Nestled in a quirky train caboose, this relaxed café serves up Cal-American comfort food with a dash of organic flair and friendly vibes.
"Home to Dad’s Luncheonette, a unique restaurant housed in a rented caboose on the side of the Pacific Coast Highway, offering exuberant food with a focus on California's Central Coast cuisine." - Rebecca Flint Marx
"The Day Trip: Half Moon Bay Travel down Highway 1 far enough and you’ll encounter a funny site: an old train caboose on the side of the road, repurposed as a restaurant. Dad’s Luncheonette is serving burgers, potato chips, crispy mac and cheese with puffed rice and scallions, and more spins on roadside classics. The burger, one of the Bay Area's best, is more of a patty melt hybrid served on grilled white bread with Dad’s sauce, pickled red onions, and a runny egg—and it will transport you to a higher plane of existence. For vegetarians, the mushroom sandwich is an equally revelatory experience." - lani conway, julia chen 1, ricky rodriguez
"Diners who usually drove straight through Half Moon Bay hit the brakes in 2017, when a former fine dining chef from Saison started serving burgers out of an old caboose that’s parked on Highway 1. The burgers come sandwiched on white sliced bread and cost all of $14.50, and rosé comes by the can." - Dianne de Guzman, Momo Chang
"Also not quite a drive-in, Dad’s is another fun roadside stop on Highway One, a little further south in Half Moon Bay. Scott Clark is a former fine-dining star, but now he flips burgers in a train caboose. The details are in the ingredients: grass-fed beef, local lettuce, and white sandwich bread, served with housemade chips." - Becky Duffett
"In a train caboose on Highway 1, Dad’s Luncheonette serves reinvented American roadside classics, made with ingredients that showcase the best of coastal farms in the area. Chef Scott Clark, who comes from the world of fine dining, founded the joint after he felt compelled to craft more simplistic but still delicious bites and move closer to the coast. Aligned with the minimalism of serving fare from a railroad car, there are only two entrees on the menu: a hamburger sandwich and a vegetarian mushroom sandwich. Both come with a soft fried egg, housemade pickled red onions, locally grown lettuce, and a layer of “Dad’s sauce.” The potato chips, which are hand sliced every day, make a worthy side." - Cathy Park
