July 12, 2022 – The Carmel Mission Inn has recently undergone a serious investment on the part of its new owners, who are definitely showing the property love, from the redecorated guest rooms to the overhauled restaurant and menu.
General manager David Lurie, has a story that will keep you intrigued as he traces the arc of a career that has taken him from his Florida birthplace to New York City to Boulder, to San Antonio, to LA and now here to Carmel. Along the way, he managed high-end restaurants and hotel properties, invented a sunflower seed chocolate cup and encouraged the career of one Wayne Brooks, whom he recruited out of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY to work at La Mansion del Rio Hotel in San Antonio, TX. Lurie took over the Carmel Mission Inn in September of 2020, and began overseeing the renovation in 2021.
The sleek makeover, with an emphasis on outdoor enjoyment, makes the place feel more like a vacation destination. It doesn’t hurt that there’s a great heated pool and a patio for enjoying cocktails. And a few painted cows thrown in for whimsical décor.
When Lurie arrived at the Carmel Mission Inn, he realized that the restaurant concept would be a perfect fit for a culinary talent he’d worked with in the past. He called Brooks, whom he has known for 20 years, and who was working at the San Angelo Country Club at the time. Lurie knew Brooks would embrace the Carmel lifestyle and resonate with the upscale tavern concept he had in mind. And so, exec chef Wayne Brooks came from Texas to head up the new Shearwater Tavern.
The Boulder, CO, native is loving life on the Carmel coast and enjoys listening to the ocean from the backyard of his little rental house in Pacific Grove. “I can’t see the ocean, but I can sure smell it and feel it! So awesome!” He’s still learning his way around West Coast oysters, which are far different and far more expensive than the ones he got used to from the Gulf. The flavors of the cucumber ponzu mignonette he serves with the oysters on the menu take you to the Far East. The calamari are done in a Texas style panko with a kick of cayenne and he serves up a lovely seared salmon over creamy risotto with peas, the plate carefully pooled with cherry gastrique around the edges.
Every bite of the impeccably dressed salmon-topped BLT Caesar salad, featuring the crispest freshest local romaine, was a crunchy delight and that includes bites without the housemade crunchy croutons. We were told we could not pass up the house special Shearwater Tavern Tot, which turns out to be a collaborative dish Lurie and Brooks concocted, using the fluffiest Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, caked and fried to crusted perfection, then drizzled with truffle oil and served over curly endive dressed with sherry vinaigrette. This is level up tavern food, to be sure. And very well priced.
Lurie insisted that we try the Tavern burger and Brooks concurred. Served on a handsome wood platter was a most flavorful and tender patty of dry-aged chuck and Wagyu, grilled and expertly seasoned with aged cheddar, Dijon mustard sauce, and topped with the creamiest of caramelized onions and housemade pickles, the entirety swaddled in butter lettuce and tucked completely inside a brioche bun. Everything came together in the perfect bite, without the guts spilling out all over in a drippy mess, which for someone who would rather eat her food than wear it, was a blessing. The French fries were firm textured, with great flavor and nicely cooked in canola oil.
Other items on the menu include housemade Parker House rolls with honey butter, tempura green beens with chili dipping sauce, flat iron steak served with steak fries, short rib French onion soup with Gruyere, spinach salad and Petaluma chicken.
The cocktail list features local ingredients, including the Lavender Fields, which stars Bombay Sapphire gin, lavender and the distinctive taste of Carmel Honey Company’s busy bee by-product. All the cheeses are from Schoch Dairy and Lurie is hoping to get them to make a special butter for the tavern.
Breakfast is worth a detour, with a special house blend coffee made by Carmel Coffee Roasters, excellent buttermilk pancakes, avocado toast with hot smoked salmon and a 6-minute egg with lime salt, a short rib skillet with roasted vegetables and soft poached eggs, and a breakfast bowl with zucchini squash, tomatoes, mushrooms, black beans, salsa fresca, feta cheese and fresh pressed tortillas topped with eggs your way. The Classic breakfast features house made country pork sausage and amazingly crispy whole fingerling potatoes, fried to golden nirvana. I would come back just for those potatoes. It’s the little things.
Brooks is also known to create special dishes weekly for the locals and loves to throw a rack or brisket on his outside smoker, preferring to use wood over charcoal or gas any day. It’s more of a challenge, especially with the capricious and often pesky Pacific breezes, but the flavor is worth all the extra effort.
Desserts feature Revival ice cream, strawberry shortcake, chocolate pot de crème with English flake salt and chocolate pecan bread pudding served with maple anglaise and bourbon caramel.
Join them for Happy Hour, from 4pm to 5:30pm, Tuesday through Saturday. Dinner is served Tuesday through Saturday, from 4pm until 10pm, and breakfast is served daily from 7am until 10am, weekdays, and until 11am on weekends.
The Carmel Mission Inn and Shearwater Tavern are located at 3665 Rio Road, next to the Barnyard.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
