Hungry Clam

"This seafood shop is special in Brookings, but you have to stop by to see why. I came here regularly during the pandemic just because I didn't want to see it close due to lack of customers. For a take out lunch to eat at the beach, this is a special spot."

"Being honest. Food wasn't nasty so I gave it 3 stars. It wasn't great though. Got 3 slices of thin Halibut, was thin like Cali butts (I'm from Cali) and so was bater. Not a fan of crinkle cut fries. Feels like it went straight from frozen bag to frier. Don't bother with clam chowder. Might as well crack open a can of Progresso. The best thing was their cocktail sauce. Tarter sauce needed relish, mostly just mayo. Sorry but was a bit dissatisfied. Go up to Bannon Fish Market. You'll get 4 thick cuts of Pacific halibut with a better crust. Even their fries have a crispy batter."

"This was my first stop after a 15 hour drive from Utah. I was staying close by and couldn't check-in until 4pm so I decided to order some food. The staff was very friendly and quickly took down my order. I ordered the halibut bites, the crab cakes, and the clam chowder. After I placed my order I had to use the the restroom and I'm grateful it was clean and not just for employees. The place is a small diner with a very cute theme. The decorations are fun and well put together. I asked for recommendations on what I should get, and was happy that I had ordered at least one of the items the waitress suggested. I took my food to go and sat in my car as I waited for 4pm to come. The crab cakes were only okay until I dipped them in what I'm assuming was their red pepper sauce. Combined with the sauce they were delicious, which is odd because the sauce had horseradish in it and I absolutely loathe horseradish. The tartar sauce was too creamy and didn't have enough tang, but I squeezed a lemon that was provided into it and it helped a little. The halibut bites smelled horrible and the only way I could eat them was by holding my nose shut. They tasted okay with the lemon tartar sauce. The French fries are your plain run of the mill crinkle fries that you can get at any grocery store. They provided some sort of buttered toast which tasted okay. The clam chowder was very disappointing. I try to get clam chowder at any restaurant I go to because I love it, but this stuff was very unappealing. It was way creamier than necessary and that was due to the potatoes being the chewy frozen processed ones that you can get out of any can of soup. If they were fresh potatoes they would have had time to break down and give the creaminess a little better flavor. The clams inside the chowder were actually very good and probably the only good part of the dish. There is a place further up the coast called Local Ocean which has the best clam chowder I've ever tasted, but the rest of their food that I tried was only so-so. Overall the reason they are getting 4 stars is because they were friendly, they had clean restrooms, good aesthetics, and they made me realize that horseradish actually can have potential other than being meant for the trash can."