Best chowder/s on the Oregon Coast. Without exaggeration. Delicious, rich, filling soups that surprise and delight. An amazing find in Nehalem. It's a takeout joint but there are tables around back.
Visited the first time in December 2022 with new beau. And return regularly now for either of the pint for approximately $11/pint or approximately double for a quart, that depending on the soup you choose. (Pro-tip: I promise you're going to want the quart even if you think you only want the pint.)
They always have a vegan option that is delicious. All of the chowders can be modified with seafood, chicken, etc. for an extra $4 to $8.
The fresh bread that comes with the chowders is wonderful! And they sell gourmet ice cream. Including some of the best vegan almond joy. They have a cooler where they stock prepackaged soups and ice cream. And they have some iconic novelty foods on their limited shelves. There's usually a line. But you can buy your soup and go out back to a wonderful space next to the river. There are picnic tables that are also covered which helps when it's raining or too bright.
Once you're in that neck of the woods look for an incredible tree next to the City Hall. There are also winter roses in bloom.
Service
Take out
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Mexican Chocolate on Cinnamon Cone
I am always on the hunt for a delicious clam chowder, and Buttercup did not disappoint! It was a different consistency than the standard chowder, but not in a bad way. It was incredibly fresh and delicious. My wife had the Cajun chicken and andouille chowder and enjoyed it as well. The bread was definitely the perfect hearty companion for the soup. We chose to take our meal around to the back patio, which had plastic enclosures and heaters to keep us warm enough on the cold rainy day. We grabbed an ice cream on our way out (pink velvet in a poppyseed cone), and it was so creamy and tasty. Definitely recommend!
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$10–20
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes
Chowder
What isn't there to love about Buttercup Ice Cream & Chowder's kitchen? This wholesome family owned business was quite a delight to discover after a weekend exploring Oregon. The unique and vegetarian friendly chowder options were a nice find, but better was the taste! Texture, flavor, and portion all were in perfect balance. I had a Thai green curry chowder that was just exquisite along side their freshly baked bread. My friends and I enjoyed dining in there back patio, and we shared compliments all around as rain poured around us and chowder filled our bellies.
Although we were pretty full, we still had to get ice cream after sampling some scentful flavors. After one taste of their most unique pistachio ice cream, I was hooked. I ordered a cone of it and spent the next 15 minutes in pleasure. It is literally the best pistachio ice cream I've ever had!
The staff was also extremely friendly, helpful, and certainly maintained the cheerfulness title of "Buttercup". Can't wait to come back!
We stopped at Buttercup Ice creams & Chowders quite by chance while driving from Hug Point to Lincoln City. It was a cold, rainy, windy afternoon, and the staff's hospitality was enough to warm our hearts. We ordered a chowder with their secret tomato butter topping. We took to their back deck, heated by space heaters, where we had this divine tasty chowder while listening to the falling rain and watching the lazy Nehalem River flow by.
After lunch, we returned to the cafe and ordered a tulsi herbal tea and their ice cream. This is where things really got interesting! Their ice cream tasted nothing like any other ice cream we have tasted before. The green herb ice cream we ordered was just out of this world! Infused with fresh herbs and salt, the taste was subliminal! The tea with honey was just what we needed for our rainy drive back to Lincoln City.
Our experience with Buttercup Cafe was like a scene from a Hallmark movie, heartfelt and memorable! Hopefully, we will get a chance to visit this excellent cafe once again when we are in this neck of the woods…
On a friend’s recommendation, we made a detour down to this cafe from cannon beach. I’m so glad we did! Everything we tried was delicious. The red curry thai soup with tofu was flavorful comfort food, but also had a lot of veggies. Then, I had a marshmallow /s’mores ice cream cone and my husband tried the pink velvet flavor. Both were fantastic. So nice to find a local place like this with such tasty options!
The Peanut Brittle Malt is quite literally the best ice cream I’ve had in my entire life… dethroning a Burnt Honeycomb I had in Bath, UK, and a Black Garlic I had in Paris, France.
I mean it genuinely when I say I have thought about the ice cream every day since having it two times in 24 hours a month ago. Sometimes I look at the picture I took of the scoop on days where my craving is particularly bad. It’s become an obsession. Probably 15 of my closest friends have heard me rave about this scoop weekly since having it.
I actually work at an ice cream place and realized earlier that I have been subconsciously attempting to recreate this scoop every day using my shift meal. I may call out of work sometime soon to drive 5 hours for another scoop.
Genuinely a life changing culinary experience. As I reflect on this review I realize that it may have just been my favourite single food of all time, and my biggest lifetime regret is not picking up a pint to take home.
The extravagance of my review may come off as hyperbolic but I promise I mean every single word of it.
Amazing Hungarian Mushroom soup (add the kielbasa!!), and coffee-toffee ice cream. Covered back patio and picnic tables on the Nehalem River. Rustic but a lovely spot for some warm chowder after time on the beach. I make amazing soup. I make amazing bread. This was better than mine. I’ll be back!
Price per person
$10–20
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Chowder
Very kind owner. We only managed to try the ice cream because they had a catering to go to and we're out of chowder but from what the locals said they are the best chowder in this area. Definitely would come back
Delicious spot for lunch! The ice-cream flavors are out of the ordinary. I enjoyed the goat cheese fig flavor. I want to return to try the maple and bacon flavor. The soup was perfect for a chilly day and served with a hunk of earthy bread.
An amazing little place serving delicious ice cream, chowder & curry. The vegan green curry was very good and the vegan Pistachio ice cream is the best ice cream I have had in many years. Very highly recommended! Can't wait to go back.
