Prior to this visit we dined at Harbor House last May 2024 and Nov. 2023 but many other times as you’ll find if you search for it on this site.  We would go more often if we were a bit closer – it’s definitely at the top of our list of favorites.  The staff are all very welcoming and the meal truly deserves its 2 Michelin Star rating.  They also achieved a Green Star for their protection of the environment and no-waste ethic.  Chef Matt Kammerer and his team have created a jewel for this beautiful coastal setting which serves locally sourced proteins and ingredients harvested from their ranches.  They put great effort into creating new items for your second night but will repeat some of your favorites too.  Their wine list continues to evolve nicely under Kelly Eckel and we trusted him to select for us and he finds some wonderful choices.  The restaurant changes a few things every time we visit and this visit found carpet in the main dining room.  Another means to buffer the perfect noise level but I’m not sure I liked covering the gorgeous wood floor.  Now that most amazing staff can whiz by and you won’t even notice.  I must also mention that one of their fabulous captains, Jaclyn Bisantz won the young server competition and will now represent the U.S. in the international competition!  Quite an honor but you couldn’t find someone more deserving.  Great staff are a huge component of a restaurant’s success and I look forward to seeing every one of them again soon.  Hope I’ll see you there too!

Set-Up

With dining two nights we did get some repeats and variations on the menu.  I’ll post once if it’s the same and follow in the same paragraph with the next nights’ choices.  We’ll start with one view of the dining room, the coastal view out the window and our wines

 

Food

The meal always starts with a warm moist cloth and now they’re topped with local blossoms.  The first night we had one of the Pink Ladies that you’ll see all along the roads.  Kelly was nice enough to start us with a glass of champagne too.

 

A savory infusion of sea vegetables was a small golden liquid served warm with excellent flavor.   A bit of dashi accents the vegetable broth.

 

Some chilled vegetables with cow parsnip seed was first.  All the vegetables were from their ranch/farm and were raw or had been cooked by means of steaming or poaching, and then all chilled and garnished with herbs and flowers from the garden.  Tender but still having lots of texture, flavor and color this was delightful.  The broth was to drink afterward.

 

Monterey squid was with tomato, Malabar spinach, and dashi in a deeply rich broth. The squid was tender and lovely and the cherry tomatoes were peeled and lightly smokey.  It was fabulous and we were glad to get it both nights.

 

Maitake mushroom was fried and infused then topped with purple sea urchin.  The tempura fried maitake is always a favorite and this one was even better to mix with the sea urchin.  These small urchins are now crowding the reef due to warming waters and a threat to the ecosystem – so a great way to help is to put them on your dinner plate.  They had a lovely urchin flavor, like those from Japan and were a perfect match for crisp light fried mushroom.  Served with the broth from the trimmings of the mushrooms topped with chives and some local lace lichen with toasted sesame seeds, it was wonderful.

The second night the maitake was replaced with mustard leaf that was  fried, infused, and topped with purple sea urchin.  It was fabulous too.  The leaves were steeped in a dashi broth that was in the separate bowl this night.  A wonderful variation.

 

Abalone poached in sake was thinly sliced and presented with calhikari rice mixed with offal and pickled vegetables.  The tender abalone was terrific mixed with the rice.  A bite of pickle added clarity to the rich flavor.  Some young broccoli flowers were with the abalone.

The second night it was grilled red abalone on calhikari rice and offal sauce alongside the pickled vegetables.  Some shishido peppers were in the bowl as were thin slices of the abductor abalone muscle. I loved having it already mixed together and the grilling brought out a different texture in the tender abalone.  Hard to choose between.

 

The first night Frankie sniffed the kohlrabi plant and the second night Kim brought out a kohlrabi with the plates of  Tomales Bay mussel and barbecued kohlrabi topped with white bean miso.  The kohlrabi was cooked 7 hours in the barbecue while the raw ribbon was topped with garlic flowers.  The mussel was smoked with oak wood and was nicely smokey-flavored.  The barbecued kohlrabi had a fun crispy edge to it and was lovely with the sauce.  The raw was good but the barbecued was outstanding.  We had this both nights.

 

Ella brought out the Halibut smoked over bay laurel and topped with summer beans and sorrel leaves.  Green, purple and yellow beans were mixed with radish and potato mash to make the sauce.  The large flake fish was perfectly moist and fragrantly accented with vegetable sauce.  It was divine and made all my halibut nightmares from other places go away.  This is a wonderful fish.

The second night we had grilled Black Cod (Sablefish) plated with pickled cucumber and confit potato.  The fish was cooked over bay laurel and some cucumber oil accented the sauce.  The fresh, tender potato was a star but so was the heavenly silky fish.  All were brought to their peak by the fine sauce.

 

Seaweed sourdough was with cultured butter both nights.  It’s a fine crusty bread with a dense moist interior.  Great with or without butter.

 

Richardson’s Ranch lamb was with Japanese eggplant and blackberry leaf.  The lamb had been aged 4 weeks and it was tender and cooked to a nice red color.  Some of the other cuts were ground and cooked in a nasturtium leaf.  Lamb jus went with both.  The eggplant was seasoned with garlic oil.  This was a plate of tasty treats.

The second night we had HH Ranch beef with eggplant and berries.  It was aged in-house for about 2 weeks and a ribeye cut topped with blackberries and raspberries and some of their juice.  It was cooked to a nice temperature but couldn’t compete with the lamb for wonderful flavor

 

Strawberries were with a bowl of wild ginger amazake.  The berries were from Albion and glazed with rose and Meyer lemon.  They had good flavor and were delightful with the thickened cream which mixed freeze-dried strawberries, amazake and ginger.

Asian pear was filled with panna cotta, fig leaf, and champagne ice.  It was served in a hollowed-out pear shell and was a new item to try.  It had a very low flavor profile and while the panna cotta was nice it was dominated by the ice which watered down its flavor.  You have to try new things but this was one needs to work on it a bit more.

 

Stonefruit, honeycomb, and chamomile yogurt was next.  The stonefruits were well-ripened and were sitting on cream and mixed with plum candy.   It was quite good.

On the second night, we had an Amazake souffle with a stonefruit compote and buttermilk ice cream.  The compote was added to the ice cream at the table and they were nice enough to leave the extra on the table.  It contained several types of plums and cherries and was outstanding.  The souffle was fantastic and even better with a bit of the fruit added to it.  The ice cream was another fabulous addition or just eat it with the well-ripened fruit.  This was another new dish and a real winner.

 

An infusion of Douglas Fir came with grilled honey and sweet herbs for flavoring.  Then the table was covered with bites of different textures and sweetness levels.  This included: Choux filled with grilled miso and apple cider, Walnut lace cookie with makrut lime, Toasted kombu, jasmine and lemon, Alpine strawberries both ripe and unripe, Umeboshi caramel, Candy Cap macaron, and Mugwort candy

Second night we had an infusion of marigold with a log full of local fruits – grapes, strawberries, nectarines and 3 types of plums with amazake cream.  It was a feast for the eyes and the stomach.  The cream was delightful to dip into but truthfully the fruits were all so perfectly ripened they were grand to eat on their own.  Another new winner.