A meal at the Martine Inn is presented on fine 1800's style porcelain, Victorian and Old Sheffield Silver tableware sets, lace and Lancaster Rose sterling silver flatware introduced by Gorham in 1896. You may find yourself eating with an ice cream fork, berry fork, fruit knife, fish fork, or asparagus tongs, depending on the menu you choose. Service includes warm spoons presented from 1880's Victorian silver spoon warmers. A historical explanation on the use of silver in the 1800's will be presented if desired. Eating at the Martine Inn recreates the style and elegance of fine dining experienced by the very wealthy in the late 1800's.

Our recipes and menus are prepared from the old 1880's "White House" cookbooks and reformulated to meet our current tastes. Monterey County's finest wines are selected to complement the food with the wines themselves frequently included in the recipe. Particular attention is paid to the balance of flavors in the courses and the wine's contribution to that balance.

Our food is prepared by Chef Ismael Diaz Vizcaya, formerly of Harvey's Lake Tahoe. He has created fine entrees for our guests for over 13 years. Ismael has a unique talent for creating subtle flavors with artistic presentation and effective use of color to produce both visual and taste delight.

We can produce these Victorian meals from 5 courses for lunch with 2 wines and 1 champagne up to 12 courses dinners that duplicate the State dinners in the 1880's including 10 different wines and 2 different champagnes. Each luncheon and dinner is individually designed to meet your particular needs. Luncheons typically take 1½ to 2 hours and dinner can take up to 4 hours.

A major part of the dining experience is our location and overall ambiance. You will be looking directly out at the waves crashing against the rocky coastline of Pacific Grove on Monterey Bay. On clear days you can see the peak at Mt. Madonna, 50 miles across the bay. You will be seated at 100 to 150 year old tables on 1880's Victorian chairs. You will be able to hear, in addition to the roar of the ocean waves, a 1923 reproducing baby grand piano playing renditions by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Leo Ornstein and other famous pianists.

* Our Victorian dinners are for groups of 20 or more and must be scheduled at least 1 week in advance. We are sorry, but our city permit does not allow us to serve individuals, only groups.