With the opening of an incredible, cliffside hotel last June—Sacred Rock Inn—followed by this month’s announcement that the Harbor House Inn is a finalist for the 2025 James Beard Foundation Awards, one tiny Northern California town has gone from little-known to nationally recognized in record time.
Elk’s is not exactly an overnight success story. The Mendocino hamlet—population 275—has been attracting attention since one of its (only) two restaurants earned its first Michelin star in 2019.
But what began as a mild trickle of interest for a quaint coastal town has grown into a deluge of excitement. Elk is no longer a Pacific Coast Highway pass-through, it’s a destination.
Elk has always been beautiful: a fog-soaked enclave at the crest of hundred-foot cliffs lapped by hungry ocean waves. It began as a lumber town and two of its three current hotels—the Elk Cove Inn (6300 Hwy 1) and The Harbor House Inn (5600 Hwy 1)---have origins dating back to those early days.
A room at Sacred Rock Inn(The Nomadic People)
Later, after the logging industry went bust, Elk became a secluded coastal retreat. The Griffin House and the Greenwood Pier Inn, which opened there in the 1970s, were magnets for free-spirited types.
Out of those properties came the Sacred Rock Inn (5920 Hwy 1). Purchased by the Jackson Rancheria Band of Miwuk Indians in 2014, they spent ten years meticulously restoring and renovating the estate’s collection of seaside cottages and bungalows, and its historic Victorian manor.
The tribally owned boutique inn is now a gorgeous sanctuary of secluded gardens and redwood paneling, with views so good, they defy description. The rooms in the mansion and the modern inn are outfitted with private waterfront decks, marble-and-tile baths, and a palette of watery blues and sandy earth tones. (Rumor has it a former Disney Imagineer was involved in the design.) Cottages and two-story bungalows—including the most spectacular of all, the Cliff House, with its upstairs library and stained-glass bathroom windows—provide even more space and privacy.
The restaurant at Harbor House Inn(Courtesy of @theharborhouseinn)
The restaurant at Elk’s Harbor House Inn just a handful of yards down the road from Sacred Rock has been worth the drive from San Francisco since long before Michelin’s inspectors took notice six years ago. Both the restaurant—which has gone up in rank from one to two stars and also has a green sustainability star---and its accommodations have kept critics and visitors drooling ever since.
The most recent feather in its cap, the restaurant’s selection as a James Beard finalist for Outstanding Hospitality, calls out not only the Harbor House’s welcoming atmosphere but also its excellence in everything from food to service to operations. The inn, which has six rooms plus five stand-alone cottages, was among the first hotels in the U.S. to be awarded the new Michelin Key last year.
The Harbor House isn’t the only restaurant that’s earned high praise in Elk. The French-influenced Sibo at the historic Elk Cove Inn, has elegant food and panoramic views that put even Big Sur to shame. Now, with the opening of Sacred Rock Inn last summer, the town of less than 300 has a third fine-dining destination.
Greenwood Restaurant at Sacred Rock Inn(Jesse Cudworth)
The 22-seat Greenwood Restaurant has a deeply considered approach to local, seasonal ingredients in dishes with Asian, European, and California influences—think Dungeness crab ravioli (with beet, ricotta, and umami crumble) and uni carbonara (with squid ink bucatini, trout roe, nori crunch, and bacon). Sacred Rock’s more casual sister restaurant, Elk House, is open for breakfast and lunch five days a week, with options like chilaquiles and Korean fried chicken sandwiches.
There’s no obvious reason why this tiny Mendocino town became the kind of food haven most cities can only dream of—but one thing undoubtedly upped its chances: it’s just a 30-minute drive from Anderson Valley Wine Country. Like Elk’s restaurants and inns, the appellation recently earned its own high-profile recognition. In 2024, Wine Enthusiast named Mendocino the American Wine Region of the Year. Known especially for bold pinot noirs, crisp white varietals like pinot gris and riesling, and a focus on sustainable growth (Mendocino has a third of California’s organically farmed vineyards), tasting rooms at wineries like Husch, Navarro, Roederer, and Lichen are legendary—and visiting them is far more affordable than the majority of those in Napa and Sonoma.
Whatever that secret recipe for small town magic, there’s no question that Elk—with its unmatched ocean views, darling inns, exceptional food, and nearby Wine Country—-has got it.
Anderson Valley's Navarro Vineyards(Courtesy of @navarrovineyards)
