Coastal tradition meets culinary sophistication at The Tides Inn’s newly renovated and renamed restaurant
By Leona Baker
The afternoon sun sinks steadily over the pines, dipping its crimson rays toward the Rappahannock River, as The Tides Inn Horticulturalist Matt Little and Chef de Cuisine Kyle Perkins meander through rows of late summer vegetables, herbs and fruits in the resort’s ever-expanding garden.
The space is technically a five-acre farm with bee hives, wild plum trees, native grape vines, a blackberry thicket and an antique tractor rusting gracefully nearby, nestled in a tree-lined field within walking distance from the resort’s recognizable, white-painted brick entrance.
There are heirloom watermelons, multiple varieties of tomatoes, beans and eggplant. Perkins plucks a handful of ripe Jimmy Nardello peppers as Little peeks under the oversized foliage of squash plants in search of intact blossoms.
Lucky for me and my guest for the weekend, this just-picked goodness is about to find its way into two appetizer plates when we sit down to dinner a couple of hours later in the Inn’s freshly remodeled and renamed main restaurant, Salt & Meadow.
With a much brighter and more modern interior, complete with a stunning new bar and lounge area, the revamp of The Tides Inn’s primary dining experience signifies a new era for the resort, a destination known to generations of guests for its classic luxury and unique waterfront setting in the town of Irvington on Virginia’s Northern Neck.
No sooner are our glasses poured and a bottle of Chateau Saint-Roch rosé chilling alongside our table than the chef emerges with a pair of beautiful crab- and ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms, tempura fried and served with those Jimmy Nardello peppers, gochujang aioli and garden basil.
It’s a delightful small bite with a hint of spice, that creamy ricotta and succulent crab a rich undercurrent for the light, crispy tempura, fresh herbs and sweet peppers.
The dish is a not a regular menu item. But it speaks to the playfulness, seasonality and sense of place the chef, who came on board in November of 2023, and his team, which also includes talented longtime Tides Executive Sous Chef Brandon Dameron, are hoping to convey in every bite.
Perkins comes to The Tides Inn by way of Twin Farms resort in Vermont, the state where he spent his formative years and attended the New England Culinary Institute. He has also worked at acclaimed restaurants and resorts in Nantucket, Sunriver, Oregon and San Francisco.
Perkins’ fine dining roots come through with the incorporation of more vegetable-based purees and classical sauces, and you’ll see some new takes on local staples and ingredients, a few out-of-the-box options for fresh catches and some nice selections for vegetarian and gluten-free diets.
“I’m learning a lot about the culture,” he says of adapting to life in Coastal Virginia and our particular brand of Southern cuisine. “The biggest thing we’re trying to do is support the locality of the region while still respecting certain roots, but we also want to challenge our guests. We want them to come here and say, ‘OK this has a little bit of what I remember from my childhood, but there are nuances to it.”
One thing Perkins says he learned the hard way with Salt & Meadow’s initial rollout is that a fine dining menu absent a crabcake—in a region whose soul is defined by the Chesapeake Bay and its most famous crustaceous residents—just didn’t fly. Crab lovers will be happy to know he changed his mind.
You can find his twist on a classic, the Virginia Crabcake with avocado, cucumber and Old Bay Yogurt, on their starters menu, softshell and crabcake sandwiches on brioche at lunch, and a luxurious Virginia Blue Crab Agnolotti stuffed pasta with spring peas, oyster mushrooms, crispy garlic, butter and microgreens under their “Farm & Ocean” dinner entrees.
My guest and I enjoyed both lunch and dinner at Salt & Meadow during our recent stay at the resort.
We tried the Chilled Pea Soup and Truffle Risotto appetizers at dinner. The presentation for the soup was memorable—the cool and refreshing, brilliant green liquid poured over a tiny nest of lump crab and microgreens when served at the table. The risotto was decadent, earthy and
satisfying.
For the main event, I indulged in a Seven Hills Farm Beef Tenderloin, perfectly cooked medium rare and served with Crab Oscar, potato puree, zucchini and crispy shallots with demi-glace.
My friend had the Nova Scotia Halibut with cauliflower butter, French beans, and preserved lemon oyster and champaign beurre blanc, giving it high marks including for a pleasing presentation that featured a spinach rice crisp alongside the golden-brown fish, adding textural interest.
Salads on the menu during our visit included a Burrata, a Blackberry Salad and a Bean Salad with mixed greens, haricot verts, wax beans, whipped feta, pinenuts and olive vinaigrette. Other entrees included the Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Pan Seared Duck Breast, Curried Cauliflower and Grilled Spanish Octopus.
Coastal Virginia’s favorite bivalves are a mainstay here as well. You can go traditional with local Steamboat Wharf Oysters served with cocktail, mignonette or lemon or the slightly more adventurous option with mignonette gel, seaweed salad and sesame seeds.
The lunch menu was also recently updated and includes crowd-pleasing apps like Virginia Blue Crab Dip and Fried Clam Strips alongside a Virginia Peanut Soup, an assortment of handhelds and entrees like the Honey Mustard Grilled Pork Chop and Shrimp Etouffee.
We tried the Old Bay Mac & Cheese with mornay sauce, orecchiette, blue crab and herbs, and the Kale Caesar Salad, which were both tasty and well portioned for lunch.
The Inn also serves breakfast at Salt & Meadow and lighter bites and appetizers at its poolside eatery, Fish Hawk Café. Both are open to the public as well as registered guests of the resort. Reservations are recommended, however.
ABOUT THE CHEF Salt & Meadow Chef de Cuisine Kyle Perkins comes to The Tides Inn by way of Twin Farms resort in Vermont, the state where he spent his formative years and attended the New England Culinary Institute. He has also worked at acclaimed restaurants and resorts in Nantucket, Sunriver, Oregon and San Francisco.
EXPERIENCES: Look for seasonal specials and check The Tides Inn website for upcoming wine dinners, tastings, pasta making and other cooking classes, holiday celebrations and culinary excursions.
Learn more at tidesinn.com.
Leona Baker
Leona Baker is the Editor-in-Chief of Coastal Virginia Magazine, a writer, creative, communications professional, food freak, news junkie, nature and travel lover and mom. She holds a degree in English from James Madison University and a degree in Dance & Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She previously served as Senior Copywriter for Spark 451, Director of Marketing & Communications at Virginia Wesleyan University, and Senior Editor of Port Folio Weekly.
