Delicious Serenity
Nick's Cove offers respite from everyday stressors
by laura casey
D
rive 30 minutes north of Point Reyes Station
star service and $23 to $28 per plate tab. The gourmet menu
on Highway One, past weather-beaten wooden
features local wood-fired swordfish, butte-roasted halibut and
barns and virgin landscape to arrive at Nick's
roasted Petaluma chicken, but the restaurant celebrates rustic
Cove, an historic and renovated restaurant and
roots, not stuffy attire. The remote and cozy eatery, warmed
resort on the east shore of Tomales Bay.
The cool and salty air invigorates, and aside from the
on foggy bay nights by its fireplace, is understated.
The menu is created by Executive Chef Austin Perkins,
restaurant and resort cabins, there is only nature – rolling
who worked as Nick's sous-chef until 2011 when he was
hillsides and the ever-changing face of this Marin County
invited to head the kitchen. Perkins, a Petaluma native,
inlet. Overnight guests to Nick's hike, kayak and generally
says his is the only local restaurant offering approachable
relax where cell phones lose their signal and time slows.
but elegant seafood. Most fish entrees are sourced from
Nick's Cove is named after Yugoslavian settler Nick Kojich
whose family owned this land from the 1930s and rented
cabins to tourists drawn, via new roads, to unique fishing
adventures and serene beauty.
Restaurateur Pat Kuleto, designer of San Francisco's
Farallon and Waterbar; and star chef Mark Franz, who co-
California waters and all the seafood served is fresh, never
frozen.
Perkins embellishes with seasonal fruits and veggies and
menu items change daily. The few mainstays include one of
his most popular dishes -- thick and creamy $17 Dungeness
crab mac & cheese now offered year-round.
owns Farallon with Kuleto, purchased Nick's Cove in 1999.
"I think we're a unique, destination restaurant, but we also
It was closed for eight years for remodeling and upgrades.
want people to come for the quality," Perkins says. "At Nick's
Reopened in July 2007 the partners, noting disappointing
Cove, you feel like you're a million miles away. That's a
investment returns, sold to a private, anonymous investor in
special feeling you can have in our own Bay Area backyard."
2011.
Nick's Cove fine dining restaurant is renowned for five-
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FLOURISH • SUMMER 2013
The restaurant bar is stocked with spirits and a beer
selection from breweries like Petaluma-based Lagunitas
