Dine at the high table
Give your day a lift with a visit to Fathoms restaurant and bar in Lincoln City
By Sabine Wilson
For the TODAY
It is an incredible blessing to exist near the beach — to play, to surf, to simply lie down and listen to the waves. But one of the best, tried and true ways to enjoy the ocean is by eating some delicious food while sipping on a sensational cocktail and gazing down at the waves.
The Inn At Spanish Head hotel, along with its esteemed penthouse restaurant and bar Fathoms, are local gems that have been around since 1968. The building was created in tandem with the Oregon Beach Bill, a piece of legislation that passed in 1967 allowing public ownership of land along the Oregon Coast.
“Every room in the building, ranging from hotel rooms to the restaurant and lounge to the lobby and even the women’s bathroom, has a beautiful oceanfront view,” General Manager Michael Schneider said.
The beautiful and incredibly unique building stands 10 stories high. It would be one of the tallest structures on the coast were it to sit completely above ground, but drivers going north on Highway 101 will only see the top two levels of the building.
On top of the stunning architecture, the building was meticulously designed by its original owner Peter Gunnar, with a common theme in mind.
“He was inspired by Spain’s expeditions to and conquest of the Pacific Northwest,” Restaurant Lead Ashley Bellemore said. “The developers really worked to implement the ‘Spanish’ of the Inn at Spanish Head while designing this place by implementing Spanish archways, the red shingled roof and the color coordination to tie the Mediterranean in with the beach theme.”
While the history in this building is fascinating, the team at Fathoms Penthouse Restaurant & Bar works diligently to consistently update the restaurant and lounge to make it feel like a “staycation” on the 10th floor, where the bar and lounge are located. And this floor is for anyone to enjoy, whether you are staying at the hotel or not. Luckily for Lincoln City, exciting changes are coming for summer.
“We are implementing a new menu by the beginning of June,” Schneider said. “We will be offering a lot more seafood items such as: coconut prawns, a halibut seafood Oscar and stuffed fresh coho salmon, with crab and shrimp. We are also adding a mouthwatering 32-ounce Tomahawk steak for a unique two-person dining experience. Other new items are the flatbread pizza appetizers on the Beach Bites starter menu, as well as a roasted eggplant Caprese sandwich on our lunch menu and house-made crab cakes on our dinner menu.”
But if you have favorites on the old menu, do not worry. The restaurant will still keep some of the local favorites like the calamari appetizer and the artichoke crab dip.
It is not merely the food menu getting an update. The bar menu as well as the bar itself are also getting upgraded.
“In addition to doing bar renovations, we’ve expanded our specialty cocktail and bar menu to include drinks you won’t see anywhere else,” Schneider said.
“The new cocktail menu will include an amazing gin cocktail called the ‘Empress Flower,’” Bellemore said. “It’s going to have Empress gin, hibiscus flower, hibiscus syrup and a soda water simple syrup. We are also bringing sangrias in — both red and white.”
“We have a new portfolio of wines and distributors that we are bringing in,” Schneider said. “We will have local pinots and are also adding some California reds.”
In addition to the innovation Inn At Spanish Head is bringing to its restaurant and bar, the hotel also holds true to the roots and warmth that make it so special. Take ‘Mama’ the Hotel Cat for example. Mama greets many guests at the entrance to the lobby.
“Mama the cat is 23 years old and is a staple to this resort,” Schneider said. “She loves to greet people and people love to see her too. We pay her in treats.”
“This really is her domain,” Bellemore added.
Additionally, the hotel has a fourth-floor conference service that holds up to 120 people for events like weddings, conferences and any type of group business.
The Inn At Spanish Head truly has it all. And with the staff’s work ethic and dedication to locals and tourists alike, we can expect nothing but good things to come.
Fathoms Restaurant is located inside the Inn At Spanish Head at 4009 SW Hwy. 101 in Lincoln City and is open daily from 8 to 11:30 am for breakfast, noon to 4 pm for lunch and 4 to 9 pm for dinner. The bar is open 1 to 9 pm every day and until 10 pm on Friday and Saturday. For more information, go to spanishhead.com or call 541-994-1601.