The $33 pasta needed additional seasoning and the salad was a little limp.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
Peter Mullen
The peach appetizer was terrible as it was hard as a rock. Ink pasta was so so. Service was good.
Napkins are not even cloth.
Very disappointed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
Monica Salandini
Excellent restaurant, delicious cuisine with quality products and excellent wines. Attentive and precise service. Compliments!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Roxanne Anderson
Food was Wonderful!! It’s beautiful and relaxing! Prices were great too!
Kid-friendliness: Made my very picky eater she “special spaghetti” it’s butter noodles
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sasha Voinov
Beautifully cooked Italian food! Gorgeous atmosphere for its small location.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tommy
We chose Balena because it shows up on a lot of bloggers' lists but our experience was unremarkable - nothing particularly bad or good.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Esther Yeoh
This place used to be very good. This is my fifth time eating here. I tried to make it a point to come here every time when I am in town.Their appetizers are still good and it is still dog friendly.The cauliflower and octopus are delicious.The pasta however are all very bland and not great. It is very unfortunate because this place used to be excellent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Craig Balaban
La Balena is among the finest restaurants in Carmel. We dine there every time we visit. The Lasagna is the best we have had. On our last visit the cauliflower appetizer was impressive. The staff is attentive and the wine list features some real treasures from Tuscany.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Cauliflower, Lasagna
Wendy Brickman
We enjoyed a fantastic dinner al fresco in the beautiful cozy front patio at La Balena decorated with colorful purple and white lights. First of all, the service was friendly, very attentive and professional. The food was fantastic and unique, too. We started with the delicious Burrata Tartufata (garnished with truffles), toasted bread, sea salt and olive oil. We then enjoyed the amazing chanterelle (great flavor!!!) mushrooms with linguini in a wonderful light sauce. We split their famous crispy giant Pollo Fritto which is half of a Fogline Farm Fried Chicken with flavorful mashed potatoes. We finished with a refreshing lemon sorbet nestled inside a giant lemon accompanied by Italian Biscotti. The owners, Emanuele Bartolini & Anna Abney Bartolini, stopped by to say hello and were so welcoming and kind. The restaurant also features an indoor dining room and back patio, but the front patio is my favorite! An outstanding dining experience in Carmel by the Sea. Very highly recommended!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pollo Fritto
Charlie McBride
Really pricey for under-seasoned food. I had the fig salad ($17) and the pesto pasta ($32). Both were quite bland and nothing about them justifies the price. We also paid $5 for unsalted bread and a thimble of olive oil. Overall kinda bummed, but the service was good and helpful.
Had ricotta gnocchi had no flavor but I added my husband's pesto sauce from his dish and it helped a
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Elizabeth Connolly
Great service, very good food, charming atmosphere
Mike Gagnier
Overpriced, food was bland
nugget
expansive and bad food
Craig Berger
We went here for our 25th anniversary, on the recommendation of Emmanuela (someone we met in town). Her recommendation did not disappoint! We booked a reservation easily, arrived early and were seated early. My husband had the bisteccca and I had the fish of the day. Both were incredible! The service was impeccable and timely (but not rushed). They even brought us a sweet dessert on the house for our anniversary. Thank you for letting us enjoy your Carmel hallmark. It was a vacation highlight.
This meal was expensively average.
The $33 pasta needed additional seasoning and the salad was a little limp.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
The peach appetizer was terrible as it was hard as a rock. Ink pasta was so so. Service was good.
Napkins are not even cloth.
Very disappointed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
Excellent restaurant, delicious cuisine with quality products and excellent wines. Attentive and precise service. Compliments!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was Wonderful!! It’s beautiful and relaxing! Prices were great too!
Kid-friendliness: Made my very picky eater she “special spaghetti” it’s butter noodles
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Beautifully cooked Italian food! Gorgeous atmosphere for its small location.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We chose Balena because it shows up on a lot of bloggers' lists but our experience was unremarkable - nothing particularly bad or good.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
This place used to be very good. This is my fifth time eating here. I tried to make it a point to come here every time when I am in town.Their appetizers are still good and it is still dog friendly.The cauliflower and octopus are delicious.The pasta however are all very bland and not great. It is very unfortunate because this place used to be excellent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
La Balena is among the finest restaurants in Carmel. We dine there every time we visit. The Lasagna is the best we have had. On our last visit the cauliflower appetizer was impressive. The staff is attentive and the wine list features some real treasures from Tuscany.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Cauliflower, Lasagna
We enjoyed a fantastic dinner al fresco in the beautiful cozy front patio at La Balena decorated with colorful purple and white lights. First of all, the service was friendly, very attentive and professional. The food was fantastic and unique, too. We started with the delicious Burrata Tartufata (garnished with truffles), toasted bread, sea salt and olive oil. We then enjoyed the amazing chanterelle (great flavor!!!) mushrooms with linguini in a wonderful light sauce. We split their famous crispy giant Pollo Fritto which is half of a Fogline Farm Fried Chicken with flavorful mashed potatoes. We finished with a refreshing lemon sorbet nestled inside a giant lemon accompanied by Italian Biscotti. The owners, Emanuele Bartolini & Anna Abney Bartolini, stopped by to say hello and were so welcoming and kind. The restaurant also features an indoor dining room and back patio, but the front patio is my favorite! An outstanding dining experience in Carmel by the Sea. Very highly recommended!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pollo Fritto
Really pricey for under-seasoned food. I had the fig salad ($17) and the pesto pasta ($32). Both were quite bland and nothing about them justifies the price. We also paid $5 for unsalted bread and a thimble of olive oil. Overall kinda bummed, but the service was good and helpful.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Had ricotta gnocchi had no flavor but I added my husband's pesto sauce from his dish and it helped a
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Great service, very good food, charming atmosphere
Overpriced, food was bland
expansive and bad food
We went here for our 25th anniversary, on the recommendation of Emmanuela (someone we met in town). Her recommendation did not disappoint! We booked a reservation easily, arrived early and were seated early. My husband had the bisteccca and I had the fish of the day. Both were incredible! The service was impeccable and timely (but not rushed). They even brought us a sweet dessert on the house for our anniversary. Thank you for letting us enjoy your Carmel hallmark. It was a vacation highlight.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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