Dock, Drink & Dine: Dana Point Harbor

A fun trip to Dana Point, whether by boat or car, is made complete with a nice lunch or dinner at one of the many fine restaurants in Dana Point Harbor. With most of the restaurants in the marina located close to the water’s edge, you are almost guaranteed a beautiful view of water and yachts lined up along a maze of docks and channels.

If you are arriving by land, you will find free parking a short walk away from the harbor, and there is also the option of pay parking a bit closer to the water’s edge. Security personnel routinely walk through both lots to ensure the safety of your vehicle.

Once inside the marina area, take time to walk around the docks to appreciate the various types of vessels moored in the slips – it will help you build up an appetite! Also visit the numerous souvenir and curio shops along the quay. If this is your first visit to Dana Point Harbor, you certainly will want to take home a few mementos of your visit.

Feeling a bit hungry and thirsty from your marina walk? Try out the Coffee Importers, which serves a whole lot more than just coffee. A long list of exotic smoothies, from Gabriel’s Mango Tango to Lauren’s Peachy Keen, Izzi’s Surfin’ Pataya and Coconut Bliss, are just starters before you get to the full menu, which consists of a long list of short-order choices, including sandwiches and wraps.

You can choose something as basic as an egg salad, roast beef, turkey or ham sandwich, or you can try one of the Coffee Importer’s panini sandwiches. The Italian panini, harvest vegetable panini and grilled veggie panini are just some of the many, tasty hot sandwiches on the menu.

Continuing along the boardwalk, you will see right across from where the Waterman’s Restaurant used to be is a rather subdued, gray building with a small wooden sign inscribed Frisby Cellars Winery Tasting Room. If you enjoy drinking fine wine, make sure you stop by this wonderful, little shop and sample a few of their vintages. You can sign up for a “tasting flight” of six different award-winning wines or simply order a glass of wine to accompany your selection of hors d’oeuvres.

If you want to enjoy Frisby Cellars to the fullest, book a tasting session to sample their cabernets, pinot noirs, syrahs and other varietals from grapes grown in the Paso Robles area. And by the way, Frisby also brews an award-winning craft beer well worth sampling.

Harpoon Henry’s Bar & Grill is a place you can’t miss while sauntering along the Dana Point Marina boardwalk. An old-school surfboard surrounded by a bamboo wall under a thatch overhang serves as Henry’s sign, beckoning passersby to sample the great food and drink available within.

From virtually any point within Harpoon Henry’s, you will enjoy a clear view of the harbor and its long lines of yachts. But the best thing you will enjoy is Henry’s menu of fresh seafood and “California Beach Cuisine,” which ranges from appetizers of clam chowder, calamari strips and shrimp cocktail to their wide variety of lunch and dinner seafood selections. While waiting to make your menu selections, try out one of their tropical drinks, such as a “Hawaiian Martini” with pineapple and vanilla vodka, coconut rum and pineapple juice or their “Endless Summer,” a mix of coconut rum, Bacardi rum and guava and pineapple juice for a genuinely tropical drinking experience.

A light lunch at Harpoon Henry’s could be a grilled mahi mahi taco, an angus beef deluxe burger, fish and chips or one of several other selections. Dinner entrées include calamari steak, charbroiled swordfish, Alaskan halibut, and mahi mahi sautéed in a macadamia nut crust.

For those of us who yearn for the good old days of “wooden ships and iron men,” Turk’s offers a nostalgic ambience of old ship hardware, classic photos of boats and a robust list of traditional seafood menu items. And of course, Turk’s also boasts a full bar specializing in classic cocktails, along with a wide range of beer and wine.

For a hearty breakfast, choose from Turk’s long list of egg dishes, which can be combined with fried steak, a turkey burger, spicy chicken, Italian sausage or some other accompaniment of your choosing. Potatoes, grits, fruit and cottage cheese are among the items to pick for your traditional American breakfast.

The long lunch menu, too much to list here, includes a California BLT tuna sandwich, cheeseburger, turkey burger, pastrami sandwich and more. If you want something simple but satisfying, order a cup or bowl of clam chowder or chili to hold you until dinner.

Turk’s dinner menu is also comprised of mainly traditional American fare, with New York steak, pepper steak, blackened chicken, fish and chips, grilled chicken salad, shrimp cocktail, clam strips and many more items. And, of course, you may choose from a selection of beer and cocktails to wash down your fine repast.

To make your next visit to Dana Point Harbor a memorable occasion, the best way to cap the day is with a meal at one of the many fine restaurants lining the harbor. There are certainly many more eateries, too many to cover in one review, worth sampling the next time you stop by for a walk around the marina. Find a great place to eat and share your impressions with friends and on social media. Bon appétit!