14 Years & Counting — Anniversary Brunch
Memorial Day · Monday · May 25, 2026
Choose a Restaurant
5 classic American picks · open today · $80–145 for two
🇺🇸 American / classic
💵 Budget: $100–150 for two
📍 Memorial Day Mon
⭐
Today's top pick
Moss Beach Distillery — classic American brunch on a Pacific cliff. Crab cake Benedict, Ghost Bloody Marys, fire pits on the patio. Romantic without stuffy. Two people with a cocktail and dessert lands right around $130–145 all-in.
★ The three to actually pick from
Ocean-view dining room at sunset
Cliffside patio with fire pits
Coastside crab cakes
Linguine di Mare
Pesto-stuffed salmon
Signature cocktails incl. Ghost Bloody Mary
Exterior at dusk
#1 · Classic + ocean
Moss Beach Distillery
Moss Beach · ~39 min · 22 mi from 420 Jeter · cliff over the ocean
Prohibition-era roadhouse on a cliff at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Heated outdoor patio with fire pits, eggs Benedict, Pacific surf below. OpenTable Top 100 Scenic View in America. Quintessential California romance.
Two-person tab estimate: 2 entrees (~$60) + 2 Ghost Bloody Marys (~$30) + shared crab cakes ($22.50) + tax & tip = ~$135–145
Alice's at Skylonda — the redwood roadhouse
Memorial Day weekend = motorcycle meet
Front porch, string lights
Outdoor deck under the redwoods
Big plate breakfast
Skyline + Hwy 84 intersection
★ Woodsy redwood roadhouse
Alice's Restaurant
Skylonda (Skyline + Hwy 84) · ~32 min · 14 mi from 420 Jeter · deep redwoods
THE canonical "let's drive into the woods" answer. Motorcycles + classic cars + mountain bikers cluster in the dirt lot. Outdoor deck under the redwoods, string lights, no pretense. Memorial Day means the parking lot becomes a car/moto show — go for the scene as much as the food.
Two-person tab estimate: 2 breakfast plates ($34) + 2 coffees ($8) + tax & tip = ~$60–70 (cheapest top-tier pick)
Duarte's Tavern, Stage Road, Pescadero
Storefront — 1894 original
Cream of artichoke soup — the legendary one (via Saveur)
Olallieberry pie from the family garden
Olallieberry pie à la mode
Original 1894 bar interior
Exterior view
Dining room
#2 · Classic + woods
Duarte's Tavern
Pescadero · ~53 min · 33 mi from 420 Jeter · sleepy redwood country
133 years old. Wooden booths, locals at the bar, artichokes growing on the farm next door. Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The most American small-town brunch within an hour.
Two-person tab estimate: 2 cioppinos / scrambles (~$50) + 2 soups ($24) + olallieberry pie ($11) + drinks & tip = ~$115 · cash-friendly, prices not published online
Sam's famous naked lobster roll
North Patio at sunset
King salmon over creamy corn
Sustainable seafood clambake for two
Fried seafood combination
Ahi sashimi over sushi rice
Oceanfront dining
#3 · Classic + harbor
Sam's Chowder House
Half Moon Bay · ~34 min · 19 mi from 420 Jeter · waterfront patio
Big oceanfront patio, the kind of place you actually want a lobster roll on a sunny day. NBC Today Show named the lobster roll one of the top 5 sandwiches in America. Less intimate — more lively — but the ocean is right there.
Two-person tab estimate: 2 lobster rolls ($68) + 2 mimosas ($28) + shared chowder ($19) + tax & tip = ~$145 (right at ceiling)
Closer to home — under-budget options
Floor-to-ceiling folk art
The dining room
The Silicon Valley VC bar
Buck's — Woodside village institution since 1991
Closest · ~$60
Buck's of Woodside
Woodside village · ~11 min · 5 mi from 420 Jeter · eccentric American diner
Not redwoods — but a true California institution where Hotmail, Netscape, Tesla, and PayPal were born across these tables. Floor-to-ceiling folk art: a Soviet space suit, Shaq's shoe, Statue of Liberty with a sundae. Ranchers next to VCs. Pancakes are legendary.
Two-person tab estimate: 2 breakfast plates ($28) + 2 coffees ($8) + tax & tip = ~$50–60 (cheapest pick on the list)
Harbor-front patio
Restaurant interior
Beers on tap
Blackened fish sandwich
Clam chowder bread bowl
Calamari
Harbor view from the patio
Cheapest · ~$80
Half Moon Bay Brewing Co.
Princeton-by-the-Sea · ~34 min · 20 mi from 420 Jeter · harbor patio · brunch menu Sat/Sun only — Monday is lunch menu
Casual harborside patio with fire pits. More "let's spend the afternoon" than "anniversary brunch" but if you want low-key with ocean air, this is it. House-brewed beers.
Two-person tab estimate: 2 entrees ($44) + 2 beers ($18) + tip = ~$80
Interior dining area
Restaurant and Generator Bar
No drive · ~$110
Salt + Brine
San Carlos · ~8 min · 3 mi from 420 Jeter · modern American · note: weekday-primary (call to confirm Mon Memorial Day status)
If a Pacific cliff is too much driving, this is the peninsula's best classic-American brunch within 10 minutes — when they're open. Light-filled, quiet, intimate. Built for two.
Two-person tab estimate: 2 entrees (~$48) + 2 cocktails (~$32) + pastry to share (~$10) + tip = ~$110 · Confirm Mon hours by phone before going
🌲 The Hwy 84 loop — anniversary drive option
Instead of picking one spot, drive the loop. Leave 420 Jeter ~9:30am, take Edgewood Rd → Hwy 84 west through the redwoods.
Stop 1 · Alice's at 10am for a late breakfast — Mexican scramble, Buttermilk pancakes, coffee on the deck. Memorial Day parking lot is the bonus show (motorcycles, classic cars).
Continue Hwy 84 west down through the redwoods (~30 min of pure forest road) to Pescadero.
Stop 2 · Duarte's at 11:30am for lunch — cream of artichoke soup, olallieberry pie à la mode.
Return via Hwy 1 → Hwy 92 → 280. ~3.5 hours of driving, two meals, redwoods + coast, total tab ~$170 for two. The actual "let's go drive" anniversary play.
Stop 1 · Alice's at 10am for a late breakfast — Mexican scramble, Buttermilk pancakes, coffee on the deck. Memorial Day parking lot is the bonus show (motorcycles, classic cars).
Continue Hwy 84 west down through the redwoods (~30 min of pure forest road) to Pescadero.
Stop 2 · Duarte's at 11:30am for lunch — cream of artichoke soup, olallieberry pie à la mode.
Return via Hwy 1 → Hwy 92 → 280. ~3.5 hours of driving, two meals, redwoods + coast, total tab ~$170 for two. The actual "let's go drive" anniversary play.
Cut from this list
❌ Navio @ Ritz HMB — $510 for two (over budget)
La Costanera — Peruvian, not American
Eskina — Mexican-American
Left Bank — French brasserie
Donato Enoteca — Italian
Alana's — closed Mon
Angelicas — closed Mon
Timber & Salt — dinner only Mon
Alpine Inn (Zott's, Portola Valley) — closed Mon
Don Quixote's (Felton) — permanently closed
Brookdale Diner — not operating
The Mountain House (Skyline) — dinner only Mon
Bella Vista (Skyline) — closed Mon
If asked to pick one
Book the patio at Moss Beach Distillery for noon. Order the crab cake Benedict or cioppino, the chowder to split, and a Ghost Bloody Mary. Sit by the cliff. Eggs, ocean, fire pit, classic American, $135. Then drive Highway 1 back over the hill — that's the postcard part.
If the cliff feels like a lot, swap to Duarte's at 11am — same classic American spirit at $115 with an 1894 backdrop, woods, and the artichoke soup that put Pescadero on the map.
If the cliff feels like a lot, swap to Duarte's at 11am — same classic American spirit at $115 with an 1894 backdrop, woods, and the artichoke soup that put Pescadero on the map.