Sand Dollar Restaurant

Nice, clean restaurant, classy, great food, great staff, very attentive. The food, cooked well, tasty, a bit over priced. My overall takeaway is that it is a little pricey, but great atmosphere and made me feel that between the great food and super service it was worth it. We'll return...

Packed. Great music. Great fun. Friendly service, great drink and wine selections. We ordered so much food. Stinson isn't easy to get to, but the Sand dollar makes it worth the drive.

Great spot. Very local vibe. Sam, the owner, is the man and couldn’t be a nicer guy. We couldn’t get a ride back to San Francisco (there’s no Uber’s) and he graciously drove us back to the city. Great experience!! Food was also great. Highly recommend.

When is the Sand Dollar going to reopen? the community needs this place!

Honestly the food was literally the best u have ever had. I wish they could ship me food back to Texas. The oysters were unbelievable, then I had the clam linguini, followed by a huge desert which I forgot the name for, I think it was mud pie. I had two glasses of Malbec and my date had an Ace Pineapple Cider which was so tasty. The service was amazing as well, the staff was so polite and helpful. Next trip to the Bay Area I'll make the hour or so drive just to come back here.

From the minute I walked in both the waitress/bartender and the gentleman playing music were very friendly, service was excellent and atmosphere was great. Other customers were also very nice, and even though I am not a fan of fish or seafood I decided to try the fish and chips- great decision! Was delicious and hit the spot perfectly, thank you Erica for the suggestion! And for the great service! I wish I was going to be in town just a little longer to stop by again, but I'll definitely be back next time I'm in the area! <3

Great food and good service. A little pricey but not too bad for a small ocean town. Don't get me wrong, the food was totally worth the price.

Best freakin Chowder!! The service was awesome the bread was amazing and the Cocktails!!. Love love love

Delicious swordfish and cocktail of the day featuring fresh local muddled cherries. A great meal after a nice hike.

Great food, cozy relaxed atmosphere, ok service, reasonable prices, and perfect location!

Philip Robb

Honestly the food was literally the best u have ever had. I wish they could ship me food back to Texas. The oysters were unbelievable, then I had the clam linguini, followed by a huge desert which I forgot the name for, I think it was mud pie. I had two glasses of Malbec and my date had an Ace Pineapple Cider which was so tasty. The service was amazing as well, the staff was so polite and helpful. Next trip to the Bay Area I'll make the hour or so drive just to come back here.

Rehtaeh Dymond

From the minute I walked in both the waitress/bartender and the gentleman playing music were very friendly, service was excellent and atmosphere was great. Other customers were also very nice, and even though I am not a fan of fish or seafood I decided to try the fish and chips- great decision! Was delicious and hit the spot perfectly, thank you Erica for the suggestion! And for the great service! I wish I was going to be in town just a little longer to stop by again, but I'll definitely be back next time I'm in the area! <3

Christopher collins

Great food and good service. A little pricey but not too bad for a small ocean town. Don't get me wrong, the food was totally worth the price.

Lynnie J

Best freakin Chowder!! The service was awesome the bread was amazing and the Cocktails!!. Love love love

matt evans

Delicious swordfish and cocktail of the day featuring fresh local muddled cherries. A great meal after a nice hike.

Gary

Great food, cozy relaxed atmosphere, ok service, reasonable prices, and perfect location!

Have eaten here half a dozen times and always had a good experience. Outdoor seating is great. Fish tacos, fish and chips, burger, are all very good. St Louis ribs and the stuffed clams are fantastic. All together an enjoyable xperience.

Amazing food, great atmosphere, and an all around wonderful experience. The staff were friendly and helpful. They had someone playing live piano. Prices are on the higher side but more than worth it. Good choices for both seafood and non seafood options.

Most delicious food in the Point Reyes area. A menu all foodies will enjoy, and the oyster styles were stellar. Looks to be an outdoor patio under construction right now, nice. We'll absolutely be back.

casey barthels

Most delicious food in the Point Reyes area. A menu all foodies will enjoy, and the oyster styles were stellar. Looks to be an outdoor patio under construction right now, nice. We'll absolutely be back.

Debbie Ann

Amazing food, great atmosphere, and an all around wonderful experience. The staff were friendly and helpful. They had someone playing live piano. Prices are on the higher side but more than worth it. Good choices for both seafood and non seafood options.

Jayson Morris

Have eaten here half a dozen times and always had a good experience. Outdoor seating is great. Fish tacos, fish and chips, burger, are all very good. St Louis ribs and the stuffed clams are fantastic. All together an enjoyable xperience.

Great spot off the beach for a beer with fish and chips out on the patio, or a glass of wine inside with one of their superb entrees like the local salmon served on a bed of local chard. Evening live music sets a very pleasant atmosphere.

Great place to get some excellent grub after a long hike in Mt. Tam. Update: They're outdoor section, is not dog friendly. They suggested that I can tie up my dog on their porch 😠. Ummm NO! I went next door.

Nice jazz duet group playing. Good small seafood restaurant atmosphere. The service was excellent and the food hit the spot. Would definitely go back.

Fun restaurant. Beachy atmosphere. We got the crab boil for 2 which was OK. Also had the Mac and cheese appetizer - this was very good and was large enough to be a dinner portion.

Good place to have lunch and dinner but with very less options for vegetarians like me. They had live music and bar, decent amount of seating both indoor and outdoor and nice ambience. Prices were a bit more then normal but it is expected around beaches (Stinson Beach)

Had a great lazy Saturday morning meal with cocktails. It was great, every one was so friendly. I think the 10/16 from "Lonnie" about the menu being written in Arabic and no one there speaking English is either a troll or mis-posted and is about some other place. I had a great time and will absolutely go back.

Just stopped in to use the restroom. Decided to order a couple apps. Staff was friendly, food came fast, jazz inside and out door seating was nice.

High prices, but good food and friendly staff!

The "prawn" fish tacos were delicious. The setting is very pretty and relaxing in this small town.

Mike Bravo

Just stopped in to use the restroom. Decided to order a couple apps. Staff was friendly, food came fast, jazz inside and out door seating was nice.

B M

High prices, but good food and friendly staff!

Geenyus Creel

The "prawn" fish tacos were delicious. The setting is very pretty and relaxing in this small town.

Food was quickly delivered. My friends loved their seafood dishes. Menu has seafood and beef and chicken! Burger was ok, not great, but it's a seafood place primarily, so was not surprised. Drinks were reasonably priced. Food was moderately priced, between $20 to $40 a plate. Desserts were awesome from the Mud Pie to the bread pudding! Brownie a la mode is a huge brownie, very warm but a little dry. The drive on the 101 to get there was an experience like no other!

Brenda Christie-Lichtenegger

Food was quickly delivered. My friends loved their seafood dishes. Menu has seafood and beef and chicken! Burger was ok, not great, but it's a seafood place primarily, so was not surprised. Drinks were reasonably priced. Food was moderately priced, between $20 to $40 a plate. Desserts were awesome from the Mud Pie to the bread pudding! Brownie a la mode is a huge brownie, very warm but a little dry. The drive on the 101 to get there was an experience like no other!

Inconsistent - some dishes were good, others not really; for example, the calamari wasn't cooked right , but the mussels were good. Also, our dishes were really spaced out, 30 minutes between dishes, when the people sitting next to us, who came in 10 minutes after we did, ordered the same dish and got it 20 minutes before us 🙁 Will not be going back.

Nice pattio. Chowder was watery with hardly any clams. Wings were baked. Something you would buy in a huge bag from Costco or Sysco. Mushy and bland. Staff was very nice and friendly.

Had a great time here, fresh oysters, decent food, too pricey for what it is. Bartender was loudly expressing feelings about certain things that he should have thought twice about especially not knowing everyone in the room.

Very Fast and Covinet Resturant with okay food. The food seemed to be cooked in a rush, and the first in the tacos are the same as the fish and chips. The actual building looks under maintained

Kian O’ Neo

Very Fast and Covinet Resturant with okay food. The food seemed to be cooked in a rush, and the first in the tacos are the same as the fish and chips. The actual building looks under maintained

Such a shame to give this favorite restaurant for our family such a low rating but, since their remodel and, apparently, new chef... we're underwhelmed. We have been coming here for several years at the end of a day at the beach and have always found the food to be good, even though the service was sometimes spotty and sullen. This was our first time back in a year due to other travel plans. The menu has changed. Not bad in itself but there was only one fresh fish on offer - the Mahi at $27 on the specials menu - and the small plates and salads seemed lacking in protein options. Not much to sink your teeth into except fish and chips and a burger really, unless you like oysters. The Mahi was ok but not great. For $27 I would have expected some kind of substantial side but there was nothing except for a tomato based sauce. The fish kind of sat on the edge of the plate with the sauce, occupying only 50% of the space and looking quite lonely. We got a small plate of the Moroccan Carrots which sounded delicious. The first bite was indeed yummy but once you got past the top layer, they were over seasoned to the extent that you could taste the overwhelming bitterness of the spices used and became inedible. My daughter, age 10, only had 3 unexciting choices on the kids menu: corn dogs, chicken strips, or mac and cheese. It continues to be an insult that, just because kids can't eat a full meal, they have to eat junk. Only one kind of Chardonnay to choose from on the wine list (which, for the area, is disappointing) and the pour from the bar tender was miserly (along with her expression, despite my attempts to smile and engage in conversation.) We ended our meal with The Otter, a brownie and ice cream type deal that would have been delicious if it wasn't frozen solid, clearly a problem they're aware of because it comes with a steak knife (!) and is even then almost impossible to cut into without sending the whole thing scuttling across the table. 2 stars are for location, general ambience, and our waitress who was clearly dealing with a number of complaints from diners around her with grace, and a testy kitchen who wouldn't so much as even chop a salad for the people sitting next to us. Such a shame that this great little gem has turned sour. We will be considering other options next time we are in town, sadly.

Crab salad sandwich probably had dungeness in it but sadly was so overly creamy I couldn't taste the crab. Ate my entire meal before having to ask to get my water refilled, which ended up being lukewarm. For $19 I expected better service and a better crab sandwich... the fries were pretty good, and at least the portion size was large.

My wife and I have gone to the Sand Dollar two or three times a year for quite a few years and we always enjoy the ambience, friendly service, the bar and the nightly jazz duo after a day on the beach. We used to enjoy and look forward to the food too. However after a change in chef and menu last year we have been there three times and were very disappointed in the food all three times. The first time was last summer - had a burger that was under cooked and served with some kind of onion paste that was very fancy but just didn't taste good. About a month ago we were there for dinner and I had the cioppino. Way too spicy hot. The cioppino or fish stew before was one of my favorites but this one was just too spicy to really enjoy the seafood. Also, it had scallops to which I am allergic even though before I ordered it I asked the server if it had scallops I was told it did not. Today we tried one more time. The salad my wife had was good, but the calimari I ordered was way undercooked (virtually raw inside the thin batter coating, not crispy and kind of mushy wet), the calm chowder was gluey with some kind of thickening instead of a real potato chowder feel, and was overpowered with a smokey bacon flavor. It just didn't feel or taste like calm chowder and was $12 for essentially a large cup, not even a soup bowl. My wife also had the beef ragu with pasta - we both agreed it was way too salty tasting. The little chunks of beef were very tender, but the saltiness made us leave some behind. (Likewise I did not finish either the calimari plate or the clam chowder). Lastly, they used to serve a very nice hot crusty french bread roll with butter along with dinner. Now they charge for bread and it is not as good a bread and comes with plain oil with a shot of balsamic in it. The prices are up quite a bit from before and after three tries under the new menu and chef we've agreed we will only visit the bar from now on unless some changes are made. The attempt to "upgrade" the menu has failed and it isn't worth it sorry to say.

Really yummy fish tacos. Good fish and chips. A bit overpriced. Very terrible service. Our waters were refilled once and we empty most of the meal. I asked for a ranch and received blue cheese instead. I would have tried to correct it, but our waiter didn't show up again until after the meal.

Michelle Carter

Such a shame to give this favorite restaurant for our family such a low rating but, since their remodel and, apparently, new chef... we're underwhelmed. We have been coming here for several years at the end of a day at the beach and have always found the food to be good, even though the service was sometimes spotty and sullen. This was our first time back in a year due to other travel plans. The menu has changed. Not bad in itself but there was only one fresh fish on offer - the Mahi at $27 on the specials menu - and the small plates and salads seemed lacking in protein options. Not much to sink your teeth into except fish and chips and a burger really, unless you like oysters. The Mahi was ok but not great. For $27 I would have expected some kind of substantial side but there was nothing except for a tomato based sauce. The fish kind of sat on the edge of the plate with the sauce, occupying only 50% of the space and looking quite lonely. We got a small plate of the Moroccan Carrots which sounded delicious. The first bite was indeed yummy but once you got past the top layer, they were over seasoned to the extent that you could taste the overwhelming bitterness of the spices used and became inedible. My daughter, age 10, only had 3 unexciting choices on the kids menu: corn dogs, chicken strips, or mac and cheese. It continues to be an insult that, just because kids can't eat a full meal, they have to eat junk. Only one kind of Chardonnay to choose from on the wine list (which, for the area, is disappointing) and the pour from the bar tender was miserly (along with her expression, despite my attempts to smile and engage in conversation.) We ended our meal with The Otter, a brownie and ice cream type deal that would have been delicious if it wasn't frozen solid, clearly a problem they're aware of because it comes with a steak knife (!) and is even then almost impossible to cut into without sending the whole thing scuttling across the table. 2 stars are for location, general ambience, and our waitress who was clearly dealing with a number of complaints from diners around her with grace, and a testy kitchen who wouldn't so much as even chop a salad for the people sitting next to us. Such a shame that this great little gem has turned sour. We will be considering other options next time we are in town, sadly.

Mary Beth Clancy

Really yummy fish tacos. Good fish and chips. A bit overpriced. Very terrible service. Our waters were refilled once and we empty most of the meal. I asked for a ranch and received blue cheese instead. I would have tried to correct it, but our waiter didn't show up again until after the meal.

Anthony Davis

Crab salad sandwich probably had dungeness in it but sadly was so overly creamy I couldn't taste the crab. Ate my entire meal before having to ask to get my water refilled, which ended up being lukewarm. For $19 I expected better service and a better crab sandwich... the fries were pretty good, and at least the portion size was large.

Learning about the discrimination that took place at your restaurant is appalling. Refusing to serve a disabled child is absolutely mind blowing. I hope the blonde male server who has provoked such an outrage from so many people learns a hard lesson. And that your establishment can better train and educate their employees. #fordeak

The Sand Dollar lost my business with their dog-unfriendly policy. I am not going to tie up my dog out front! Try one of the three other restaurants that do allow dogs, Siren Canteen and Parkside Cafe being the best.

Blond male waiter discriminated and refused to serve my disabled nephew. My nephew was well behaved and did nothing wrong, other than be visibly handicapped. It's 2017, how did we forget to have compassion. #fordeak

The food was terrible and the service was not any better! Every guest table received bread and butter but ours! Regardless of the bad service, the quality of the good was not worth the price we paid for! Avoid unless you are starving and have some $$.

Insanely overpriced mediocre food. I ordered the shrimp salad for lunch for 20 bucks and it came with 5 small shrimps, 4 olives, lettuce and half an egg. Absolute joke. Don't go here, total tourist trap!

Terrible service, TERRIBLE MUSIC on weekend makes you want to rip your ears off, if they get your order right you may or may not be lucky bc the food is tiny portions of horrendous nothingness, so that is a complete gamble..... ambiance? Where the hell is the beach? and why are all these yellow jackets attacking my party... getting some chips n beer at nearby store way better quality and value .... this place is a typical tourist trap marin joke of a restaurant. ... oh and you will definitely pay big bucks for their garbage they call food

The food was ok. The service was very bad. Not one drink was refilled at our table. We waited for the check for 20min. To find out they included gratuity for 6 people. 31$tip for the worst service ive had to date . I signed the recipe with the gratuity amount not included they still charged my card . We waited so long i was able to read the California laws on gratuity. This place obviously never has. I really feel ripped off

The one star is only for the food. The restaurant remodel was very nice and the staff super attentive. So my only question is what happened to the food?We ordered our typical calamari, fish and chips and clam chowder.All of it was horrible. We have been coming to this place for 40+ years.This is heartbreaking for at least 3 generations of my family who have been loyal customers over the years! I understand changing the menu but, why would you change food like fish and chips and clam chowder that didn't need to be changed? These are the kind of staple foods every restaurant has, as a go to. The fish and chips were heavily heavily heavily breaded, see my pictures. Additionally the fish and chips were tasteless. The clam chowder was basically a liquid vegetable soup(not a chowder) that the waiter took back and refund it for us. It was very nice of him. The calamari didn't even look like calamari it was breaded so much, and it had a different taste, not fishy or anything just not a very good taste. There were five of us that had the fish and chips and not one of us was happy with the meal.Additionally The fish and chips price was about $22 a plate, of mostly bread, it was a rip off!

The food is not bad here. But the service is terrible and the attitude of the employees is poor. You ask them for anything extra and they roll their eyes and act as if you are bothering them. It was the worst service I have ever received. They even asked my party, who ordered food, to move to a stupid table next to kitched, so that a slightly larger party could sit down and order alcohol. And this party only stayed for about 20 min and then left. I think they feel they can treat people badly here, because there aren't too many options for eating in Stinson. I will never go back here again.

D bryce

The one star is only for the food. The restaurant remodel was very nice and the staff super attentive. So my only question is what happened to the food?We ordered our typical calamari, fish and chips and clam chowder.All of it was horrible. We have been coming to this place for 40+ years.This is heartbreaking for at least 3 generations of my family who have been loyal customers over the years! I understand changing the menu but, why would you change food like fish and chips and clam chowder that didn't need to be changed? These are the kind of staple foods every restaurant has, as a go to. The fish and chips were heavily heavily heavily breaded, see my pictures. Additionally the fish and chips were tasteless. The clam chowder was basically a liquid vegetable soup(not a chowder) that the waiter took back and refund it for us. It was very nice of him. The calamari didn't even look like calamari it was breaded so much, and it had a different taste, not fishy or anything just not a very good taste. There were five of us that had the fish and chips and not one of us was happy with the meal.Additionally The fish and chips price was about $22 a plate, of mostly bread, it was a rip off!

Crick Filippi

The food was ok. The service was very bad. Not one drink was refilled at our table. We waited for the check for 20min. To find out they included gratuity for 6 people. 31$tip for the worst service ive had to date . I signed the recipe with the gratuity amount not included they still charged my card . We waited so long i was able to read the California laws on gratuity. This place obviously never has. I really feel ripped off

Brad Nartker

The food is not bad here. But the service is terrible and the attitude of the employees is poor. You ask them for anything extra and they roll their eyes and act as if you are bothering them. It was the worst service I have ever received. They even asked my party, who ordered food, to move to a stupid table next to kitched, so that a slightly larger party could sit down and order alcohol. And this party only stayed for about 20 min and then left. I think they feel they can treat people badly here, because there aren't too many options for eating in Stinson. I will never go back here again.