Poppy Hall finds its “new normal” in a shift away from traditional three-course dining.

Chef Philip Wojtowicz had a moment of clarity one night. People were venturing back to restaurants, eager for a return to life as we knew it. But staff weren’t coming back to fill their roles.

So he was hustling between the kitchen and dining room. Take an order. Check on the fish. Bring appetizers out to table three. Flip the fish. Bus a table. There was pressure to bring new line cooks up to speed as quickly as possible – if he could even get qualified people to apply.

It’s a familiar story in a world commandeered by Covid-19, staffing woes, supply chain disruptions and rising costs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of dining at full-service restaurants shot up 5.9 percent since 2020, and the hospitality workforce continues to stay away in droves. BLS reports a national hiring shortfall leaving some half a million positions vacant. Throughout 2021, staff members left at a pace that doubled the average across all industries.

Scan the local dining landscape and you see the results: Temporary closures or schedule changes forced by crew shortages; and the bill for dining out rising beyond reach of many people. An entree portion of diver scallops – three of them – comes with a price tag of around $35. A simple cheeseburger pushes $20. Filet mignon… well, how’s your credit?

“It was overwhelming,” Wojtowicz admits. But that was then, a few short months ago. Now the chef and co-owner (with Brendan Esons) of the downtown P.G. destination bounces around the dining room with obvious enthusiasm. Ideas come so fast they spill from his mind.

In that moment of clarity he had seen the future of Poppy Hall: A manageable menu of small plates and shared items – mussels, blistered shishito peppers, hush puppies, ravioli, the restaurant’s famous fries and oysters on the half shell, grilled or fried. At $15, the sashimi and the gravlax are the most expensive offerings on the current menu.

“From fine dining to fun dining,” he says with a laugh. “Can you please say how clever I am?”

Wojtowicz realized that continental-style dining wasn’t sustainable under the circumstances – not for the guests, not for himself or the restaurant’s depleted staff. “Everyone’s been so down and blue,” Wojtowicz says. But a changing menu that teases the palate – “that’s fun.”

From the beginning, Wojtowicz dreamed of a raw bar. Now it’s in place and he’s bringing in shellfish from oceans east and west. In a recent menu addition of oyster stew, the shellfish were plush, almost ethereal, appearing to vanish on the palate leaving behind a pool of briny minerality, even as a blanket of cream lingers.

The foundation of great ingredients and solid technique has never changed. But fine dining chefs can prepare ordinary foods. Cured salmon falls like silken ribbons on the tongue. A chile heat lurks in a meatball, folding into the hint of ginger laced through the sauce. Hush puppies set a natural sweetness against a rich, smoky crust.

Deft technique has always defined the style of Poppy Hall’s chefs. In its previous incarnation as a haven of “California soul food” (Wojtowicz’s refrain when the place opened in 2018), their subtle measures could transform a dish from homey to divine. They slipped a dab of star anise into their take on tavern-style roasted duck, for example, lending a sharded, spicy notion that not only intensified the earthy nature of the meat but also gave a glimmering note that seemed to reverberate on the palate.

But entree-sized slabs of meat with sides are now beyond the limits of a kitchen trimmed by Covid. The cost of pork is up 14.1 percent, beef a whopping 20.1 percent from a year ago. “These smaller plates are the answer,” Wojtowicz explains.

The chef is enjoying work again. He’s clearly excited about the possibilities of a small plate menu with prices reminiscent of the good old pre-Covid days.

“This is my new normal,” he says.

POPPY HALL is at 589 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove. Open Wednesday 11am-2:30pm, Thursday-Sunday 11am-2:30pm and 5:30-9pm. 204-9990, poppyhall.com