This was our first visit to the Pacific Northwest and the Oregon coast captured us and held tight. We were so taken with the area that we lingered and visited several coastal towns. The Arch Cape Inn and Retreat was the perfect stay. The location, near Cannon Beach as well as the town of Seaside and Ecola State Park made it even more appealing.
Owners Cynthia and Stephen Malkowski purchased the inn a couple of years ago and did an amazing restoration of the property and the French chateau. Their goal was to have an eco-friendly retreat and serve meals that were “healthy but still exciting and flavorable.” They have met their goal.
Afternoon wine, cheese and little bites are served in the living room and the setting is perfect for guests to mingle and get to know one another. Dinner is available to guests and the intimate dining room offers guests tables for two or more, if desired. Both common areas are beautifully decorated. Guests also have access to a second story porch with comfortable seating that faces the ocean in addition to seating in the garden areas surrounding the inn.
Our guest room was the contemporary and spacious two-story Owner’s Suite with its magnificent views and fabulous bath, shower and dressing rooms. The suite also had a private deck.
We opted for dinner at the inn that evening and we were not disappointed. The Bistro Menu gave us seven options for starters that included soup, salads and dishes that could just be light simple suppers. There were three entrees and three desserts. We shared a Tomato and Onion Salad with Asparagus as an appetizer. I then enjoyed the Manila clams steamed in a sunchoke and corn broth while my husband had one of his favorite dishes, roasted pork tenderloin. He particularly enjoyed the sides of braised cabbage and organic greens and the mustard roasted potatoes. A hearty yet healthy offering. For dessert we shared the poached pear cake and the Oregon berry cafluti. So good!
The inn has a fantastic staff, all very professional, personable and harmonious. They work very well together and share the same goals for Arch Cape as Cynthia and Stephen. They have a phenomenal chef and he and my husband spent quite some time talking after dinner. Chef Jonathan Hoffman is a 27 year old culinary trained chef who grows his own herbs, hand picks berries and personally purchases his ingredients from local organic gardeners and farms.
Breakfast the following morning started with slices of oranges and grapefruit, with a sprinkle of dried cranberries and a simple syrup enhanced by a clear vanilla paste made from vanilla beans The entree which you think would have been a salmon benedict here in the northwest was a shrimp jambalaya benedict with a perfect poached egg on top and roasted potatoes with peppers and okra. It was such a diverse dish but after tasting we declared it excellent.
Our third course was a little breakfast dessert of sweet polenta flavored with lavender and garnished with salal berries that Chef Jonathan had gathered. He is so innovative and I would like to mention that he has been invited to cook at the James Beard house this month.
After breakfast you can take the short walk across the road down to Cannon Beach
or head north to the lovely town of Seaside and Ecola State Park, which is what we did. We wanted to get a better view of the “Haystack,” one of the more well known sea stacks along the coast.
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Our charming hosts were more then helpful in planning our stay on the Oregon coast. We followed their suggestions and they were right on each time. Cynthia, Stephen and their wonderful staff made our first visit to the Northwest a wonderful experience and we look forward to returning.