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| Matt Polley, relaxing inside Fathoms at the Inn at Spanish Head. |
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Fathoms, at the Inn at Spanish Head
In Lincoln City
A Fresh Take on Beachfront Dining
By Niki Price
OREGON COAST TODAY
You never have to worry about dining alone at Fathoms Restaurant. If you get a seat next to the window, it won’t be too long before you have company: a seagull, pacing on the railing on the other side of the picture window. The bird looks in, catches your eye, watches your food and seems to be saying: “Hey. That looks pretty fresh.”
Listen to that gull, friend. Chef Matt Polley, who has been running the kitchen since fall 2007, has put “fresh” at the forefront of kitchen operations. House-made salad dressings, pesto sauces, pasta, hashbrowns, smoked salmon — you name the item, and it’s probably prepared from scratch, on site.
“Freshness and quality ingredients: that’s the basis of everything,” said Polley. “Everything is as fresh as it can be, and we’re working to make almost everything in house. I don’t think food has to be super fancy. You don’t have to do too much to it. Just respect it, and the food will shine.”
But if you wanted “super fancy,” Polley could oblige. After graduating from the California Culinary Academy, he worked at the Ritz Carlton, and then at Joel Robuchon’s eponymous restaurant at the MGM Grand, both in Las Vegas. Just before moving to the Oregon coast two years ago, he was a sous chef for Norwegian Cruise Lines in Hawaii.
Perhaps nothing can rival the view from a boat, but Fathoms, the hotel restaurant at the Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City, comes close. At 10 stories, the inn is officially the tallest building in Lincoln City, but from the highway it doesn’t stand out. Instead, it goes down — straight down the bluff to the beach.
Thus, almost every room, table, bar seat and bathroom has an unobstructed ocean view. From the 98-seat Fathoms Restaurant, you can see down the Salishan Spit to the south, and Cascade Head to the north. Diners see eye to eye with gulls in flight, and can almost feel the wind as flocks of pelicans swoop overhead.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize what a wonderful view we have, unless they’ve been here before. From the highway, we might look like a two-story motor inn,” said the hotel’s general manager, Matt Foley. “We’re oceanfront, and we’re up so high, the view is terrific.”
There’s something about that view, said Polley, that makes his customers think about seafood.
“I think people expect a fresher seafood product here on the coast. You’re looking at that,” he said, waving toward the ocean, “and you think it should go right from there to your plate.”
They’re happy to fill the order, offering everything from a seafood medley, served with a pesto cream sauce, and a coco-nutty halibut, to grilled salmon and king crab legs. In the morning, you can try a seafood omelettes and or a crab Benedict; at lunchtime, creamy clam chowder and fish and chips.
“Personally, I love the king crab legs. It’s a pound and a half of crab. They’re monsters. We pay a little more for that, but it’s nice (when the server comes out) with a crab leg the size of your arm on a plate. You see it going through the dining room, and people are saying, ‘I’ll take one of those,’” Polley said.
For those who like to look at the ocean but taste the plains, Fathoms offers certified Angus beef, in a nice variety of steaks and burgers. Only the top 8 percent of the beef sold in the United States is certified Angus, Polley said, and it shows in the marbled, flavorful, tender steaks he sends out on the floor.
“Even the top sirloin is a really nice steak. Again, we don’t do too much to them: just a real basic seasoning and grill them up. It all goes back to letting the food shine. If you have a good product, you shouldn’t have to do too much to it,” Polley said. “The steak speaks for itself. You just have to try it.”
Among the chef’s other suggestions is the stuffed French toast, which is filled with crème brulee and breaded in corn flake crumbs so it’s both crunchy and creamy. Polley also enjoys eggs Benedict, which at Fathoms are served four ways: classic, with Canadian bacon, or with whole lump crab meat, prime rib, or smoked salmon. All are draped with a homemade Hollandaise sauce.
On Sundays, the Fathoms kitchen rolls out an Inn at Spanish Head tradition: champagne Sunday brunch. It’s an all-you-can eat tour through just about everything that the kitchen staff can do: rounds laden with smoked fish, freshly cooked seafood, pastries, breads and desserts; a bountiful tray of fresh fruit from around the world; a hot table full of eggs, gravy, potatoes and breakfast meats; and a station where chefs make Belgian waffles and omelettes to order.
Sounds like a lot? If you’re more in the mood for a nibble, the bar at Fathoms offers small appetizers that start at $1.95 each and cocktails made from freshly-squeezed juices, all with more of the famous ISH view.
Foley, who came up through the rooms and operations side of hospitality, said he’s continually impressed by what the Fathoms staff can do.
“Usually, hotel restaurants are a roll of the dice. You never know what you’re going to get. I was pleasantly surprised, and continue to be pleased, with the offerings we have here at Fathoms,” Foley said. “We’re confident that once someone comes here for a meal, he or she will have a good dining experience.”
Fathoms Restaurant, at the Inn at Spanish Head, is located at 4009 SW Hwy. 101. Monday through Saturday, Fathoms serves breakfast from 8 to 11:15 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and dinner from 4 to 9 p.m. On Sunday, they serve brunch from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and dinner from 4 to 9 p.m. For details, call 541-996-2161 or head to spanishhead.com.
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