Solage’s stellar spread.
When sisters Saskia and Petra Bergstein founded their Bay Area-based brand, The Caviar Co., “our goal was to see caviar everywhere,” Petra says. Eight years later, it’s clear the Bergstein sisters were on to something. Caviar is everywhere, including many Forbes Travel Guide-rated hotels’ restaurants.
“We really encouraged restaurants to go beyond the traditional caviar service, where you just buy an ounce of caviar and it’s really expensive,” Bergstein says. “We were working with chefs and said, ‘Put it on your tater tots. Put it on your omelets. Use it as an ingredient to give the surprise and delight without scaring people away with the full one-ounce caviar service that costs hundreds of dollars.’”
The Caviar Co.’s cooler of decadence.
Chef Rodrigo del Valle, at Four-Star Las Alcobas, A Luxury Collection Hotel in Mexico City, follows Bergstein’s advice and serves caviar in a unique appetizer. “CyT” (Caviar y Tequila), found at the hotel’s Anatol, consists of an ounce of caviar atop a potato terrine with chipotle guacamole and crema de pueblo (a Mexican cream similar to crème fraîche but enhanced with lemon zest). The caviar bite is unexpected but delicious, and a chilled Casa Dragones tequila blanco accompanies it.
Another surprising place where caviar is popping up is at the meal’s last course. “We love it in a dessert,” Bergstein says. “Caviar and strawberries go really well together, and white chocolate does, too. White chocolate’s fat content matches the caviar, so they are a really good pairing.” The Caviar Co.’s tasting room in Tiburon serves caviar atop Basque cheesecake, white chocolate potato chip cookies and Humphry Slocombe’s strawberry ice cream.
Caviar Russe, which has caviar-focused restaurants in New York and Miami, also adds the ingredient to its desserts. It spreads caviar on crème brûlée and inside canelés. For the latter, the chef cuts the French pastry in half and inserts the delicacy with a scoop of buttermilk gelato to make a decadent canelé sandwich.
Speaking of scoops, ice cream and caviar make a delicious combination at Miss River at Four-Star Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans. The restaurant crafts a Creole cream cheese ice cream with Imperial Golden Osetra caviar. “It’s a favorite,” says the restaurant’s director of public relations, Vicki Bristol. “The sea salt notes in the caviar complement the ice cream to satisfy those salty-sweet cravings.”
San Laurel’s egg whites and caviar.
Eggs have always been a popular accompaniment to caviar, and many chefs are still using it to jazz up breakfast. Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Conrad Los Angeles offers an opulent start to the day in the form of huevos el camino at San Laurel restaurant. The stunning dish consists of egg whites topped with labneh, nasturtium, croutons and a large serving of Kaluga caviar and is finished with a warm yolk sauce.
Renowned chef José Andrés gets generous with caviar at The Bazaar by José Andrés at Four-Star Waldorf Astoria Washington DC. There are signature caviar tea sandwiches; caviar, lobster and black truffle quiche; “tacos” with jamón Ibérico and caviar; oyster po-boys with caviar; cones filled with caviar and chive crème fraîche; and fried potatoes with labneh, cured egg yolk and caviar.
The team at Napa’s Four-Star Solage, Auberge Resorts Collection also has a menu filled with exclusive caviar dishes. In partnership with the Parisian institution Caviar Kaspia, Solage chef Gustavo Rios adds caviar in several ways, starting with something unusual: a cocktail. The Just a Bump is a variation of a classic martini with gin, vermouth, basil seeds, caramelized pearl onions and caviar. There’s also caramelized onion crème fraîche dip served with caviar, crispy onions and housemade potato chips; avocado toast with caviar; tuna, hamachi and crab tartare with dashi crème fraîche and caviar; and a crispy sourdough pretzel with crème fraîche, eggs mimosa, red onions, chives and one ounce of caviar. Solage even has a dedicated caviar concierge who will deliver any dish to a guest’s room.
“Hotels are all about the experience right now, from the second you walk in,” Bergstein says. They want guests to find new ways to experience caviar, whether with a personal concierge or perhaps a different presentation. At Five-Star St. Regis San Francisco, for instance, a champagne and caviar cart rolls out every evening between 5 and 6 p.m. Guests can enjoy caviar bumps (a spoonful placed on the side of your hand), blini topped with caviar or oysters on the half shell with caviar.
Rolling in the roe with a caviar cart.
The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans is another destination where a caviar cart takes center stage. At the Four-Star hotel’s Maison Orleans Club Level, the cart is wheeled out on Saturdays and lets club-level guests indulge in a build-your-own blini bar with chives, crème fraîche, minced red onions and chopped egg yolk and whites.
While some properties roll out the roe, others opt for an exclusive location to enjoy the decadent dish beyond the restaurant or guest room. At Forbes Travel Guide Recommended San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, you can arrange a champagne and caviar tasting in the property’s Old Adobe, a historical landmark built in 1825.
At Five-Star ESPACIO, The Jewel of Waikiki, you can book a sunset champagne and caviar hour on the hotel’s gorgeous rooftop overlooking the ocean.
Hotel Jerome’s posh poolside experience.
Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection in Aspen gives a new meaning to “aprés” with its elevated experience where tired skiers can indulge in caviar at private heated pools. The item comes in a serving tray that floats in the Jacuzzi.
Caviar isn’t just a culinary ingredient; it’s a luxury product used at some hotel spas. Five-Star La Prairie Spa at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills uses it in the signature caviar facial. White caviar brightens the skin, while golden caviar plumps and firms the face.
At Hotel 1000 Seattle, LXR Hotels & Resorts, you can make an appointment with a dedicated spa butler who will fix you the most luxurious bath, complete with champagne and caviar.
Of course, if you’re in the mood for a classic caviar setup, plenty of hotels provide more traditional services. At San Francisco’s Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Palace Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel, you can select caviar as an add-on welcome amenity. A jar of the elegant eggs and a bottle of sparkling wine from beloved California producer Domaine Carneros will await you in your room upon check-in.
At Forbes Travel Guide Recommended The Wall Street Hotel’s Lounge on Pearl, you’ll find a menu featuring four types of caviar. Choose from the quintessential accompaniments like blini and chives, but there are also more interesting options, such as oysters, duck fat latkes, uni French toast or soft-boiled eggs and soldiers.
MacArthur Place Hotel and Spa has gotten in on the fun, too.
At Four-Star MacArthur Place Hotel & Spa in Sonoma, chef Francisco Lopez Jr. has noticed that “a caviar renaissance has commenced in the luxury dining space — related to availability, affordability, service and types of presentation. Caviar is being presented in new ways, such as inside of waffles, as chips and dip, served as a ‘caviar bump’ or even on top of savory French toast. It’s more approachable to everyday consumers, more photogenic, and available in less high-end restaurants.” Lopez Jr.’s service comes with potato chips and crème fraîche, but caviar is also found on other dishes, such as a scallop entrée with fennel cream and leeks.
Bergstein agrees that caviar has become more mainstream, but stresses that it will never be considered common. “Yes, it’s more accessible,” she says. “Yes, you see it in so many more places, but you should still feel giddy when you get to have it. Eating caviar should not feel ordinary. It’s still something that you should feel excited about.”
