A Stay at The Harbor House Inn in Elk, California

Read more about our full stay at the Harbor House Inn over at The Tasteful Traveler.

Note that this post has been shortened and is from our experience in late 2021. We’ve revisited Harbor House Inn once more since, and have written about both experiences in our full post on The Tasteful Traveler. Read it here. 

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I will just start this post by saying that I didn’t really want to write about this stay because I kind of wanted to keep The Harbor House Inn a secret. But here we are – mostly because I’ve finally accepted sharing this, and because the chef and Inn are getting more visibility nowadays (hello second Michelin star)! So here we go.

The Property: 

The Harbor House Inn is perched on the edge of the Mendocino coast with gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean in a little town named Elk. Long story short, it is an amazing place to escape to if you’re looking to disconnect and be surrounded by beautiful redwood trees, the ocean and fresh air.

In addition to disconnecting, you will also have beautiful, local and very delicious food here. The Harbor House Inn also hosts a Michelin-starred restaurant by Chef Matthew Kammerer (they just received two michelin stars in 2021) where you can enjoy lunch and dinner, and breakfast is included with your stay.

The Inn has 6 traditional rooms in the main house, and 5 standalone cottages for added privacy. The rooms in the main house feature either a garden view or an ocean view, and the cottages have a private patio. Modern beach cozy describes the aesthetic well – think white crisp sheets, grays, blue and an overall warmth so your stay feels home-y.

Outside of the rooms, there’s a restaurant, a beautiful outdoor space that you can fully enjoy and watch the sunset from, and a private cove that you can access via a path of stairs. You’ll also find onsite gardens and a chicken coop.

The Food: 

My favorite part of any trip (and arguably the most important, for me anyway): the food. And the food at Harbor House Inn is beautiful, hyper-local and extremely delicious. Chef Matthew Kammerer has a way of bringing together stunning dishes that just drop you right into the local area so you can really experience the Mendocino coast at its fullest. You’ll be enjoying the stunning view while eating seaweed bread and butter (made with the seaweed that came right off the Inn’s private cove). The ingredients are pure and the flavors are delightful.

So let’s start with dinner. The Harbor House Inn has a restaurant with stunning views of the Pacific coastline. Dinner here is a seasonal tasting menu that ranges from 8-12 courses and requires a reservation through Tock.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to eat in the restaurant at the time due to Covid indoor dining restrictions, but we did enjoy their in-room dinner service which they also regularly offer should you want to enjoy dinner privately. This in-room service has the same attention to detail as the restaurant service. The only difference is that it’s a bit more casual and served family style rather than as a tasting menu.

The in-room dinner service for us included nine dishes, some of which were: seaweed sourdough with cultured butter, a local rice porridge with turnips and beech mushrooms, yellowtail rockfish with hatcho miso and avocado oil, and a bay nut ice cream.

Moving onto breakfast, which is an absolute treat at the Harbor House Inn. When you check in, you’ll be asked to fill out a form regarding some breakfast choices (tea versus coffee, etc.). The next morning, your breakfast will be delivered to your door on a tray and it is one of the most gorgeous breakfasts you will see. Take the tray and enjoy it inside by your fireplace (if your room has one) or on your private deck if you’re staying in one of the cottages.

You can expect the same care with your breakfast that you receive for dinner. The seaweed bread and cultured butter made a reappearance at our breakfast which I really don’t think you can get enough of.

Overall:

The Harbor House Inn is set in a beautiful location that only the California coast can provide, and makes for a stunning getaway to enjoy the fresh air, disconnect and indulge in one-of-a-kind food.

Happy traveling!