Carmel's Hidden Gem Restaurant

Tourist Trap!

It sucks to give a small restaurant with amazing food such a low review. However, there were quite a few things that really turned our groups experience here into a really poor one:

1. The service was insanely slow, it takes around 20-25 minutes to place an order and then it took over an hour to receive our food.
2. We didn’t even ask for water and they brought these fancy bottles of water that they ended up charging us for, which I thought was quite ridiculous.
3. They charged 20% service charge for a group of 7 without letting us know before hand or afterwards until we saw the bill. If you’re going to do that, you better provide great service.

All in all, this sucks to have had such a poor experience when the food was great. It felt like the establishment uses tourism to charge high rates, not care about providing good service, and then up charging where they find they can get some more money. I’ve been to other restaurants around the area that don’t have the same behavior, so just buyer beware before coming here

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 1

Very very very slow service and endless loop of elevator music. We sat down at 1130am on a Sunday. They took our order about an hour in after taking orders from people who sat down after our group for some reason. The food came out an hour later. We were literally sitting at the table for 2 hours before the food came out. Portion was a bit small for the price. Tasted not too bad - probably would've tasted better if we weren't so frustrated by the slow service.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 1

BEWARE!!! This was by far one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had. The service was painfully slow from start to finish, and the servers were completely inattentive. We sat for long stretches of time without anyone checking on us, and even the simplest requests felt like a huge effort to get noticed. It was clear that customer care is not a priority here. If you value good service, I would strongly recommend avoiding this place. There are plenty of other restaurants where your time and business will actually be appreciated.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 1

Food was good. Service was sloooooow! We grabbed a table for 5 and they had us wait for a chair and then a random patio chair was brought over. Orders were placed and we brawl sat there for 3 hrs total between waiting, ordering the food, and then getting the food. Do not come here if you are hangry or on a time crunch. Service was inattentive after we received our plates, that was that. We didn’t get checked on or ask if we needed anything else. All the dishes were good though so no complaints on the food. Just know they are very busy and they had two ppl for the whole entire restaurant. Bring your patience

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 3

Food was incredible, the best breakfast I’ve had in Carmel. Swedish pancakes were amazing

Food: 5

We stopped in for brunch on a Sunday during Monterrey Car Week. The service was impeccable and everyone of our dishes tasted amazing! I’d recommend the turkey Eggs Benedict if it’s on the menu when you come. Not sure why some other reviewers complained about the service being slow. They may just be expecting a pace of things a bit faster than would be typical for Carmel. Slow down and enjoy!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Wow what a pleasant surprise. Small restaurant inside about 4 tables nicely spaced. A couple of tables outside. We were there for brunch and it was delicious. My had eggs Benedict and my friend an omelette. The eggs were cooked just right. The Bloody Mary was spicy and refreshing this restaurant is owned by a married couple who know the meaning of service. I will definitely return.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Best Belgian waffle ever

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I had breakfast here with my wife & the food was amazing

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We decided to give it a try so we got to the restaurant and it looked packed. As I looked around I noticed not many tables had food.
I got in line behind two people. After about 10min a few groups got in line behind us. After 10 more minutes we started wondering what was going on. The two people in front of me had been seated but after 20mins no one said anything to me or the groups behind me. After a few more minutes we started to get frustrated. I told the people behind us we may go to another place. I finally stopped the server/manager and mentioned we had been in line for over 20mins and no one said a thing and if she could please tell me a wait time. She snapped at me and said “I can’t seat you inside!” I said that’s fine. We would be happy to sit outside. She then disappeared back in the restaurant instead of seating us at the open table, so I’m assuming she was going to get menus and settings but by this point we had been rubbed the wrong way. I understand being a server and being short staffed but this was very rude. I told the people behind us that they could take our spot and so we left. We walked to another restaurant and they had a very long wait and then we went to a third restaurant and sat down and had a great meal. The little French restaurant past Ocean on Mission did not disappoint! We had a leisurely breakfast. We walked all the way back across town and passed by this restaurant because our vehicle was parked near it. As we walked by, we saw the two people that we’re in line behind us sitting outside. I called to them and they looked over and I gave them the thumbs up or thumbs down symbol with my fingers and they both gave me the thumbs down signal and then shouted to us that they hadn’t even received their meal yet?!?! We were all flabbergasted (including them). Even if the food was 5 star, it wouldn’t be worth the it.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Closed today at 11:11am (I wish it was open), but it’s Thursday. Hours say open 11am Wednesday- Sunday

Great little place. Food was wonderful, really nice brunch fare. We went on a (busy) Saturday before Mother's Day...definitely worth the wait!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

genuinely the slowest service ever. waited 20 minutes for water and 1 hour for food. auto gratuity of 20% added and then the check comes out asking for more tip. also a credit card fee. food was okay. but service sucks.

Great restaurant a few streets away from the centre of Carmel. We stopped for brunch before continuing along the PCH. The food was delicious. We had a fried chicken burger and the huevos rancheros.

They even give you a slice of crispy bacon with your Bloody Mary! I didn't know this was an option but I fully support it.

Beware, this restaurant scammed me twice,
First he put charges that we did not eat or drink, 2 items,
Then we find out the fact and asked him to correct it, then he did not drop the first charge then he charged me twice with corrected fee.
What a BAD surprise!! SCAMMER!