Navio

If you're looking for a dining experience that feels like a masterpiece, Navio at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay is the spot! While they don't have a Michelin star yet, I wouldn't be surprised if that changes soon--every dish is crafted like art, with flavors that remind me of El Bulli's legacy.Let's talk about the setting first. Perched on the cliffs of Half Moon Bay, Navio isn't just about incredible food--it's a whole experience. The views of the Pacific? Stunning. The service? Impeccable. The ambiance? Elegant, yet relaxed. Perfect for a special occasion or just treating yourself to an unforgettable meal.Now for the food--because, wow. Here's what we tried: PACIFIC MACKEREL - Fuyu Persimmon | Red Endive | Buddha Hand WAGYU CARPACCIO - Dijon Mustard | Fine Herbes | California Caviar MONKFISH - Suquet | Kalamata Olives | Rainbow Swiss Chard COLORADO LAMB RACK - Trinxat | Napa Cabbage | Calvados PUMPKIN - Cranberry | Pepitas | Cream Cheese APPLE - Maple | Quince | PecanEverything was beautifully plated and packed with unexpected flavors that worked so well together. Each bite felt like it was telling a story!And, of course, the cocktails: MISTLETOE - Sherry Oak | Punt e Mes | Plum Cordia APPLE GINGER RICKEY - Lyre's London | Ginger | Granny Smith | LimeBoth were perfectly balanced and complemented the meal so well.Whether you're a foodie, a luxury travel lover, or just someone who appreciates a fantastic meal with a view, Navio is a must-visit. Highly recommend for a dreamy night out!

Navio really has lost its variety and luster!They have cheapened out with their menu a million fold. It's the same high price for 1/3 or 1/2 the options of before. There is barely any variety of the dishes, and they don't even switch up the menu often. What happened to the salmon? The low temperature egg? The risotto? Their waffles are the worst waffles I have ever tasted. They're cold and crunchy. The lobster was hard and chewy. It was worth the $250 price tag (food only btw) when there were more options. Now, there's hardly anything. Who wants to spend $250 for just basically pancakes and waffles and only beef tenderloin and the scallop as the only "fancy" dishes? I hope Navio goes back to the way it was before.....with so many options to choose from. That also makes sure everyone can enjoy and have plenty!

Oh my goodness what a treat.You have to do this at least once. Holiday lunch buffet in December is so romantic and lovely. Service is excellent, they take care of you!Food is top notch. Loved almost every dish. I tried almost everything on the menu (minus benedict)Exceptional-ScallopsWagyu slidersPumpkin soup When I left I was offered a hot cider to take with me to walk around the property. Gotta keep those cold hands warm. LOVE.

My foodie friend made arrangements to come here for a joint birthday celebration. The restaurant is located in Ritz at half moon bay. They only do valet parking for about $35 during weekday. Okay priced. There are no restrooms inside the restaurant but there are a couple of options in hotel.It is in ritz so the decorations are top notched. Pretty throughout with a touch of holiday spirit. Their coat check is a bit casual. No tickets are given and it is stored in a closet close to the entryway. We were seated pretty quickly. Purse stool is available upon request. The lady forgot the purse stool for my friend at first but upon further request, the stool was brought over. Their chair is comfy and roomy and for my small clutch, we both fit in fine.We went with three course tasting menu.The meal started with a complimentary mushroom tempura along with a palate-cleansing drink. I find the tempura to be so so. Not much flavor and was not crispy (felt not so fresh). But the palate-cleansing drink was awesome.I had the wagyu carpaccio for the first course. The flavor combination with caviar and the crispy crostini was beautiful. The crostini was very delicate. Love it. The presentation with the smoke effect was fantastic. My monk fish was okay. The play with olive was refreshing. I personally preferred the green olive with monk fish. It was less tart and more nutty. Overall a solid dish. But my friend's lamb dish looked absolutely fantastic and a piece of art. Love the colors and treatment over the bone. Beautiful.I had the Black Forest for desert and realized that I prefer the chocolate without the cherry. It was good with the white chocolate wrap but I was craving more for a solid chocolate chocolate desert. My friends' apple and pumpkin deserts look fantastic. The apple desert looked wonderful... looking artsy! The birthday girl and birthday boy got an extra chocolate tasted desert that was lovely and fixed my chocolate cravings. The post meal sweet included a chocolate jelly ( a bit too sweet for me), a mint chocolate (okay... not a fan of mint chocolate) and a fig caramel (love it). The food portion here is on the small side. I am not a fan of bread but I found the need to eat the bread to keep myself full. Their bread offering here is sourdough. It was very crusty and has a good bite. Again, I am not a big fan of bread. I found it okay.Service here was overall very attentive and friendly. I heard from my friend that their afternoon tea is awesome too. Hoping to bring kiddos here for a try.The overall experience was great. When we got the coat, I need to tell them which coat was mine. So a little uncomfortable with their coat check process. Valet parking was great. Note for ladies wearing heels. Ritz here has cobblestone at the entry area. So please watch out. I am hoping to bring kiddos over for an afternoon tea experience. Good place to visit.

Spending the day in Half Moon Bay turned out to be a fantastic choice. Once we got over the hill, it was all nice and foggy and cool.We had a super fancy brunch at Navio in the Ritz Carlton, and it was absolutely amazing! The weekend brunch menu had a bit of everything for both of us. What's even better, our favorite dishes were on there not just once, but twice!After filling our bellies, we took a leisurely walk around the grounds and checked out their famous golf course, all while enjoying the awesome views of the Pacific.

Overall experience was 5/5, the "would definitely do again, but probably 1x a year" type of experience. Let me tell you why:The Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay is always a 5/5 experience no matter how the weather. The bagpipes, the coastline, the hot chocolate, the decor, the vibes, always an amazing experience.Navio:We were fortunate enough to get a reservation for New Years brunch. I believe the weekend brunch reservations go pretty quickly, so plan ahead and accordingly. The brunch was a "buffet style". All you can eat for 1.5 hours. No buffet line and you order with a server 2 dishes per person at a time. It was nice knowing that you don't have to pick food that could be contaminated by others.Food:Some of the food was super top notch 5/5. Other foods were hard passes. Some of the top favorties were:-Caviar plate (not the best caviar, but still very delicious)-Shrimp cocktail (the shrimp was maybe 3.5/5, but the cocktail sauce was excellent)-Fresh green salad-Truffle Scallop (definitely the best dish that day!)-Beef Wellington (a bit sweet, 4/5)-Lamb (5/5)-Dessert tower!! (4 different desserts!! 5/5)Some misses and would not order again:-Soup (was okay and worth the try, better for sharing)-Cavatelli (was just mid)Service:As expected from a Ritz Carlton restaurant, the staff was super attentive, polite, accommodating, and overall, extremely pleasant. Some of the best service around!

This place is a spot that my dad wanted to go to for years. My sister and I wanted to take him there for his birthday on Saturday so here we are. The Navio brunch buffet is $199 a person not including tip and you also have to pay $50 for the valet parking, so I'm sure you have an idea of where I'm going here price wise. There's a 2 hr limit to the brunch buffet and each person is only allowed to order 2 items at a time. In remaining 30 minutes, the staff starts to introduce the desserts to the table. Regarding the quality of the food, it was immaculate. The highlights in my opinion were the lobster roll, oysters, and wagyu sliders. The service of course was excellent which is not surprising to me considering this is in the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Our servers/waitresses were very kind, attentive, and broke down the rules of the brunch buffet pretty well. The ambiance of the place is needless to say, just beautiful. The inside of the hotel/restaurant was grand. My family and I were seated near the window where we got a mesmerizing view of the ocean. All in all, a great experience! Although on the pricey side. This is a spot you definitely have to check out at least once in your lifetime. Try it out if you like. :)

We had a lovely brunch here. It's no longer a buffet brunch. You are able to choose two items at a time from there large variety of dishes for about 1 1/2. The last half hour is for the desserts. They bring you a tower of desserts that consist of 4 desserts for each guest.The food was absolutely amazing. My favorites were the pan seared scallop, the wagyu beef slider and the beef tenderloin. There was so much to eat it impossible for us to try everything. The desserts were so delicious and beautifully made.We were seated right by the window so we can eat and enjoy the view of the ocean. Service was excellent. We were taken care of the moment we sat down until the time we left. This was a wonderful dining experience and a great way to celebrate my birthday. Thank you to the wonderful staff for bringing me a special dessert for my birthday. It was delicious.

My oh my! Navio at the Ritz was sensational! Food-gasmic, tranquil, superb service, and oh so delicious! We didn't even need an ocean view reservation to be seated next to the window Saturday afternoon (normally charged extra).Valet only so be prepared to drop $50 in addition to your 2 hour AYCE $199pp weekend brunch. Once seated, attentive staff ask for water preference (house, bottled still, sparkling) and bring over a complimentary shot glass portion of the day's fresh juice. We had guava. Peruse the menu and choose 2 items each time your head waiter/waitress comes by. No need to choose dessert because everyone gets one of each.I'd like to commend the following wait staff:Nohemi for welcoming us,Martha for gracing us with warm smiles,Arturo for the top notch service in noting all our orders.*Eats:Bread Service + butter & sea salt-Pan Seared Scallop-Caviar Tasting (California Sturgeon, Spanish Smoked Trout, Chinese Paddlefish)-Wagyu Beef Slider-Lobster with Spanish Smoked Trout Caviar-Chocolate Chip Pancakes-Belgian Waffles + Berry Compote-Cauliflower Soup + Pork Belly Bits-Cavatelli Pasta-Lamb Rack-Beef Tenderloin-Grilled Seasonal Vegetables-Marin County Cheese Tasting*Dessert Quartet: -Pumpkin Chai Cheesecake-Apple Choux-Semolina Cake-PralineOur group of 5 all started with the scallop & caviar tasting. My favorites were: lobster, wagyu beef slider, cauliflower soup, beef tenderloin, and Belgian waffles. I got 2 portions of the lobster. One of my friends got caviar 4x! She and her husband were the ones recommending Navio and know which items to keep coming back for. Her husband? Lamb rack, at least 3 portions? Hehe. Lobster was absolutely succulent and I dived in after eating the pancakes (melty chocolatey chips, fresh whip cream, maple syrup) & crisp yet chewy golden Belgian waffles topped with warm berry compote and powdered sugar oh-em-gee! While the scallop was prepared immaculately with a bed of truffle polenta, it was actually too naturally sweet for me.Who knew cauliflower soup could be so good? Thin like creamy steamed milk but complimented by pork croutons & chive oil. Wagyu beef slider was amazing! I could've eaten three of these with fries and gone home happy. Tender beef, smoked pork belly, shiitake mushroom, and black garlic aioli mmm.I was already full by the time I cut into the beef tenderloin but oh man, that steak sliced like butter! Cooked medium rare? So smooth and buttery. I felt bad I couldn't finish it because dessert arrived.Lamb was seared & cooked well, accompanied by peas & mint. My friend tried the pumpkin cheesecake and it was the epitome of Fall. Pretty orange mirror-glazed spiced cream atop chai shortbread with candied ginger. She took a bite and claimed it tasted like Macy's LOL. Her hubs was all, what?! I tried it at home and my mom agreed. Remember the scent of stepping into men's Macy's with a masculine mix of autumn & wood? That's kind of how the experience was.The Apple choux dessert was my second favorite with honeycrisp apple jam, salted cinnamon mascarpone, and pastry shell.Semolina cake was refreshing with a vanilla cake & huckleberry compote layer, topped with caramelized popped sorghum/popcorn.Two of us were pleasantly surprised with mini birthday desserts: tropical mousse that looked like mochi ice cream from first glance. Each spoonful was so smooth and creamy like mango. Gorgeous ocean views and they were setting up a wedding during our visit. Make sure to walk around the grounds and trail right by the water. Watch out for golf carts! Pricey experience, but something to do at least once to treat yourself.

I have to say... the drive to the ritz Carlton HMB is absolutely terrible but the view and ambiance and the hotel made it better.My boyfriend made reservations for 11:30 am and we got seated earlier which was nice. The moment we sat down, we were greeted by our server, Maria, who explained how this brunch experience worked and brought us bread+ butter and a yummy juice shot.I have to say, Maria made this experience A+++++. She made suggestions on what w should share and get individually to maximize what we order and we couldn't have tried everything without her help. I think the only thing we skipped was the waffle and pancake. Star of the show:- scallops- beef tenderloin - oysters-pumpkin soupEven my bf was surprised how good the pumpkin soup was! 10/10 it was a great first time experience and I hope if you stay at this hotel, you try it out!