The Conservatory

The 5 stars is mostly for our amazing service from Chelsea! She was absolutely amazing and really went above and beyond. We did not have to ask for anything– she was on top of everything and so polite! The food was good– highly recommend the cocktail called The Feuding Farmers! It is on the spicier side but really good!
The views are amazing and worth the drive to see. Make sure to bring layers as it can get cold.

New chef was great! Truly enjoyed the Scallop & pork belly with English peas. Such a nice combination. The short ribs were amazing. So tender and flavorful. Also enjoyed the peach dessert! Think this is a new favorite spot! The view is not bad either!

Coming to a 5 star property you expect no less than a 5 star service… I would say that the service in your restaurant is very 2 stars. Since the moment I enter the room the experience was ruined… By been greeted «it is first come first serve» instead of a warm welcome after a long flight and then realizing the hostess isn’t doing her job and being the one who told me that while she went boh.
When I finally found my table in a quiet corner after the lack of assistance the female server approached the table 10 min later. I place my order for a glass of riesling and a light appetizer. 18 minutes later she comes back and asked me «was it the merlot what you wanted? «Wow…
The wine wine arrived 5 minutes in top of that (total of 23 min) PLUS I have to remind her for water as this was not offered to me.
After a time 2 managers sat down at the large table behind me, while I was waiting for my server to clear the plates so I could order a second glass, as the server never approached I had to ask the female manager for another glass by raising my hand and voice as she wasn’t paying attention.
I order a cheese board with her and guess what… She didn’t know her product… Mumbling she told me the different cheeses were in the board and towards the end she said «hmmm I don’t remember what’s the last one» which I them understood why the server was like that (manager didn’t know as well) I told her please no crackers and extra baguette instead as I am a bread lover instead I get double crackers and 3 slices of bread. As I got so frustrated I didn’t want to say anything until I had to pay which took time again so I had to approach another server to close my bill and explain her the situation.
The female server was very apologetic for the experience and told her it was not her fault and wanted to comp my bill which I did not allowed her as I am a person who just give feedback and if I eat it I pay for it which was not the case. I really hope this does not happen often at your business cause otherwise you have a problem, but I think that single dinners need to be taken care as much as large parties or douces.
would be good if you have 2 hostesses one taking care of the entrance next of the bar and other one in front. Training employees on product knowledge and standards. The property is beautiful and people coming here would expect what it comes with the name (5 star service). The restaurant is beautiful so you should use that on your favor to motivate employees.

I am giving the restaurant two stars because I had very high expectations given the price and location at the Ritz Carlton.
The server was not prepared with reasonable vegetarian options even though the concierge specifically asked them to have options available. Instead she suggested a salad, some appetizers, and told us we could design our own entrée. While I appreciate the flexibility, why weren’t they prepared with suggestions? I also *hate* being offered a salad as a vegetarian entrée.
They also did not offer my kids their bracelets (part of a scavenger hunt for hotel guests), we had to ask for bread, and they forgot my son’s hot chocolate.
The server was very nice but I just expected better and was disappointed.

As some other people mentioned the food isn’t anything special and they have a severely limited menu… as in… SEVERELY…that along with expensive… I could find a better restaurant most definitely and unfortunately I’m a big foodie and that’s just the truth… Waiters kept waiting for us to leave bc they needed the table despite us not being finished… and food didn’t come out all at once which meant it was a bit awkward waiting for everyone to be served…
I assume most people come here for the view but… I live in sf and can see these views many places. Parking is also a rip off, they can basically charge $ 30 only because they are the Ritz .I would never pay it anywhere unless forced to…
All of this wasn’t an issue .and in fact the first time I was here was my wedding day so in a way I love this Ritz location… and so that’s why…
…unfortunately .I doubt I’ll be back now.
At the end of our dinner a waiter said very loudly to a man in my party… if we could get his child to stop tapping his toy car on the table. All though the child was not mine, if it had been my place… I completely understood why then waiter said what he said… and I would have told him to stop, because its. not the place to do that… totally, completely understand why the waiter said what he said. The problem I have is he said it extremely loudly and basically announced it to the damn room… to the point I got embarrassed and frankly, again, it wasn’t even my child.
I almost pulled him aside to tell him all of the above… that I agree and 100% back why he said it… but that he should have been more discreet and nice about it… it was so inappropriate of him to handle the situation the way he did.
In a way, this is the Ritz and children need to be told by their parents to behave… but…on the other hand… I am paying his much to stay and eat here ?.. you could probably have a bit more manners in the way you handle customers (while again, still understanding why something was said in general).

Compliments to the chef. The service and food were fantastic.
The Conservatory is a classy, yet casual fine dining experience at the Ritz-​Carlton in Half Moon Bay. By casual, I mean not everyone is wearing a suit. The view while eating is breathtaking. We started off with two cheese plates for appetizers which included gorgonzola, cheddar, brie and more cheeses which I cannot remember, as well as a crispy bread and raisin bread. There were also delicious meat slices, prosciutto and salami, and walnuts and jalapeño slices coated in a rich, velvety honey. Some of the cheese mixed in with the honey and made a surprisingly delicious combo. They take delicate care in presentation and marrying the flavors with each entrée. For the next appetizer, the chef brought out a grilled artichoke with fried shiitake mushroom appetizer as well as an asparagus topped with crab salad appetizer. Everything was fresh as can be. The chef explained they maintain the freshest ingredients and pay attention about the temperature of everything on each plate.
On to the main course, I had the Maine lobster roll which came with truffle fries. I also had a taste of the bolognese, which was exceptional, and a taste of the eggplant sandwich. Everything had very elevated flavors. The hostess was attentive, friendly, and provided great service. We were full from the appetizers and was kind to pack up our leftovers. She even threw in a box of the rosemary foccia.
I am not one to base a Unilocal review on pricing. Here, you get what you pay for– which I thought was fine service and delicious food.

Stunning views, great service — horribly mediocre blah expensive food.
The mushroom patch sucked — like one of the worst desserts ever. Raw bar was quite tasty — but coffee was horrid. Tasted like Folger’s in a fancy French press container (that was already pressed prematurely upon arrival)
Great service though and again, the views…

Cute modern beach cottage style restaurant located in the Ritz with views of the Pacific. Food was good and we’ll prepared. Love the foccacia bread and the olive oil and balsamic at the table.
We had the seafood platter, lobster roll and goat cheese cremini. The first two were good, the cremini was great. It gets really busy around noon on the weekends so try to get there a little after 11 when it first opens.
Shout out to our server Chelsea, she was super nice and friendly.

I love this hotel and this is only for the food that we had.
We had a little metal scrap in our fries =(. We sent it back and they brought us a new one when we were all done eating. I think the fries just takes long time to make it.
Our server was very polite and she didn’t charge us for it.
The food there is okay but I had better and the price is not on the pricier side.

I shared a cheese board which was very good and also had the pork chop with puréed potatoes. It was excellent. Servers were very nice. Very kid friendly place. Outstanding views!

Pretentious. Views are beautiful, but it’s just overpriced, mediocre service. And $ 30 for parking? With what you pay to drink/​eat, parking should not be so pricey
Came in with family for pre-​dinner drinks and appetizers. I was informed by the snob at the reception table that it would be a 35 minute wait for our party of 4. We said okay and went for a walk. Not 2 minutes later, I get a text; as we are standing right outside in the lounge area. As we walked back in, she didn’t seem too pleased that we were staying. Made me feel like I had to be grateful that she would even be seating us at all. Our server turned out to be nice, but the drinks weren’t that great and neither was the cheese plate we ordered. Never coming here again. I’d rather donate my money to a good cause, and go have a drink somewhere else, than give it to this establishment.

It’s the Ritz’s internal go-​to dine, restaurant!
Can’t complain too much. It is fine dining and conveniently located in the Ritz for food, wine, cocktails and the standards for the ideal experience!
The appetizers of wings and charcuterie were solid. Didn’t disappoint.
My duck risotto was a bit salty on the meat side, but creamy and well made risotto.
Had a pleasant dining experience, but the waiter seemed overwhelmed. He forgot utensils to be brought pre-​dining. Forgivable because it was filled with laughs and chatters for the entirety of the dining experience.

Wonderful experience. We were a group of 14 colleagues who decided do our lunch. The restaurant does not take reservations but the staff were friendly and made a table available for our group within 10 minutes or so. Food was great and everyone in our group enjoyed the food, drinks and the atmosphere. The wait staff were very pleasant. We spent a good 2+ hours and later spent our time in the beach bar. Great place to hang out.

You definitely pay more for the view here rather than the food. Service was good, scenery is breathtaking, food is only okay. Don’t order chowder fries — unless you love paying a premium for cheap fast food on a fancy plate. The pasta was a bit greasy. But the window seat was amazing. Wish their food was better… Disappointed :(

I had no plans to have brunch here today. Early morning in Half Moon Bay for coffee (and an empanada hehe) then spend day enjoying the bluffs along Cowell Ranch. Hiked up and down and ended at the Ritz Carlton craving a Bloody Mary. Then it was just the perfect weather for chillaxing. Next thing you know sitting at sweetest spot inside. Ordered the HM mule, very refreshing but you must LOVE ginger beer. Split the duck confit salad and the salmon entrée. And finale that wasn’t also planned was the s’mores dessert. All of it was phenomenal!
I don’t think we would have gone this far off the track had it not been the fabulous hospitality by every Ritz employee. I mean even the cleaning lady stopped to ask if we needed assistance! Yeah I’m sure it’s part of their training but they were not over the top and appeared genuinely friendly. We’re not even guests this time but no matter. Thank you RCHM, I must plan a weekend or take couple days of work next time.
My only turn off were the golfers. It was some tournament or maybe just a lot playing today. But every time it was us that yielded to the damn carts and I can only count on one hand how many said thank you or acknowledged with a smile.

I have dined with my family several times at the Ritz. Today was a strange one all the way around. I called yesterday to see if breakfast was to be served today Sunday. The cordial woman assured me that it would d be … at 11:00. Today, we arrived at 11:15 and breakfast was over.
We could only have lunch. Ah well. Annoying since this is not the first time we have received mis information over the phone concerning goings on at the Ritz.
All of a sudden, in the middle of our meal, a fire alarm went off. We were all evacuated from the table.
We’d expect some compensation for the meal disturbed. But no!
Others did not return to their tables, leaving food and drinks untouched. Our waitress seemed quite sullen about our return. We were a family who DID return and she was bent out.
Not at all a class act.
The food? Ok but not a 20 soggy burger and cold mussels upon return discounted only after we reordered a dish.
In the end, we had to cancel our reorder and leave without our planned dessert since it was taking so long to arrive.
The fire alarm could have made it a great experience but in the end it just felt like we were in the way. Bad time!

Lounge area inside ritz
Beautiful view of golf course and ocean– request for window seat. Love a light kale salad here, option of chicken, beef, shrimp.

We had pretty good weather yesterday at the Ritz.
Party of nine joined up for bridal luncheon. The Conservatory does not take reservation so just come early and wait at the bar. Bartender was a nice gentleman that kept us company while we waited. They gave us the semi private room with a fireplace, super nice and comfy. We ordered calamari, charcuterie plate (yummy pâté and baby pickle =), Caesar salad. For entrees we had the grilled chicken, baked salmon, pasta. I ordered smoked salmon as my entrée, so fresh and healthy, load up on red onion and capers!
FYI. They charge $ 10 per car parking now, charge to your food bill so you don’t have to worry about finding change at the front door. Do have some dollar bills for tip tho… it is the Ritz after-​all.

This must be how the «other half» lives. .. Or are they the One Percenters? No matter, it’s a fine experience, visiting the Half Moon Bay Ritz-​Carlton.
The view is normally outstanding, but it was dismal, windy, cold and cloudy during our visit. The ladies were shivering, the men were irked. Nature, ya gotta love her.
Our party of four recuperated in the warm Conservatory lounge area and received outstanding service. Way, way better than I’m used to. We ordered the cheese plate, calamari, several drinks and coffee for me. French-​pressed coffee right in front of me, that is. Hooboy, I could get used to this!
The drinks were excellent, and the cheese plate was. .. small and expensive. The calamari was just a wee bit rubbery, a disappointment, given the high-​end atmosphere and view, and all. «High-​end» is a chic way of saying way too expensive. Way, way more than I’m used to.
I must note that the décor of the men’s restroom was simply awesome.
Come on out here, bring money, and enjoy the view and the service. Sadly, the food could have been ordered anywhere. All in all, A-​OK. Bring money.

Why 4 stars? Because it’s the best over-​priced, average food you’ll ever have.
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If this restaurant was lifted up off the ground, out of the hotel, and planted down even a couple of miles inland, it would never survive. Maybe that’s not a fair statement, as that would be the case with a large majority of restaurants in the country.
The point is, you’re paying to eat at the Ritz-​Carlton Half Moon Bay. The food’s about 50% marked up from what it should be, and it ranges from average to slightly above average. But look out those windows, and wow… it’s one of the coolest places I’ve ever seen.
We, unfortunately, ate once the sun had already set. So we saw black skies outside of our window. But that’s because we enjoyed the entire sun set from the top of the cliff that the Ritz sits on. So while we did miss out on the views at dinner, The Conservatory was a super convenient place for us to be able to walk inside and enjoy a meal after the best sunset of my life.