Restaurant Review: Vessel on Shelter Island

Restaurant Review

Vessel Restaurant at
Kona Kai Resort
1551 Shelter Island Drive
Point Loma, CA 92106
619-819-8195

Every now and then a special occasion occurs and you want to make it so special that those involved never forget it.  That occasion happened the other day when I wanted to take Ibrahim Al Nashashibi (“Al”) out to celebrate two things:  His birthday, and the completion of his second novel.  As a restaurant owner, (Fairouz) he doesn’t get out much, and since this was a breakfast I wanted it to be someplace special.  Vessel immediately came to mind because of the spectacular view, the good food, and the wonderful service.

I made reservations though their on-line number, just in case they might be busy at 10:00 am.  We had our choice of inside or outside seating,  and we agreed that outside was the place to be.  A good choice, but the next time I will make sure that we are in a place where the sun shines in the morning.  The breeze was chilly; the sun hadn’t come around to our side yet, but the view was wonderful.

We were seated immediately; the busboy met us with cups of coffee and glasses of water.  We were given menus almost at the same time as the coffee and water.  The menu had many suggestions, from cereals, to plates of eggs, omelets, breakfast sandwich, chilaquiles, Eggs Benedict, hash, salmon, pancakes, and Cinnamon French toast.

Eggs Benedict

As if that wasn’t enough there was also a section of “add-ons,” which included a side order of eggs, breakfast meat, potatoes, and a variety of breads.  Although there was a “warning” paragraph about having food allergies, I did not see any gluten-free items on the menu per se.

Al elected to have the breakfast sandwich which consisted of a fried egg, prosciutto, gruyere cheese, arugula, tomato, pommery aioli, and served on a pretzel bun.

At the waitress’s suggestion, I had the Eggs Benedict, which was poached eggs, prosciutto, English Muffin, hollandaise, arugula, and breakfast potatoes.  Both the Eggs Benedict and Breakfast Sandwich was $17 and I did not notice this until writing this article that we were charged $12 for 2 coffees.

It is interesting to note because I do not drink coffee, and had not noticed the billing at the time of paying the bill.  It is also interesting to note that there was a 5% surcharge to help cover increasing labor costs.

breakfast sandwich

Al said that the breakfast sandwich was delicious. My Eggs Benedict were also good, but because we were served outside, by the time I got to the second one it was too cold to eat.  It wasn’t that warm when it was served to me in the first place, and it quickly cooled down.  The flavors were good, but I had to leave it on the plate because of the temperature.  The potatoes were fingerling potatoes, small and cooked well.  The arugula was chopped and on the side of the plate, and I found it added to the look of the Benedict plate, but did not do anything to enrich the meal.  I left it along with the single Benedict.

I think that Al was impressed with the breakfast. He had been there many times before but all of the people he knew were no longer working there.  There is no longer valet parking, but the parking lot attendant allowed us to park in the area reserved for checking-in hotel guests.  Our waitress was exceptional and stopped frequently to ask if everything was okay.

I want to point out one other thing also.  While there, three different patrons came in with their dogs. It was obvious that they were not service dogs.  All three people sat in different areas of the outside eating area, and we saw a waitress bring doggie bowls of water to two of the tables.

I need to say that I am a dog lover; I have a dog of my own, but for the life of me I cannot understand why people bring their dogs into a restaurant when they – and others – are eating a meal.  The dogs were cute; they didn’t bark much, but they just seemed out of place to me. Yes, it is a hotel, and perhaps the people were staying at the hotel and didn’t want to leave them alone in the room. I just think of those people allergic to animals – like my daughter – and even from a distance could have a serious allergy attack.

However, the food at Vessels was delicious; the scenery was delightful, and Al allowed me to pay for his birthday breakfast, after my telling the waitress she wouldn’t get a tip if she gave the bill to him!  It is truly a place to enjoy.