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Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"Had a nice low key dinner here on our last night in Carmel. Friendly service, tons of pizza selections and nice salad choices. We split a…" read more »
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Giuseppe and everyone at Cantinetta Luca hosted an incredibly delicious and entertaining dinner for our clients recently. The food was delicious and they catered to our every whim when making a set menu which included (among others) yummy pumpkin gnocchi, pizza, succulent chicken and perfectly cooked fish.
The restaurant itself has a wonderful atmosphere - we were in the room in the back towards the wine cellar and it had a good balance of privacy while still being part of the restaurant vibe.
Giuseppe also, at last minute, procured a selection of red and white Californian wines for us (which were not on the wine list) to fulfill our client's request that only California wines be served.
All in all, we had a wonderful evening at Cantinetta Luca and we, our client and all of the guests were extremely satisfied and impressed with the dinner.
I have never given 1 star before. However, after giving Luca more than one chance, I have no other choice. :( I am a Carmel native, lived all over California, and have worked in restaurants for years. Initially, Luca's atmosphere is impressive. Very "San Francisco", therefore appealing to the tourists.
On several occasions when I've dined there, we were sat in a prompt manner. The breadsticks with what appeared to be olive dip was nice. I was immediately turned off when I was handed the wine list only to discover that the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu was a Sangiovese for $75. A Sangiovese. Seriously??
We ordered, pumpkin ravioli, pizza and salad. The food took forever to arrive, and when it did, only 3 of the 4 entrees ordered arrived. By the time the fourth arrived, the other 3 members of the party were finished eating. When the fourth plate was finally dropped, it was the wrong dish. Without even an apology, it was taken away. More than 10 minutes later, the correct dish was delivered. In my experience, when this happens, not only does the server, and in some cases, the manager, apologize profusely, but something is offered to compensate for the mistake. Whether it is a comped drink, entree or dessert. The staff made no attempts to fix the situation.
With respect to the portions, I expected to get more than 4 raviolis for the price. This restaurant was is way overpriced.
The second time I dined there, it was in the bar. I was meeting my girlfriend, we had cocktails, appetizers and shared an entree. When the server dropped the check, it already included an automatic gratuity!! For two people!!??? When asked, I was told that this was the policy. Too bad for two reasons, first, on principle I will never return, and as a local, I will never again recommend this restaurant. Second, even without the greatest service, I am a gracious tipper. The service staff is really missing out on tips if they're forced to auto grat.
My recommendations: more bang for your buck at Nico's, and the Italian food is more authentic. But if you only have one meal in Carmel, Casanova's.
People thought this was:
Luca has a great vibe to it. They're good at keeping the dining rooms full but don't have a problem making sure the service is great.
Their by-the-glass wine list is very, very good and you should order one if you're not getting a bottle from their extensive list. The list, as a drawback, is very intimidating. Staff is glad to help you walk through it but very few people will know what to order by just looking at the huge list. There are no comments on it and it can be a bit confusing as to varietal and region.
Appetizers were just "ok" and nothing to write home about, except for their meat and cheese plate which is a reason to go in and of itself. . The main courses were what stole the show. The gnocchi is melt-in-your-mouth delicate and all of their pastas are perfect. The meats they use are made and aged right there and you can taste how much better the quality is by having that freshness.
Desserts were mediocre, nothing that I would order again. I tried the chocolate gelatto and it didn't taste very chocolaty. I also had the banana and nutella panini which seemed to be a bit more on the bland side.
Overall, a very good spot because the main courses are so wonderful and the wines-by-the-glass won't leave you in the lurch. The atmosphere drives it all home. I'll be back.
Loved this place! The atmosphere was very classy and the food was delicious! Altogether we ordered the fig appetizer, a large salad, some prosciutto, a steak, and plate of pasta. Everything was prepared to our liking and I will definitely go back if I'm ever in the area again!
We saw this place while walking around, but decided to check out some other places that were rated higher on yelp. We did. They didn't have the lively ambiance this place did. The host was gracious and our server came over right away. We ordered the selection of artisan salame; um HELLO. The smoked prosciutto was so insanely good. All of them were, but I think my husband could have stabbed me for that one. We ordered the funghi pizza with fennel sausage added. HELLO again. It was outstanding. The waitress made an excellent wine recommendation, which after I had a sip, made me wonder why I spend any money on Chuck Shaw at all. Why god, why, when I could be drinking wine that's *actually* good. I had her write it down, and I'll be going to BevMo for it.
We had SUCH a good meal. We were too stuffed to get dessert, but my one tiny regret is that they didn't have much in the way of chocolatey desserts on the menu. I'm not asking for a Ruby Tuesday's chocolate explosion, just maybe a flourless cake.
But really, we were too stuffed for dessert anyway. We loved this place. We'll be back.
People thought this was:
Wonderful restaurant! It was recommended to us by friends while we were vacationing in the area and did not disappoint. We went during happy hour and indulged in the half price appetizers and wine by the glass. We had a wonderful meal and 4 glasses of wine for less than $50! Can't beat that.
Very authentic Italian. Not easy to find, Yelp mobile wins again. Just happened to come here for happy hour and liked it so much we returned later on for Mother's day dinner. It was virtually dead from 4-6, but there are some very good deals on appetizers and on their impressive wine selection. With a 3L bottle fetching $8,000, it's got to be purely for show.
With not much knowledge in terms of Italian wines the bartender and sommelier were very helpful in selecting good vino. After eating so much before dinner, we just split a pizza and a couple salads. The appetizers here were best and you get a little sample of everything, I like diversification always.
One complaint and it looks like it is not only my experience. They tack on 20% gratuity even for small parties. Having worked in the industry, that is usually what I tip out if not more. Have never seen this done, and don't like it.
People thought this was:
Went here with my boyfriend for a fancy diner before going to the Symphony. Very nice atmosphere, the wait staff was helping in picking a great wine to go with our dinner, and the food was quite yummy.
Funny thing happened on the way to the restaurant. I originally made reservation at this restaurant, but along the way, I forgot the exact address and the name of the restaurant, but in Carmel, there are no addresses. So we stumbled along until we found a crowded restaurant with a wood fired oven in the back. The place was packed and we later found out why. Stay tuned.
While we contemplated going in we saw a couple also deciding on Luca. We decided to walk down the street, but returned. The same couple returned, but left. Apparently, the only seats immediately available were the chef bar and the liquor bar, a 40 minute wait otherwise. We chose the chef bar, which gave us a great view of the wood oven and prep area.
We ordered the special of the day, breaded pork chops and also funghi pizza and romaine lettuce salad. Our waiter, a charming and helpful man, recommended the boudinbini (bread pudding with plum and ice cream with dried fruit). Our waiter recommended we order it when we ordered the entree since it's baked in the wood oven and could be served upon completion of our entree.
The salad was whole hearts of romaine sprinkled with grated eggs and dressing. Then we watched our pizza being made. We were amazed of quickly the pizza baked in the wood oven. We were more amazed the the flavor and aroma of the cheese, garlic/onion spread, and mushrooms. Then came the breaded pork chops. Tender topped with mixed greens and onions. This added a unique flavor to the pork chops. Next came our dessert. It was perfectly baked. Semi-hard on top and soft in the middle with lots of flavors.
In summary, the service was friendly and helpful and the food was flavorful and perfectly prepared. Too bad that couple could not wait or accepted the chef bar, cuz the food was worth the wait.
The wife and I sat at the kitchen bar, facing all the sights and sounds of the kitchen. What a great spot to see the action of a very upscale place.
First of all, the sommelier was incredibly helpful in picking wine. We mentioned we were driving the Paso the next day and he even took the time to write down some totally excellent wineries to make sure to visit. What a great guy!
Sitting at the bar, we were right in front of the guy making pizza. He had a wood-fired oven and very fresh ingredients. Seeing this, both my wife and I went for the pizza. There were a ton of things on the menu that looked good, but the pizza just grabbed us both, what can I say?
But, these are no ordinary pizzas. The high-quality ingredients (truffles, for example) and the wood-fired oven made our pizzas come out super crisp and satisfying.
What a wonderful place to have dinner. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars? The master chef seemed a little ornery with his employees at times (in fact, he seemed to be in a down-right bad mood). I guess that's the down-side of having an open kitchen. When someone screws up, the chef's tirade is on full display.
I truly didn't mind it though, because you could tell this guy was a perfectionist. Might not be the best for his employees, but it's a good thing for the diner.
Finally, the dessert was fantastic. The Apple crostata with Cinnamon sherbet and the Tiramisu were bellissimo.
I highly recommend Cantinetta Luca - and will be coming back!!
People thought this was:
Great spot in hidden in a tourist town! Comfortable design; visible salumi refrigerator next to the bar; open kitchen feel. Good for dining with friends or a date. Start with the home made charcuterie sampler. Don't question it - just do it. All were lovely flavors from the more subtle to spicy (I'm not a fan of the mortadella, but one out of like 10 ain't bad). The olive tapenade served with the breads rocks!
While I hear the pizzas are great, we opted for pasts, so we had the pumpkin ravioli (YUM! delicate, flavorful nuggets of squash flavor with the earthiness of prosciutto and sage), and the Ragatoni e Fagioli (YUM! - the flavor of the beans help their own paired with fennel sausage and red sauce) Great wine list. The sommelier won't steer you wrong. No idea on total cost - business dinner, but couldn't have been that crazy... right?
Neat little place with a cozy atmosphere.We stopped in for lunch and were immediately seated at a wonderful table for 4 at the window. I ordered a baby romaine salad that my wife and I shared that just didn't do it for me - lacked flavor-OK so so. The Wife and I also shared a salame pizza that was very tasty. Overall our food was very good and well prepared (limited menu). The only draw back was that we felt a little rushed - other than that the food and service was very good - might stop back in - still undecided.
My wife and I were looking around for someplace to eat and decided on Luca, not really knowing anything about the place, but liking the look. We had a half hour wait on a busy Friday night, but they took our cell number so we could walk around the town. Luckily we got a nice table by the window, which was pretty private, but I could see some of the other tables were very close together.
We ordered the salumi sampler and some lambrusco, with burrata. The combination is fantastic, and the house-made boar salumi is terrific, as were the others. We then moved on to share a mushroom pizza and romaine salad that had a nice bagna cauda dressing with egg on top. For the pizza and salad we had a glass of sangiovese each. Dessert and espresso and it came to $100 plus the 18% tip, although we would have tipped higher as the service was excellent.
All in all, it was a great experience and a wonderful serendipitous surprise.
People thought this was:
Only went here because Tutto Mondo closed. I was not impressed. Italian with a modern twist but I'm not buying it. Give me the rich flavors I'm used to.
Staff was nice but the food was just okay. I was not a fan of the atmosphere either - centered around the bar for the most part and it was just like fancy bar food to me.
Excellent Italian restaurant tucked down from the main tourist drag in Carmel. My particular favorites here are for their antipasti course and is not always on the menu is a fig wrapped in goat cheese and prosciutto - mmm, salty and savory delicious. Their next course we usually go for are their hand made salamis, which are fantastically paired by their wine sommelier Christopher (just ask for him and he'll drop by your table and offer great suggestions for this or any course of your meal). For the main course, I've enjoyed all of their handmade pasta dishes, and the last time we were here my wife and I loved their steak for two, which was fantastically prepared and cooked.
People thought this was:
This is a great little place off the beaten path. Although I did not have dinner, the appetizers and service where excellent!
I will definitely return for a dinner and recommend!
People thought this was:
I can't discuss the pumpkin ravioli (with its saba breadcrumb topping) without a distinct need to mop up a puddle of drool afterward. Attractive, I know... This dish is, simply put, happiness on a plate.
Their bread sticks are comparable to crack, only legal and complimentary!
The atmosphere makes us little Carmel country bumpkins feel as though we're in a big-kid city.
The service is pretty darn good, although lately they seem a bit understaffed... so go on a weeknight and problem solved! Ask for Heart. He's my favorite waiter ever in the history of the world... and I mean this!
I will never again step into this restaurant again. The manager and staff are unprofessional and rude. I tried to enter no stars, but Yelp wouldn't let me. If you want an authentic Italian meal in Carmel without the pretentiousness, go across the street to Little Napoli.
Great find in Carmel. The food was very tasty and good. Good Wine selection. Our waiter was friendly but was also very busy, could not give us much attention, i.e. forgot to tell us the Nightly Specials, so we listened to him tell the table next to us.
A little noisy and we got a small table near the hostess desk and front door which was a little cold.
Overall, I would definitely go back!
People thought this was:
What a great restaurant!!!! It was the Saturday over Labor Day Weekend and they were packed. The hostess mentioned it would be a 30 to 45 minute wait, which was fine, however there was no room at the bar to sit. We were going to go somewhere else for a drink when the manager or owner stopped us and said he would bring up a couple of bar stools by the side of the bar to make us comfortable. Great manager! Why let someone go somewhere else to spend money when all you have to do is make them comfortable in your own establishement. Koodo's to the manager or owner! Greast job! We finally got a spot at the bar and decided to have dinner there. The bartender gave us some fantastic recommendations from the menu. The food and service were awesome and at a great value! We will be back whenever we are in the area. Great find!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish I could give Luca's a 3.5 star rating, but alas, Yelp won't let me do that. So I'll stick to the 3 because the food is too pricey for the quality and the restaurant is crowded and noisy.
My friend and I ordered a delicious fresh pepperoni pizza and we split an arugala salad. The salad was OK, but the pizza was delicious! Mmm, fresh pepperonis. The pizza was big enough for us to share it for dinner and take the rest home for a late night.
We had excellent service and were recommended a great blended wine to go along with our food. The service was really what made this place memorable; otherwise, the menu is limited, the atmosphere leaves something to be desired, and out of the 2 dishes we ordered only 1 was truly amazing.
People thought this was:
Let me start by saying if there were half stars to give, I would have given 2.5 stars.....however, I cannot justify 3. All of the food was good but the service was TERRIBLE.
The meal began nicely, we enjoyed the Sand Dab app special, and the Eggplant app as well. I had the Baby Romaine salad and it was quite bland but ok.
The sommelier came out, he was friendly but not terribly informative. We told him our price point ($40) and that we like a lighter red...he picked something off the menu and we enjoyed the selected wine and ordered another bottle halfway through the meal.
Dinner service is where things started to get awry. My boyfriend had ordered the Short Ribs and was brought Risotto. When told of the mistake the waiter was quite rude in his response and said "We ran out of those like 2 hours ago". My boyfriend had ordered a special glass of wine to go with the ribs and expressed his disappointment. The waiter assured him he wouldn't be charged for the wine and took it away! I thought it weird that he didn't just leave the wine, as it was half drunken and would be thrown away anyhow.
They offered to whip him up some spaghetti really fast, and he declined...he doesn't eat pasta. They continued to try to push it on him which was annoying, he ended up sharing my food.
My mom and sister loved their dishes; Pumpkin Ravioli and Asparagus Risotto were both superb. I had the onion pizza which was good but not great.
The desserts were also delicious, but one of them came out 10 minutes after the others. When we got our bill we saw that the wine was considerably more than the $40 price point we had given. My mom mentioned the wine issue to the sommelier and he brought the manager over. We discreetly mentioned our service problems and he was very very gracious and took all the wine and dessert off our bill. That is not what we were aiming for, we simply wanted to let him know about the service issues.
Anyways, at the bottom of the new bill it was handwritten "18% gratuity included".... we had known this was the policy and weren't surprised. We knocked around the idea of leaving a larger tip because they comped so much, but ended up signing the bill and leaving.
Here comes the shocker - as we were walking to the car we were chased down the street by an irate server with the bill who said we hadn't tipped and asked rudely if we were we aware of that. Of course we were not, because it had been clearly written that it was included....we were shocked that he would chase us down like that, especially as it was obviously a mistake on the restaurants part for stating the tip was included when it really wasn't. We wrote the tip and ran out of there. If you visit Carmel go to Little Napoli across the street!!!
People thought this was:
Quick lunch with the ladies at this spot. What I liked the most was my mom's panini and the decor. The color palate and the layout of this restaurant is a nice balance between modern and rustic. I loved how nearly everything tied into the central color theme. Very nice.
My pizza was okay, but the crust got soggy about half-way through. That was sad. But, my mom's food was super yummy!
There are lots of places to try in Carmel-by-the-Sea, so I don't know if I would come here again. But, my meal was good and the service was attentive!
You have been warned. Everything you order will have a mandatory 18% fee added. You order 1 glass of wine, 18%. I am not a big fan of the automatic tip even if it is for large parties. I don't want my server to have a guaranteed tip before we even sit down. It defeats the whole purpose. So after receiving my bill and being shocked to see 18% added in for two people I asked the server about it. Service was okay at best by the way. He said it is because "of all the German's who don't tip." I think he was using "German's" as a pseudonym for tourists, but he is luck I am not German. I asked him how much of that 18% he got and he said 12%. The business is basically taking a cut of all tips and automatically adding it to every check. It also guarantees the server his cut of 12% and you can tell in the service.
I will not go back to this restaurant. There have been hundreds of successful restaurants in Carmel over the years and I am sure all had to deal with those cheap "Germans," that is the restaurant business. A tip is a tip, I understand that servers make their living on tips and that is why I am always very generous when I receive good service. However, I still reserve the right to tip how I see fit, not how the establishment sees fit. So, I don't know how they get away with it but I am sure if I were a bored attorney I would get this shit changed. So, why do I care, I will never return? I care because of you, the unsuspecting fellow Yelper who stops in only to be screwed by Luca. This is why I care and that is why I yelp.
There are far too many great restaurants in Carmel to deal with this BS. Try another place; I am sure you will be pleased.
Oh, by the way, the food at Luca was average to good.
People thought this was:
When we spend a weekend in Carmel we were told to go there and I have to say the design of this restaurant is very interesting, especially the fridge next to the bar where they store all of the Italians specialties.
The service was really good, and we really enjoy the food. I recommend it
People thought this was:
Great atmosphere for Carmel, but the service lacked. There is not much seating at the bar so no place to wait prior to being seated at a dinner table.
Food will leave you wanting more and the pricing is not worth it. I think there's a lot of potential for this place, but they are missing the mark right now.
Caveat: the dinner was back in 2007. I had an absolute perfect experience, from start to finish. The housemade pasta, the service, the wine selection... all reasonably priced, on Opentable, and off the main road in Carmel-by-the-Sea. This was only part of a great weekend in Monterey Peninsula, but certainly the most memorable one.
People thought this was:
On a fellow foodie's recommendation, my friends and I finally dropped in for dinner at Cantinetta Luca last week. In a word, it was amazing--Luca offered tasty Italian classics and outstanding service.
We started off with three appetizers--the burrata cheese, arancini and a pizza bianca. The cheese was superb, lightly drizzled with olive oil and served with crostini for a "build your own bruschetta." The arancini was good, but we missed the mention of saffron risotto for the filling, so this overwhelmed the prosciutto and mozzarella di bufala filling. The pizza was a pleasant surprise--potato, cheese, sage and (at our request) caramelized onions--but I would advocate for a finer slice on the potatoes. For our main course, I chose the pumpkin ravioli, one of my personal favorites and Luca executed it perfectly. We splurged on desserts, choosing the organic apple crustata (tasty--especially paired with the cinnamon gelato), a trio of sorbets (blood orange, pear and prickly pear--just ok) and the chocolate torte (forgettable), but the true stand-out was the olive oil ice cream served with the torte. You're probably having the same reaction I had--olive oil ice cream?!?!--but it's actually VERY good, blending sweet and savory in perfect harmony (a truly rare feat!).
I was equally impressed by the quality of service at Luca. Even though it's in Carmel, the servers didn't have the pretentious attitude so often encountered when dining out in this little city. We really appreciated our servers' help choosing vegetarian-friendly options for the vegetarian in our party and our server was willing to go above and beyond by modifying any pizza or pasta into a vegetarian alternative--such a welcome change from other restaurants (ahem, Mélange). My one criticism would be the included tip, which Luca charges regardless of party size. They added a standard 18% tip to our bill, much to our chagrin--because we would have gladly given a bigger tip for the great service we received! Overall the marriage of food and service at Luca was perfect--we'll most definitely be back!
Carmel for those who don't know, is like a monopoly when it comes to restaurants.. even most of their coffee shops-- all owned by some key players. This is an attempt at a cheaper restaurant for us common folk. And it is stunning. They have 31 Italian wines to start off with-- add a beautiful decor which includes a gorgeous view of their wine collection in the back room-- a reasonably priced menu with surprisingly painstaking presentation.... I am a returning customer. Where to begin-- first off... the usual spots were closed on the 24th- In walking around my family and I decided to give this little place a try.... Someone spent a pretty penny making this place sparkle...
Seating:
If you want to get up close and personal with the kitchen there is a bar right near their ovens (where their yummy pizzas and eggplant parmesan is made). The designer made excellent use of space-- there are booth/ chair combos all over-- if you want more light go to the front of the restaurant-- a romantic ambiance go to the back near the wine wall.
Service:
Our main server was very articulate and friendly. She automatically made wine suggestions and pairings, and explained the menu. Some of the chefs came out and talked with customers and gave the place very friendly down to earth atmosphere. Never had to ask for water, our drinks or bread to be refilled.
Food:
For 9-13 dollar lunch menu I was impressed. I highly recommend the pumpkin ravioli and the minestrone soup (if you love prosciutto this is a must). The have pizzas, salads, and pastas which are reasonable in quantity and excellent in quality.
Dessert:
They have homemade limoncello-- was decent. Their tiramisu was served in a coffee cup-- it was light and airy -- not to my personal liking but my mom loved it.
Downsides:
1) There is only one bathroom in the place (beautifully decorated-- I love the sink!) which can get a little hectic.
2) The man who served my father wine thought he was Chinese and said a "salud" in Chinese-- which is why this place gets 4 stars instead of five... one of my biggest pet peeves is when folks pull crap like that-- well intentioned I am sure-- but unprofessional.
People thought this was:
My mom and I went here, and it was great. The atmosphere was beautiful, the service was excellant. We had the fried risotto (yum!), the pumpkin ravioli (their signature dish....delicous) and the apple tart with gelato (fabulous). But the best part was the bread served with olive tapanade that they brought the table. I'm not a huge olive fan, but this was AMAZING. If anyone knows what is it in or how to make it PLEASE MESSAGE ME! And go to Luca, if nothing else just to grab a drink and eat the bread lol
I'm drooling just thinking about this place.
I was in Carmel this weekend and ate here TWICE. First, for a full course dinner. The Bresaola antipasto was dee-lish. I love lemon on anything. Then we had the Short Rib Agnolotti & Pumpkin Ravioli -both excellent. Portions were smaller than most but just right for us to squeeze in some dessert without feeling overly stuffed.
The best part...
Lemon Semifreddo and Cinnamon Zep(something) for dessert. I can't believe i forgot the full name but you'll know what i mean when you see the menu. It's a mouth-watering combination of a lemon gelato or ice cream with two cinnamon sugared donut hole-like cakes. Mmmmm.
The second time we went? That's what I got. The dessert. It's so worth it.
Service was ok at best. Our waiter, whom we called Vince Vaughn, was kind of too distracted. But we let it go cuz he was sportin such a bad ass 'stache.
After spending the weekend at Spanish Bay, my friend and I decided to grab lunch in Carmel on our way back up to the Bay Area. After realizing that not all of the culinary "gems" in the Monterey area are coastal dining, we trekked up to Carmel's downtown. Luckily for us, this review came up on my mobile yelp application and we decided to check it out.
Definitely not let down.
Both of us were absolutely exhausted and stuffed from a huge dinner at Roy's the night before. But the warm service, inviting ambiance, and delicious smells instantly put us at ease. We started off with a couple glasses of wine, that were typically priced ($9 or so) and the house bread and tapenade. Although I found all items delicious, my friend couldn't get enough of the tapenade and I nearly had to wrangle it from his grasp to get a bite!
The vegetable soup was delicious and light. The Pumpkin Ravioli was also delicious and although I was stuffed, couldn't resist finishing the plate.
I loved this place and when I do return to the area I plan on coming back!
People thought this was:
busy concours week
enticing menu hooked us
didn't quite live up
People thought this was:
If I could, I would give 2 1/2 stars. This review is only based on 1 dinner visit. The food was mostly very good. Complimentary breadsticks are yummy...spicy but I found them addictive... They also serve bread warm from the oven with a delicious olive tapenade. The salad was generous and perfectly composed--not overdressed, which I am a stickler about. Soup also delicious. Halibut roasted and served in a cast-iron skillet was absolutely delicious and I ate every last drop of that sauce. Pumpkin ravioli was very sweet and could have used more sage. Dessert was ok.
The atmosphere is lacking. Noisy and CROWDED. We were so close to the table next to us that it was impossible to ignore our dining neighbors. How is it that I can hear every word that the couples on both sides of us are saying, but I can't hear my husband sitting directly across from me? The service was also not that good. We were ignored a lot ---waited a long time to order and no one told us the specials. I only learned there were specials after we ordered, when I overheard another waiter describe them 2 tables away. Also, the cramped space inhibits proper service.
I would eat the food again and I am interested in trying more things from the menu. however, it's so crowded that I would have second thoughts about returning. It was not a comfortable place to eat and I am more and more picky about that. We were a party of two. maybe going as a party of four would be more pleasant?
They also charge an 18% gratuity automatically, which is sort of annoying.
I love this Italian trattoria!!!!
Giuseppe, the young, cute owner, is always oh so good to his patrons. He is an excellent sommelier and boasts a fantastic cellar, which you can inspect from the tables in the rear. You will be impressed by his collection of Italian vintages and contemporary Brunellos. I've been in for lunch and dinner, and was pleasantly surprised each time.
This is the sister restaurant to more well known (and more formal) Bouchee. You can come here super casual and have a great time with friends, the fam, or a on date. They cure their own salumi and mozzarella (closest to what you get in Italy). Make sure your table starts with a pizza (from the wood-fired oven) to share.
Please refrain from fighting over the olive olio asiago bread sticks!
I would rate the food four stars and the service (well manager) none if I could. The pizza and pasta plates we ordered were great - the fresh bread and breadsticks are also great; the waiter was great but the manager basically ruined our entire dining experience.
After we ordered I was looking at the wine list; without ASKING us if we decided on wine the manager walked up, took our glasses and told us "you're not ordering wine" - I guess my tube dress and flip flops didn't bleed enough money for him to appreciate us as customers...from there he kept going over to another table (three inches away since yes the tables there are crammed) and kept asking how everything was, more wine, how are they, dessert??? etc etc...in which I later found out the couple were the ones with the brand new 300K Ferrari out front.
I left feeling like we were just pond scum not good enough to have dined there - and considering Carmel is probably 80% toursists it was very disappointing to see someone treat people that way - there are way too many other places to dine for pizza/pasta to endure that again...
People thought this was:
I've had lunch here several times, never dinner. I was sorry to see they now only open for lunch on Fri, Sat, & Sun. The food has always been excellent, but the service is sloooooow. Today I had to leave the table to move my car because we were getting close to the 2 hr limit.
We moved to Santa Cruz last year, and have taken to Sunday night supper in Carmel...Julihanh and Little Napoli have been favorites, but one day, on a stroll to Little Napoli, it caught his eye....cured meat hanging inside this restaurant...and so we made a note to visit.
The space itself is beautiful...I myself like to watch the kitchen operations, so I asked to be seated in front of the pizza oven. Great entertainment!
Our server was knowledgeable and unintrusive.. water showed up when it was needed...questions were readily answered...
The woman next to us was having the Cornetto pizza (mozzarella di bufala, fontina cheese, prosciutto, rucola and parmesan cheese) and it looked SO delicious that I stopped looking at the menu. We also ordered the tricolore salad (w/gorgonzola, apples and walnuts) and an assortment of cured meats.
This is a MUST RETURN, as I thought the pricing was very reasonable, great wine list and an intruging meny that I want to explore a bit more...I love the fact that there are family style dishes served, as well as pastas...We visited back to back Italian restaurants in a weekend (= bliss) -- hile Antica was good, Luca is far superior...
We ate here twice on a recent trip to Carmel. I would give Cantinetta Luca 5 stars for dinner, but only 3 for lunch. The lunch menu was quite limited, but the dinner menu offered some wonderful choices. Good wine too.
I have subsequently eaten here three times and it just grows on me. Last trip started with the sardines on crostini, which were outlandishly excellent. Followed by the spaghetti with guanciale and fava beans. We finished with a wild arugula salad. Excellent! Sal has been our waiter on two occasions; he is great. Last time, we had someone new to us who was also excellent. Christopher is still Christopher (see previous review).
My wife had eaten here for a business lunch and enjoyed it. So we came back for dinner. We were sat… Read more »
Vino Napoli Wine Bar now open
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
20th Anniversary Menu
Carmel, CA
Carmel, CA
Category: Italian
Carmel, CA
Category: Bakeries
Carmel, CA
Category: Greek
Carmel, CA
Category: Japanese
Carmel, CA
Category: American (Traditional)
From Carmel to Santa Cruz-- places that keep Santa…
