Post Ranch Inn: lunch and dinner at Sierra Mar, Big Sur

Sierra Mar is Post Ranch Inn’s restaurant on a Big Sur clifftop, with floor-to-ceiling windows onto the Pacific and cooking that starts in the chefs’ garden down in the meadow. The menu names its suppliers along the coast, from Big Sur sea salt to bacon from Marina.

Updated 24 October 20264 min readHow we write the guide

Sierra Mar’s empty dining room, with tables laid, a slatted timber ceiling and glass walls onto the Pacific.

The choice, in short

Why choose Post Ranch Inn

The cellar has held Wine Spectator’s Grand Award every year since 2012, with deep Burgundy and Bordeaux alongside the wines of the coast.

Supplements

When to look elsewhere

Anyone who wants to dine à la carte should look elsewhere: dinner is a set-price tasting menu, with only supplements to add.

The suppliers

The sample menus

Dinner’s tasting menu opens with a kabocha squash salad, shaved autumn vegetables, dates and walnuts, then the “Gifts from the Sea”: an oyster with kimchi and an amberjack ssam. A roasted chicken bouillon with glass noodles and king salmon with succotash and gochujang follow, and dessert is the chefs’ garden apple with dulcey mousse and cinnamon crumble.²

Lunch begins with the Chef’s Garden Harvest, a sharing platter of naan crisps, hummus, zaalouk and small market vegetables, and a marinated chickpea salad with feta. The main course is chosen from dishes such as the fisherman’s daily catch, a Niman Ranch flat iron steak, roasted lion’s mane mushroom and the Post Ranch smash burger; pudding is a cinnamon panna cotta with poached pear.³

Executive chef Il Hoon Kang came from Madera in Menlo Park, where culinary director Reylon Agustin earned and kept a MICHELIN star. Agustin runs the ranch’s garden, farmed regeneratively, and the restaurant gives 1% of food revenue to Zero Foodprint.¹

Before and during the meal

Seasonal cocktails
The cocktail list changes with the seasons and has a zero-proof section made with Optimist Botanicals and local ingredients.¹
The sommelier’s list
Beside the full list there is the Sommelier Selection, a short list of wines by the bottle and by the glass; questions about the wine go to wine@postranchinn.com.¹

Post Ranch Inn

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To add at dinner

On the evening menu

Private Batch Reserve caviar by Tsar Nicoulai, $220
Royal Oscietra by Antonius, $265
Chilled California oysters with mignonette, lemon and Tabasco, $48

Where it is

Address	47900 CA-1, Big Sur, inside Post Ranch Inn.⁵
Distances	30 miles south of Carmel; Monterey airport is about a 50-minute drive.⁴

Rooms at the hotel

The deck of a Cliff House: 2 loungers under an orange parasol and a glass balustrade over the Pacific.

Rooms and staying here

4 suppliers, 4 dishes

Supplier	Where	On the plate
Monterey Abalone Co	Monterey	Monterey Bay abalone congee, at dinner
Ad Astra Bread Co	Monterey	Sourdough with olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar, at dinner
Grimaud Farms	Stockton	Guinea hen with sunchoke and persimmon, at dinner
Fogline Farms	Santa Cruz	The chicken, one of the lunch mains

Before booking

Is Sierra Mar a MICHELIN star restaurant?

It holds a MICHELIN Green Star, the distinction for sustainable gastronomy.¹ The guide lists it as Californian and contemporary, in the $$$$ price band.⁵

Can children come?

Yes, Sierra Mar welcomes guests of all ages at lunch and dinner.⁴

Does the restaurant cater for allergies and diets?

Yes: let them know in advance and most dietary preferences and restrictions can be met, and there is a vegan menu.¹

How do I book for 7 or more?

Through the large-party request form on the restaurant’s page.¹

Can I get there by Uber or Lyft?

Hardly: in Big Sur, Uber and Lyft are very limited because phone coverage comes and goes, and taxis and car services need booking ahead. Arrange the round trip before you set off.⁴

The restaurant’s page

Sierra Mar

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Where we read it