lots of melting butter and a spill of syrup. Eggs come with hash browns, the potatoes preferably blanketed with melted cheese and green onions (known as German potatoes), and excellent homemade black molasses bread or a jumbo cinnamon roll.

One great lunch is the two-fisted BLT made with full-flavored slices of beefsteak tomato plus a bonus layer of cheese. We also recommend the 1/3-pound cheeseburger, a goopy affair on a hefty bun with Otis’ homemade mustard. On the side come dreamy griddle-fried potatoes or potato chips. (Otis Cafe does not have a deep fryer; hence, no French fries.) Pies are gorgeous, especially the West Coast rarity, marionberry. A more intense, supremely aromatic blackberry, the marionberry was made to be put in a pie. That the crust here is crisp and aristocratic makes it all the more excellent a dessert.

 

What To Eat

Molasses Bread

DISH
German Hash Browns

DISH
BLT

DISH
Iced Tea

DISH
Marionberry Pie

DISH

Otis Cafe Recipes

Discuss

What do you think of Otis Cafe?

2 Responses to “Otis Cafe”

Jim Scheppke

December 24th, 2021

The original Otis Cafe in Otis burned down in a fire but has relocated to the south end of Lincoln City (4618 Hwy 101 SE) with the exact same menu and more seating. One of the best breakfasts on the coast for sure. Take home a loaf of homemade molasses bread — makes unbeatable toast.

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Deborah Pastor

November 19th, 2010

The Otis Cafe has just become my favorite diner. Everything is made from scratch, even the seasoning salt and the mustard at the table.

The molasses bread weighs a ton and has a deep yeasty molasses-y taste brought out by the perfect toasting job done by the cook. The strawberry rhubarb pie is superb, both tart and sweet. The crunchy apple pie is oozing with moist apple pieces and a delicious cinnamon-y glaze. The marionberry pie and peach pies are also great.

Breakfast is served all day; thank heavens, because you won’t want to miss the buttermilk pancakes. I normally don’t like big fluffy pancakes but these are so good – yeasty and rich – that I made an exception. Get the sausage gravy over the homemade sourdough toast (the biscuit is good but quite dense). The only miss is the hangtown fry, served with only two oysters. The cheesy hash browns are over the top; the local cheddar is creamy and full-flavored without being too sharp.

Lunch is equally good with a surprisingly flavorful gazpacho. The clam chowder is good but a bit too floury. The fresh fish sandwiches are incredible, made with perfectly cooked, lightly floured snapper, tuna, or catch of the day. Usually the fish in a sandwich is an afterthought, but not at Otis. The tuna melt is the best I’ve had; was it the local cheese or the homemade sourdough bread? Even the mayonnaise tasted homemade.

The building is over fifty years old; it looks like a converted cottage. The interior is all local wood, with a few snug booths, a counter, and two tables. Both the customers and the help are friendly. Ask for some menu suggestions and you’ll get plenty of advice. The waiting area for the bathroom is actually in the back kitchen so you see the baked goods being made. The floors and countertops are so clean you could eat off them. The waitstaff is incredibly patient and helpful. One waitress heard me comment to a friend that the tomato garnish didn’t look ripe. She immediately came back with a plate of ripe sliced tomatoes. This is a cafe well worth a detour.

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