Got talked into swinging by this spot for lunch with the family and lemme just say it was pretty underwhelming?To call this place a Cafe is a stretch, its closer to a lounge/dive as 8-10 tables are sooooo cramped inside it makes navigating to the bathroom an adventure in itself.To go along w the unavoidable draft anywhere you sat every time someone opened the main entrance we were not off to a great start.We were seated and whomever was taking orders disappeared for extended periods of time and never once came by to refill waters or check in on us unless we flagged them down.The food was also a mixed bag, you had plantain chips which were a combo of fresh n stale chips that came w / a creamy garlic ajillo sauce that was probably my favorite thing....I know the arepas are solid as the empanadas on the menu were really stuffed arepas in disguise. That being said the arepa dough is a good one although it isnt really a 'nada.But back to what we had ordered:The tropical endive boats were so faintly tropical as the pineapple salsa compote was almost non existent, that the thing was pretty much a mashed avocado boat. Ehhh...The hangout chicken was also a letdown... as the namesake to the restaurant I would assume this to be a featured item w a juicy chicken breast accompanied by a dressed drumstick smothered in MOJO and popping w a nice presentation,but when it did finally come out it was a dry overdone quartered chicken pretty much w/a side of average yellow riceAlso mini cans of soda... I appreciate the concern for my overall sugar intake but that was a lil deflating also.I guess I was expecting a bit more and maybe I was looking at different pics on google so it may have been a mental bait n switch but regardless there wasnt anything any of my party ordered that really impressed and the service left even more to be desired...Bummer as I know its hard to keep a place running these days n I hate leavin downer reviews.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 2
Kerry Williams
The food was delicious, the service was excellent and the atmosphere was great.
I just love this place. Great food and service. Love the live local entertainment. The owners are often there and so grateful for their patrons. I wish I lived closer but it’s so worth the drive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Susan Sugg-Nuccio
Such warm and lovely people and atmosphere. I only had a drink while waiting for friend but I’ll be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Debra Miller
Been here 2 x and love the vibe and drinks. However, 2 x I showed up for lunch and they are not open when they say are. ?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Robert Acosta
We had an early dinner and the food was excellent. Erika was courteous and prompt. The Famous Cuban sandwich was perfectly made. Get the lemon chicken I stole several pieces from my spouse. Prices are reasonable and a cozy atmosphere. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kayla LM
Not sure if its different in person but through uber eats this place is terrible! $87 for stale/over fried food. My boyfriends burger came on a stale bun that broke in half, and the meat was pretty much raw…the fries either were cooked in old oil or just left in the fryer for too long, my rice tasted like it was out for hours. So disappointed ugh
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Star Scheff
We watched this restaurant being constructed during covid. That in & of itself was courageous. We just saw the channel 12 news report on what this restaurant, it's owner & staff have been going through. Disgraceful! We couldn't wait to move to Carmel, & we can't wait to move. Such a beautiful area, but the level of hate, fueling racism, & homophobia make it a dark & ugly community! This isn't making America great, it's making America hate! For God's sake we ALL have red blood!! Keep serving up your wonderful food, & stay strong! We stand in solidarity with you. God bless!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Angel Sun
I’m here now and it’s absolutely delicious ! I was surprised how good it is after I read some of these reviews. I got a huge watermelon drink and the roasted chicken with plantains. It’s more of an upscale restaurant inside than a hangout. It’s a perfect place to bring a date. I’m a hot female n I approve of this place. There’s great live music too! The prices are actually fair for what we got. It’s a restaurant not some fast food place. Not expensive. Not cheap. I recommend ordering extra sweet plantains cause they are fire! Service was great we had Paula. Everyone’s raving about how good their food is and clapping for the musician playing. A woman raved about her salmon and her 5th grade son scarfed his burger down. I’ll be back for sure! Wow.
Kid-friendliness: A good mix of single people, people on dates and families.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Maria-Elena Netrosio
This is my first review ever. We went for Mother's Day. Great food. Great owners/staff as well as entertainment. Love that they have artists come and sing/play/perform. Can't wait to go back!!!
I just spent almost $90 for a delivery. The order was wrong. The food that we did get wasn't great. I was very disappointed because I had heard great things about this place and was hoping it would be good since it's local. Very disappointed. Paula did say she would refund me for the one item that was incorrect. I hope she pulls through because Carmel Diner didn't.
Violet
I was in the area with a friend, looking for a place to grab lunch and we happened to spot this restaurant in the corner of a shopping plaza. It sounded OK and we didn't want to keep looking, so we decided to try it. SO GLAD we did!Everything was great, from the decor to the service, drinks, appetizers, and entrees! The nachos and street taco appetizers were great, and I was so stuffed that I had to take the Cuban sandwich home. I took a piece of flan home too and that was heavenly!I hear they have music there on certain weekend nights, so I plan to go back for more!I've since been back with my sister for brunch, and it was amazing! The bottomless mimosas or bottomless bellinis are worth it!
L T
Great place … recommended by a friend. Really good food and welcoming, charming atmosphere. I think it’s important to try to support our local businesses and the owner seems like a great guy as well.
Kelly novo
The deco is very fancy , it’s surprising as the name of the place doesn’t fit. Bean soup was purée , no beans and Luke warm . The potatoes skins were also cold and asked to remove item from bill as well . One person in our party order a shrimp dish in some kind of liquid which wasn’t tasty and Luke warm and was taken off the bill as well . Bottled beer - u got it kinda cold . Burger ? item was good . Disappointing dinner .
eileen victory
Lovely restaurant great decor but food was awful. The worst meal I ever had dining out. It’s no surprise that we were the only people in the restaurant. Very disappointing.
Got talked into swinging by this spot for lunch with the family and lemme just say it was pretty underwhelming?To call this place a Cafe is a stretch, its closer to a lounge/dive as 8-10 tables are sooooo cramped inside it makes navigating to the bathroom an adventure in itself.To go along w the unavoidable draft anywhere you sat every time someone opened the main entrance we were not off to a great start.We were seated and whomever was taking orders disappeared for extended periods of time and never once came by to refill waters or check in on us unless we flagged them down.The food was also a mixed bag, you had plantain chips which were a combo of fresh n stale chips that came w / a creamy garlic ajillo sauce that was probably my favorite thing....I know the arepas are solid as the empanadas on the menu were really stuffed arepas in disguise. That being said the arepa dough is a good one although it isnt really a 'nada.But back to what we had ordered:The tropical endive boats were so faintly tropical as the pineapple salsa compote was almost non existent, that the thing was pretty much a mashed avocado boat. Ehhh...The hangout chicken was also a letdown... as the namesake to the restaurant I would assume this to be a featured item w a juicy chicken breast accompanied by a dressed drumstick smothered in MOJO and popping w a nice presentation,but when it did finally come out it was a dry overdone quartered chicken pretty much w/a side of average yellow riceAlso mini cans of soda... I appreciate the concern for my overall sugar intake but that was a lil deflating also.I guess I was expecting a bit more and maybe I was looking at different pics on google so it may have been a mental bait n switch but regardless there wasnt anything any of my party ordered that really impressed and the service left even more to be desired...Bummer as I know its hard to keep a place running these days n I hate leavin downer reviews.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 2
The food was delicious, the service was excellent and the atmosphere was great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steakhouse Burger, Hangout Salad
I just love this place. Great food and service. Love the live local entertainment. The owners are often there and so grateful for their patrons. I wish I lived closer but it’s so worth the drive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Such warm and lovely people and atmosphere. I only had a drink while waiting for friend but I’ll be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Been here 2 x and love the vibe and drinks. However, 2 x I showed up for lunch and they are not open when they say are. ?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
We had an early dinner and the food was excellent. Erika was courteous and prompt. The Famous Cuban sandwich was perfectly made. Get the lemon chicken I stole several pieces from my spouse. Prices are reasonable and a cozy atmosphere. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Not sure if its different in person but through uber eats this place is terrible! $87 for stale/over fried food. My boyfriends burger came on a stale bun that broke in half, and the meat was pretty much raw…the fries either were cooked in old oil or just left in the fryer for too long, my rice tasted like it was out for hours. So disappointed ugh
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
We watched this restaurant being constructed during covid. That in & of itself was courageous. We just saw the channel 12 news report on what this restaurant, it's owner & staff have been going through. Disgraceful! We couldn't wait to move to Carmel, & we can't wait to move. Such a beautiful area, but the level of hate, fueling racism, & homophobia make it a dark & ugly community! This isn't making America great, it's making America hate! For God's sake we ALL have red blood!! Keep serving up your wonderful food, & stay strong! We stand in solidarity with you. God bless!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I’m here now and it’s absolutely delicious ! I was surprised how good it is after I read some of these reviews. I got a huge watermelon drink and the roasted chicken with plantains. It’s more of an upscale restaurant inside than a hangout. It’s a perfect place to bring a date. I’m a hot female n I approve of this place. There’s great live music too! The prices are actually fair for what we got. It’s a restaurant not some fast food place. Not expensive. Not cheap. I recommend ordering extra sweet plantains cause they are fire! Service was great we had Paula. Everyone’s raving about how good their food is and clapping for the musician playing. A woman raved about her salmon and her 5th grade son scarfed his burger down. I’ll be back for sure! Wow.
Kid-friendliness: A good mix of single people, people on dates and families.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
This is my first review ever. We went for Mother's Day. Great food. Great owners/staff as well as entertainment. Love that they have artists come and sing/play/perform. Can't wait to go back!!!
Restaurantji Recommends
I just spent almost $90 for a delivery. The order was wrong. The food that we did get wasn't great. I was very disappointed because I had heard great things about this place and was hoping it would be good since it's local. Very disappointed. Paula did say she would refund me for the one item that was incorrect. I hope she pulls through because Carmel Diner didn't.
I was in the area with a friend, looking for a place to grab lunch and we happened to spot this restaurant in the corner of a shopping plaza. It sounded OK and we didn't want to keep looking, so we decided to try it. SO GLAD we did!Everything was great, from the decor to the service, drinks, appetizers, and entrees! The nachos and street taco appetizers were great, and I was so stuffed that I had to take the Cuban sandwich home. I took a piece of flan home too and that was heavenly!I hear they have music there on certain weekend nights, so I plan to go back for more!I've since been back with my sister for brunch, and it was amazing! The bottomless mimosas or bottomless bellinis are worth it!
Great place … recommended by a friend. Really good food and welcoming, charming atmosphere. I think it’s important to try to support our local businesses and the owner seems like a great guy as well.
The deco is very fancy , it’s surprising as the name of the place doesn’t fit. Bean soup was purée , no beans and Luke warm . The potatoes skins were also cold and asked to remove item from bill as well . One person in our party order a shrimp dish in some kind of liquid which wasn’t tasty and Luke warm and was taken off the bill as well . Bottled beer - u got it kinda cold . Burger ? item was good . Disappointing dinner .
Lovely restaurant great decor but food was awful. The worst meal I ever had dining out. It’s no surprise that we were the only people in the restaurant. Very disappointing.
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