Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Cliff House Inn & Shoals Restaurant

We are lucky to live in such a beautiful place that we only had to drive 25 minutes to go to our anniversary destination. The Cliff House Inn is located off the 101 in between Santa Barbara and Ventura. Scott surfs there and I love to read in their beach chairs. So, we decided why not make a night of it in celebration of our marriage!

It was a beautiful day - I love winter storms.

 How beautiful is this photograph? Dark and stormy. The waves were crashing, the weather was just perfect for bundling up. This is my idea of heaven. 

The islands were visible, I was impressed with my camera. That is a long way to zoom!

 
Our room was so cute. Not the most fancy but for a 24 room hotel on the beach I was very happy. You could not beat our view. 

Scott Good Taste brought some bubbly... 

 And flowers for Melissa Good Taste!

Dinner was downstairs in Shoals Restaurant. We both started off with bowls of Clam Chowder. It warmed us up and soothed our tummies with creamy goodness. Nothing beats a hot soup in my mind.

Scott went with the special of grilled Mahi Mahi with a lemon wine sauce complete with grilled vegetables over mashed potatoes. I love when they grill the lemons that are used for squeezing it creates a smokey taste. Good order.

I had the Scallops with Lobster Risotto topped with fried onion strings. Yum, yum, yum. This has been the best thing I have eaten in a long time. The scallops were cooked perfectly, risotto was creamy and the salty crunch of the onions were lovely. The price of this dish was $14.95 - What a steal!

Of course I had to try the Creme Brulee. The custard inside was delicious but the top was not hard, kind of soft. Not a deal breaker but if I had to be critical that was one thing it could have improved on.

Later, we got into a Scrabble Challenge and I took home top honors. More champagne and a blissful night sleeping to the sound of the ocean just steps away... If you wish to re-create this peaceful evening I highly recommend the Cliff House Inn and a reservation at the Shoals Restaurant. Ask for one of their two suites and you will not be disappointed!

2 comments:

JustinM said...

I always loved staying on the coast in the winter (though I usually went up to Pismo). But I can't tell you how many times I have passed by this place wondering what it was like.

Hungry Dog said...

Happy (belated) anniversary! Looks like a lovely setting and celebration. You two look like a cute couple.

Happy new year!