Bodega Bay, California: "The Birds" Movie Restaurant

It's been remodeled so it doesn't look anything like the restaurant in the movie, but it's still kinda cool and worth having lunch at.

Across the street from the restaurant is the 76 gas station that was the scene of the bird attack and explosion that was Capitol Oil in the movie. Much of this scene was filmed in Hollywood backlot and distances were compressed, so it is difficult to know how much was actually filmed on location here.

The Tides Restaurant is, indeed, completely unrecognizable from the film. Inside is a gift shop (that partially embraces the town's Birds heritage), a pricey full-service restaurant, and a moderately priced snack bar with nice views of the Bay. Views from the back of the restaurant are instantly recognizable as you can clearly see the road that Tippi Hedren drove around the bay to get to the Brenner House, which was torn down after filming. The dock where Tippi rented the motorboat is still here, but fenced off.

There is a visitor's center across the street from The Tides where you can get a brochure leading you to "The Birds" filming locations in the area.

Bodega Bay is the town Alfred Hitchcock used as the setting for his 1963 film "The Birds." In Bodega Bay, you'll find that the Tides restaurant -- where Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor and the locals all debated and then hid from the birds -- has been vastly expanded and modernized. It's a very nice place on the water and, yes, birds still congregate there. There's no sign of the explosive gas station or phone booth that Tippi caged herself in, but the dock where she rented a motorboat to get to Rod's house across the bay is also still in Bodega Bay.