Cliffside dining terms, seating policies, and service standards since 1947.

These Terms of Service took effect on 2026-10-13. By visiting nepentherestaurant.com, reviewing our dining menus, submitting inquiry forms, or communicating with our desk, you accept these terms in full.

We maintain these rules so that every guest driving Highway 1 receives an honest, transparent accounting of our seating procedures, terrace policies, and operational limits before arriving on the cliff.

This website is operated by Nepentherestaurant, trading at nepentherestaurant.com. Our physical establishment is located at 48510 Highway 1, Big Sur, California 93920, Big Sur, California, United States.

Lolly and Bill Fassett founded Nepenthe in 1947. Working with architect Rowan Maiden, they erected our heavy heart-redwood dining hall and open bleachers on native Santa Lucia granite foundations 800 feet above the Pacific Ocean. We remain an independent family-directed hospitality enterprise without corporate affiliation.

This website provides operational details, menus, price estimates, highway advisories, and contact forms for our three dining operations:

Nepenthe Lunch: Served daily from 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM on our main redwood deck.
Nepenthe Dinner: Served from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM with open hearth cooking and California wines.
Cafe Kevah: Open mornings through mid-afternoon on the lower terrace for brunch and espresso.

This digital site does not operate an e-commerce storefront, take binding paid deposits, or process digital transactions. It serves as an informational and direct inquiry channel only.

All dining options shown on nepentherestaurant.com are inquiry-only. Nothing on this website constitutes a binding offer to sell or guarantees an immediate table upon arrival.

We seat guests primarily on a direct walk-in rotation. When you submit a table inquiry through our form or live chat, our staff reviews your party size and requested arrival time. A completed inquiry form does not confirm a reservation until our host desk verifies staffing and writes back to you directly.

Figures displayed on our price estimator are informative estimates. They allow travelers to budget realistically for lunch or dinner on the coast before traveling. They do not constitute fixed quotes or binding commitments.

All prices confirmed by the operator are denominated in United States Dollars (USD) and charged per person based on ordered dishes:

Nepenthe Lunch: 13–50 USD / person
Nepenthe Dinner: 30–71 USD / person
Cafe Kevah Brunch & Lunch: 13–35 USD / person

Actual meal charges depend on: the specific dish selected; the meal service; table location preferences such as window or railing alignment; and seasonal ingredient costs for Monterey Bay seafood and California agricultural produce. Local sales taxes and optional gratuities are calculated on final printed checks at your table.

You agree to use this site strictly for personal, non-commercial dining discovery. You may not deploy scrapers, web spiders, or automated scripts to harvest text, menus, or photography.

You may not submit fraudulent inquiries, flood our chat endpoints with automated traffic, or attempt to bypass form protections. Honeypot inputs embedded in our forms reject bot submissions automatically. Any attempt to compromise server infrastructure or inject malicious payloads will be blocked and reported.

All materials on nepentherestaurant.com (including written text, photographs, graphic marks, logos, vector icons, and elevation schematics) are the exclusive property of Nepentherestaurant.

The structural layout of our cliffside terraces and dining hall reflects Rowan Maiden's original 1947 architectural commissions for Bill and Lolly Fassett. You may not reproduce, syndicate, or republish our images or written materials without prior written authorization from our management office.

This website is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without express or implied warranties. While we strive to maintain accurate opening times and menu details, coastal mountain conditions require operational flexibility.

Highway 1 in Monterey County is subject to rockslides and Caltrans highway closures. Although we provide advisory phone numbers, we do not warrant the continuous accessibility of California State Route 1. Visitors are advised to check Caltrans District 5 status or telephone us at 831-667-2345 before traveling.

To the fullest extent permissible under California law, Nepentherestaurant and its owners, managers, and employees shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from your use of this website.

This includes travel delays caused by Highway 1 conditions or weather-induced terrace closures. In all circumstances, our maximum liability regarding website usage shall not exceed one hundred United States dollars ($100 USD).

Nepenthe Restaurant reserves the right to decline inquiries, suspend chat sessions, or refuse table service to any individual who abuses our online communication channels or mistreats staff.

We prioritize a courteous, safe environment for guests and workers alike on our cliffs. Inquiries containing abusive language or automated spam will be discarded immediately without notice.

These Terms of Service and any dining dispute arising from website interactions are governed by the law of California, United States, with disputes heard in the courts of Big Sur.

Any legal proceeding that cannot be resolved amicably through direct communication shall be brought before the state or federal courts with territorial jurisdiction over Big Sur, California.

We reserve the right to revise these terms when operating conditions, menu formats, or statutory requirements change.

Any modification takes effect immediately upon publication on nepentherestaurant.com with a revised effective date at the top of this document. Continued use of this website following published changes constitutes acceptance of those revisions.

For formal questions regarding these Terms of Service or to discuss a group inquiry, reach our management office:

Nepenthe Restaurant
48510 Highway 1, Big Sur, California 93920, Big Sur, California, United States
Telephone: 831-667-2345
Email: [email protected]