On a cold, rainy December day replete with flood watch warnings we did what any self-respecting Northwest family would do – we headed for the beach. For lunch we hit the Sand Castle Drive-In, located along the main drag in Ocean Shores. Having heard of it several times we decided to give it a go.

The Sand Castle Drive-In, in All its Glory (on a rainy winter day)

The Sand Castle is a classic fried-food joint. Burgers, fries, fish & chips, onion rings… you get the idea. And shakes – don’t you worry, they have SHAKES!

The menu

The shakes!

After looking at the menu for long enough to annoy Luke (not a new thing) and allow another couple to pass by us in line, I settled on one of the Sandcastle Specials – the chicken chipotle ciabatta sandwich, small fry and medium soda. Luke copied me and also went with a special – the fish, chips and chowder. We were in and out for under $20.

I am special! You are special!

YUM.

The food was good, a solid meal on a rainy winter day at the beach. The ciabatta sandwich was a nice slightly healthier option (though the “healthy” may have been negated by the french fries I had with it and the creamy chipotle sauce that I said “yes please” to). The homemade clam chowder was good, especially after coming in from the cold. Aside from the six-month-old who kept trying to dip her fingers in my ketchup, it was just what we were looking for.

One thing that bears mentioning about our trip to the Sand Castle – the service was really quite wonderful, particularly for a fast food-ish joint. The gal running the front counter was very friendly and sweet. When another customer mentioned to her that his shake wasn’t mixed the way he liked it she graciously re-made it for him, all the while chatting him up. She clearly wanted to get it right and send him away happy.

The Sand Castle scores a decent number of reviews on Yelp, with most of these being pretty darn good. Some folks say there can be a bit of a wait but we didn’t experience this at all (other than waiting for me to decide what I wanted to eat). Customers appear to have a love-hate relationship with the fried bread but are consistently pleased with the burgers, fish and fries. The people that take the Sand Castle for what it is seem pleased.

788 Point Brown Ave NE
Ocean Shores, WA 98569
(360) 289-2777

This we dig!