Carmel-by-the-Sea Restaurants

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Katy's Place is THE place for a great breakfast while visiting the Carmel area. We opted to sit out on the patio since the weather was very nice when we visited. There are over 13 kinds of Eggs Benedict served at Katy's, as well as many other breakfast items.

The inside dining area can be very crowded, no reservations are accpeted. Be prepared for a wait on the weeknds.

Favorite Dish: The Dungness Crab Eggs Benedict, enough for 2 to share, served with Roasted potatoes. The Cheese Blintzes area also not to miss. Fresh OJ is served for breakfast at Katy's and the coffee is also great here.

When I was in Carmel, I wanted to go to a seafood restaurant. and I found Flaherty's. There are actually two parts to the restaurant. One is more of a formal area (with an aquarium :-P), and there is another less formal area with oyster bar (without aquarium :-D). Since it was too early for the more formal room, I ate where the oyster bar is at one of the several tables there. The menus for both sides are exactly the same, so it makes no difference where you sit really. It just depends what type of ambiance you want while you eat. The "formal" side seemed a bit boring for me. I am a relaxed and laid back type and the oyster bar side suited me just fine.

The menu had a pretty good selection and also offered farm raised abalone, which I had never had before.

Overall it was a good restaurant. If I was ever back in Carmel I might go somewhere else just to explore and see what I might see. If I couldn't find another place to eat that I thought would be good, I'd go back.

The Flying Fish Grill is a wonderful restaurant in the basement of the Carmel Plaza shopping area. The setting is dark and intimate with redwood booths (said to be built by the owner), ornate Balinese animals on the walls, and a cozy Asian feel. The staff is excellent ~ very efficient and geniunely interested in the guests. Seafood is the specialty of the house, but they offer other items such as steak as well. The only thing that would improve this restaurant would be hard liquor ~ they only serve beer and wine. The food is deliciously and creatively prepared. You will love it!

Favorite Dish: Our meal started with complimentary fried wonton chips with ginger salsa. Pan-fried almond-crusted sea bass with whipped potatoes, Chinese cabbage, and rock shrimp stir-fry is one of the suggested favorites and you will see why. It's incredibly good. My friend and I ordered this with a side of steamed vegetables to split so we could save room for desert. The desert is what my friend spoke about for the rest of the trip ~ tempora-style fried bananas with carmel sauce and ice cream. Very tasty!

Carmel has no shortage of decent seafood and red meat restaurants capable of serving excellent food, even if the prices are higher than most tourists are willing to spend on the average night. And, decent wine lists are also not unusual, but to combine the two with excellent service at a less than astronomical price is hard to find. Fortuantely, Flying Fish Grill is one of these places. Service here is excellent. The wine list immediately impressed me as both sensible in length and smartly chosen. It wasn't deep on older vintages, but the wines weren't soda pop drinkable now style wines either. I received help in making my selection and was literally blown away by the deal that I got. As an experienced consumer, I expect to pay around $40- for a decent wine, but the Etude '03 Carneros Pinot Noir was more solidly built than the average restaurant wine. Rich in fruit complexity, balanced in acid, it was also quite smooth, although an extra 6 months would have been OK too. The Seafood was artfully produced and not overdone. The only trick I saw was that the evening specials were double the price of the top menu entres, and not necessarily worth it. Lobster and farmed abalone are tasty but there's not enough wow factor in them for me to double my entre ticket price. The other draw back, one that is inevitable for a no reservations needed restaurant in Carmel is the lack of spectacular view out the window. This restaurant isn't so much about atmosphere as the providing of excellent food and wine at a price that's affordable, even if the price puts a lump in your throat when the check comes.

Favorite Dish: I like the almond seabass that my niece chose, although my scallops and prawn with pasta was quite satisfying. I wouldn't hesitate to chose anything from the menu. The wine list is not long, but its so excellent, we purchased more than one bottle of the same wine.

This is Clint Eastwood's old restaurant and one of the oldest in Carmel. We sat outside in the brick courtyard where there are fireplaces located strategically throughout the patio. There is a giant mural on one wall and the ivy covered walls create a cozy ambience.

Favorite Dish: We were there for lunch so we had sandwiches, but they were really tasty! :)

This is a small place with delicious food.
It has a lovely patio or outdoor dining. It's a favorite among locals and tourists alike. You may see a
famous person there, I did. This restaurant, like all the buildings in Carmel is surrounded by flowers and trees. The Tuck Box has been pleasing patrons for over 60 years

Favorite Dish: The Tuck Box is known for their homemade scones, but the complete breakfasts are very good. Eggs, waffles, scones and a pot of hot tea are all delicious. And you can take home their preserves and spreads…orange marmalade, raspberry and olallieberry. The Tuck Box is one of a kind--originally a tea room, it is now open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.

That evening, at the Monterey Bay, after having walked along Carmel, we decided to have a fast dinner in Monterey and then to head for Marina for the night.
Arrived in Monterey, we parked somewhere and we said "ok, let's go along this road and let's choose a restaurant".
We were crushed by tiredness, but no one wanted to say it.
Obviously we chose the FIRST restaurant we found. That was a Korean Restaurant.
Will you believe than even the water was terrible?
Will you believe that I had problems for three days?
I can't remember the name of that terrifying place but, just to be sure, avoid ALL the korean restaurants in Monterey.

This is a very popular brunch place in Carmel - so popular that it is not unusual to see long lines snaking out of there into the adjoining street. It looks like a traditional country kitchen with menus scribbled on the walls on a blackboard. There is a verendah which seats about twenty people.
The breakfast menu is great - omlettes, egg benedictines, waffles, pancakes and berry pies.

Favorite Dish: The many varieties of egg benedictine - From the smoked salmon Nova scotia style variety, to the Maryland blue crabcake egg benedictine to the traditional smoked canadian bacon.
Also try the traditional omlettes - I liked the egg white omlette with avacadoes and mushrooms.
I liked this place so much that I went here for breakfast every day.
The breakfast is so big that I did not need lunch.