Dining at The Kimpton Rowan Restaurants

Not Just for Hotel Guests!

By Barbara Beckley

Thinking of happy hour? Cocktails and dinner? Drinks and nibbles? Coffee and breakfast? Lunch and Arnold Palmers? Think of The Kimpton Rowan Restaurants.

More than a luxe hotel, it is like Palm Springs’ “Rowan Restaurant Row” – home to four fabulous restaurants and lounges all in one place: The Window Bar, The 4 Saints rooftop fine dining restaurant, The rooftop High Bar, and the side-walk café-like Juniper Table. All with unique views and exciting new cuisine. All welcoming everyone: locals, visitors, and guests! And all easily positioned in the heart of downtown for pre-and post-event gatherings; a meal and cocktails before and/or after showing friends the sights; a break from shopping amid South Palm Canyon’s boutiques and galleries, and an evening or lunch or breakfast out in a stylish setting.

Chef Richard Crespin

“Palm Springs is a very social town. We want The Rowan Restaurants to be the beacon of hospitality for the city,” enthused Rowan Executive Chef Richard Crespin. “Our hotel guests are the cherry on the top.” Since Chef Richard took the helm he is quickly making good on his promise.

No surprise, since he’s worked with the best including Gordon Ramsay, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Kiyomi Mikuni. His distinct international culinary expertise is rooted in classic French technique and informed by his studies in New York, Paris, Spain and Japan.

Window Bar at the Rowan

It’s the newest happy hour happening in town. New nightly specialty craft cocktails. An extensive whisky and gin menu. New supercool live entertainment headlining DJ Modgirl on Thursdays and Fridays!

Bar Bites

Chef Richard designed the Bar Bites menu for the Window Bar as fine cuisine to compliment this beautiful space, and make you feel welcome and at home. Does it ever. “A mix of bar food and heartier cuisine,” Chef explained.

Tempting choices include pecans roasted with harissa spice and sugar. Manchego cheese and olives with Spanish olive oil, herbs, and citrus.  Tuna tartare ribbons with avocado-wasabi, radish, and ginger marinade. Heartier fare like littleneck clams and chorizo with white wine pan sauce served with garlic bread. Braised short rib quesadilla with ancho sauce, pickled onions, watercress, and vinaigrette.

Classic bar-food fans love the beer cheese fondue served with soft Bavarian pretzels for dipping. Potato tots with BBQ spice and tomato jam. Three cheese and mushroom flatbread with panna sauce.

In addition to craft cocktails and spirits, The Window Bar pours fine wines. Beer on draft like California brews 21^st Amendment, a Mexican-style lager; Smog City IPA, and Modern Times’ Fuitlands Sour. Liqueurs, cordials and more.

And with The Window Bar’s prime street-level location in the heart of downtown (with plenty of free parking), it’s an ideal choice for happy hour, pre-dinner drinks and a nightcap.

Happy Hour daily 5 – 7 pm.

What’s Chef’s favorite? The Manchego + Olives. “It’s like a traditional tapa.”

High Bar at The Rowan

High Bar is the highest poolside bar and eatery of the Rowan restaurants and also in Palm Springs. Offering blue sky above and sweeping views of the city, the valley, and the mountains from seven floors up. Chef Richard’s rolled out a new sharable menu – lighter and vibrant for summer. There is also new specialty cocktails, wines, bubbles, craft beers and seltzers.  make The High Bar a perfect locals’ and visitors’ pick for an easy-chic breakfast, lunch or dinner. The new menu is already a hit. “Folks are liking the sharable menu,” enthused Chef Richard, “because they can order several plates and not get bored with one flavor.”

New shareable favorites include the Baja shrimp tacos with slaw, avocado cilantro sauce, Mexican crema, Pico De Gallo, and queso fresco. Poke nachos featuring wonton chips, green onion, spicy mayo, ahi tuna, avocado, serranos, sweet soy and cilantro. Strawberry toast with strawberries, orange zest whipped ricotta and mascarpone cheese, balsamic glaze, candied pistachio, fresh mint, on sough dough. And the sweet corn breakfast burrito with crispy potatoes, butternut squash, bacon, onion, scrambled eggs, roasted tomatoes, and roasted pepper sauce. For dessert: daily gelato.

Yes, bring the kids. The High Bar children’s menu serves kids’ chicken tenders with comeback sauce and fries. Grilled cheese made with cheddar on sourdough. And two beef sliders with white cheddar and fries.

Sit at the bar, at high-top tables overlooking the mountains, or at tables and loungers around the pool. Savor the rooftop experience – and a specialty cocktail.

What’s Chef’s favorite? The “Poke Nachos.”

Tip: Monday is Industry Night. All hospitality and restaurant workers enjoy 20% off select drinks, 8 – 10 pm.

The 4 Saints  – Rowan Rooftop Restaurant

The pinnacle of Palm Springs dining – literally. The Michelin-recommended 4 Saints Restaurant offers a refined dining experience on the rooftop of The Rowan, framed by stunning views of Palm Springs, the Coachella Valley, and San Jacinto Mountains. Old-school curved booths, a cheery four-sided bar, and outdoor terrace seating compliment the views and cuisine.

True to his word, he’s putting his culinary philosophy to full force, introducing a bevy of new dishes, excellent new wines – 95% domestic (Napa, Sonoma, Pinot from Oregon) and 5% French and Italian – and new cocktails. “My culinary style is a love letter to what mother nature offers us during the seasons, finessed by time-honored techniques, and influenced by Spanish, Japanese, African, Thailand and French cuisines,” he explained. Using ingredients sourced from Southern California’s finest ranches, farms, and waters.

4 Saints New Appetizers

Exciting new dishes include appetizers: Ube gnocchi featuring purple yam with brown butter dashi Dijon and sesame seeds. Seared sea scallops with pea and mint puree, sugar snap peas, shallot-brown butter, and pea tendrils. Also, chef’s lobster ceviche with blood oranges and a sauce simmered with the shells for a more intense lobster flavor. Prime filet beef tartar with capers, dijon, shallots, egg yolk, hollandaise and fine herbs.

New Dinner Entrees

Followed with fabulous new entrees including the Icelandic salmon with buckwheat soba noodles, snap peas, Japanese mushrooms, and five-spice broth. Herb roasted Mary’s organic chicken and lemon thyme panzanella, sugar snap peas, pancetta mizuna, and burrata. The 10 ounce prime fillet with confit fingerling potatoes, maitake mushrooms, red pearl onions, Point Reyes Bay blue cheese, and cabernet reduction. Bon Appetite!

What’s Chef’s favorite?  The Icelandic Salmon. “It’s a very clean dish. Rich in flavor.”

Just Added: 4 Saints Happy Hour, 4 – 6 pm.

Credit: Laure Joliet

The Juniper Table

Like Palm Springs’ equivalent to a café on a European town square, the Juniper Table – Chef Richard and F&B Director Jerry Perez refer to it as “JT.”  It offers a new and beautifully crafted all-day menu, a new dinner menu and a new large and diverse drink menu. All served outside on the large sunny ground-level patio (or inside). It’s part of The Block., Palm Springs’ downtown plaza that’s home to Forever Marilyn, the desert’s most famous and photographed artwork, and the Palm Springs Art Museum. Perfect for a leisurely Euro-style afternoon watching the world go by with good friends, good food and good drinks.

His new JT menu sports a Euro-like theme with Mediterranean-inspired casual fare and a large drink menu including cocktails, pink bubbly, wine, craft beer, and high-end coffee. “JT is an excellent farm-to-table experience, and not expensive,” said Perez. “Take a seat, people watch, and order whatever your mood dictates.” Perfect for meeting friends; before or after a downtown event; after posing with Marilyn, a break from shopping in Palm Springs’ boutiques and galleries.

Juniper Table Breakfast

Breakfast entrees include classic scones with wild berry jam and house-made cream. Smoked salmon toast on sourdough with whipped lemon dill cream, pickled red onion, fried capers and radish. The Juniper Table breakfast with two organic eggs, potatoes, and choice of bacon, chicken apple sausage, vegan sausage, breads and muffins. Killer breakfast tostada with crispy potato, chorizo, sunny-side-up eggs, avocado, queso fresco, crema, pico de gallo, and radish.

Juniper Table Lunch

Luncheon choices feature a “Classic Caesar” salad, with house dressing, and house croutons. The signature “JT Burger,” a house-blend beef patty, with bacon, heirloom tomato, gruyere, aioli, and market greens. Hand-rolled “Trofie Pasta,” with peas, pancetta, parmesan cream sauce. And pizza! From “California,” with asparagus, red sauce, Calabrian aioli, spring onion, pistachio, pecorino cheese and saba, to “Spicey Soppressata,” with crushed tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella and oregano.

Tip: Enjoy Thirsty Tuesdays. Select draft beers are only $1 with the purchase of one pizza.

JT Dinner

At 3 pm, JT’s menu switches to dinner. Presenting new dishes and applause-worthy drinks. New shared plates include the irresistible baked brie with candied spiced pecans, rosemary, honey, green apple, and artisan crostinis. New entrees like pan roasted wild Scottish salmon with baby potatoes, Niçoise olives, red onion, dijon sauce and soft-boiled egg. The Moroccan spiced chicken with cold and roasted carrots, dried fava bean hummus, cumin spiced yogurt. “The sauces give this dish a delicious smokiness,” Chef enthused. Also, the “Juniper Garden Vegetables,” with baby potatoes, heirloom tomato, asparagus, radish, heirloom carrots, house aioli, and artisan crostini.

And desserts – yes!  Think caramel apple flan with spiced roasted pepitas or gelato sorbet duo (also on the all-day menu) in daily flavors.

What’s Chef’s favorite? The Breakfast Tostada. “It’s like a cross between Chilaquiles and Huevos Rancheros.”

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