THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Maravilla Awards

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Maravilla Restaurant Review:

The Californian-Mediterranean cooking at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa’s fine dining restaurant proves a match with the sun-kissed aura of Ojai. Chef Didier Lenders carries on the tradition of local, seasonal ingredients, which grow abundantly on and around the property. Patrons wind their way between lavender bursts and fragrant rosemary to a Spanish Colonial-style dining room. There, an artichoke flatbread juxtaposes sharp Pecorino cheese with truffle and bitter fresh arugula. Tender butter lettuce and ripe tomatoes from the garden mix with olives and feta cheese in a Greek salad splashed with red wine vinaigrette. Lamb loin --- balancing atop baby carrots and an underpinning of vegetable couscous --- is aromatic with Moroccan spices, the smoky harissa and herbal chermoula sauce providing a dose of complicated flavors. Fussy food and ambience had long deterred local diners, but both aspects have shifted: jackets are no longer required, and dishes like “chicken under a brick” (cooked skin-side down in a rich lemon herb beurre fondue) and crème brûlée lollipops reveal a decidedly more lighthearted approach to fine dining. The wine list is heavy on California selections, including representatives from the Ojai Valley, but also includes wines from more than 20 countries.