Gray Whale BBQ & Grill

Best tri tip I’ve EVER had! The homemade BBQ’d beans and coleslaw were excellent.
My husband and I ate here back in November and decided to make another beach trip to eat here again this week.
The owner & staff are exceptional with their service and the homemade BBQ sauces are superb!

Super legit dank grub. Try them out today for a feast. Get the sampler and extra sauce.

Decent BBQ in an area with limited options for food in general. The people were very friendly.
The BBQ was smokey and tender. It did not jump with flavor beyond the smoke — no spicy rub or unique glaze here. The ribs were good and the pulled pork was fine with a bit of added BBQ sauce.
If you are craving BBQ and find yourself in Seaside as far as I can tell this is your only option.

This place was… Interesting…
When we mentioned we were coming here one of the locals said that this place had a «weird vibe». I thought that meant surely or or a bit rough in a roadhouse sort of way. EXACT OPPOSITE! Bright colors, rainbow kites on the ceiling and lots of whale stuff. Oddly, though its named the Gray Whale, its full of Orca’s.
Be prepared, the waitress, Paula, is a talker! She is very friendly and any negative view on this aspect of the experience is more a reflection on me than her.
The food was ok. I am a bbq snob. I smoke my own meats and make my own sauces and rubs. I thought the pulled pork lacked flavor, and the tri-​tip was ok. I tend to trim the fat off of my pork before cooking and my beef after… The Gray Whale doesnt trim at all.
Ordinarily, ribs are my least favorite item in a restaurant. «Fall off the bone tender» is a sales gimmick used to convince people not familiar with good bbq that that is how it is supposed to be. What it really means is that your ribs are grossly overcooked. At the GW the ribs were firm with a nice, sweet bark on them.
What kept this review above water though was the Gray Whale Sauce. Execptional! The sauce is in the Kansas City style and we bought a bottle.

Cute setup, with art from patrons’ children wallpapering the hallway leading to the restrooms. Great menu for BBQ; bad selection for fish and seafood, since all of those offerings are frozen and the cod is bought pre-​battered (what type of restaurant doesn’t even make its own batter for fish and chips?) — so if you’re going to eat here, definitely do so for the meats. The setup is very casual; kind of like a small-​town version of Hill Country BBQ.

I am a tri tip snob so am always leery of places claiming to specialize in tri tip bbq.
Gray Whale delivers. Delicious pulled pork and tri tip.
Haven’t tried the seafood yet but the tri tip is so good I just order that.
Parking sucks.

Very moist bbq pulled pork. The fries were fresh and tasted great. Coleslaw was very tasty. My wife had the burger and said it was very good. Good service.

On a craving we went. Saw a bunch of good reviews here and on TripAdvisor. They were super busy and there was a bit of a delay in getting our order, BUT it was worth the wait! Ordered ribs, shrimp, mashed potatoes, and grilled veggies. My husband ordered the Shipwreck with fries. Neither of us left hungry and there was no food left on the plate either. Their house sauce is pretty good. The ribs were a good blend of sweet and spice — no dry meat there — YUM! Mashed potatoes are clearly made in house and were great. The grilled veggies were very tasty. My husband says the Shipwreck was very meaty, ample cheese, huge mushrooms, and a bun the size of a nerf football — says it was a very good sandwich which in normal speak means delicious and worth it. Server Paula was a bit frantic but she was really trying hard to please a room full of people, so for the circumstances, she did well and with a smile on her face. Overall, highly recommend this place. If we come back this way, I’d come again.

Excellent BBQ using good quality meat and ingredients in this quaint little Shop located right on the highway.
Service is good, food is excellent.
Large menu and a variety of BBQ sauces makes this an excellent choice.
Parking is problematic… Not a lot of space.
I think it’s a little pricey but considering the quality I’m willing to pay a little extra.
Try the tri tip wrap!

This place was great. We called in for seating for 17. When we got there the owner turned on the closed sign so we had the place to ourselves! The gray whale burger was amazing. Since only one out of 17 ordered barbeque the owner brought out a complimentary garbage can lid with a sampling of ribs, tri tip and pulled pork. It was delicious. Paula, our server, was VERY attentive to our needs. Especially for 17 people.

We showed up with about an hour to go before they closed. Turns out the majority of the group ordered the DELICIOUS sandwiches so the owner took it upon himself to bring out a full rack of ribs, pulled pork and tri-​tip at no charge just so we could sample his variety of BBQ.
GREAT experience and highly recommend!

Awsome! We used them for a large party we had here in Seaside. Ordered tri-​tip, salmon and yummy ribs. The tri-​tip was the best I’ve ever had, nice and tender, still pink in the center. The salmon was cooked to perfection… And the baby back ribs… amazing. I just can’t say enough, highly recommend. If you like good barbecue… this is the place to go.

Ok, this review requires context…
First, this is Seaside, not Kansas City, not Austin, not South Carolina. So is it the best BBQ you can find? No. Is it delicious, reasonably priced food in a small town seemingly devoid of many options? Yes.
We ordered the family meal which gives you 3 meats and 4 sides. This was supposed to feed 4 people, but I think it should be more like 6. Or maybe 4 hungry truckers? I’m just saying it was alot of food. That’s not a bad thing. For $ 60 we felt like we got a good deal.
The service really was special. She was very kind and attentive and went out of her way to be nice to us and the kids.
We would definitely return.

Took staff from our restaurant out to dinner at Gray Whale Tuesday night, this was my second visit, everyone else it was their first visit, and they loved it!
Very clean, interesting décor, good service is an understatement and the «Q» is spot on.
I have had BBQ in many places all over the south, these guys know what they are doing. I’d put them up with the top 5 BBQ I have tasted.
I hope they stay for a long time so I can get a local BBQ fix whenever I get the craving!

The service was something special. Although the restaurant was titled Grey Whale, it had a wide assortment of orca decorations. Pretty sure they don’t bbq whale either, hmmmmm. Overall quick service with an Oregon coast-​town vibe.

Amazing BBQ! We had the 3 meat combo (Pulled Pork, Tri Tip and ribs) with mashed potatoes, baked beans and grilled veggies.
The meats were delicious, as were the 3 BBQ sauce flavors. We also enjoyed the mashed potatoes and gravy as well as the mixed vegetables. The only chink in the armor was the baked beans… They were tasty with the chunks of pork mixed in, but just a bit underdone. I like my baked beans pretty soft.
Absolutely going on our list of must visit places on the coast. :-)

I purchased 2 sandwiches to go, a pulled pork & tri-​tip.
The meat was absolutely tasteless and cost 21 $ for two 8 inch sandwiches. I gave the tri-​tip to my dog after taking a bite of the tasteless chewy overpriced sandwich.
The tri-​tip was rubbery chewy and didn’t taste like fresh bbq at all. All I have to say I was very disappointed.
The lady on the phone didn’t really understand when I asked how much for 2 sandwiches with no sides.
She told me the price of two sandwiches with sides even though i asked specifically «No Sides!»
The service was great on a positive note but still 21 $ for food I didn’t even want to eat because of the garbage taste. Expensive Doggy food is all it was, I highly advise you look else were for food.
Not trying to be a hater but the BBQ game at grey whale is weak.

Just got an order to go of Tri-​Tip. It was very tender and moist with a nice smokey flavor to it. Side was Mashed Potatoes, they were ok and the other side was Coleslaw that I thought was good with bigger pieces of cabbage that you would normally find elsewhere (chopped by hand instead of machine?)
Place inside is nice, staff is friendly, the business theme is whales. I will be back and try the pulled pork or ribs on next visit.

I am a local and this is one if my regular favorites. It is great for kids and very very casual. It is uniquely quaint and very much a small family business.
Food is good and prices are reasonable. Tri-​tip and ribs are very good. They care about their customers and try very hard to accommodate and please.
I spoke with the owner about the one very bad review here. He admitted that he had let things go a bit and took that review to heart. He has made a great effort to improve his quality and consistency. Personally, I have had nothing but positive experiences at the Grey Whale.

This is awesome! (A word I rarely use to describe BBQ in the Northwest). The owner goes out of his way to deliver a quality product. The place is nothing like a dive and the prices are reasonable.
** Update **
I tried the Chicken Fried Steak at three locations in Seaside on the trip that just completed. While a couple of them weren’t bad, nothing compared to the tender, tasty mouth pleasing wonder that I found here. The steak was fork tender, the gravy had bits of his smoked sausage… I definitely ate at the wrong places for the first two excursions. Their breakfast menu is pretty extensive in case CFS just isn’t your thing.
I also had a taste of the tri-​tip and we will be feasting on that with family and friends now that we are back home and I was able to bring some take-​out.
Winter hours are tricky, but it’s worth figuring it out… Basically breakfast and lunch Tues — Saturday are safe — anything else, check first… But call far enough in advance so that you can find another time if your first choice isn’t going to work.
This meat was prepared very well, it was fresh, tasty, tender and has a terrific flavor. I went for the brisket sandwich served on a very fresh roll with fries. They make their own sauces — but after trying three of them (the Whale sauce, mild and hot hickory) I certainly do appreciate the attention to detail. While I could have eaten more, it’s only because what I had was so amazing — the sandwich was large and there were more fries than I could eat. I was better off to walk away before I did any damage to myself from over eating.
I would have liked to try the tri-​tip but they are still in search of a quality local supplier or a place to order it in. While I was disappointed they didn’t have it, I am thrilled that they sacrificed availability for quality.
The owner and folks that work there are very helpful, eager to make sure you have what you want and that everything is good. The place is spotless and comfortable.
The place wasn’t easy for me to find at night, in the rain — my GPS got me close, but not that close. During the day you’ll probably have no problem noticing the big «BBQ» banner near the road — it’s directly across 101(Rosevelt) from McDonald’s in case you’re having a problem finding it. If you went to McDonald’s and they are open — just go across the street and have something a little more creative… trust me, you’ll like it.
It’s great food — if you’re having a family get together on the coast you can call ahead and they can prepare large take out orders for you with 24 hours notice.