The drive to Cliff House takes you through sea-swept landscape and sand dunes that cross the road like snowbanks. It’s located at Point Lobos on the westmost point Lands End, next to the foundational remains of what used to be the Sutro Baths.
It’s a peculiar place — if you think about it– for 11 years it was a massive Victorian-style building that sat precariously on the cliffs of Lands End. This seems a bit like thumbing your nose at fate in an area known by its sudden rock shifts and earthquakes. This is also the historic home of the sea lions that you now find at Pier 39.
However, Cliff House survived the 1906 earthquake with little to no damage… and then burned to the ground a year later. The building that you see now is the neoclassical rendition of what was built after the 1907 fire.
We came here for the food and the restaurant doesn’t disappoint; the food is gluten-free and fantastic. I came with La Niña and the staff treated her like a queen. In return, La Niña recited (dramatically) a poem that she helped write for theatre camp. And, in typical La Niña form, the staff blew her kisses and gave her high fives as we left at the end of the evening.
To see historical photos of Cliff House, visit the Cliff House Project website. The photo in the gallery is now in the public domain.
