North Beach Café: Great Food, Amazing View

I walked into North Beach Café in a crappy mood. And that’s never a good way to start a meal. Tybee Island, home to the café, requires you to pay to park until 8pm. After finding the first three parking meters did not work, my patience was exhausted. Mike’s guffaws only exacerbated the situation.

The sign from the parking lot

The restaurant was empty except for a gathering of Red Hats women sitting at the tables inside and a few beachcombers sitting outside. For fear of the Red Hats women breaking into song with lyrics like “There may be snow on my roof, the foundation’s shot, but if you come into my kitchen, the oven’s still hot,” we decided to sit outside.

Chips and Salsa

Our waitress was chipper. Of course Mike harassed her and asked her how local the “local seafood” was. She came back and said, “We buy it from a local salesman.” Mike of course wanted to know where he got the fish. She left and returned. I’m not entirely sure what they were talking about, but the fish is not from the Gulf, which pleased Mike.

           

We ordered chips and salsa for an appetizer. They make their salsa and chips from scratch. They taste like they have cheese baked into them. Score. And see that little pot the salsa is in? Mike drank the juice once the salsa was gone because it was that good.

Chicken Tortilla Salad

For my meal, I had the Chicken Tortilla Salad. It was killer. There were more of those tasty chips at the bottom of this plate heaped with chicken and black beans and I was satisfied and full. Well done for a salad.

Non-Gulf Crab Cakes

Mike ordered the crab cakes after yet another dialogue about the birthplace of the crabs and a conversation about where they did their undergrad. He said they were some of the best crab cakes he has ever had. A healthy serving of red beans and fresh veggies accompanied the crab cakes.

Unbeatable view from our table

Overall, this restaurant was exactly what we wanted: Quality, taste, and affordability. The view from our table was priceless and if you’re heading to this restaurant, it’s probably a good idea to do it before tourist season.

At around 7:30 p.m., the bugs got hungry. We skipped dessert and opted for a walk on the beach instead. If you head here at night, bring some bug spray.