Island Cafe

What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn’t have any doubt — it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn’t want to go anywhere else. — Hal Boyle
Island Café offers river-​dining floating in McCuddy’s Marina on Hayden Island in the middle of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. The river-​front setting is peaceful while the full bar is restless and alive with a never-​ending stream of locals and tourists seeking rest and relaxation. The restful location is the primary reason to dock at Island Café for a lunch or drink.
It’s always fun to eat with other «food-​sharers,» so, it was especially nice to join a group of like-​minded food explorers eager to order a lot and share it all. Here’s what we split:
* Onion Petals — Dippin’ & snackin’ fun
* Seared Ahi Tuna Salad — A real Ahi moment
* Fish & Chips — Classic flaky fish
* Popcorn Shrimp — Not really pop-​worthy
* Lobster Salad Stuffed Avocado — Cool, but lite on lobster
* Spicy Chicken Wings — Zero spice on big bits
* Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae — yum
* Fruit Crisp Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream — more yum
The food was fair to average. Come for the location. Get a drink. Eat a little. Rest on the river.

The location is fantastic! I was brought here on a business lunch and happy I discovered it. We arrived on a hot summer afternoon, so it was really nice to be on the cool water. The place was packed, but service was good in spite of the patronage. The food was ok. I was underwhelmed with the fish tacos, but would like to go back and try other menu options.

I love the location. Very relaxing to eat on a floating dock in the river. The food is good.

Unilocal says they are open but they are closed for the season. Don’t come here until April.

It was ok, below my expectation. The best thing about this restaurant is the view, its right next to or if i’m not mistaken, its on the water. The view is absolutely breathtaking but th food was not that great.
we had the chicken wings, it was ok, nothing special. The coconut shrimps were the worst, they were the frozen kind that you can get out of grocery store, not worth my money. The fish and chips was good though, the best out of 3. The chips was the best around, the fish was thick and flaky.
Overall, i think its overprice although i did enjoy the experience.

5 star halibut fish and chips, amazing clam chowder, perfect location and ambiance especially on a warm clear day, and the drinks are strong and tasty (especially like the Island Café Punch). Can’t recommend this gem enough!

When you’re here, you immediately start to relax (even if you’re coming after a long day of work) because the atmosphere is just so «vacation». There’s island music playing in the background, the staff is young and friendly and cute, you’re right on the water, and the entire restaurant is open air!
I’ve seen a few 2 star reviews, and those honestly puzzle me. This place is SUCH a little gem, the food is good, and the drinks are great (piña coladas were divine)! Sure, sometimes the wait staff will forget to bring an extra fork if you’re splitting a meal or be somewhat slow about getting extra ranch, but when you look at the big picture — who cares? You’re in a relaxed setting, right on the river, with a great view. And keep in mind that during the busy hours this place is extremely packed, so go easy on the wait staff. They are all so helpful, kind, and attentive. I have a very high opinion of this restaurant!

Not a fan of the food or the beer selection, but we go for neither. It’s got to be the coolest location for a restaurant on the river. A floating restaurant amongst the river’s floating homes. On a sunny or cloudy day, the place just hops. Watching the boats, paddlers, and people is the most entertaining way to spend a lazy afternoon with friends. Better yet, grab the boat and tie up along their dock.
The food is typical bar food. Not good, not bad. It just is. The beer selection was difficult because it was so limited. The frilly drinks like piña colada or lava flow seemed to be the rage on our last visit on a hot day.
Only open seasonally, I’d love to see this restaurant expand their services and hours to include the off season for indoor bar/​dining (outdoors with heat lamps & blankets would be nice) and weekend breakfasts. Dreaming of my happy place. A fully revised food menu would be nice, but I’m sure kitchen space is limited due to location. So, I love the Island Café for what it is. Fabulous fun.

Wow I heard great things about this place and there are some good things including the service from our waiter Clay and the food but everything else was a complete miss. We came with a group of 10 and waited over 2 hours for a table and were treated absolutely horribly by a dark haired hostess and the bartender who were both so rude. We came hungry and wanting to have a few drinks and were let down by the way we were treated and the horrific service by these people. Too bad the service sucked because the food is great. Think twice before coming here.
***Thanks for responding Sean I was there around 730 on the 24^th. The bartender was younger with brown hair and the hostess was Hispanic looking. The food was great but the service from those two was horrific.

The in-​laws insisted we come back here after coming here on their last visit. As a vegan there is about one for sure vegan option, the hummus wrap. Decent enough, but I feel like hummus wraps are the new veggie burgers. At least there is not the fear of hidden egg.
The place itself is pretty neat. Literally right on the water. Both times coming here we were lucky enough to get a table against the water and I was able to enjoy the ducks walking around enjoying the scraps. Boats can park right up on the pier and come in through a side gate.
One thing I really wish they would do is switch to cloth napkins. There were a couple of times where I saw paper napkins floating around on the ground and sadly I bet a lot of those end up in the river.
The cocktails were decent. Got a gin and tonic and can’t really complain. Not the most heavy handed pour I’ve had though. The waitress was a bit forgetful, I think we got a second water after the third time she stopped by the table, and she was nice enough to give us a taste comparison of two of the wines before we ordered.
There’s a place in SF that’s called the Ramp which is the similar idea. I would say these are on par.

Coming from San Francisco I found this place very minimum.
The only good thing about this place is because right by the water and have a good view of house boats and see people on their boats.
Big deal!
I ordered 2 bottle of Stella last Saturday and it was in the 90s we sat out side and my beer was warm! Both times I ordered the beer came out warm!
I was on a date so I didn’t want to make a fuzz in front of my date so I just suck it up.
That gave me enough reason for not ordering any food!
So we left after I finished my second beer.

Love this place!!! The ultimate ambiance of the entire restaurant being outside is exactly what I look for. Having a cocktail, while looking at the water is perfect. I had the fish tacos and they were very lightly fried and really yummy.

I love being introduced to new places with friends. I always forget that right before you cross over that ghastly green bridge into Washington there’s an entire community of houseboat dwellers. And condo owners — I always wonder what the draw is, to live on a houseboat but to each their own and now I know where they eat, lucky people. It’s HERE! This spot is just everything. Water, sun, gentle rocking of the dock we were sitting on. A little pesky begging wildlife here and there…
Island Café has a rather tropical beachy décor. Of course it does, right? With all those sail boats and yachts gliding by it fits in just right– which is how I would describe my teriyaki chicken bowl– loads of veggies and grilled chicken with a light sauce– not too sweet nor heavy handed and birthday girl Tamara C. had a gorgeous Ahi salad.
This place was ‘sign up and wait only’ at 1:15 on a weekday so be prepared to wait but it doesn’t take long and there’s lots to look, at plus if you have good company like I did the time flies. This would be a super place to have cocktails at sunset but one bit of advice: do not think you’re cool and groovy and wear 4 inch heels like I did because you have to walk down a metal ramp that is rather steep and not kind to that type of footwear choice. Besides– this place is casual and lovely and some days that’s pretty perfect.
Our first waitress was lovely and chatted about our choices and what she liked but the person that brought us our food was a bit snippy and I didn’t like that. It was hot though, and I was having too much fun to get annoyed.
Go here — look at the boats– have a drink!

I’ve been going to Island Café for a few years now. Yes if your in a hurry you may want to go somewhere else. It’s a small cozy café that can get very busy. So plan ahead and don’t get pissy.
Every time we have gone with friends and family this place has delivered. The food is wonderful and have never had a bad experience so far. The boat parking is great and pulling up and to have dinner is easy for the experienced boater. Drinks are good and cold. Service makes you feel number 1.
The best thing is the owners care about your feedback and it appears they act on it. Customer service is everything these days. The only thing I would recommend are misters on hot summer days and more shade. It can get pretty hot on the deck for older people. Fans may be helpful as well.
See ya tomorrow for lunch!

It’s always a fun place to come nice music and he salmon Caesar salad was great.
Island Burger was also really good especially with the Monterey Jack cheese
14 Hands Chardonnay perfect with the burger and as always Tanya Rocks!

Right on the water, food was good, very low key.
Trisha was amazing, gave awesome
recommendation and was just so bubbly and down to earth.
If you haven’t been, you must go.

This little place is kind of hidden if you don’t know what you’re looking for. It’s definitely worth finding though. To begin with it’s in a beautiful location and the restaurant sits right on the river. You can sit inside on those rainy and cloudy days or outside on the beautiful summer days. It’s right at the marina.
There were four of us. The sun was shining and we had a beautiful view. The food was great and service just as good. Our party of five ordered several different items off the menu and none of us were disappointed. The halibut fish’n chips were excellent as was the Reuben and chicken teriyaki bowl. I know we’ll be back.

Loved it the first visit when it was uncrowded and I ordered right. That time I had the chowder (which can range from excellent to mediocre) and the fish and chips, which are good except the «chips» are those vile, cheap «extruded» fries. The drinks can be OK or can be terrible — they rely heavily on those slurpee-​like machines for frozen drinks you would never order at a real bar but kinda want when you are on a floating bar. To do those right, the bartenders need to top the machines off from time to time. If not, they go from a glass of booze and flavorless ice when they run low to a glass of unfrozen and gross mix when they go from empty to totally full. You can easily tell just by looking when the drinks are wrong, but the servers neither notice nor care when they are busy.
The wings are awful — little pieces of fried chicken with ranch. The lobster wrap is also gross. The burgers are pretty sad as well.
In the bar, most of the liquor is low end and their non-​frozen drinks are terrible (there is a rum punch that tastes like half booze and half grenadine).
Yesterday was my 4^th visit and, sadly, it has gotten progressively worse each time. Hard to say if I’ll go back.
Sorry, but an awesome location doesn’t make up for poor quality or inconsistency. It seems like part of the problems are due to staff not being able to keep up with crowds, which is when quality drops. Ultimately that’s a management issue — as is the decision to cheap out on stuff like fake fries. Either up the quality or lower the cost.

Amazing day to visit this place for the first time – and I fully intend to be a regular here in the future. As I write, Mt. Hood gleams in the background and a paddle boarder just showed me how a Thursday afternoon can feel like a weekend vacation. I suspect that I-​5 Northbound is bumper to bumper, but that situation seems like a parallel universe away.
I only ordered two things – merlot and shrimp cocktail from the happy hour menu, so I already know I must return to conduct more research, but today’s research is nothing short of lovely: service, view, good things to eat and drink.
There’s more seating here than I expected – looks like four floats altogether – two for outdoor dining and two for limited indoor dining, kitchen, service area and washrooms. That’s good news because I know I’ll be back with my family. Lucky us!

I’ve heard from multiple people about Island Café yet this was my first visit to the restaurant. Located on Hayden Island down a steep ramp on the dock, it has gorgeous views of the Columbia! There wasn’t a wait on a Tuesday afternoon, my friend said her and her husband waited an hour last time they went on a weekend. We had our choice of seating and wanted to sit outside on the decks – it was warm but not an uncomfortably hot day.
As soon as we sat down, the waiter came by to take our drink orders. It felt like we were on vacation, we pretended that we were and I had Pina Colada which I only order when I’m on a trip. After the drinks came, we put in our food order. I decided on the Island Fish Tacos with fried Halibut on corn tortillas. The fish was excellently beer-​battered and fried… I didn’t care for the cabbage with the jalapeño ranch or the tortilla at all – there was a disconnect there. I should’ve just ordered the two piece Halibut fish and chips. The waiter was very attentive, I wanted hot sauce and two seconds later I got Tapatio then I wanted tartar sauce and he brought that over. Good service.
Good people watching area! People come by on their paddle-​boards and kayaks. You could even drive your boat up to the dock then park it there while you dine. It makes me want to get a boat just so that I could do that. Nice views and good food. I might have to frequent this place more when I can’t afford to take a vacation.