The Restaurant

The restaurant at Deetjens has a long and colorful history. Kent Seavey, the Chairman of Deetjens Inc., the Inns’ leaseholder, describes its beginnings well in his booklet ‘Deetjens’. “As their work progressed on their Castro Canyon property travelers began taking advantage of Deetjen and Helen’s hospitality for food and overnight lodging. Except for Steve Jaeger’s Loma Vista Inn, a gas station and lunchroom built in 1936 on the hillside below the Post Ranch about 2 miles north, theirs was the first light in many miles south of Pfeiffer State Park. At first the boarding and feeding of guests was handled as a very casual business arrangement. Eventually, as increasing numbers of visitors arrived, the couple began to build the place up.

Fireside Dining

In 1939 Barbara Blake, a refined Englishwoman who had been recently widowed, stumbled onto the place and like so many after her was taken by the natural beauty and spiritual quality of its setting. Mrs. Blake had experience in operating country inns and money to invest in the heart of the Depression. She leased the barn and expanded it with a shed-roofed wing to the south turning the place into a restaurant. Barbara Blake was responsible for the interior decoration of the Inn including purchase of the beautiful old bar, which came from the Smith family ranch at Westmere, and the English patternware table service so long in use at the Inn.”

Fortunately little has changed to alter the quiet ambience of the place she established over sixty years ago. We still serve breakfast and dinner in one of four intimate candlelight rooms accompanied by soft classical music. Or enjoy breakfast on our outside patio as weather permits.

The Bar Room

The Food

Our Chef, Domingo Santamaria, continues to uphold our traditional standard of quality by offering excellent cuisine artfully presented.

“My Grandmother owned a restaurant in Oxkutzcab, Yucatan. This is where I am from and where I learned how to cook. She taught me her style, her secret recipes. That woman would have made the most temperamental chef run for cover. She was tough. My cousins and siblings feared her, but that “tough as nails” attitude kept me too busy to get into trouble. It was in her kitchen that I learned how to express my heritage through food. This was her gift to me.”

“I try to express this passion for cooking with the variety of foods available to us now. We have great local and organic produce to choose from, everything from Big Sur Chanterelles to spicy micro greens. I have chosen to serve meats and fish from companies that practice sustainable farming and fishing. We serve organic filet mignon, New Zealand venison, fresh Scottish Salmon and Pacific Halibut.”

Domingo came to Big Sur after spending several years cooking in a variety of top-level, ethnically diverse restaurants in San Francisco. Like many who live here, the wild beauty of the region along with the warmth of the local people reminds him of his original home. A proponent of the “globalization of dining,” Domingo loves the subtle combination of French cuisine, with a dash of the spices found in traditional Mexican cooking. “Everything we cook at Deetjen’s is executed with care and attention to detail. We strive for perfection.”

Our wine cellar continues to grow under the combined guidance of our Dining Room Manager Tara Evans and General Manager Torrey Waag, providing an excellent representation of quality wines which complement our guests’ dining pleasure.

Deetjen’s award-winning restaurant is open seven days a week serving breakfast and dinner. Our breakfast features our famous Eggs Benedict as well as French toast, Smoked Salmon, homemade granola and of course, Huevos Rancheros. The dinner menu changes often and includes seasonally available ingredients, prepared to create a stimulating and hearty blend of flavors.

2010 Zagat Review of Deetjen's Restaurant

Deetjen's Restaurant Dinner Menu

The Porch Room