California is a wonderland of all lands and climates in one glorious state: The Mediterranean soil of our thousands of farms and vineyards akin to Italy, Greece and Spain, growing some of the world’s best wine grapes in dozens of different Wine Countries, but also citrus, olives and every imaginable vegetable, nut and fruit. The continental U.S.’ highest mountains in ranges running thousands of miles, even around spectacular alpine Lake Tahoe, recalling Switzerland. Striking desert rife with wildlife and clear vision of the stars. Endless rolling hills, ranches and farmland making up much of the state and feeding the nation. The Sacramento Delta flush with caviar and fish, its swamplands growing the only certified sushi rice — and plenty of other variants besides — outside of Japan.
But arguably the greatest glory is California’s coastline, the Pacific rich with seafood, the beaches ranging from Beach Boys’-worthy sand and surf, to breathtaking cliffs holding towering redwoods, the world’s oldest living things, as waves crash below. Moody and foggy or warm and sunny, every manner of beach is found along the nearly 750 mile drive along the state’s coastline.
Half Moon Bay (HMB) is a charmer of a beach town, surrounded by rich farmland growing produce, pumpkins in the fall, Christmas trees in the winter, an easy respite barely 45 minutes from the center of San Francisco. HMB’s cliffy stretch that cradles The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay transports me — as does Point Reyes National Seashore just north of the city in Marin County — straight to Scotland, Ireland or England. Its lush green hills and farms rolling into sand recall magical coastlines I’ve cherished in all three of those countries. When you add in Ritz-Carlton HMB’s nightly tradition of bagpipes at sunset on the cliff (my favorite thing about the hotel), the sun casting its glow over the ocean below, the Scotland element becomes obvious.
Every couple years, I have the privilege of a mini-retreat here, minutes from home yet world’s away. Bagpipe sunsets, cliff and beach walks, rooms with an ocean view, a nightly dram and s’mores around the fire pits, all bring restoration to my husband Dan, the Renaissance Man, and I, even staying just one night. Two nights, and we start to feel that reset, especially when you roll downstairs to the soothing spa for a massage, or to one of the restaurants on the resort, a grand structure inspired by Newport, Rhode Island’s stately seaside residences, with 261-rooms and famed golf course (Arnold Palmer himself designed a course here back in the 1970s).
This week I veer from reviewing a San Francisco restaurant South to the Ritz-Carlton’s signature restaurant Navio. With this summer’s promotion of Chilean-born chef Roberto Riveros from executive sous chef to executive chef over all the resort’s culinary operations (restaurants, banquets, in-room dining), alongside Navio chef de cuisine Francisco Simón, Riveros has run or cooked in kitchens from Santiago to Hong Kong, including six years at three Michelin-star Lasarte in Barcelona. Simón cooked Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Spain, including being head chef of Enoteca Paco Pérez in Barcelona, and Navio is his first cooking venture in the states. Together they are changing up the kitchen at Navio.
Let’s get this out of the way: yes, everything is resort expensive, costing above what it would even at many a restaurant in SF. But not only does Navio house an impressive wine cellar of over 4000 bottles, run by award-winning sommeliers over the years — including master somm Ian Cauble who was in the film “Somm” — but chef Riveros has been honig the resort’s food, focusing on local, seasonal, and an amped-up the Global Cuisine Series which just hosted chefs like Matthew Neele of NYC’s Michelin-starred Wallse.
Dining at Navio over 15 years, and coming just once every couple years, I can more blatantly see its evolution. While the wine list has long been impressive, the food has reached new heights since my last visit pre-pandemic in 2019. I would venture to say it’s worth a trip from SF (or beyond), despite our hundreds of world-class and Michelin-starred restaurants in the city alone. In fact, Navio feels more in line with those now, as it does with Napa and Sonoma greats, than it ever has. I would even say it’s one to watch. Especially as you get this quality with an ocean view.
Below I also cover the resort’s other restaurants. At each restaurant, servers were attentive, as we delightfully connected with some talking food and travel.
NAVIO
There is a generously-portioned three course (choose between dishes) prix fixe for $155 or the $195 chef’s tasting menu of seven courses, plus amuse bouche and petit fours. Thankfully, we went for chef’s tasting. Dishes that read straightforward on the menu were far more interesting than they sounded. In line with past experiences, I expected an upscale hotel meal of quality ingredients in more predictable expressions. What I found this visit is fine dining creativity, delicious comfort and unexpected twists.
I realized things were different when I tasted the nasturtium-laced “aquaponic farm leaves” salad of Maine lobster. But the lobster wasn’t even the star of this colorful mound. CA’s incomparable heirloom tomatoes and stone fruit starred, marked by striking pickled green strawberries. There were impressive seafood, pasta and meat courses to follow, but we kept talking about this pristine taste of Bay Area produce throughout the meal.
Ahi tuna loin sounds so predictable I could yawn. But the dish surprised. Rare inside, seared outside, dotted with savory chives and purple radishes cut into flowers, I could have licked up roasted pine nut sauce the tuna rested in… a winning contrast of lean and raw, rich yet delicate. Petrale sole sounded basic, but slivers of sunburst squash, zucchini blossoms and a different plays of orange (from sauce to slightly charred orange wedges) made this perfectly cooked fish a “wow” moment.
Handmade tagliolini noodles topped with local Fort Bragg (Mendocino County) sea urchin is a lush combo of sea urchin and noodles I’ve had the like of hundreds of times. Besides the quality of both those elements, what made this version unique was a fluffy tableside dousing of whipped-up beurre blanc, hiding the pasta-uni mound. A dusting of dill powder imparted an intriguing vegetal-herbaceous layer, speckling the buttery fluff with green.
Navio’s wine side is likewise big city-worthy. While wines by the glass are a bit more predictable, there were a few local faves, like the widely revered Matthiasson in Napa or Tribute to Grace in Santa Barbara. I was happier to see less common but superb regions, like nearby Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Rita Hills, by-the-glass. By the bottle or tasting menu pairings? A whole other game. Digging into that cellar revealed obvious joys like a 2013 Muncagata Barbaresco from Piedmont, Italy, to a delightful 2018 Benanti Contrada Cavalierie Etna Bianco from Sicily. Vintage treasures were a wine geek’s dream, like 2003 Araujo Eisle Vineyard Estate Cabernet from Napa or 1976 Marques de Murrieta Ygay from Rioja, Spain. Zippy La Cueille Bugey-Cerdon sparkling wine was an ideal dessert accompaniment.
Cocktails are named after global navigators, from Amelia Earhart to Al-Biruni. Thoughtful zero-proof cocktails include Nicolas Baudin (cherry, orgeat imparting almond nuttiness, lime, citrus soda), while cocktails (a steep $25–32) are most interesting skipping the safer plays and classics (although the cask-aged Negroni features local Bay Area great, St. George Spirits gin) to try Morse Code, a cocktail of St. George Absinthe with Giffard banana liqueur and lime for a refreshingly absinthe/anise-forward drink.
I could provide more examples (including one of the better rack of lambs I’ve had in awhile), but these dishes and drink pairings begin to explain why Navio is far from an overpriced, average hotel restaurant. It is reaching for greater heights than I have yet tasted here in over 15 years. I look forward to seeing what the winning team of Riveros and Simón are up to when I return.
NAVIO BRUNCH
Then there is Navio’s famed, ultra-luxe, 2-hour brunch at $199 per person. Those ocean views set the stage for what used to be a grande buffet of caviar, lobster, crab legs and the like pre-pandemic. It’s now a more sanitary option of two dishes at a time, all-you-can-eat for 90 minutes, then the last half hour’s dessert tower (one of everything for each guest). My prior review of Navio is totally different than for brunch. Dinner is the best way to taste chefs’ vision. But the brunch is its own worthy splurge, less daring, but gratifyingly decadent, full of luxury items and far too much food, offering something for all. While my favorite courses ran lighter and towards seafood (caviar and blini tasting, superb crab claws in cocktail sauce), there are rich pastas and numerous entrees, from lamb rack to glazed salmon. Mini-HMB crab benedicts are fun, while beet risotto is blessedly strong with blue cheese and lemon zest. Paired with champagne, cocktails and that view, it’s a serious grand brunch.
THE CONSERVATORY
The Conservatory is the Ritz-Carlton’s more casual lobby restaurant, ideal for lunch or a relaxed dinner, although you’ll see entrees in the $30s-40s in keeping with luxury resort prices. Tomato soup in basil oil, heirloom tomato salad in summer/fall or a juicy wagyu burger graced with caramelized onions, mushrooms and white cheddar, won’t rock the boat but is prepared well, heavy on gourmet comfort. Hearty cioppino loaded with local HMB fish and shellfish — including a generous helping of our local Dungeness crab — is a worthy tribute to the San Francisco-invented dish from Italian immigrants back in the 1800s, just made for foggy, cool coastal nights. Ubiquitous ahi tuna tartare is elevated with fresh HMB wasabi root shaved tableside (many of SF and the Bay Area’s best restaurants and sushi bars use this locally grown treasure), while a smart Bloody Mary uni/sea urchin aioli moves it beyond the typical, tired tuna tartare.
OCEAN TERRACE
Ocean Terrace is the outdoor patio restaurant and bar, closing by dinner time, although continuing to serve drinks through sunset. All afternoon you can smell grilled oysters or watch ceviche and oyster platters plated outdoors gazing over those spectacular green cliffs and the ocean as adorable birds hover for a chip or stray crumb. Besides ceviche, oysters and burgers, this menu is about salmon poke bowls, lobster rolls, shrimp cocktail (juicy, plump shrimps and spot-on cocktail sauce) or generous lumps of Dungeness crabmeat and artichokes (grown nearby along the coast) in creamy crab artichoke dip.
CLUB LEVEL LOUNGE
I’d be remiss not to mention the potential add-on of Club Level lounge access. As with my experience in other Ritz-Carltons in the past, these aren’t your average club level hotel lounges with a few snacks and basic wine hour. There is an evolving schedule of breakfast into evening chocolate treats, with an array of snacks available to grab any time, from fruit to a charming display of candies in giant candy store jars (I was bummed to find all chocolate offerings were milk, which tastes like watered-down chocolate to me no matter how gourmet — dark only, please). During breakfast, there is an omelet/scramble window, wine and chocolate “hours,” all-day fridges of sparkling water, beers, juice and best of all, wine on tap in various ounce servings with proper glassware stored on shelves and fridges below. Think Chablis, Provence Rosé or Sonoma Coast Pinot you can grab a splash of any time the lounge is open and you can see why this is a win.
// Navio at The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, 1 Miramontes Point Road; ritzcarlton.com/HMB
