Mission Ranch dates back to the 1800’s. It covers 22 acres with views of the Pacific Ocean, Point Lobos, Santa Lucia Mountains and the beach and Clint Eastwood, former Mayor of Carmel and longtime Carmel resident, rescued the property from developers and turned it into a resort location. The 10 buildings on the property include 31 hotel rooms and a restaurant featuring Classic American cuisine where you can watch the sheep graze while you eat your dinner. There was a piano bar but it is now closed due to Covid-19. The restaurant does not take reservations but you can go by and get on a list and they will call you when your table is about ready. Masks are required and tables are well spaced. There were 2 large patio areas for dining with a few standing heaters in each area. As the night wore on and the temperatures dropped they could have used a few more heaters. Once we made it to the table service was prompt and friendly. The menu and wine list are all available through the scan square and there is a wifi network if you don’t have service. You can bring your own wine with a corkage of $25.
After ordering they brought a basket of warm toasted garlic bread pieces. They were well seasoned and seemed to be straight out of the oven. They were really flavorful and it wasn’t hard to to finish off the basket.
We started by splitting a Steamed Castroville Artichoke which was the tender leaves and heart topped with roasted garlic, cherry tomatoes and finished with lemon butter and fresh herbs. It was one medium sized artichoke sitting on a bowl of very lemony butter and topped with the tomatoes and almost raw garlic. The artichoke had fairly thick leaves and the heart was tasty but the butter had too much lemon for me.
We both ordered the Slow roasted prime rib (as rare as they had it) served with seasonal vegetable and twice baked potato. The seasonal vegetable was green beans and there was also some freshly grated horseradish on the plate. The beans were a bit tough and hollow but the horseradish was spicy and fun to eat with meat. It was a nicely cooked large slab but it was a not well marbled piece so the juiciness was limited. The twice baked potato was nicely crisped on the top and soft and creamy underneath. It was a filling and generous plate but the food overall was fairly ordinary. The grounds are the draw here.
