This is a restaurant that we have eaten at twice and loved it both times.  Pacific’s Edge is just around the corner from Carmel-by-the-Sea in Carmel Highlands.  It is located in the Hyatt Carmel Highlands Hotel high up on a bluff.  It overlooks the Big Sur coastline of the Pacific Ocean.

The restaurant is very unique in that the tables are set on what I would call stadium tiers.  Each level is high enough that every diner gets a beautiful view of the ocean.  We called early enough to guarantee a table for two, right along the windows.  The restaurant itself is cantilevered (for a better term) out from the bluff and suspends itself over Highway One.  You cannot see the cars or the traffic, but you get a stellar view of the ocean and the setting is very romantic, and the service of the staff is five stars.

The two times we went there, they had a very unique price structure for dinner, as well as a prix-fixe dinner.  They had a set charge for three, four or five choices.  A diner could order three salads, three appetizers or three entrée dishes or what ever choice of plates one desired.

The first time we were there, we each picked three choices so that we could share and savor as many tastes as possible.  I have the menu from this first time, with the dishes indicated for either my Bride or myself.  My Bride had Marinated Tuna and Hamachi with Yuzu, Mustard Oil and Opal Basil, Sautéed Day Boat Scallops with Fingerling Potatoes and Truffle Vinaigrette and then Braised Beef Short Ribs with Whipped Potatoes and White Truffle Oil.  I ordered Butter Braised Maine Lobster with a Saffron Reduction, Yellow Pea Tendrils and Sweetbreads, “Duck, Duck, Goose” which was Duck prepared two distinct ways and Foie Gras, with Seasonal Flavorings and then a Seared Prime Beef Tenderloin with Lacquered Bacon and Onions, and Creamy Rice Beans.  We then shared a special dessert, coffee and a glass of Twenty year old Port.

We enjoyed two different bottles of wine that evening.  First a Morgan Winery Monterey Chardonnay 2000 that was very buttery and flavorful, it was rich enough to go with the early part of the meal.  Then we had a bottle of IO Winery IO wine.  The winery is in Santa Barbara in the Central Coast area.  The winery and the wine are named after a nymph in Greek Mythology.  The winery has modeled their wines after the great wines of the Rhone Valley in France using Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre grapes.  This particular bottle was of a 1997 vintage and we ordered it after talking about the wine with the sommelier and it was an excellent choice.

Each time we were there, we finished the evening dancing to the music of a combo of live music.  We finished our wine and the evening listening to beautiful music looking out on a starry night.