A Bit of History
RESTAURANT HISTORY
Born of a golden era, dining at the Claremont has always recalled images of gracious living. As early as 1916 the Garden Room “high atop the hill” offered fine cuisine and historic, elegant charm. Renowned for its grand buffets and holiday soirees, the Garden Room offered a dining experience as fine as any city hotel and hosted famous performers such as Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Tommy Dorsey. In the 1930s the Garden Room was flanked by a large porch where guests would sit, walk and admire the surroundings and spectacular surroundings.
Throughout the years the Claremont continued the tradition of fine dining, opening Jordan’s, the resort’s Four Diamond award-winning restaurant in the former Garden Room. With unparalleled views of the twinkling Golden Gate Bridge and the California sunset, Jordan’s brought an atmosphere of relaxed elegance to Berkeley. In keeping with the goal to return to “gracious country living,” Jordan’s was furnished in the colors and styles of an English garden.
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and an acclaimed weekend brunch, Jordan’s offered California cuisine with a decidedly French accent highlighting ingredients indigenous to Northern California. Multi-course Tasting and Vegetarian Menus highlighted the bounty of the region and were matched with an extraordinary wine list. Gazing out at the lights of San Francisco, Jordan’s quickly became a celebrated dining destination in the Bay Area.
With an eye towards the future, Jordan’s underwent an extensive renovation in the fall of 2009, to re-open as Meritage, ushering in a new era of dining under the direction of Executive Chef Josh Thomsen who has worked at some of the finest restaurants and hotels across the country including the Little Nell Hotel in Colorado, a Relais Chateau property, and the French Laundry in Napa Valley.
Working with San Francisco-based Ziv Davis Interior and Architecture Studio, Meritage at the Claremont is both vintage and modern. Two-story high ceilings, original arches and columns celebrate the architecture of the striking hotel and create a dramatic entrance for any guest while a chic Mahogany bar with marble accents is complemented by cushy high back chairs stretching from the front of the restaurant back toward the kitchen. In the opposite corner, a cozy lounge encourages lingering over a glass of wine and enjoying some small plates while listening to music every night. The crisp color palette is both English country and coastal inspired bringing together a mix of cool blue, green, cream and gold which is accented by modern decorative wall hangings and photography.
Meritage celebrates the marriage of wine and food by offering contemporary Californian cuisine with an extensive selection of wines available by the taste, glass and bottle in a welcoming, comfortable atmosphere for the grandest of fetes or the most casual of dinners.
MERITAGE HISTORY
Meritage at the Claremont is the third restaurant to follow the great success of Meritage at the Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston and Le Meritage at the Maison Dupuy in New Orleans. The Meritage concept was first developed by award-winning Chef Daniel Bruce at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Overlooking the waterfront from Rowes Wharf, the restaurant is sleek with black, slate and marble accents and is designed to maximize the expansive water views.
Chef Bruce founded the Boston Wine Festival in 1990, the longest running food and wine pairing program in the country. It was from this successful series that the concept for Meritage was born and with much anticipation, opened its doors in 2002. Meritage’s philosophy is rooted in food and wine exploration with dishes created by matching food to wine in a progression of flavors from lightest to heaviest. Since its inception, Chef Bruce’s extraordinary dedication to fresh ingredients, thoughtfully prepared to complement the characteristics of wines, has awarded the restaurant multiple accolades including a Wine Spectator “Award of Excellence,” Mobil four stars and AAA Four Diamond Award.
With the success of both the Wine Festival and Meritage at the Boston Harbor Hotel firmly cemented, Bruce was invited to bring the concept to New Orleans and launched the French Quarter Wine Festival in 2007 at the Maison Dupuy which brought world class winemakers to New Orleans and was greeted with an overwhelming positive response. In spring of 2009 Chef Bruce opened Le Meritage, mirroring Meritage in Boston. Le Meritage features six categories of wine characteristics with dishes to complement those flavor profiles. For further guest customization, every dish on the seasonally-changing menu is available as small plates or large plates and focuses on the region’s best available organic and locally harvested ingredients.
With the opening of Meritage at the Claremont, Chef Bruce’s award-winning concept now arrives on the West Coast, shepherding in a new era of dining in the San Francisco Bay Area under the direction of Executive Chef Josh Thomsen. Prior to open Meritage at the Claremont, Chef Josh Thomsen traveled to Boston to meet with Chef Daniel Bruce and experience first-hand the unique food and wine concept that Meritage offers. Following Boston, Chef Thomsen visited Le Meritage in New Orleans to understand how the Meritage concept can blend with regional trends and influences.
Offering contemporary California cuisine that reflects the locale and an updated interpretation of fine dining in the historic venue, Meritage relies heavily on the local farmers and purveyors to shape its menu and dishes are featured with suggested wine pairings divided into two sections, a white page and a red page. In addition, Chef Thomsen offers a unique “Vineyard to Table” prix fixe menu featuring produce, herbs, meat, poultry, olive oil, cheese and other ingredients sourced directly from Napa and Sonoma wineries. While the approachable wine list features varietals from around the globe, the main focus is on local wine - from those in Napa Valley to little known wineries in Santa Cruz and Livermore, California.
The 1st annual Berkeley Wine Festival is scheduled to take place in Spring 2010.
