The Tides Inn brings a new culinary experience to the shores of Irvington.
Steeped in history and tradition, the Tides Inn is legendary by resort standards. Beautifully located on a private peninsula on the bluffs of Carter’s Creek in Irvington, it has long been hosting generations of families for decades, who appreciate its relaxing tempo and coastal Virginia style. A recent multi-million dollar shoreline restoration, along with the debut of its new culinary concept, Salt & Meadow, honors its history and loyal customers, while positioning itself as a leader in luxury eco-tourism.
“The name, Salt & Meadow, is a nod to the waterways, farms, and wildlife that surround the property,” says Jason Trollip, managing director of The Tides Inn. It’s also the name of a native grass, Sporobolus pumilus, that grows in the marshes that surround the resort.
The restaurant, which opened on May 13, is overseen and conceptualized by industry veteran Nathan Rich, culinary director of Tanzerra Group, which owns The Tides Inn. The kitchen and menu is led by chef de cuisine Kyle Perkins, who strives to showcase the best of the region—from vegetables to fruit, seafood, beef, and poultry.
“Kyle joined us from the much-lauded Twin Farms in Vermont,” Trollip says, adding that Chef Perkins immediately established relationships with local farms and purveyors and included the resort’s horticulturist Matt Little and ecologist Will Smiley in the conversations. “Kyle has forged remarkable partnerships that will enable Salt & Meadow to be a leader in culinary and environmental stewardship,” Trolllip adds. Perkins’ first request on his visit to Irvington was to tour The Tides Inn’s garden. Gradually he and Little are adding crops that are featured on Salt & Meadow’s menu—from herbs to edible flowers, to vegetables and fruit.
The result of these collaborations and partnerships has created a dining experience that celebrates the region’s flavors blending culinary artistry and sustainability. The food-forward menu features traditional Southern cuisine infused with a modern twist that includes signature dishes like Blue Crab & Ricotta Agnolotti starring Chesapeake Bay blue crabs, garden peas (picked fresh from the Tides Inn garden), morel mushrooms, and truffle butter; line-caught Black Sea bass from local waters paired with steamboat wharf oysters, champagne, and microgreens, also from resort’s garden; and 1,000-layer potatoes and caviar, featuring potato mille feuille, caviar, crème fraîche, and chives.
The Atlanta-based Smith Hanes Studio is behind Salt & Meadow’s design. Known for creating impactful hospitality interiors from coast to coast, Smith Hanes’ appetite for impassioned, client-driven projects has elevated them to the top of their field. Their Salt & Meadow dining room design offers a fresh and sophisticated interpretation of the Tides’ coastal restaurant, with stunning waterfront views, plush seating, and details like linen hem-stitched napkins, and nautically inspired wainscoting. A new cocktail bar showcases the resort’s iconic liquor lockers, an ode to the property’s history when Lancaster was a dry county. The color palette is soft and natural, evoking the marshes, fields,and meadows that characterize the area.
