We started our dinner experience with the fresh humus and ouzo shrimp which was a glimpse of the extraordinary meal to follow. Two of us ordered the lamb shank special, one with mashed potatoes and one with cashew couscous flavored with subtle spices. The meat literally fell from the shank and peeled off in delicious layers. The au jus contained vegetables that added depth to the entire meal. One of our party ordered the mishmish chicken and raved about the apricot glaze and tender chicken. We completed our meal with the dates and a scoop of ice cream and shared the Beirut pistachio pudding. The owner enthusiastically welcomed us and continued his excellent attentive service throughout our dinner. The ambience was cozy which enhanced the Greek family-feel of the restaurant. This is one of the gems of Carmel-by-the-Sea!
SF Golfer
I walked by Yafa last night and saw the Michelin recommendation sign on the outside. So I booked a dinner for my family. We had a horrible experience. The owner/waiter was rude, the food was average but the entire restaurant was serviced by him alone, and he was literally throwing plates and bottles on and off the table. The food was MEDIOCRE to say the best - the kafta was loose and tasteless. Is this what Carmel has sunk into? How did they get a Michelin mention? I have lost my belief in Michelin starting today. When he dropped a knife into my daughter’s lap as he removed plates by piling them up, he immediately said “it’s the way you handed me”. What!? Something wrong with this guy. I will tell all my friends and family in the entire Monterey to avoid this nonsense.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Cristian Ramirez
Delicious food. The atmosphere of the place almost makes you feel like you’re in a different country. The server made great suggestions and made sure we were good the entire dinner. The food was delicious. I ordered the tabouleh salad, the cauliflower steak, and the hummus with pita. Very delicious !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
gabe m
An insult to people who work hard at restaurants. Remarkably poor service from the owner/host. But impressively he blamed the kitchen when it’s clearly his fault that we waited 30 mins for a glass of water - got served dinner with no forks - couldn’t order for 30 mins - waited 90 mins till the mains - etc. And the dude had the audacity to argue with me. If there was an option for negative tip I would.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Thien-Y Hoang
Had a fantastic time with my dog. The server/host/co-owner (he does it all!) was warm and inviting the minute we stepped in. I had seen that dogs were allowed on Yelp but since I didn’t see an outdoor patio, I wasn’t sure. But he just moved a corner table aside a bit and welcomed us in. Since it was a Monday at around 5:30pm, it wasn’t super busy, so I appreciated how relaxed and lovely it was.
I had the Greek dry white wine and one of the specials - a delightful beef ragu with saffron pappardelle. The co-owner also kept giving us dog treats which my dog absolutely loved.
Would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting. It’s a little off the beaten path which I feel makes it even better.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Aditya Shah
Our family had an awful experience at Yafa, a place we were very excited to dine at. Only after we experienced their poor service did we come back and look at other reviews, which complain about the same thing. The restaurant is desperately poor-staffed. Our server was clearly rushed, impatient, and frequently short with us. Having received no forewarning about the time that their special slow-cooked chicken might take to be prepared, when we enquired about it, the host was extremely condescending in his explanation. Later, when he ignored several of our attempts to summon him to order dessert, and after we had to call him out on it, he blamed it on his poor vision.
Lastly, I am no food critic, but I have had much better Lebanese at restaurants with no “Michelin” stars. Utter disappointment.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Rogi U
This restaurant is absolutely amazing! The atmosphere is warm and inviting, the service is great, and the food is beyond delicious. A definite must try if you’re in Carmel.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rico62x
Great Mediterranean food with excellent service. Everything we had here was very good. Modest room but comfortable. Would definitely go back when we go to Carmel
Patrick F.
Good food, bit pricey.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Chris Mathura
Vibes were high. Smallish portions on the ravioli we ordered but the quality was ⛽️
Delicious food, lovely service, we loved our dinner at Yafa 👍🏻❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Julie H.
We did takeout and ordered mamas meatballs, mishmish chicken and the butternut squash ravioli. Everything was cooked well and had good flavors but the only thing I would really come back for personally is the mishmish chicken. I think it’s just a personal preference of flavors.
The meatballs were tender and seasoned well but they tasted like meatballs. Same with the butternut squash ravioli. I feel like I’ve had them before elsewhere and it wasn’t something I felt was unique to this restaurant.
Food: 4
Service: 5
Randa Seif
It’s a small place so make sure to reserve in advance! We went on a Sunday on a long weekend and was packed! We waited 30min for our table and we had reserved in advance.
Staff are friendly.
Food is good. Has foreign and local wine! Both very good options!
We will for sure go back on our next trip over!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Ashita S
Even though we had a reservation, the waiter said he has no tables and we are welcome to wait . He did not seem interested in seating us at all
We started our dinner experience with the fresh humus and ouzo shrimp which was a glimpse of the extraordinary meal to follow. Two of us ordered the lamb shank special, one with mashed potatoes and one with cashew couscous flavored with subtle spices. The meat literally fell from the shank and peeled off in delicious layers. The au jus contained vegetables that added depth to the entire meal. One of our party ordered the mishmish chicken and raved about the apricot glaze and tender chicken. We completed our meal with the dates and a scoop of ice cream and shared the Beirut pistachio pudding. The owner enthusiastically welcomed us and continued his excellent attentive service throughout our dinner. The ambience was cozy which enhanced the Greek family-feel of the restaurant. This is one of the gems of Carmel-by-the-Sea!
I walked by Yafa last night and saw the Michelin recommendation sign on the outside. So I booked a dinner for my family. We had a horrible experience. The owner/waiter was rude, the food was average but the entire restaurant was serviced by him alone, and he was literally throwing plates and bottles on and off the table. The food was MEDIOCRE to say the best - the kafta was loose and tasteless. Is this what Carmel has sunk into? How did they get a Michelin mention? I have lost my belief in Michelin starting today. When he dropped a knife into my daughter’s lap as he removed plates by piling them up, he immediately said “it’s the way you handed me”. What!? Something wrong with this guy. I will tell all my friends and family in the entire Monterey to avoid this nonsense.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Delicious food. The atmosphere of the place almost makes you feel like you’re in a different country. The server made great suggestions and made sure we were good the entire dinner. The food was delicious. I ordered the tabouleh salad, the cauliflower steak, and the hummus with pita. Very delicious !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
An insult to people who work hard at restaurants. Remarkably poor service from the owner/host. But impressively he blamed the kitchen when it’s clearly his fault that we waited 30 mins for a glass of water - got served dinner with no forks - couldn’t order for 30 mins - waited 90 mins till the mains - etc. And the dude had the audacity to argue with me. If there was an option for negative tip I would.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Had a fantastic time with my dog. The server/host/co-owner (he does it all!) was warm and inviting the minute we stepped in. I had seen that dogs were allowed on Yelp but since I didn’t see an outdoor patio, I wasn’t sure. But he just moved a corner table aside a bit and welcomed us in. Since it was a Monday at around 5:30pm, it wasn’t super busy, so I appreciated how relaxed and lovely it was.
I had the Greek dry white wine and one of the specials - a delightful beef ragu with saffron pappardelle. The co-owner also kept giving us dog treats which my dog absolutely loved.
Would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting. It’s a little off the beaten path which I feel makes it even better.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our family had an awful experience at Yafa, a place we were very excited to dine at. Only after we experienced their poor service did we come back and look at other reviews, which complain about the same thing. The restaurant is desperately poor-staffed. Our server was clearly rushed, impatient, and frequently short with us. Having received no forewarning about the time that their special slow-cooked chicken might take to be prepared, when we enquired about it, the host was extremely condescending in his explanation. Later, when he ignored several of our attempts to summon him to order dessert, and after we had to call him out on it, he blamed it on his poor vision.
Lastly, I am no food critic, but I have had much better Lebanese at restaurants with no “Michelin” stars. Utter disappointment.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
This restaurant is absolutely amazing! The atmosphere is warm and inviting, the service is great, and the food is beyond delicious. A definite must try if you’re in Carmel.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great Mediterranean food with excellent service. Everything we had here was very good. Modest room but comfortable. Would definitely go back when we go to Carmel
Good food, bit pricey.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Vibes were high. Smallish portions on the ravioli we ordered but the quality was ⛽️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Delicious food, lovely service, we loved our dinner at Yafa 👍🏻❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We did takeout and ordered mamas meatballs, mishmish chicken and the butternut squash ravioli. Everything was cooked well and had good flavors but the only thing I would really come back for personally is the mishmish chicken. I think it’s just a personal preference of flavors.
The meatballs were tender and seasoned well but they tasted like meatballs. Same with the butternut squash ravioli. I feel like I’ve had them before elsewhere and it wasn’t something I felt was unique to this restaurant.
Food: 4
Service: 5
It’s a small place so make sure to reserve in advance! We went on a Sunday on a long weekend and was packed! We waited 30min for our table and we had reserved in advance.
Staff are friendly.
Food is good. Has foreign and local wine! Both very good options!
We will for sure go back on our next trip over!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Even though we had a reservation, the waiter said he has no tables and we are welcome to wait . He did not seem interested in seating us at all
Service: 1
Excellent middle eastern / Mediterranean food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loading...