Bodega Country Store

LLLLLOOOOOVVVE!!! Not only is the store full of the Birds memorabilia, there is a good selection of needed items there too… the staff was super friendly and nice, they even have samples! Super good clam chowder!!! Will def be back next time we head to the ocean :)

Barf! We stopped in just to get a snack on the way home from fishing (should have gone to the harbor). They charged us so much for this gross crab sandwich that took 20 minutes to make. WTF? It was dry and had no substance. It was like just crab toasted on a bun. Just very under flavored. Prices were way over expected. I’ve paid way less for more. I will not be going there again.

Make sure to stop in if you’re a Hitchcock fan or like the movie The Birds. It’s more of a museum and gift shop than a country store. It was well worth the stop. Be sure to go right around the corner and see the school where the famous school yard scene was filmed.

What a diamond in the rough. It is your not so typical country store. From the out side it looks like any other country store, with the exception of the Alfred Hitchcock mannequin welcoming you at the entrance. Upon entering the cool store through the squeaky-​hinged screen door, you are greeted immediately with many «The Birds» collectables from the movie. It’s hard to not get distracted with all the movie visuals that you can buy, take home and enjoy: i.e., shirts, hoodies, dvds, books, watches, autographed pictures from Tippi Hedren, and more.

Whenever my wife and I visit, we are greeted with a jovial employee whose name is Sandra. She is very hospitable. She asks if we would like to sample any of the fantastic homemade soups prepared daily or any other food that so happens to be available for sampling. My wife is severely gluten intolerant, and Sandra knows this and is always recommending something new that Mike, the owner and chief, might have made that would be safe for my wife. That is going the extra mile to make a customer feel special and not an inconvenience. Thank you Sandra! The variety of gluten-​free items is extensive.

The Bodega Country Store has a large array of foods to choose from. One of my favorites is the seaweed salad and the Dungeness crab macaroni and cheese. I make sure that I always pick up a couple of containers of that before heading out to Doran Beach Park in nearby Bodega Bay up the road. My wife especially likes the chicken salad, and we both enjoy the seafood ceviche when it is available. Come in for yourself and see what might tantalize your palate. You might get surprised what you will find.
Bön Appetite!
Adam & Gabriella Wild
Santa Rosa, California

If you are a local or you just shop here a few times a month, you’ll see that the discounts they offer are significant. They have 2 different discount programs and they can add up to quite a bit off your final bill. I spent 30 something and had a discount of $ 8 off the last time I was in. On top of that, the prices are lower and the selection is wider than what I would expect in a small town. I don’t know how they do it.

This place is such a gem. I am gluten free and its rare to find a place with so much satisfying food! My friend is not gluten free, but he loved the food as much as I did. They had 2 kinds of clam chowder, crab cakes that were almost 100% crab, focaccia (the gf version was a little dry), and all kinds of baked goods (I had the brownies and they were really good). There were a couple of little tables out front – which we chose because they were in the sun, but there was also a table in the store. I guess the best thing about the store was the easygoing pace. All the customers found time to greet each other and chat with the woman behind the counter. OK, the prices were higher than you’d pay at 7 – 11, but their food was high quality and delicious, and quite a drive from any other place to eat. So next time I’m biking, hiking, playing or loafing out by the coast, I will make sure to stop there again. :)

This place was delish. We got the sourdough crab sandwich with avocado and bacon and some homemade cookies. Very friendly young lady behind the counter and lots of weird memorabilia if you like Hitchcock.

The crab Mac & cheese and any of the chowders are a must and never fail to rejuvenate after a dive or surf off the Sonoma coast. Five stars for price, friendliness and quality. Awesome North Coast vibes.

Tourist trap! I’m a local and upset because for the 10^th time I got screwed from this place. If you like no crab in your «crab Mac and cheese» and no clams in your «clam chowder,» this is your place. Take it to go with a 3 dollar 8oz. bottle of crystal geyser. So they sell a pound of Mac n cheese with an oz. of crab plopped on topped. Just spent 13 dollars on clam chowder and counted 3 clams if that. I only go there if I NEED something anymore. It’s nothing but a tourist trap the way I see it. You get a one star because your employees are good but none when it comes to value. Oh wait! I just found another clam here! Make that 4… yes 4 clams to a $ 12 Togo clam chowder. Stop being a tourist trap and be fair. We’re all human. $ 3 8oz waters are BS «Big Mike»

Did a tour of Bodega Bay and the Sonoma coast line. The tour started in the small town of Bodega Bay near where the movie The Birds was filmed. It was recommended to go to the Bodega Country Store. They offered a free sample of their chowders. The chowders were incredible. I ordered a bowl of the NE Clam Chowder and my wife ordered the salmon chowder. The NE chowder was loaded with clams and the consistency was perfect. One of the best chowders I’ve ever had. The salmon chowder came in as a close second. Very delicious and flavorful. If you are in Bodega Bay, stop by the store and get some chowder. Very reasonably priced and the portions were generous. Two bowls of chowder came to about $ 11.00. Very we’ll worth it. You can’t miss the place, it is the knee with Alfred Hitchcock standing out front.

We stopped in, not for the food or the free chowder samples, but because I am a Hitchcock fan. This is supposedly the biggest collection of memorabilia from the movie; The Birds. Lots of posters, photos, promotional material on the walls in this tiny store. Variety of items for sale, with ‘The Birds’ theme. It will take no more than an hour to read everything. A bit run down, but definitely worth a stop.

For anyone who’s ever followed a road sign that read «Crab Mac ‘N Cheese» ten miles to the spot, this place is for you.
Bodega is the town made famous by Hitchcock’s «The Birds», and the businesses here haven’t forgotten that legacy fifty years later. The store is kitsch-​tastic with plastic crows and seagulls eyeing you as you peruse the film stills on the walls and the chowders on tap for tasting. If you’re a Hitchcock fan, add this destination to your list of places to see. Tippi Hedren even makes a yearly pilgrimage here from Southern California to celebrate the film and hawk her wine line.
The hot soups are tasty — particularly the unique salmon chowder — and are free to taste all day long. I was let down by the crab mac ‘n cheese, which was, in my opinion, robbed of its flavor by being refrigerated. Still, after being led in by my stomach, my heart left warm and fuzzy with the nostalgia of the store and the interesting people who work and visit there.

They might as well call this The Birds Central. It’s your best jumping-​off point for exploring the area if you’re a fan of Hitchcock’s legendary movie. It’s full of memorabilia from the film specifically and of Hitchcock in general, including a pretty impressive collection of books.
There’s even a kitchy Hitchcock mannequin outside the store that’s great for a photo op.
The staff of the place are very helpful and help point out the other landmarks in the area (which are pretty thin, to be honest). The store sits right below the lovely white church and schoolhouse from the film.
All in all, this is a must-​stop if the reason you’re in Bodega and nearby Bodega Bay is that you’re a Hitchcock fan!

This place is a hoot as well as a throw back to the 50s & 60s. The thing that drew us in initially was the life-​size mannequin of Alfred Hitchcock practically out on the road. My husband cried «I have to get a picture of that!» It was then I noticed the sign «Bodega Country Store, a nice store in a small town.» And that kinda summed it up pretty nicely.
Inside the owners were handing out samples of three different kinds of homemade clam chowder, having just had lunch, we declined but they sure looked and smelled good. The store has a fairly good selection of your basics like bread, milk, canned goods, wine, dried seaweed (yes, dried seaweed); it’s also a great deli, but I suspect they do a brisk business on their Hitchcock «The Birds» souvenirs. I had my eye on a particular sweatshirt but they didn’t have my size :(
If you’re driving past, make sure you stop just to get your picture taken with Alfred.

Gee, does anybody remember «Petticoat Junction»? ANYBODY? [singing with Flatt & Scruggs] «And that’s Uncle Joe, he’s a movin’ kind of slow at the junction… Petticoat Junction.» OK, do you remember «Green Acres» then? Good. Then you must remember Sam Drucker and the Hooterville General Store. That’s exactly what I thought of when Jamie W. and I inadvertently dropped by the Bodega Country Store on our way to Bodega Bay. What drew our eye was the life-​size mannequin of master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock which really doesn’t look that much like Hitch up close (photo:
). That didn’t matter much since we were in the mood to stop anyway (photo:
).
The store itself is a treasure trove of memorabilia from «The Birds», the Hitchcock classic that scared the bejesus out of me when I saw it in the dark of the family den on TV in the late 1960’s. There are faded 8-​by-​10 glossies of the cast, various film posters, paintings of the filmmaker, souvenirs of the film, and even a copy of the filming script autographed by the entire cast (photo:
). There’s also produce, cheese, wine, and sundry household items if you’re actually looking for a general store, and some gourmet deli items to go like crab mac & cheese, crab on a bun, and seafood chowders (photo:
). We chose to bypass the food in favor of looking for schoolteacher Annie Hayworth’s house to see the porch where her eyes got pecked out.

Clam chowder is a must and its across the street from the church and school house. We has chowder from here then went to the wild flower bakery and it was heaven.

Nasty! Expensive! I had the «fresh crab» Mac n cheese. Ummm no not fresh as crab season is not year round. It tasted like very bland poop. Also every poor customer service. If your not a hipster don’t expect quality service, because your money is not as good as hipsters.
I’m a local an every time I drive by I want to kick their signs over as its false advertising.

The crab mac and cheese is awesome! This dish is fresh dungeoness crab and fresh pasta, veggies and cheese.

Holy moley the food here is terrible. Stop at the casino across the street when they have oysters (completely awesome), but the Country Store is only good for bottled water and bananas :(

I stopped here because I HAD to try the crab mac and cheese. So in we go. We ordered the crab mac n cheese and a small bowl of clam chowder total 18 $. A little steep for a country store in my opinion but maybe its the best ever. We are waiting and the guy is like do you want your mac and cheese warmed up? Ummm, its not fresh!!! ICK!!! We ask for it warm please. The lady who rang us up could not figure out her new fangled, ultra trendy iPad credit card machine, I had to do it for her. Seriously it is not rocket science, credit card machines are by no means a new invention either.
Anyways on to the food. The crab mac and cheese was SO bland, it was in very serious need of some salt or maybe some CHEESE!!! WTF there was only what seemed to be some alfredo out of a jar or something. We also got crab shells in ours. Thats pretty bad. The clam chowder was mediocre at best. Very watery. Also some bread or oyster crackers on the side would have been nice. Just saying. Anyways I wont be coming back here.
I also noticed in the cooler some Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) and I was considering purchasing until I realized that they were charging 9 $ for 4. That’s pretty steep. I can go to the Mediterranean store by my house and get an entire plate of food for 7 $.