Bolinas – The Best Kept Secret in the Bay Area

One of the best kept secrets in the Bay Area is the town of Bolinas. Bolinas is known as the place that is not easy to find. For years local residents have been taking down the road sign pointing toward Bolinas from Hwy 1.

The weekend I stayed at Stinson Beach we decided to go on adventure and go out to eat in Bolinas, which I think is about a 10 minute drive from Stinson.

Bolinas has been described to me in many different ways such as a “hippie town”, a “bunch of farmers”, a “funky beach town” or “a small-unique nothing you have seen before town”. I would describe Bolinas as a friendly town.

When we arrived at the Coast Café we were immediately greeted as we entered the restaurant. The décor was surfer style with surf boards hanging from the ceiling. We were seated at the end of a very long wooden table.

I’m not sure how it happened but I brushed my hand across the bottom of the big table. I noticed there was carpet attached to the bottom of the table. We asked the waiter what the carpet was for. He looked under the table and said, “I really don’t know why there is carpet attached to the bottom of this table” and walked away. He quickly returned with one of the owners of the restaurant. The owner, David sat down at our table to tell us the story about the carpet under the table.

It seems the sound in this restaurant with hardwood floors, wood tables and wood chairs used to be very loud. They discovered by adding carpet underneath the tables & chairs it made a huge difference in the sound quality and the ambiance of the restaurant.

David was a cool guy! In addition to running the restaurant (I didn’t get the name of the other owner but I think there were two) David is also a plumber, oyster-shucker and the captain of a fishing vessel. It even says so on his business card.

For dinner I had the “Gardener’s Pie” made with organic vegetables, vegan gravy and topped with mashed potatoes. OMG this was Amazing! Delicious! and Yummy!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Their breakfast bran muffins are THE BEST MUFFINS on the planet. Amy had told David how much she enjoyed them so he sent us home with one for breakfast the next morning. Thank goodness Amy was generous enough to share with me. Yummy! I’d drive back to Bolinas just for those muffins.

Bolinas Coast Café is located in Downtown Bolinas
46 Wharf Road Bolinas, CA 94924
415.868.2298
www.bolinascafe.com