Cliff House

Wifey had warned me the previous day “Tomorrow there will be no breakfast”

“What? no breakfast?”

Wifey: “Yes we are having no breakfast”

“But why dear?”

Wifey: “Because Anureita and Sean are taking us for Brunch”

“Oh that sounds good and where is that?”

Wifey: “Its at Cliff House in San Francisco”

“San Francisco? But that is almost an hour’s drive from here”

Wifey: “We are supposed to leave around 9 and by 10 we should be at Cliff House. So don’t get up early as usual and say you are hungry.”

Having Brunch is one thing and having Brunch with a magnificent view of the beach and the sea gulls was an entirely different experience.

Cliff House is a regal eating place famous for its Sunday Brunch, overlooking the hillock with flocks of pelicans and seagulls.

The original Cliff House was opened in 1863.

After being devastated by fire it was rebuilt in 1920.

After parking the car we walked to the Cliff House. I noticed that all the trees were at an angle. Could be the effect of the continuous sea breeze that made them slant.

The ambiance and the service was perfect but the view from the glass windows was something out of this world. It was cloudy outside. Not a perfect situation for a photographer, but you could still see dogs being taken for a walk while the seagulls made their occasional dive.

The food was divine 

and so was the free flowing champagne .......

The desert was a different story. Once I saw the variety in that section, I went easy on the main course.

Don’t those candied orange peel look cute in the egg shells. Its funny, I remember clicking them but forgot to check if they were real shells.

Those who are drooling and want more, can have a look at the video.

A sideways glance gave us the glimpse of the Seal Rocks. Tried to zoom in to see what was actually on the rocks. You could really spot some seals among the seagulls. I could not make out if they were sea lions or seals.

In the course of the meal we made friends with Edie Chong who had visited India a few years ago.

Oh yes, a special mention should be made about the live harp music by harpist Vicki Demartini. It was very soothing and perfect for the occasion. (managed to capture some of the scintillating music on video)

After brunch we walked down to “Lands End” from where you could see the Golden Gate Bridge.

PS: Vicki's reply via mail:

Hi Joe,

Wow! You certainly did an amazing job with your blog about your brunch at the Cliff House -  interesting commentary, beautiful photos, and video, too! Thank you so much for your kind words about my music - I'm glad you felt it enhanced your time with us on Sunday.

By the way, those are real egg shells that are used as container for the Butterscotch Pot de Creme. They have a special device that removes only the top part of the egg shell. After the raw egg is removed, all of the egg shells must be sterilized before they can be used as the containers for the butterscotch cream. It's time consuming, but worth the effort to give our guests something they won't find anywhere else.

Thank you for sharing your blog,

Vicki

Vicki Demartini-Ruggeri, harpist, Cliff House