Dinner in downtown Carmel

Regional Dining Discussions SF Bay Area, NorCal, Tahoe
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Hi there, my partner and I are ending a trip up the coast from SoCal and will spend a few nights in Carmel. We’re staying a block up from Ocean Ave and it would be great if we could find dinner there. When I lived in the Bay Area I used to drive down for a day or two but I don’t recall eating anywhere except for the Forge in the Forest which I understand is gone.

I can’t eat anything spicy and we both can’t drink alcohol so the bar scene isn’t really necessary, unless the food is better than in most of those places. My partner has never been to to Northern CA so we’d prefer a casual place with good food after doing the tourist thing, it doesn’t have to be Michelin star special.

Any recs and all are much appreciated!

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It’s been a couple of years, but Toro Sushi was decent (albeit expensive). You’ll need to make a reservation, it’s a pretty small space.

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If you are in the mood for excellent southern French cuisine, we can highly recommend Mission Bistro. They are in the old Bouchee building. It’s a quiet, sophisticated-but-not-stuffy, casual restaurant with a lovely interior and excellent food from exec chef Matt Zimny. Moderately priced.

Mission Bistro
Located on Mission Street between Ocean Ave & 7th Ave
Street address # is 2 Mission St. West
Carmel by the Sea, CA
Menu: https://carmelmissionbistro.com/carmel-by-the-sea-downtown-mission-bistro-food-menu
Reserve by phone (831) 574-8344 or through OpenTable, but especially if you are dining on weekends.

Also well-regarded is Stationaery, but note they have restricted hours open.
Address: San Carlos Street, 3 NE of 6th Avenue, San Carlos St, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921
Phone: (831) 250-7183
Menu: https://www.thestationaery.com/menu
B/L 7 days/week, but D served Thurs-Sat only

One of the finest French bakeries in the entire NorCA area is Parker-Lusseau/Monterey, located in a lovely small building by the Monterey Post Office, downtown. The cafe is a great place to get coffee and B/L items; they make top-notch croissants as M. Lusseau is a certified master patissier. The almond croissants are sublime, and don’t miss the unassuming but amazing apple tartlet - a simple flat circle of French cultured butter-rich laminated dough, with a spiral of thinly sliced apples as a topping. It is KILLER good. The individual quiches are also excellent, especially the goat cheese and smoked tomato one. If they have the chocolate mini-Bundt cake with the whipped cream and brandied cherry filling, get that too if you’re a Black Forest Cake lover!
Parker Lusseau Pastries and Cafe
Address: 539 Hartnell St, Monterey, CA 93940
Phone: (831) 641-9188
Open 7:30a-4p, Mon-Sat, closed Sun.

FYI don’t let anyone tell you that the other “french” bakeries in the Monterey area are as good. They aren’t. We hit all of them on one of our previous trips and did head-to-head comparisons of the croissants, plain/almond/chocolate. Nobody even came close to PL.

We go down to Monterey/Carmel/PacGrove regularly (were just there in February for 5 days), and in fact will be there later this week. Doing a rare weekend trip so we can hit some places that aren’t open earlier in the week. We’ll be hitting Mission Bistro for lunch this coming Sat 25th and are looking forward to a return visit.

OP, hope you luck out with good weather and have a wonderful time with your friend! BTW, although the restaurant Anton & Michel is absolutely atrocious (a genuine tourist trap), it’s worth walking around to the back and seeing their very pretty fountain. A&M is at Mission Street, betw Ocean & 7th Ave. It’s one of those “hidden alleys” of CbtS, except this is U-shaped and just leads around the buildings and back out again onto Mission St.

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Will you have a car ? The area in general has good but not many really great places if you want to have it more casual (there are excellent upscale places like Aubergine, Chez Noir). In Carmel most places feel a bit overpriced for what they deliver, a few possibilities could be Portabella, Cultura. If you have a car you could go to Passionfish or Mezzaluna is Pacific Grove which have a better “ROI”

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My experience there was many years ago, but I agree with you.

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“a bit overpriced” is the “price” of welcoming tourists, not foodies. The streets and sidewalks are noticeably clean; “dog-friendly” reputation seems at odds with clean sidewalks, but both canines and not watching where you step effectively coexist [!], so it all works to ensure passable dinner wherever works for whomever. The menu, cooking, etc. are secondary bonuses to a tourist (let alone residents) enjoying the unsullied lawn, regardless whether one has served as Mayor . . . and that said, in our family “a man’s got to know his limitations” are among everyone’s guiding words.

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The restaurant scene (and Carmel itself) is a bit odd, as in not in step with most of California, and I suspect that’s how the locals want it. It’s a very picturesque place. The coastal views and tide pools were exceptional and the small cottages charming. But like restaurants with a view, it’s not about the food and you pay for being there. All the small charming restaurants seemed over priced and the concepts and menus off. There are some casual places in Carmel Plaza and the food was okay but nothing to recommend or memorable. I was there a few years back and the highlights of the trip besides seeing friends, was seeing a few Carmelite nuns on the beach enjoying the view on Monastery Beach in full habit. It really is a beautiful place. Even the money can’t destroy that.

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I’d agree that Carmel btS is in general overpriced and overrated, although I have to say we were far from impressed with Chez Noir compared to Aubergine, Mission Bistro, or even Passionfish (which has a new owner/chef, Ted Walter having retired).

FYI to OP: many people do like La Bicyclette, although we did not like our meal there compared to the ones in my original post. Note at LB reservations are required, not optional:
Address: Dolores St & 7th Ave, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921
Phone: (831) 622-9899
Menu: https://www.labicycletterestaurant.com/menu

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Aubergine is a different level as Chez Noir (but also significantly more expensive) but Chez Noir is also better than pretty much everything else in that area

We had two separate dinners with the new chef and haven’t seen any drop in quality. It is most likely our third favorite place in the area

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Thanks for your suggestions and comments. I’ll discuss them with my partner and hopefully we’ll come to an agreement soon.

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Not downtown Carmel, but I remember having a couple of nice meals on the patio at the Highlands Inn, just a bit down the coast from Carmel. Great view!

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Thanks for the recs and including the links to the menus, it was very helpful. Most of the items on Mission Bistro’s menu wouldn’t work for me b/ the spice element. The Stationaery has one or two things I’d consider but I know my partner would have a hard time with it. We’ll try to get to Parker-Lusseau if/when we’re in the area. My partner hasn’t been to Carmel/Monterey so he really wants to do touristy things and it’s a tight “schedule” of where we go/when.

Thanks again!

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Thanks for this rec but my partner doesn’t love sushi…

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I’m driving the whole trip and there are things he/I must see and things we hope to get to. Portabella’s menu looks great but Cultura won’t work for me (spicy food). Mezzaluna looks great but for no reason that I can think of, I can’t find the exact address!

Thanks for the recs!

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You can have a really great meal in Carmel if you significantly lower your expectations.

Carmel, especially downtown Carmel, is a tourist destination. It’s not going to have really great or interesting restaurants, as they owners know they have a captive audience.

I’d just hit up Nora’s. It’s not going to blow you away, but it’s solid and has options for every mood (sort of like Cheesecake Factory, but better).

Enjoy the people watching downtown, the scenery, the sea breeze and not expect too much from the food scene and you’ll leave happy and with a full stomach.

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The address for Mezzaluna is 1188 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 (it’s also easy to park there)

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Different strokes for different folks, as the saying goes! I think most people would consider Chez Noir’s Michelin star as indicating they are ‘better than pretty much everything else in the area’.

We have liked some of Michelin’s reco’s but not all, and I’m sure that’s true for everyone. If you want to compare on prices as well, then we liked Table Culture Provisions/Petaluma (as well as Bijou, its new sibling) much more than Chez Noir. But outside of the M.star and price, TCP and Noir are totally different experiences in not only what’s on the plate but in focus as well. Each has its place, after all.

I have no idea where anyone got the idea I said Passionfish was dropping in quality. I merely said they have a new chef, which they do. He has made some changes to the menu but there are still a number of Walter’s dishes available (he gave them to the new owner, who was a big fan of the restaurant), and they are executed precisely as Walter would have done.

We thought the food at Passionfish was good; we simply liked Mission Bistro better. Honkman likes Passionfish; we like Lucia @Bernardus Resort. Aubergine is expensive compared to other restaurants in the Monterey/Carmel/PacGrove area, but compared to SF Michelin restaurants it’s practically a bargain.

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First family of Carmel restaurants?

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Thanks for the rec for Porta Bella. We ate there tonight and the service and food were outstanding. We shared the lobster ravioli, my partner loved his pappardelle with pomodoro sauce, and I had the lemon/garlic chicken (with the mustard sauce on the side–still good). The pesto dip that came with our bread was so light and tasty I would have licked the bowl if we were home. If we were here for a second week we’d definitely go back again.

Thanks again!

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Great to hear ! (BTW, not sure if you have done it already but the 17-mile drive is quite nice especially if you make many of the stops and walk around the area)