Pebble Beach Restaurants

Pebble Beach is home to many of the Monterey Peninsula's classiest and most expensive restaurants, and Roy's at Spanish Bay is no exception. Roy's was started by Japanese-born Roy Yamaguchi back in 1988 in Hawaii, and it specializes in “Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine” which is mostly seafood, but also with a little beef. Today there are 34 Roy's, including 25 in the Continental US, 6 in Hawaii, 2 in Japan, and 1 in Guam, and it is considered one of the best chains around.

A group of six of us stopped in one night in April 2007 for a friend's birthday. We started with a few drinks at sunset out on the patio near the gas fireplaces, then moved to our table tucked into a back corner to the left of the kitchen. Before dinner we tried a variety of appetizers including three different kinds of sushi (~$15 for a large plate of about 8 pieces) and the spring rolls (~$12 for 4 small pieces). The spring rolls were good, but nothing spectacular, but all three types of sushi were unbelievably tasty, especially the Kobe beef roll!

For dinner, three of us has the "signature" blackened ahi tuna, two others got the swordfish and scallops, and the last of our group was in trouble because she's a vegetarian and Roy's offers no vegetarian dishes. The ahi was excellent, just lightly seared and a tender reddish purple in the center, served over rice and topped with some greens and a strong horseradish sauce ($33). The others said the swordfish and scallops were also excellent (about $30-35 per main course). The vegetarian ended up with a Chinese dish with the meat left out, but she really didn't enjoy it, so she ended up nibbling on mashed potatoes and beans or something (luckily she was not charged for the meal!). With our meals we had a few bottles of excellent white wine from Roy's extensive wine list of hundreds of varieties (our wines were about $40 per bottle). For desert, the birthday girl got a complimentary plate of sherbet, and a piece of chocolate cake, while the rest of us had coffee ($10 with alcohol, $5 without).

The meal plus tax was just over $400 for the six of us, expensive, but a very good meal. There were a few minor problems such as the lack of vegetarian dishes, and I think they were out of one of the wines we ordered, but the staff was friendly and professional, making up for any shortcomings. Overall, an excellent meal, but maybe not quite worth the high price tag.

On a second trip two of us had a great dinner with the Kobe beef rolls, blackened ahi tuna, and some wines and beers. This time, there were no complaints... the food and service were spectacular and worth every penny! We also finally got to see the sunset bagpiper after at least four or five failed attempts.

Dress is "resort casual" meaning slacks and a collared shirt, and reservations are recommended.

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