If you never visited the old Linn’s you would have no way of knowing how great the transformation was after fire destroyed the restaurant in April of 2006. All you would know now is that this is a very, very good place for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just an afternoon dessert and coffee.
After a 20-month rebuilding program, the new Linn’s opened in December 2007 in a completely transformed space and with a new and exciting menu.
John and Renee Linn moved to a farm about five miles east of Cambria in 1977. They ran a fruit stand and pie making business. In 1989 they opened Linn’s in the heart of the East Village of the Central Coast town of Cambria. It was a good place for lunch. A major portion of the space was given over to the sale of wines, oils, vinegars, aprons, pot holders and the like. The real draw, however, were the baked goods.
While the restaurant was being rebuilt, the Linn’s opened Gourmet Goods where they continued to sell the packaged foods, gift baskets and accessories that had been available in the restaurant.
They also opened Easy-as-Pie Café around the corner from the restaurant site. There they sold the baked goods that had been available in the restaurant and offered a lunch and dinner menu of light fare.
In the reconstruction of the old restaurant they hit a home run in every way. The space is larger, warmer and more welcoming. And the menu is solid enough to guarantee return visits. Much of the food travels a direct line from the Linn’s to their kitchen in Cambria. And the kitchen is up to the challenge of maintaining the quality as it arrives at your table.
Whether you visit for breakfast, lunch or dinner, you’ll find a varied menu that can please most any palate. On a recent lunch visit I ordered a small plate of seared ahi tuna. The fish itself was of impeccable quality and the preparation couldn’t have been better – perfectly crusted with black sesame seeds, seared to about one-quarter of an inch and moist and flavorful on the inside. It was served with a cucumber slaw that was a perfect compliment. I followed that with a chocolate éclair filled with a mixture of custard and whipped cream that was a fresh and tasty as any éclair I had ever sampled.
As we walked to our table I looked around and saw burgers everywhere. At least one person at every table on both floors of the restaurant seemed to be eating some kind of burger. The lunch menu offers eight different small plates, five types of starter salads, six entrée salads, six burgers, four pot pies, eleven sandwiches, pot roast, meatloaf, salmon …
The dinner menu is equally impressive, with ten small plates and seven starter salads, eight tapas, pork chops, fillet mignon, meatloaf, beef stroganoff, and more. And for breakfast there is a full complement of egg dishes, Paninis, baked goods, meats, hot and cold cereals, pancakes, and the like.
No more is Linn’s a place to think of only for lunch or for an afternoon dessert and coffee. It’s a full-fledged, top notch restaurant and a welcome addition to what once was a sketchy selection of quality restaurants in Cambria.
