Carmel Valley’s Lucia Restaurant And Bar’s Newest Seafood-Centric Menu

Helmed by Chef Cal Stamenov, Forbes Four-Star Lucia Restaurant and Bar is a fine dining destination located at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa. Set on 28 stunning Carmel Valley acres lush with vineyards, flowers, lavender, olive orchards, culinary gardens and more, Lucia showcases the best this area has to offer.

With the restaurant being just 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean, Chef Stamenov has a bounty of fresh seafood to create with, in addition to all the locally sourced produce that can be found at a number of quality farms nearby. This month, he is featuring a special seafood-centric menu called Oceans 21.

Starters include the Peekytoe Crab Tartlet, plated with squid ink and vibrant pea shoots, crowned with a dollop of sea urchin; local Monterey Red Abalone, lightly dusted and served with an onion carbonara and Enoki mushroom-seaweed butter; local seaweeds salad with edamame and fresh slivers of Hamachi with a lime-ginger emulsion; and Oil Cured Spanish Sardines with a simple heirloom tomato pairing and toasted house made olive sourdough.

Inspiration for the entrée dishes are innovative and span globally. From Main Diver Scallops & Lobster served on a bed of loose ravioli with carrots myjoté and celery root purée to Bigeye Tuna au Poivre with sticky rice furikake and a creamy wasabi finish, there’s a variety of impressive dishes to select from.

There’s also a Tuna Tarte in puff pastry, with crisp caramelized onion, an avocado foil and black truffle vinaigrette finish; Local Wild Pacific King Salmon; and Alaskan Halibut, with a medley of vegetable crust and carrot-passion fruit emulsion.

Lucia is a stunning restaurant set against the dramatic backdrops of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Featuring 2,300 square feet. of alfresco dining, in addition to a contemporary 90-seat dining room decorated with rustic elements that include marble and reclaimed wood,  it’s a dining venue worth the drive from San Francisco or wherever you may be visiting from. Lucia is also home to an impressive 25,000 bottle wine cellar.

We chatted with Chef Cal Stamenov on the new Oceans 21 menu, cusine inspiration and more. Here’s what he had to say.

Talk about the inspiration for your menu. Where do you source your ingredients from? Does the close proximity to the ocean allow for more options of fresh seafood?

There is a challenge in all seafood and I take inspiration from all over the world, but I mostly source locally. I try to create dishes that you one would normally not make at home. Personally I love to go through the local fisherman because it creates a network and adds different options like octopus, eel, seaweeds, spiny lobster, crabs and other seafood that are unique to the Monterey Peninsula or hard to source elsewhere.

What was the thought process behind your new “Oceans 21” menu? 

The idea was to create a menu for true seafood lovers, from the rustic fried oysters to the more elegant lime crème avocado with citric caviar.  Seafood is also packed with immune boosters, so that's an added plus.

 What is your cooking style? 

My style mainly consists of the combination of textures, colors and flavors for the best eye appeal. I always want to create new combinations, items that I would personally eat, but mostly out of my own selfishness.

What do you hope diners take away from dining at Lucia? What sets dining here apart from other fine dining establishments?

It's my hope that diners feel content and well cared for, and that they would like to return to try other dishes on the menu.  That would be a real compliment!

The fisherman that frequent our back door always have something new and different for me, and it is important to taste things all the time. Honestly, just because something says “organic” doesn’t mean that it will automatically taste better.

Fish is a very perishable and expensive commodity, and sometimes certain fish cannot be found at local supermarkets or fish markets, so that’s why one would visit a restaurant  that serves it.