This restaurant has one of the loveliest locations in the entire L.A. area. A 10-minute drive up from Pacific Coast Highway, this pretty restaurant, nestled in a hollow in the Malibu mountains, derives much of its' charm from the renovated church where patrons may dine inside, and especially from the the stone-flagged, tree-fringed patio where patrons may dine by the side of a small running stream. It is a great place for breakfast in the sunshine, and also for dinner at night, when the stars come out and the many trees are lit by strings of white lights.
The fact that the restaurant is centered on an old renovated church makes sense, given the spiritual bent of the place; it is very decidedly New Age in character, and the 7th. Ray in the Inn's name derives from some mystical philosophy (sorry, I forget if it's Tantric Buddhism or Deepak Chopra). The menu tells you the entrees are listed in order of their "esoteric vibrational value." The cuisine is essentially health food, meaning, in this case, a lot of vegetarian dishes, free-range hormone-free chicken, Indian-influenced entrees and spices, and terrific home-made breads and muffins. Given the Malibu location, the price range and the menu advertising the all-natural ingredients, we shouldn't be surprised that it's popular with the Hollywood crowd. I've never seen a star here, but I'm willing to bet a lot of the customers are producers and agents. I mean, when you see a 50-year-old guy dressed like a 20-year-old guy, with a silver ponytail and a leather jacket, and dining with an incredibly young girl, well, what else am I supposed to think?
The small touches here are most reliable: the vegetarian soups, especially the zucchini, mushroom & cashew soup that I'm crazy about, and the breads and muffins, which are sweet, a little too sweet sometimes, but still terrific. The vegetarian dishes and fish are good, and usually there is a good fish entree on special. I've been disappointed by the chef's attempts at sauces, so pick your entree on the basis of the meat, not the sauce. The vegetable side dishes that come with your entree are nothing special.
If you want to try out this place but you're not sure of the price, try breakfast on Sunday morning; you can get omelettes and other entrees a la carte, or an all-you-can eat buffet that is moderately priced (about $15/person) and offers a diverse selection of tastes. If you get the buffet, try everything, but load up on those delicious breads and muffins!
During the Malibu fires in 1993, I read a great article in the L.A. Times about how the restaurant was threatened by fires creeping down the surrounding hillsides, and how the owner gathered her employees together and they all prayed to the angels to blow the fire back up the mountain. The Inn was untouched, and the owner really did believe the angels made a difference.
Now that's Malibu.