Waypoint - familiar, smart and sophisticated, all with a wonderful view.

It’s hard to imagine a bad day at Waypoint Bar and Deck. As part of Quail Lodge and Golf Club, the new eat/drinkery sits alongside a giant pond overlooking a quaint bridge and many trees. On a sunny Saturday evening, the beauty is at its height, made all the more pleasant by a new menu of interesting cocktails and dinner dishes.

The menu pays a bit of homage to Covey – the previous restaurant which is now acting solely as Quail Lodge’s breakfast spot. Instead of fried chicken and waffles, however, Waypoint offers fried chicken with mashed potatoes and rainbow chard. In place of the roasted heirloom veggies, it’s now roasted heirloom carrots with buttermilk dressing, black olive tapenade and dill.

Of course, staples like the hamburger and local wine haven’t gone anywhere. That’s a good thing.

I arrived hungry, and the Right On Thyme cocktail ($12) tasted like candy while waiting for food. Very sophisticated candy. Lovely and lively, raspberry-flavored sips mixed with a hint of herbs and just the right amount of Square One botanical vodka. The zesty lemon juice foam on top made it even more like diving into dessert before the main course.

A second round, the Passeport Vers Paris ($12), is very minty and lemony to enhance the Venus gin. Tart, refreshing, yet still with a subtle citrus simple syrup, it’s almost as sweet as the view. Enjoying the warm and quiet deck, I almost hoped this place would stay relatively secret.

That desire to keep the place to myself was made stronger once the food arrived.

For a “Short Trip” (the menu has a travel theme), the Brussels sprouts ($6) with applewood smoked bacon and cider gastrique delivered a sweet and savory balance with all kinds of texture – crispy, as the menu promised. Salty bacon complemented the biting vinegary syrup, its acrid warmth calming the assertiveness.

The five-piece “Stay A While” list offered entree plates like flatbread pizza with spicy Italian sausage and roasted peppers ($12), prime rib burger with house-made chips ($9) and spicy sticky wings with shredded cabbage and sesame seed ($10). It was tough to choose.

The remaining options won out: buttermilk fried chicken ($14) and short rib nachos ($12). I felt no regrets upon my first bites of impressively flavorful nachos. Cubes of tender beef secured in thick, melty cheese contrasted with lighter touch of fresh cilantro and roasted corn, while black beans and charred avocado provided an earthy rumble. The creaminess of the avo worked with chipotle salsa – all homemade, even the chips.

Fried chicken that’s tender on the inside and just crunchy enough on the outside takes skill to create, but Executive Chef Brian Kearns (also chef at Quail’s Edgar’s) accomplishes the task.

I was too full to try the tempting homemade desserts ($6 each): bourbon vanilla crème brûlée and dark chocolate cheesecake. Still, with travel as the theme here, this would be the spot to visit over and over again. The tranquil water, sunny outdoors and impressive food upgrades leave not much to be desired. Except maybe that chocolate cheesecake.

WAYPOINT BAR AND DECK 8205 Valley Greens Drive, Carmel • 5-10pm Wed-Sun • 624-2888, quaillodge.com