Carmel-by-the-Sea Restaurants

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Em Le's is a local's favorite. It is one of few restaurants in Carmel to offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The restaurant is practically a landmark as it has been around for years. Em Le's offers huge portions, and serves delicious food. The menu is extensive and you can find something for anyone, even the pickiest of eaters. I love the charming ambiance of this cute little cottage style restaurant. The wait staff is very friendly, and will make you feel right at home.

Favorite Dish: For breakfast I enjoy the eggs benedict, and wide assortment of omelette's. They also have excellent french toast that you cannot find anywhere else. For lunch they have soup, sandwiches, and a big selection of entrees with items such as meatloaf, fish and chips, salads, and pastas. At dinner, you have to try the salmon. It will melt in your mouth!

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Carmel Belle uses fresh local ingredients, including bacon and sausage, to produce simple but appealing dishes like Green Eggs and Ham: poached eggs with local proscuitto in an arugula-herb purée.

We ate here on a Sunday morning and enjoyed our breakfasts. Mine was the smiley-face bacon and eggs shown here, and fresh orange juice.

I would like to see Carmel Belle move to a cozier location with four walls, where they can offer table service. At present, one side is open to the rest of the building. You stand in line to place your order, and your meal is brought to your table. The resulting ambience is like the food court at the mall, but they are so much better than that.

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The Dametra Café, named after the co-owners' hometowns of Damascus, Syria, and Petra, Jordan, is only 16 months old but already has lines of people waiting for a table. The food here is outstanding, and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming.

When they're not busy seating guests, Faisal Nimri, Bashar Sneeh, and their staff walk through the restaurant playing music and singing. There was a small hand-held drum, a tambourine, and an interesting 11-stringed instrument called an oud.

My husband accidentally let it slip to the waiter that we were in Carmel for our anniversary, and Antonio came out from the kitchen to serenade us with "Besame Mucho." Everyone sang along with the final chorus, and it was just lovely. I usually am not comfortable being the center of attention, but this felt as if we were among old friends. I wish that we lived nearby so that we could eat here all the time and hang out with Faisal and Bashar. :)

The café is tiny and very popular, so reservations are recommended. I reserved four days in advance and was lucky to get a table.

Favorite Dish: Dametra uses fresh, local ingredients for their Mediterranean cuisine - Greek, Italian, Lebanese.

I had the grilled salmon with saffron cream sauce on a bed of spinach, served with potatoes au gratin, cut in a wedge. Delicious! My husband had the Greek lamb, which he said was excellent. The chef sent out a plate of complimentary baklava for our anniversary.

As their website says, "Our kitchen is really small but with a big heart."

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Walking around Carmel is a trip to yesteryear and slower times. Walking past Casanova's, at dinner time, is a crime. You must stop and smell the aromas of the night. This former home's (at least 60 years old) original floor plan is intact and a wine cellar and other rooms were added to make this a very romantic dining experience. There is also an outside patio open to dining.
After being seated, a starter kit ( bread and little teasers of food) are placed before you and the fun begins. Dining is a pleasure and a cozy warm feeling of friendship prevails. Casanova does not disappoint in either food or wine. Your choices are many and I tasted several dishes, all delicious. I firmly suggest reservations if arriving between 6pm and 9pm.

Favorite Dish: The spinach gnocchi was to die for. Really! I have tried many gnocchi (potato dumplings) with different ingredients and this was by far the tastiest, smoothest, and most satisfying.

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Merlot! Just the name alone evokes memories of wine country dining. Merlot! Wine Country Bistro is an inviting upbeat stylish restaurant with the fresh, colorful cuisine of California's wine country. Don't mind if I say that myself. Invited in by Csaba Ajan and Miguel, staff of Merlot! to enjoy lunch, both my wife and I were pleased with the offerings. A wonderful selection of fresh seafood, salads, pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches was available to please your palate. A decent cellar of wines with a few varietals but Merlot has six local selections of Merlot to choose the one you might enjoy (could have something to do with the name).

Favorite Dish: The special of the day was Sand dab (a flatfish found off the Pacific Coast). Delicious and very filling with mashed potatoes and veggies caressing the sand dab on the plate. A nice Bernardus Chardonnay to sip (I know, no Merlot), followed by a fresh California strawberry tart.

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Das ist eine gute. C'est bon. Either way, this German-French restaurant serves good country food. Run by two ladies, mother, Annalore Parsons (greeter-seater) and daughter, Lorie Parsons (European trained chef). Quaint looking outside and a Bavarian cow bells and beer steins interior motif, one feels quite comfy within the dining room. Annalore is full of interesting stories and you have a homey atmosphere to enjoy with your meal.%

There is outside patio seating just in case it may be warm or you brought along your well behaved dog (Carmel is pet friendly). Many recipes of German dishes as well as the staples from France.

Favorite Dish: The house specialty always lets you know the character of a restaurant and the Le Coq D'Or (The Gold Rooster) has an excellent one in the Confit de Canard (duck). This was my wife's choice (that I sampled), while I enjoyed a hearty Sauerbraten (marinated roast beef) with Spatzle (a dish consisting of a batter of flour, milk, eggs, and salt, usually poured through a spatzle hex, sort of a dumpling maker, into boiling water and then either drained and mixed in butter or lightly pan-fried.) Dessert was a wonderful sliced apple a la mode with an apple brandy splash.

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An outside courtyard is available between the main dining room and the pub building. Great setting - brick, multi-level flooring, walls painted with pastoral settings. Super atmosphere. Hearty food, great wine and beer selections. It's also a pet friendly restaurant and several people had their dogs at their feet. This restaurant was opened years ago by Clint Eastwood, actor, director, and former mayor of Carmel. Great spot for a relaxing meal and conversation.

Favorite Dish: Castroville Artichoke Soup - made from local artichokes. Salads were great. Other menu favorites - crab cakes, tuna melt, fish tacos, french dip sandwich, Dirty Harry Burger, and a roast turkey sandwich with cranberry-orange toasted pecan relish.

My wife and I recently (11/22/2008) have had a very negative experience at Katy’s Place Restaurant in Carmel, CA, during which both the greeter and proprietor were exceptionally rude. Just as my wife and I were arriving at Katy’s (for a breakfast with some friends that were visiting the area), a pair of well dressed women arrived in an expensive vehicle, and stated that they were going to be a group of 5 (3 more people would be coming). The two women were immediately seated at a table of sufficient size. My wife and I entered just after them, and stated that we were going to be a group of 4 (awaiting our 2 friends). Despite their being a table open for 4 people, we were told that they would put us on a list and that they would have to wait outside for the rest of our party to arrive. I would not have minded that, except that the prior group (of 2 women, awaiting 3 additional) were treated so differently in the same circumstances. The greeter made this decision, but the proprietor (Edward Randall Bernett) was there next to her at the time. I asked why the 2 ladies ahead of us were seated, although they were waiting on 3 people, and my wife and I (who were in the same situation, waiting on 2 people) were not seated, particularly as there was an empty table for 4 in front of us. The proprietor asked us if I was a restaurateur, and I replied that I was not, but that they should not treat different customers differently. Neither he nor the greeter responded to that, but he said “you are right on the edge”. I replied that I am local and invited some guests, but that I would not choose their restaurant in the future. He replied that I am not welcome there, and my wife and I departed to go meet with our friends elsewhere. We went to Stillwater Cove instead, had a beautiful view, very peaceful, quiet and unhurried, excellent breakfast for 4 (including juice, coffee, the works) for $80, as well as a very polite and friendly reception, unlike at Katy’s. I highly recommend Stillwater Cove, and recommend _avoiding_ Katy’s. Other people at Yelp and TripAdvisor have had similar experiences at Katy's.

Favorite Dish: None - this restaurant is not worth going to