Station House Cafe



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A Caveat

Summary: Insipid food in a beautiful garden setting.


The Station House Cafe, situated on Main Street in Point Reyes Station, has the dubious fame of being (or having been) one of the breakfast stops for motorcyclists doing "the Sunday morning ride", a ride from the Bay Area up the Marin Coast on Highway 1. Mike rode it for years before he got married, but he's always happy to return to his old haunt. So when we found ourselves in Point Reyes Station ready for lunch, it made sense to go there.

The restaurant itself is very nice. The dining room is on the dark side and not that appealing, but the back garden is delightful. There are flowers and plants and a whole lot of shady tables, as well as a fountain with running water. It's not always open, but if you can, ask to be seated there. Service was also good, our waiter refilled our drinks and was available for anything we needed.

The food, alas, was a problem. While we liked the fact that they use Niman Ranch meats, wild seafood and local and self-grown produce, this all doesn't amount too much if the food doesn't taste good. At the Station House Cafe most of it was insipid.

Mike and I shared an order of onion rings ($6), and it was apparent by their disheveled look that they were home made. Alas, the batter was flimsy and under-seasoned. You could taste the onion, all right, as you couldn't really taste anything else. They were served with a home made sweet ketchup, that almost resembled a mix of ketchup and salsa. Mike liked it. I would have preferred ranch dressing.

I had the pulled pork sandwich ($10) and once again I was disappointed. The meat had no flavor whatsoever. I can't even tell if it was seasoned at all during the cooking process. It was so insipid, that all I could taste was the bun, not my favorite part of a sandwich. The accompanying french fries were also under-seasoned, but their biggest problem was that they were overcooked, too charry for my taste. The coleslaw also lacked flavor.

Mike had the fish and chips ($14.50) and he was happier with them. He thought it was juicy and flaky and tasted fresh. He'd order it again.

Our cokes were also an issue, mine was bitter and Mike's diet coke tasted odd.

Other choices for lunch include appetizers and main dishes of oysters, clams, musels,calamari, osso buco, polenta and burgers, among other things. Prices run in the low to mid-teens.

In all, I wasn't happy with The Station House Cafe and I think I would try one of the nearby restaurants before trying it again.

The Station House Cafe
Main Street
Point Reyes Station, California
415.663.1515
http://www.stationhousecafe.com/

Letter from another Station House patron

Onion rings

pulled pork sandwich

fish & chips