The Sea Ranch Lodge: Dining Room

"Amazing experience at the Sea Ranch Lodge! All the dishes we had were wonderful. Absolute favorites were the scallop ceviche and the duck. Great atmosphere and an amazing view."

"Overall, I am giving this place two-stars due to all the things that got in the way of some pretty good food. We were celebrating my husband’s birthday along the Sonoma Coast and wanted to have a nice dinner out to add to the celebration. The main issue was that the front of house in all areas was a complete disaster of epic proportions. We arrived about 10 min prior to our reservation, waited about 8-10 minutes before anyone acknowledged that we were there. The host was polite/kind and even mentioned to me that it was my husband’s birthday. We heard very loud full band music coming from the bar area. She escorted us to a table that was in a shared space as the bar / lounge area and were less than 6ft from the full band. You could not hear a thing - as evidenced by me trying to say something to the host as she walked away and she couldn’t hear me. Clearly this wasn’t going to be a table we could do a birthday dinner at for the night, so we got up and went back to the front to ask for a different table. It took about 15+ minutes but we finally were seated at a different table in the actual dinning room. The manager apologized, was kind / polite and even offered to buy a first round of drinks. She did also promise that they would not seat anyone directly beside us since it was a birthday celebration. The server came over about 5 minutes later with menues and cocktail/wine list. We ordered a bottle of wine, a starter per, and an entree per. We waited for about 10-15 minutes and suddenly the starters arrived… no water, no wine. We waited a few minutes thinking it was coming, but no luck, so we started in on our starters. We finished our starters by the time the sparkling wine arrived and it was the wrong bottle, so the server had to go back and try to find the correct bottle, more delays, he finally came and it was a split of the bottle we hoped to have, so we basically said no thanks, and instead ordered a cocktail. We waited more than an hour between when we finished the starters and for our entrees to arrive. Right before our entrees arrive, the table that the manager said they would not seat, was seated with a four top… annnnnnnnd… a baby that was literally eye level with my husband, staring at him. The baby was honestly less than a foot from him. At this point, the food was tasty but not even remotely close to the experience you’d hope to have. We made the most of it, paid, tipped 20% (I usually tip way more than that) and left. Won’t go back. A shame considering the food was tasty but literally everything else from the experience got in the way of the good food."

"Come on! This is a no brainer. Where else can you hike the wild Sonoma Coast, and walk up to the coziest bar for a craft cocktail? Oh, hungry? There’s a super-legit Chef (ever hear of Big Sur Bakery?), Eric Piacentine, turning out an amazing local menu on this remote bit of California. Solid wine list, attentive staff. What’s not to love?"

"We didn’t get a chance to sit down and eat or drink since there was a private event but the views of the Pacific are lovely. There is also limited outdoor seating which is first come first serve."

"The architecture of the place is STRIKING. It's probably its best feature. The minimalist, cozy vibes inside with the large fireplace, rocking chairs, and funky music will immediately put you at ease. The large windows overlook the ocean, and we saw sheep grazing right in front of the restaurant. It was perfect timing to catch the sunset. The service, however, did not put us at ease. For some reason, the hostess made us wait for half-an-hour before seating us even though there were several empty tables. The waitress was not friendly and didn't provide a smile or any recommendations. Maybe because she was tired at the end of the day? The bartender, however, was delightful. We should have just sat at the beautiful bar. The cocktails were delicious - I really enjoyed The Moonraker, which included vodka, nutmeg, eggwhite, and other delicious things. I ordered the Petaluma chicken, which was fine, and my partner ordered the mushroom pasta dish, which was filling. The burrata appetizer had more greens than burrata. Overall, it was decent but not worth the price or the snooty attitude. Come for the drinks, apps and the view! Avoid the rest."