This little Gem is situated on a purportedly Haunted Historic Monterey Peninsula Adobe (originally built in 1833). It is the home of the former Stokes Adobe restaurant. It has recently been renovated and re-opened by the peninsula’s dynamic team Coastal Luxury Management – actually an appendage (through acquisition) of Daniel Snyder’s many enterprises (owner of the Washington Redskins).
The décor gets 5 stars to be sure, eerily reminiscent of Disney’s Haunted mansion in décor, one of the dining rooms actually features a photograph of a woman who lived in the house at one point, and never left.
The food is really quite pedestrian; I expected more from this team. I had the pork chop which came with collard greens and grits (Seared Pork belly was on top of the Collard Greens). Good flavor, just not very exciting. Attached are some photo’s of the appetizers. Deviled Eggs, Marinated Olives, and the pork chop.
One shining light at the end of the Disney-esque tunnel was the Sommelier – Ted Glennon. Extremely knowledgeable and put together a very nice wine list that varies greatly form the run of the mill California wines dominating most menu’s. He suggested a very nice Borolo, also available by the glass. This particular wine had a fair dose of brettanomyces, giving it a bit too much barnyard for this palate, it did however have a flush and nice fruit and tannin structure. More importantly it paired excellently with my dish.
Overall, I give the restaurant 3.8 out of 5 stars, mostly because the menu was rather disappointing in my opinion, too standard and uninspired. Or if it is inspired I would be interested in learning what it was.
