Dinner in downtown Carmel

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!

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.

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.

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”

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

“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.

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.