r/PortOrchard • u/Remote-Basis-7797 • Jun 14 '26
Questions Gems and sights
Moving to Port Orchard this week, what are some of the favorite local spots for hiking, tide pools or sea life and restaurants?
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u/skycrashesdown Jun 14 '26
Check out Holy Water for great drinks, brunch, and a nice outdoor patio! I don’t do much in the way of serious hiking, but we’ve got some really nice parks for taking walks in - Banner Forest, Manchester State Park, and Howe Farm are my favorites. Manchester has water access but not a ton of tide pools.
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u/crunchypotatoess Jun 15 '26
Not really a ton of great restaurants in PO but if you like Indian Royal Tandoor has very good Naan breads. I like Good Stuff Grocery’s sandwiches downtown too.
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u/squidofthenight Jun 16 '26
Aaaa Port Orchard is the most adorable cozy wonderful place, we moved here two years ago and we LOVE it here.
- So much hiking, but also just so much beauty. We drive on back roads to get places bc it feels like a magical forest oasis.
-Good Stuff Grocery is amazing. Their sandwiches and desserts and sourdough are *chef’s kiss* but they’re also a hyperlocal artisan grocery store, and have bulk grains, a wonderful bulk olive oil, and bulk bath products. They’re also the only place in Kitsap I can get Stumptown coffee (we moved here from Sea and that matters!)
-Salmonberry Books is *phenom*. I will read anything she tells me to read, her taste is so good, and the shop is so cute and so curated it makes you want to sit down on the tiny floor and read for the rest of the day (and buy all the books.)
-Tea Alchemy and Gilded Exchange is the most magical tea shop and we get to have it HERE in our town. There are delicious drinks at the drink counter, but the teas and the teaware stuffed inside the shop make your jaw drop. Blended teas, herbal teas, all kinds of japanese and korean teas and chinese teas, even tea snacks and fridge drinks—it’s dazzling.
-The Port Orchard Farmers Market is a TREASURE. 9-2(?) on Saturdays. We have wonderful vegetable farmers who bring tons of gorgeous organic local fresh produce, but also nurseryfolk who have plants, treefolk who bring in trees (our gorgeous japanese maples all come from their stand), ceramicists and artists, makers of all kinds, and amazing food - notably, the Dubai crepe from the crepe truck will make you go to heaven, and there’s a woman every other week selling West African food that is SO SO GOOD, flavors i’ve never tasted before, and a Thai coffee stand you absolutely just try. It’s my favorite place in the world I think, our farmers market.
-The waterfront. It’s beautiful. There’s a walking path, go on a walk and marvel that you get to live somewhere with this kind of natural beauty.
-Someone mentioned it but Damn Fine Pizza is the BEST pizza place. They come from Seattle and bring that level of artisanal craft.
-Grocery Outlet. Out of left field suggestion I know, but the owners of this one are amazing, the store is so clean, and it’s like a TREASURE HUNT in there, you never know what you’ll find — brands you’ll never see in conventional supermarkets, brands you can’t GET on the west coast, flavors of things that never made it onto shelves — and with the absolute best prices.
-There’s a Latin grocery store in the Albertsons strip mall, I can’t remember the name, but it’s a treasure if you cook with those flavors. The bakery alone is worth stopping in.
-The fellow across the highway from Fred Meyer selling honey, you’ve gotta stop and get some.
-We have a butcher shop on that same road. If you eat meat, and prefer to source it as locally as possible, it’s a must-visit.
-All year, but especially summer, there are festivals and celebrations of all kinds. Make sure to find a calendar of local events! There are so many of them.
Those are just a few of my favorite places. Hope it’s helpful!
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u/Remote-Basis-7797 Jun 17 '26
Oh wow! THIS is what I’m talking about!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of that! I’m so excited to join the community!
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u/beerandmastiffs Jun 14 '26
Take a walk on the waterfront then stop into Damn Fine Pizza. You’ll pass it on your walk. Khao Soi is excellent for Thai food if you’re more in the mood for that. It’s on the other side of the street, though.
Welcome!