My last post took us to Port Angeles, Washington, a town I return to in both mind and body. There’s an undeniable pull that has caused me to visit (and fish) on three different occasions in 2015 alone. It’s a town where you can hear church bells and fog horns, rain drops and ocean freight steamers. The area hosts so many genus species between water and woodland creatures that it feels a bit like Noah’s Ark.

I enthusiastically recommend the root beer milkshake from Frugal’s, the Moscow Mule at Michael’s Steakhouse, and the homemade salsa from El Puerto #3 does not disappoint. But if you are serious about finding the local bread and butter you’ll have to spend time down at the docks.

Donna’s Fisherman’s Wharf Cafe is owned by a husband and wife team who fled Seattle due to traffic and they serve the local catch day-in and day-out. Service is extremely quick and terse, plates are hot and seasoned. It’s all perfection.

The clam chowder contains about 20 sweet and briny clams in every serving. Chowder is always something you should have to chew.

Halibut, oysters, fries. Tartar, cocktail sauce, slaw. Don’t forget the lemon.

The oysters are flash fried in a hot cast iron pan and they don’t lose any of their character in the process. The halibut is beyond fresh, it’s simply NEW; untainted by the world, direct from boat to belly.

Donna’s Fisherman’s Wharf Cafe

826 W Boathaven Dr, Port Angeles, WA 98363

Monday – Friday 7:00am – 3:00pm

Note: I’ve recently received a few emails regarding the pictures I post on this food diary. They are all taken by me with an iPhone, in January 2015 I began using a Leica V-Lux (a gift from the fisherman) which I struggle to operate but my skills should improve over time. If you wish to use any of the photographs on this food diary please feel free to do so. Crediting the “photographer”, in this case, is not necessary.