Harbor House Cafe - Sunset Beach

September 29, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews

Inside Harbor House Cafe

Harbor House Cafe in Sunset Beach is what places like Dennys and Norms strive to be. It’s the quintessential greasy spoon that made America what it is today. Harbor House is located just North from Huntington Beach on Pacific Coast Highway, right before you reach Seal Beach, it’s right next to the Water Tower House. There is another Harbor House Cafe located in Dana Point, but I’ve only ever been to the original in Sunset Beach that’s been around since 1939. The first thing you will notice when you enter Harbor House are all the old movie posters that adorn not only the walls but also the ceiling. Next you’ll think it’s a pretty small place, until you realize that hidden behind the front part of the restaurant is closed in patio that seats as many if not more then the front!

Inside Harbor House Cafe

We’ve ate here a number of times, especially on some late night occasions after quenching our thirsts with numerous libations, and they have never failed to hit the spot. On this visit it was Sunday at around 2:00 PM when we arrived and it wasn’t too busy which was nice because we got to sit in the front at a window seat. They have a huge menu, with well over 100 items to choose from, so it should be able to appease all of those in your party.

Both myself and the Mrs. were starving but didn’t want anything too heavy since we were having a late lunch so we both decided on sandwiches. Mrs. DanGarion ordered the

Harbor House Avocado and Bacon Sandwich

Avocado Sandwich ($9.95), which had a whole avocado on it that was perfectly fresh, along with 4 thick slices of bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and 2 slices of cheese. There was so much bacon the Mrs. took off half of it, which I happily ate for her! I always have a difficult time choosing what to order when there are more then 10 items on a menu, especially since I like to order different things from time to time, so I can review more then what I always order on a menu. I went with something I’d never had before at any restaurant; a

Harbor House Hot Crab Meat Sandwich

Hot Crab Meat Sandwich ($10.95), it came with 100% crab meat, that was topped with a whole avocado, along with a bunch of melted Monterey jack cheese, lettuce and tomato on grilled sourdough. The crab meat was great, it had a very good steamed crab taste and you could tell it wasn’t from a can or fake, it was delicious real fresh crab. Their was a little more cheese then it probably needed, so I took some of it off, but others might love the overflow of Monterey jack cheese. Along with both the sandwiches we had our choice of fries, onion rings, or cole slaw. We went with the onion rings, which were just the normal fare you get from a burger join, but they were huge and crunchy, plus they have a nice somewhat spicy BBQ sauce to drench dip them in.

Harbor House Hot Crab Meat Sandwich

Service was average, nothing out of the ordinary, nothing bad or exceptionally good. On other occasions service has been average to good as well. This is definitely a place to bring a big appetite, they have a huge menu that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and desserts. Talking about desserts they have some killer malts and shakes ( Handmade Choice of Oreo Cookie Bits, Blueberry, Chocolate, Pineapple, Strawberry, Fresh Banana, French Vanilla, Butterscotch, Peanut Butter, and Orange Juice); peanut butter shakes are my favorite! If you go in the morning on Saturdays or Sundays be prepared to wait if you get there after 8:00 AM, since they will be busy, but aren’t all the great places like that?

Visited on Sunday 09/28/08 @ 2:00 PM for lunch.

Rating:

- This is an average rating of all visits

Harbor House Cafe
16341 Pacific Coast Highway
Sunset Beach, 9074

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Thank you for visiting Eat in OC : DanGarion is a training professional who was born and raised in Orange County. He and his wife enjoy checking out new restaurants which led to creating Eat in OC.

Tags: American, Breakfast, Dessert, Favorites, Huntington Beach, Sandwich, Seal Beach, Sunset Beach

Comments

2 Responses to “Harbor House Cafe - Sunset Beach”

C. Jepsen (4 comments) on October 4th, 2008 4:40 pm, Reply To

In this age of food-as-freakshow, all of Harbor House’s menu items are delightfully recognizable. The food is always pretty good and the portions are large. I’m particularly fond of their omlettes and milkshakes (although not at the same time).

Harbor House seems to be open almost all the time. If you need to eat at an O.C. restaurant in the wee-small hours of the morning, this is definitely the place to go.
Veronica (1 comments) on October 9th, 2008 9:57 pm, Reply To

There is also a Harbor House Cafe in Dana Point. Great place!