Sierra Mar: Out-of-this-world food and views.
Although there’s little reason to leave the confines of the resort during a Pebble Beach golf vacation, if you decide to engage in some off-campus exploration, be sure to include a meal at Sierra Mar, the award-winning restaurant inside the equally acclaimed Post Ranch Inn.
Located in Big Sur, about 30-40 minutes south of Pebble Beach, Sierra Mar is wedged into the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The view is unbelievable and airplanes actually fly below you along the coast while you dine. The food, at one time rated by Zagat as the best in the entire state, is some of the best we’ve sampled in the region.
Chef Craig von Foerster, who developed his talents locally and in Colorado and Hawaii, brings French, Asian and Mediterranean cooking styles and flavorings to regional ingredients. While the four-course, prix fixe dinner menu dazzles with dishes such as saffron seafood soup and pancetta-wrapped roast rabbit, there’s also a lighter, lunch menu which includes salads, sandwiches and unique pizzas, such as the Peking duck, hoisin and shiitake mushroom version.
In fact, lunch is often the way the public experiences Sierra Mar, as hotel guests are given all dinner seating slots except for 5:30, 6:00 and 8:45. If that sounds like a tough ticket for a table, imagine what it was like a short time ago when they didn’t take reservations.
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This is the Post Ranch Inn’s restaurant, which is right across the street from the hotel I stayed at in Big Sur (Ventana, their restaurant burned in last summer’s wlid fires). It’s only a 30-40 minute drive from Carmel. Definitely worth the drive.