Timber Cove Resort serves up Seaside seafood worth the trip up Sonoma Coast

There are two main ways to get to Timber Cove Resort from the Santa Rosa area, and neither is particularly easy.

You can take Highway 116 through Guerneville, west to Highway 1 along skinny, winding asphalt, often along the very edge of coastal cliffs. Or you can take Cazadero Highway for an even longer stretch of skinny, sharply winding asphalt that sometimes turns to gravel, often along the very edge of forested mountainside.

Over the years, I’ve gotten used to the trip to the property perched north of Fort Ross along a breathtaking coastal cliff, but I always pack saltines and ginger ale for my passengers. For me, the destination is worth any queasiness or white-knuckle driving. Once there, I can unwind in the elegant inn that feels like its own private world.

This fall, the resort’s Coast Kitchen restaurant brought on a new executive chef, which reminded me it had been way too long since I’d stopped in. By the time I got around to visiting last month, that chef had moved on. But that’s life in this remote area, where the population is 120, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. Staffing is a constant challenge, especially now, with restaurants everywhere having trouble attracting workers.

Still, longtime chef and partner Seadon Shouse keeps things moving smoothly — and satisfyingly — with his seafood-focused menu. Breathe deeply and you can smell the salt air from the fire-pit patio overlooking the ocean. Or cozy up inside, amid the nautical decor of polished wood, blue cushions and a rock wall that looks like part of the surrounding cliffs.

It's worth the journey just for the salmon wings. These rare finds are often-overlooked (sadly, discarded) cuts available from fishmongers if you know to ask for the inexpensive, relatively bone-free fin appendages. They look prehistoric, with their rippled fins sticking out of nubbins of salmon belly. They’re meaty and ribboned with succulent fat and deep umami flavor.

At Coast, the kitchen staff rubs them in dry barbecue spices, grills them to a slightly smoky char, then plunks them on a wooden board with grilled lemon ($16). As I pulled the moist meat from their frames, it reminded me of the joys of yellowtail collar or halibut cheeks.

You’ll also want to get the Coast’s signature trout chowder. Clams usually star in chowder, but I’ll argue that trout can be even better, as it doesn’t have that briny chew not everyone loves. Coast stocks its soup with lots of the flaky fish, potato chunks, micro celery, fennel and what has to be a crazy amount of cream ($14). It’s really rich, but I devoured every drop.

Fresh coastal cod is another signature dish; the mild fish is smoked and formed into rillettes ($16). Spicy Fresno chile sauce and crisp radish cut through the fat, making for a pleasing munch on grilled ciabatta.

More trout beckons, with steelhead sourced from the Columbia River flowing through British Columbia (local steelhead is increasingly threatened or endangered, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife). The fish ($32) is meaty and the accompaniments are robust — roasted zucchini, Cipollini onions, citrus sauce and toasted Sardinian couscous.

You also can get land-based fare here, such as a New York strip loin with confit fingerling potatoes and black garlic butter ($58) or smoked Mary’s chicken with marble potatoes, green beans, cauliflower and salsa verde ($28). The pork chop is a monster cut rounded out with toasted grains, mustard greens, bacon-apple compote and a peppery smoked carrot-ginger puree ($44). On the foggy, windy evenings Jenner is known for, the hearty plates are pure comfort.

The cavatelli is good, too. The chewy pasta is made with ricotta and tossed with sweet corn, sun-dried tomatoes, arugula, a healthy twist of black pepper and Parmesan breadcrumbs ($32).

Yet with the ocean just steps away, I still prefer the Corvina, with its hearty, thick flesh and luxurious mouthfeel. The chef dresses the South American fish in vibrant coconut citrus broth and delicately spicy espelette oil, then adds sides of crisp snap peas and bok choy for crunch ($32).

For more casual dining, Timber Cove has a comfy great room that shares space with the lobby and bar. Visitors gather in front of the huge rock fireplace to play retro board games, snack and sip wines showcasing Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties.

Go for the deviled eggs, capped in duck confit, tart pickled mustard seeds and fennel ($8), or a big, sloppy burger, made simply with butter lettuce, tomato, onions and smoked chipotle aioli alongside steak fries ($16).

Then clamber up to your room, and tuck into your fluffy bed for a perfect night’s sleep. The drive back home can wait until tomorrow.

Carey Sweet is a Sebastopol-based food and restaurant writer. Read her restaurant reviews every other week in Sonoma Life. Contact her at carey@careysweet.com.

Editor’s Note: This story has been revised to more accurately describe the resort’s location north of Fort Ross. A misspelling of Mendocino County has also been corrected.