An Early Peek at New Stokes Adobe Bodes Well

November 2, 2021 – The vibe is alive, well and welcoming. 

A lot can and will be said about the new era now underway at Stokes Adobe in Old Monterey, but that’s the main takeaway from here.

If you’re skeptical, I get it. It’s fair to suggest that feeling is owed to the fact it’s been so long since diners got to attend a much-discussed, much-observed and much-anticipated opening in such a historic and social spot.

But I’m telling you, our table’s server Salvador might be one of the most exuberant wait staffers in the state. He had me wondering if a micro dose of ecstasy was part of the pre-shift meeting. 

To be fair, co-owner and general manager Sarah Orr made service a pillar of her plan here early and often, and took her time bringing the building, kitchen and team to fruition

Like she told me when EMB broke word Stokes had new owners in early 2021: “We’ve learned from our restaurant experience that people talk a lot about food, but service is very important.”

She connected that to the overall import of the restaurant to the wider Monterey Bay where she grew up.

“It’s part of the community, and should be part of the community, and people should feel welcome and want to be a part of it,” she added. “You do that across the menu, the staff and the aesthetics.”

My visit indicates her words on service—and menu and setting, for that matter—aren’t lip service, something made more impressive given the staffing shortages facing many hospitality operations.

Below appear a half dozen other thoughts from a soft-opening weekend at Stokes Adobe. (Note: It was a media-invite dinner, so they knew I was from Edible and would likely publish something. Staff was likely a little extra on their toes, for better or for worse, as a result.) 

Attentive details are working.

The fireplace mantel in the library room looks simple, timeless and understated, and totally fits. And, given all its tiny grooves and graceful curves, it was anything but simple to scrape, scrape, scrape off and refinish the formerly painted-over relic, but it was well worth it. The understated aesthetic carries from the bar—with its blond wood stools, glowing globe lights, white marble bar and polished dark wood floors—to classy black leather booths on the landing to the clean white color scheme that runs throughout, which seems to expand the space. Other elements like wrought-iron table bases and basic-but-elegant candlesticks click with the design too.

Less is more, in more than one place. 

The minimalist approach carries over to the menu, with five starters, two salads and five entrees on the front, and seven cocktails ($14 per), eight wines ($12-$14/glass, $48-$56/bottle), six beers ($5-$9) and five non-alcoholic drinks ($4 each) on the back. The execution and inspection each dish gets before heading to your table seems self-evident. Same goes for the limited but lush signature cocktail menu. “We want to do a limited number of things well,” Orr says.

Chef’s got a gift for seafood.

It’s no coincidence my two favorite dishes—setting the crispy potatoes aside, as brown butter carbs feel like cheating—were the most gently and subtly treated. The kanpachi crudo ($14) with just a hint of olive oil, sea salt, French pepper and Anaheim chili presents a work of subtlety to remember. And I’m still shaking my head in happiness thinking about the max-thread-count-silky diver scallops ($24) with sublime citrus-carrot puree. Those plates bode well for the crispy skin striped bass ($22) and Hawaiian yellowfin ahi tuna tartare ($16) on future visits—and speaks to the experience exec chef Bryce Hansen has compiled as executive chef at Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar in Pacific Grove, kitchen lead at The Meatery in Seaside and executive sous chef under chef Cal Stamenov at Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley.

The (flavor) force is strong in this young Jedi.

We left the ordering to our server and chef Hansen, and they guided us well. The crispy fried fingerling potatoes ($12) revealed why they’re an early best seller. The pappardelle Bolognese ($22) does the classic dish justice—though the broad noodles would stand up to a bolder sauce and a salt-citric-garlic spark. The truffle chicken brings a succulent and just-crisped-skin take on a dish chefs define themselves by. It interplays with the white corn polenta beautifully, and might benefit from a touch more sacred shroom. The pithivier—basically a radial puff pastry—packed with portobello, Roquefort, sautéed onion, garlic, spinach and more, is fun and umami’d to the brink. (Like one restaurant vet told me in describing all the yum Hansen packed in the puff, “He’s like a kid in a candy store!”) The point is: The flavors are there in every instance, and if they’re not dialed merely need a little tuning, which is a great place to be this early in the game.  

Spirits are high.

The resident ghost is present on the menu—I’d say longtime rabble rouser Hattie should be proud of the Hattie’s Old-Fashioned I tried—and she was there in the days spent of updating the former Restaurant 1833, when she showed Orr where to find a hidden light switch and helped her husband regain lost keys. Most importantly, Stokes has a leader in place behind the marble bar in Matty Eggleston, who comes to the stick after serving as bar manager at Ventana Inn & Spa in Big Sur. On top of his fresh juice- and classic cocktail-driven menu, he’s serving a top notch Spanish gintonic with fresh bay laurel, grapefruit and juniper berries. 

The warmth is real. 

Yes, the enthusiasm from servers, barkeeps and bussers is palpable, and hopefully carries forward. But so too is the literal warmth, which was a concern for Orr as she and her team remade the place. “I’ve been working in that space for two months and there isn’t a lot of heat,” she said as they got deeper into the remodel. “I mean, that house has been there since 1833. So I want it to feel open and warm, literally. There are four fire pits outside but I want more. We want to use all the indoor fireplaces.” The old house was plenty warm on a brisk late autumn night inside, and outside the fire pits were lit. A community institution is back. 

Stokes Adobe 500 Hartnell St. Monterey Ÿ• 831.264.8775 Ÿ• stokesadobe.com