Castaways Restaurant & Tiki Bar
Drawing inspiration from across the globe,
Castaways is a North Coast gem
W
While taking a few moments to make the
rounds and chat with diners just before des-
sert, Castaways Restaurant & Tiki Bar chef and
owner Josh Tuckman voiced something that’s
been on my mind since even before becoming
The Mouth: As restaurants in tourist destina-
tions can be less dependent on repeat business,
some drag their feet.
“We don’t do that,” Tuckman said.
He wasn’t lying. Castaways is marvelous.
A splendid fusion of casual atmosphere and in-
spired cooking, it is one of the North Coast’s
culinary gems.
With a modicum of carved, Polynesian
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drawing regions and styles from across the
globe, it is so much more. The sweet tiki drinks
are paired with equally colorful, often fruit-
tinged dishes drawing from Caribbean, Creole,
Thai, French, Italian and Japanese traditions.
But rather than a smorgasbord of incongruence,
the menu dovetails seamlessly, the product of
thoughtful curation.
“I wanted to create a place that you could
eat at seven nights a week,” Tuckman said,
“where each night you could have something
different.” He has succeeded absolutely. Cast-
aways is equally suited for a celebratory gath-
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evening meal.
Tucked in a tiny, repurposed home near
Cannon Beach’s north entrance, Castaways is
known for being tough to get a table, especial-
ly on sunny weekends. Arriving on a Thursday
evening around 7 p.m. without a reservation,
my companion and I faced a 20-minute wait but
found a spot at the bar in the meantime.
Deciding what to drink was tantalizingly
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infusions made with local spirits and berries,
made mouthwatering overtures. In observance
of the tiki spirit, we went with a Hurricane
($9) and, on the recommendation of a regu-
lar, a Pineapple-Chili Margarita ($8.50). In
traditional tiki fashion, each was made with a
head-spinning number of ingredients, includ-
ing a spoonful of sugar each (though neither
was too sweet). The Hurricane was a tangy mix
of rum and tropical fruit juices — pineapple,
lime, tangerine — and the margarita was salty,
savory and with house-infused pineapple-jala-
peño tequila, not too spicy. Each was volumi-
nous and subtly strong.
At the central bar the room was a bit loud,
due in part to a few boisterous children, but
when we got our table the decibels declined.
Between sipping our cocktails and gazing at
14 | May 21, 2015 | coastweekend.com
the art, we decided to share the Tiki Salad ($7)
and Honey Orange Coconut Prawns ($13.50).
The salad — mixed greens, goat cheese,
dried cranberries, spiced walnuts and a bal-
samic vinaigrette — was familiar and well
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speak well for themselves. The goat cheese
was mild, the cranberries were supple, and the
spiced walnuts were absolutely fresh, likely
made that day in-house.
The Honey Orange Coconut Prawns,
meanwhile, were absolutely divine. The large
prawns, breaded with coconut and fried, were
crispy, sweet and sumptuous. They were my
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won’t be my last. The texture and taste, hearty
but sans grease, was sublime. So too was the
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yellow peppers, green chives and raw coconut
shreds. My sensory memory of these prawns
resounds almost photographically. I can’t wait
to have them again.
Same goes for Nawlins Style Jambalya
($18). Served on a spice scale from 1-to-4,
I opted for a 2, the most commonly ordered.
The heat level was appropriate, blooming
The Tiki Salad, left, is a familiar and well-executed dish at Castaways. The Honey Orange Coconut Prawns, right, were crispy, sweet
and sumptuous.
at the back of the throat than the tip of the
tongue. As for the seasoning that colored the
savory red broth, the mix was exquisite. The
dish was full of slow-cooked chicken, sweet
peppers, onions, Andouille sausage (though
there could’ve been a bit more) and dotted
with blueberries that I initially assumed were
olives. In another twist, it was served atop
light Indian basmati rice (rather than a more
traditional sticky blend). Together it was pep-
py, rich and slyly elegant.
mouth
OF THE COLUMBIA
COAST WEEKEND’S LOCAL RESTAURANT REVIEW
Story and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA • mouth@coastweekend.com
Castaways Restaurant
& Tiki Bar
Rating: :
503-436-8777
316 Fir St., Cannon Beach
HOURS: 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.
PRICE: $$ – Entrées range from $18 to $26.
SERVICE: Attentive, fun and full of information.
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN OPTIONS: Sadly, this one’s for
the meat eaters. Every entrée is centered around
animal protein.
DRINKS: A myriad of tiki drinks and cocktails, beer,
and a selection of regional Northwest wines.
My companion had the Big Kahuna Ahi
Tuna ($24), and it was the only slight misstep
of the evening. Herb-crusted and seared, some-
thing went awry — the edges did not have a
particularly distinct texture or taste, and the raw
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— particularly the roasted zucchini and yellow
squash — were perfectly, minimally prepared,
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myriad of sauces and accouterments — includ-
ing roe and a blazing wasabi reduction — of-
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For desert we shared the Mango Flambé
($8.50), a dish whose disheveled look belied its
stirring mix of hot, glazed, dark, viscous sug-
ars, long cut, tangy mangoes and strawberries
swirling around cold coconut ice cream.
As we noshed, chef Tuckman engaged an-
other customer. He wanted to share, but also
to listen. Clearly these interactions were about
more than hearing himself talk — he sought to
know his customers, where they came from,
what they liked and what they didn’t. He spoke
too of his own inspiration.
“If I didn’t want to keep learning,” Tuckman
said, “I’d be done.”
Fortunately for us, he’s still hungry. And,
as rumor has it, Tuckman and Castaways may
soon be expanding. More on that as it develops.
In the meantime, I’ll be dreaming about those
coconut prawns.
KEY TO RATINGS
below average
average
good
excellent
outstanding, the best in the
Columbia-Pacific region
