In researching for our visit to the Olympic Peninsula, I stumbled across someone's note that stated something along the lines of 3 Crabs being the place to eat in the area. For some reason this stuck in my head and we went there. Who knows, this could have been something planted somewhere on the internet by the owners of the restaurant itself, but I'm always up for trying something new. That hasn't always been true, but I've been taught that when you're in a new town, you try the local fare (thanks, Victoria!). I've enjoyed this new way of travel . . . a lot.
When entering the restaurant, I questioned whether or not it would be too fancy for us based on the settings on the table. Trying to be a fancy restaurant for the older crowd is not what I would expect from a restaurant in a tiny town on what is essentially the beach. I was a little worried at this point and then we were asked if we had reservations. This question always bothers me since if you have reservations, you would mention it. If you don't, you just feel like an idiot for trying to get into a restaurant that (as I found out later) recommends that you have reservations. It isn't an appropriate question for a place that isn't even 25% full. I felt a bit out of place there as it was just the two of us dining with several families, but it wasn't too bad.
When we were seated, we were ignored for a bit (a little longer than I think is acceptable). When we were helped (by a woman in a t-shirt and jeans - not fitting to the decor), she noticed a bug on our table, took it, excused herself and came back. She explained that this had never happened before, which is probably true. She was friendly enough, but left our drinks sitting on the counter until she realized we didn't have anything to drink when our food came out. The service was certainly fast enough.
The food was pretty good. Tim had the halibut sandwich with coleslaw and seemed to like it a lot. I had the crab cake sandwich and potato salad. Be warned that the potato salad has olives in it (I know, I know, most people would probably love that but some of us don't . . . right Charlotte?). The crab cake sandwich didn't have the best sauce on it, but the crab cake itself was quite good.
The thing to note about this restaurant is that it is situated on a piece of property right on Dungeness Bay. The view from the window seats in the restaurant? The parking lot. Sure, you can see the lighthouse out on the spit (next time we won't bring the dog and we'll walk out to it). Sure, you can see the bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. You're just overlooking a gravel parking lot and cars to see it. Not much that can be done about it now, but who decided to build the building back so far? We weren't even in a window seat (even though the host told us we would be), so it didn't matter much. We took some time when we were done with lunch to let the dog out of the car to play around on the beach a bit. That's another thing this place should have, though, clearly marked beach access at least for customers. Certainly the appeal of a restaurant like this lies in two things - its fresh seafood (I'm not exactly an expert on food, so who knows if it was or not) and its location. When most of the division between the . . . parking lot (I can barely say it) . . . and the beach is marked "Stay off the rocks and flower beds", it certainly isn't inviting to take a walk on the beach when you're done with your meal. Maybe the reasoning for this is to keep people that haven't been to the restaurant off of their beach. Maybe the reasoning is that they don't even want those that have been to the restaurant on their beach. Who knows, but it should be a welcoming dessert. I know the desserts on the menu weren't. They seemed to consist of just over-fluffed pies that were $32 each. Sure, $4 a slice sounds reasonable, but when you aren't able to buy a whole pie for a lower price, it just sounds ridiculous.
Here are the specifics:
When entering the restaurant, I questioned whether or not it would be too fancy for us based on the settings on the table. Trying to be a fancy restaurant for the older crowd is not what I would expect from a restaurant in a tiny town on what is essentially the beach. I was a little worried at this point and then we were asked if we had reservations. This question always bothers me since if you have reservations, you would mention it. If you don't, you just feel like an idiot for trying to get into a restaurant that (as I found out later) recommends that you have reservations. It isn't an appropriate question for a place that isn't even 25% full. I felt a bit out of place there as it was just the two of us dining with several families, but it wasn't too bad.
When we were seated, we were ignored for a bit (a little longer than I think is acceptable). When we were helped (by a woman in a t-shirt and jeans - not fitting to the decor), she noticed a bug on our table, took it, excused herself and came back. She explained that this had never happened before, which is probably true. She was friendly enough, but left our drinks sitting on the counter until she realized we didn't have anything to drink when our food came out. The service was certainly fast enough.
The food was pretty good. Tim had the halibut sandwich with coleslaw and seemed to like it a lot. I had the crab cake sandwich and potato salad. Be warned that the potato salad has olives in it (I know, I know, most people would probably love that but some of us don't . . . right Charlotte?). The crab cake sandwich didn't have the best sauce on it, but the crab cake itself was quite good.
The thing to note about this restaurant is that it is situated on a piece of property right on Dungeness Bay. The view from the window seats in the restaurant? The parking lot. Sure, you can see the lighthouse out on the spit (next time we won't bring the dog and we'll walk out to it). Sure, you can see the bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. You're just overlooking a gravel parking lot and cars to see it. Not much that can be done about it now, but who decided to build the building back so far? We weren't even in a window seat (even though the host told us we would be), so it didn't matter much. We took some time when we were done with lunch to let the dog out of the car to play around on the beach a bit. That's another thing this place should have, though, clearly marked beach access at least for customers. Certainly the appeal of a restaurant like this lies in two things - its fresh seafood (I'm not exactly an expert on food, so who knows if it was or not) and its location. When most of the division between the . . . parking lot (I can barely say it) . . . and the beach is marked "Stay off the rocks and flower beds", it certainly isn't inviting to take a walk on the beach when you're done with your meal. Maybe the reasoning for this is to keep people that haven't been to the restaurant off of their beach. Maybe the reasoning is that they don't even want those that have been to the restaurant on their beach. Who knows, but it should be a welcoming dessert. I know the desserts on the menu weren't. They seemed to consist of just over-fluffed pies that were $32 each. Sure, $4 a slice sounds reasonable, but when you aren't able to buy a whole pie for a lower price, it just sounds ridiculous.
Here are the specifics:
Price: Ranging from about $10 for a sandwich to $20 for a steak or seafood meal.
Cuisine: Seafood
Reservations: "Recommended"
Pets: No outside seating, so no pets.
Cuisine: Seafood
Reservations: "Recommended"
Pets: No outside seating, so no pets.
Parking: Abundant and abundant with gravel
Address: 113 Crabs Rd - Sequim, WA (in the community of Dungeness)
Nearest town: Dungeness, Sequim, Washington (0-5.2 miles)
Nearest town: Dungeness, Sequim, Washington (0-5.2 miles)
Nearest 10,000+ city: Port Angeles, Washington (19 miles)
County: Clallam, Washington
My rating (out of 6): 3 for service, 4 for food, 2 for decor, 4 for view - average 3
More Information: 3 Crabs
My Current Location: Home, Portland, Oregon
View from beach in front of 3 Crabs Restaurant (looking out over Dungeness Bay toward spit and lighthouse)
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