The Bench at The Lodge At Pebble Beach

The Story

To symbolize the return of Pebble Beach to American ownership in 1999, a commemorative bench has been placed overlooking the 18th hole where the acquisition was consummated. The bench honors the vision of its owners to preserve this national treasure for future generations. Thus the name "The Bench"

I had the pleasure to eat at The Bench last week and it truly was a pleasure.  It was a rare sunny and warm summer day on the coast so we sat out on the patio near the newly constructed fire pits.  Our table overlooked the 18th green and beyond that the Pacific Ocean.


The staff was great from when we arrived through until the presentation of our check.  We were greeted by the Manager Arianna Ilabaca, then Executive Chef of the Lodge at Pebble Beach Benjamin Brown, and Julie Weaver the General Manager of the Lodge.  Richard our server was upbeat and knowledgeable about the menu and made some great suggestions.

We started off with an appetizer of Charred Octopus with cranberry beans and sherry vinaigrette ($15). The Octopus was tender and tasty surrounded with olives, caper berries, sweet cherry tomatoes, and parsley. Next came our Artisan flatbread with slow cooked duck, parsnip puree, and pickled cherries ($17).  We also split the California Chopped Salad. This amazing salad was a mix of butter lettuce, kale, shredded carrots, celery, radishes, and red bell peppers topped with an oak grilled steak, avocado, and a 6 minute egg. ($18)  Dessert was a wood fired strawberry topped with house made cotton candy ice cream and drizzled with balsamic. All of these generous portions were shared between three of us.

The Bench is the real deal. I can't wait to work my way through some dinner entrees during the upcoming Concours de Elegance week.

Chef de Cuisine Yousef Ghalaini

A native of Lebanon, Chef Ghalaini experienced an immersion into the culture of food at a young age with lively family meals and early service lessons at his grandfather’s bakery. With an education from the Culinary Institute of America at the Greystone campus in Napa Valley, Chef Ghalaini began his career at the Michelin-rated REDD restaurant under Richard Reddington, where he executed the celebrity chef’s style of California French cuisine with a focus on stellar food and wine pairings.


In January 2010, Chef Ghalaini re-energized Bespoke in New Haven, Conn., generating praise from local media as well as the regional food section of the New York Times. Other experiences for Chef Ghalaini include opening Go Fish restaurant in St. Helena, Calif., working for Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa and opening Steak 954 at the W Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He comes to Pebble Beach Resorts most recently from Imperial No. Nine at the Mondrian SoHo Hotel in New York City.

At The Bench, Chef Ghalaini utilizes a range of seasonal options as well as local ingredients from Monterey Bay and the Salinas Valley to create a robust, but healthy and sustainable menu for guests. Using the innovative technique of wood-roasting and open-flame cooking, his recipes include a wide-range of international style from Asian to Middle Eastern, Italian to Latin American.