By Emma Krasov. Photography by Yuri Krasov.
An opulent Nick’s Cove Legacy & Renewal Celebration unfolded on the last Sunday of August on the shores of Tomales Bay in West Marin, California. Nick’s Cove, a well-known historic inn and restaurant, founded almost a century ago in the town of Marshall, marked a successful completion of a comprehensive renovation that included its 12 overwater cottages, bar and restaurant as well as branding and website.
Reopened to much fanfare, and presented with multiple hospitality awards, the beloved coastal retreat, managed by Palm House Hospitality, didn’t disappoint with its wide-spread festivity that extended from the original building (offering cocktails and gourmet bites) to Nick’s Boat Shack (cocktails, Tsar Nicoulai caviar, and freshly shucked oysters), to the culinary garden (local cheeses, sparkling wine, mead, and flower arrangements), and to individual cottages where the celebration attendees could dance to live music of Dustin Saylor, or marvel at the piano prowess of Patrick Liddell, taste Redwood Empire handcrafted whiskey in Marshall Manhattan, indulge in mini s’more tarts, get hand and shoulder massages, have their fortune told through “energy” and Taro readings, and receive a gift of poetry instantly written on a vintage typewriter just for them.
Entering its shiny new era, while harking back to its legacy as a classic West Coast fish house, Nick’s Cove welcomed culinary partnership with a star chef Chris Cosentino, a winner of Top Chef Masters, a competitor on The Next Iron Chef and Iron Chef America, and a celebrity chef of quite a few big-name restaurants. At the party, where he sabered a bottle of bubbly, and proceeded to shucking live oysters, Chef Cosentino said, “That’s how I started in the restaurant business—by shucking oysters. The skill is still here,” and proclaimed to the surrounding crowd of his admirers (including this reporter), “I know my food is fitting for the 1%, but my goal is to feed the 99%!”
Chef Cosentino’s lobster rolls topped with sea urchins on brioche, fried oyster sliders, smoked black cod dip on fried saltines (local cod smoked over pinot noir barrel shavings), and Nick’s Cove Louis on little gem lettuce with Bay shrimp, were paired with Benham’s Sonoma Dry Gin cocktails and Watermelon Mojitos created by Sam Levy, owner of the award-winning Fern Bar in Sebastopol, California.
Marai Bolourchi of Tsar Nicoulai Caviar treated the guests with the best California sturgeon caviar as a perfect match to J Vineyards and Winery Cuvee, and San Francisco’s celebrity chef Manfred Wrembel operated Gozney outdoor oven to grill oysters with the housemade barbecue sauce, while Marin French Cheese Co, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co, Laura Chenel Cheese, Tomales Farmstead Creamery and Heidrun Meadery greeted the attendees in the bayside garden, managed by Aaron Keefer, formerly a garden manager at the world-famous French Laundry restaurant.
Besides the new food and cocktail menu at the Nick’s Cove restaurant, focused on the best local ingredients, the inn offers plenty of leisure activities, like stand-up paddle boards and kayaks for cottage guests to rent, vessels from North Bay Fishing Charters, like a cute “Never Too Late” boat, and bonfires on the beach.
“For over 90 years, Nick’s Cove has remained an essential part of the fabric of the Bay Area, and has a fascinating history,” said Palm House Hospitality Co-Founder Benson Wang. “This cultural heritage is of the utmost importance to us, and we hope to share this story with our guests through our food, cocktails, and hospitality.”
Nick’s Cove is located at 23240 Highway One, Marshall, CA 94940. For reservations and additional information call 415-663-1033 or visit https://www.nickscove.com/.
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