The Grill on Ocean Ave, Carmel by the Sea

I tried this cozy place while on a bus tour to Big Sur.
Good, respectful service and the food was filling especially the tacos.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 4

Great service and amazing food

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

They offer DoorDash service when in reality they do not. Our order was cancelled after we waited an hour.

Service: 1

DO NOT EAT HERE! I never write reviews, but this place is making me write one because of how bad it was, and I don’t want anyone to walk in and waste their money. I got a burger for $27 that had no sauce on the buns and was one of the worst burgers I’ve ever had.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

I had the beef short rib with mushroom risotto. Very good. Beef could have been a little bit more moist. Great veggies. Good atmosphere and attentive service. We would go again!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Very poor food, quality, and service

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

We are on a roadtrip from LA to San Francisco and we are spending the night in Carmel. This restaurant was a hidden one, but the pasta, shrimp ,some mexican food and a cheesecake were all great. I would certainly recommend. Shame there weren’t that many people.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent service. Clean. Food was very tasty and served in a timely manner.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We heard about this restaurant from watching You Tube videos on the area. We ordered a Caesar salad and the special which was French dip. While our waiter was amazing and attentive, the food was mid. It’s not that I wouldn’t recommend it, but that there seems to be better options around the area.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 5

Chicken sandwich is delicious, tender chicken , fries perfect .
Salad dressing the best .

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great food, family snd friendly place. The shrimp pasta was great….

Loved our time at this restaurant! The staff was really friendly, especially Mando who was great! The food was also delicious! Thank you Ocean Avenue Grill team!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I understand that I am a picky eater and I must say the meal I had was fantastic. And I love Carmel-by-the-sea and what it has to offer. So, I figure I would give an honest review and just any in general.

I’m usually in Carmel not caring so much about how I dress and so forth and looking to get my steps in and enjoying the biophilia and so forth as I am extremely health conscious and a marathon runner. So, perhaps the impression was I was just a bum looking to get “free” or “cheap” food, which I did parallel in a way.

Having said that, I looked for a cheap lunch option for a steak. The menu online said this place had it for $25 compared to $50-60 at close place. For example, I was interested in paying that price to get a good steak at “La Bicecleta” (not spelling it correctly). I’ve never been there, but I was willing to try it.

You get what you paid for. I have a low fat diet, but I would always prefer foods cooked with extra virgin olive oil and so on, but, best yet, no oil at all.

The server greeted me and placed me near the street as some others have commented. I feel like there’s some theatrics going on here in terms of getting your business. Anyway, seemed like a red flag, since there didn’t seem to be a natural conversation about where to sit or “choices”.

The more I talked to the server about what I was looking for, the more I was getting ready to leave and go somewhere else. At the end of the day, if I’m in Carmel, I can care less about this stuff and just tried my best to enjoy the moment. So, there was a bit of confusion as far as what I saw on the menu for a surf and turf fajita being $38 instead of $25, which makes sense because there’s tortillas. I’m also generally low carb and CERTAINLY don’t eat wheat and gluten and any breads/tortillas/chips.

The server looked angry and I could tell he was remaining business like in terms of “troubling” customer. I’m on a diet in which I drink black calorie less americanos in the morning until 2pm and break a fast (I was breaking a 22 hour fast here) until I get lean from 11% body fat to around 8%. I’m not sure I should be eating out at all, but here we are.

I had requested the meal not have oil. He said “are you sure about that? It will be bland”. They still put oil. I remember the first few bites of the steak, I enjoyed it, but the outside of it tasted like the AMC popcorn/ redinbacher (the theater popcorn you microwave at home that has vegetable oils) you buy at a cheap grocery store. I asked a different server what the oil was used; he said soybean oil. I’m not going to fret over it too much, but they didn’t accommodate for my original request clearly. As a side note, it has been known when you cook with molecularly unstable oils like soybean oil (hydrogenated oils) you generate trans fats which, if stored, is difficult to remove . It tasted like margerine…. Which I avoid like the plague. Be careful health nuts! Stay away.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 2

Awesome food and amazing service. We came to Carmel on Saturday and decided to come again today with my parents. Both times we ate here and had a fantastic experience. The service is the best. Today's special was superb. Highly recommend it, nicest people ever. Must try!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Ok atmosphere, food was very late and they forgot my beer

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 3