monterey carmel great food

[fred42]

Is there any great food in monterey or carmel? we are open to anything.

[baseballfan]

I agree that Pacific's Edge at the Highland's Inn is excellent. Great service and food. Reservations are a must. Not inexpensive though.

[jaweino]

Most of the places mentioned are pretty good to good, but not great. The trio of restaurants in Carmel owned by David Fink are the closest you're going to get to great, although I haven't been there since the recent departure of Executive Chef Walter Manke. L'Auberge Carmel has been my favorite since it opened. Plan to spen d at least three hours there for dinner.

Bouche is also very, very good with a great wine list.

The newest of the trio is Cantina Luca, outstanding Italian food. I especially liked their salumi platter with a fine selection of homemade and imported meats. The place is definitely worth going to , although I find it uncomfortably noisy.

The other really good places in the Carmel area are Marinus in Carmel Valley and Pacific's Edge at the Highlands Inn.

[zinfanatic]

We dined at Bouchee this past Tuesaday. The menu selections are more limited. Also the items that are offered are not option "small/large" as in the past. I was pretty disappointed in the quality compared to my previous visit about 1 1/2 years ago. My sea bass with dates and chorizo- fish cooked well- virtually no sauce and about a total of 1 tablespoon of chorizo, and mushy dates. The artichoke app was good but not enough for the $8. The dessert was rocky road espuma creme brulee. The concept was good- chocolate ice cream with homemade marshmellows and nuts with foamy brulee. The portion was served in a small "martini" glass and there probably was about 2 Tbsp of ice cream!!!! - very skimpy for $8- I am a pastry chef- We had friends that are foodies that went to Auberge that previous Sunday and enoyed their meal. They also went to Luca and did not like their meal.

[Psiweaver]

I really enjoyed Luca when I went there. I don't know how long ago it was when you went there, but there pizza was very good as well as the pastas that we had carbonara and something else. I really enjoyed the Salumi as well.

[Ed Dibble]

I agree with honkman and mspea; Passionfish and the White House are always on my list when I visit the peninsula. I also have heard nothing but good about Melange, but have not eaten there yet myself. I wish the OP had provided more specifics about what he is interested in as there are a variety of other options.

ed

[honkman]

Beside Passionfish I highly recommend Robert's White House for great food and service. One of the best restaurant in PG

http://www.robertswhitehouse.com/

[mspea]

For many of us, the best restaurant in the Monterey Bay area is Passionfish in Pacific Grove. Delicious sustainable fish (also good non-seafood items), and a wine list at $1-2 above retail. Search the boards and you'll find plenty of glowing recommendations.

[soquelcalifornia]

Passionfish is wonderful!

[glazebrookgirl]

I would highly recommend LouLou's Griddle in the Middle located on Municipal Wharf 2 in Monterey. It is the commercial pier and you can drive onto the pier and park at meters on the wharf and walk right to LouLou's. It is halfway down the pier (thus the "middle" part of the name) in a charming yellow building. It is small, maybe four tables inside with a counter and some patio seating outside, but the food is great and you can enjoy the beautiful location. It is nice to be able to eat at such a great place far away from the touristy crowds at Muncipal Wharf 1.

The sourdough french toast is especially recommended for its freshness and awesome fluffiness. My husband has had several of the scrambles and has enjoyed each one immensely. All of the ingredients are fresh and they have several lunch options as well as breakfast. And of course they have a variety of seafood options for both breakfast and lunch. For breakfast they have squid and eggs! And sand dabs for lunch! All the egg dishes for breakfast come with the home fries that have tomato, carmelized onion, basil and Parmesan mixed in. Heaven!!

This is defintely a local's hangout and you will see regulars helping themselves to coffee behind the counter (which is great coffee btw). If you get there in the early morning you will see fishermen eating breakfast (probably the squid and eggs) and selling LouLou what she calls the "catch of the hour". My husband and I have driven more than 45 minutes out of the way just to eat at LouLou's. I am pretty sure they are only open from 7-3, so get there early!

LouLou's Griddle in the Middle
[phone]
Municipal Wharf 2 N
Monterey, CA 93940

[jbyoga]

I love Won Ju - a very unassuming Korean joint run by an amazing mother/daughter team...

Peppers Mexicali cusine in Pacific Grove is excellent as well and San Souci in Carmel is high end French...(I think it's still there and good)

[gordon wing]

Last week we had a very nice dinner at Melange in Pacific Grove .... here's a link to my post..... http://www.chowhound.com/topics/361989

[alpine chef]

i have been fond of casanova, grazings, portabella (for lunch), fishwife (in pacific grove).