Interesting Eateries of Humboldt County: Bristol Rose Cafe

In 2011 my family spent an unplanned night in Eureka on the start home from a lovely north coast/redwood vacation, and ended up choosing the Eureka Inn after some quick checking on the smart phone for nearby lodging that was both interesting and affordable. The Eureka Inn really delivered. The room wasn't much, but it was clean and comfortable and fine for the price. It was the public areas of the old hotel, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, that made our stay special.


Lobby of the Eureka Inn

But one of those we could only peep in at, the elegant dining room of the Bristol Rose Cafe. We asked and were told that they were still working on it, but were planning on reopening it. So when we passed through town going the opposite direction last week and we needed to eat, it's the first place I thought of.

This time, checking on the phone nearly led us astray. Yelp reported that the restaurant was permanently closed (choosing to hide, as it turns out, a review that stated otherwise from 9 months earlier). But my wife decided to call the hotel and ask, and was told they were open for business.



We were the only diners (although it was early, and the evening before Thanksgiving), and they are open limited hours (5-9 Monday-Saturday). Which means they don't do a high volume of business, and so can't possibly offer all fresh and made-from-scratch food. My wife complained that the blue cheese dressing tasted like it was from a jar.

But I thoroughly enjoyed my rib eye steak and twice-baked potato, the elegant dining room, and the musical accompaniment of 1940s crooners. If the lights had been a bit dimmer and there had been 30 other people dining there, it would have been perfect.