Le St. Tropez

Everytjing we ordered was great. The restaurant reminds me a little of French Province California style! The service is outstanding. I ordered a salad and it was wonderful. Greens, goat cheese, walnuts, beets, blackberries and french dressing. Divine! My husband ordered the mushroom ravioli with black truffles and I ordered the special of the day: lobster pasta delicious!
Then to finish it up: crepes suzette!!!
To die for!
BEST PLACE IN CARMEL!

Celebrated Valentines dinner and service and food were great. Dear husband had the special menu of French onion soup, sea bass and crème brûlée, all were delicious. I had the linguine with shrimp which was a special order and it superb!
Owner recommended a delicious white wine and it was a great pairing with our meal.

Tl;dr: un-​accommodating and dishonest
I had called in ²⁄₁₀ for a reservation on ²⁄₁₄ at 6pm, Valentine’s Day, looking for a romantic experience in Carmel. I explained over the phone how I’m coming from the peninsula and I may be late, the gentleman on their end gave me a 30 minute window; very generous I know. On the way up we ran into traffic due to the AT&T golf tour, so as a good patron that I am, I called to inform I was running late. The woman over the phone confirmed they were looking forward to seeing us.
Unfortunately, due to the traffic, we were 36 minutes late and were turned away at the door! We spent roughly 3 hours on the road. During our arrival conversation they mentioned they never got my call. It wasn’t until I showed them my call log and call duration til they owned up to the call.
There was no effort in making any accommodations for us, the weary travelers from the North. I totally understand how the reservation could have been cancelled, it’s Valentine’s Day and there’s other late comers (ones who hadn’t made the effort to call days prior) that also need dinner, I get it. Icing on the cake: while the lady and I were trying to make up for what was lost we had turned to the trusty Open Table app where we were able to book a 7pm table (we couldn’t bring ourselves to actually show up due to utter disgust)… How in the hell was there an opening at 7pm, 24min from our arrival time, and it not offered?
St. Tropez, you will never get our business. I thought I’d try something new but I guess we’ll continue to give the friends at Patisserie Boissiere all our business. Not only are they accommodating but they have sublime French Onion soup and to die for Eclairs. Although they had no tables open they offered to give me a call if anything opened up, sympathetic and accommodating, how a restaurant should be ran.
I wish I didn’t have to resort to Unilocal to leave my first 1 star review but the experience has left me, to say the least, disgusted. Was it was what I was wearing? We live in the 21^st century stop judging a book by its cover.

This place was pretty damn nice n good… I felt like I was at a restaurant with Anthony Bourdain… We were supposed to stop at the Italian place down the street but I’m glad we came here… Very good food… Felt like I was in France the ambiance is very pleasant…

Came here after seeing the reviews and the grand mariner soufflé– it was definitely worth it! Friend had 2 orders of oysters and said they were really good. I had the steak and frites which was ok — I was just thinking of the soufflé. The guys had sandwiches, they said were good. Also had drinks and wine that were really good. Overall pricey place but definitely good food. Service was a little slow, but it was late afternoon between lunch and dinner and we were not in a rush. I think it just made for a relaxed atmosphere.

We sampled escargot, French onion soup, Caesar salad, sweetbreads and Grand Marnier Soufflé. The Soufflé was as perfect as any we’ve had-​light and flavorful. The sweetbreads came in a wine sauce with just right texture and taste. The lettuce was crispy and fresh with light dressing. The onion soup was not overly salty and the cheese cover was browned just right. Only the escargot did not meet my expectation– the flavor was more herbal than garlic.
We did not have wine with this meal and therefore can’t comment on their wine list. The ambiance including the background music gives this a distinct hint of being somewhere in Paris. The staff was friendly, attentive and welcoming.
We would visit this place again the next time we are in Carmel.

Not sure the entire menu epitomizes authentic French cuisine, so don’t come in expecting such. But food is food, and the food here was pretty darn good.
Aside from a momentary freakout about what veal neck gland entailed (and tasted like), our menu choices were all great.
Personally,
1. Braised short rib provenal
A surprise win, but meat was tender and nicely seasoned.
2. Canard aux cerises
Another favorite. cherry sauce complemented duck perfectly. And I just like duck.
3. Fruits de mer
Didn’t particularly stand out, but it was decent. You can find comparable seafood pasta dishes elsewhere.
+They gave a nice complimentary hummus/​olive/​beet appetizer dish with our bread in the beginning.
Inside has a quaint feel. And service was quick and accommodating. A great find in Carmel.
I’ll be back to try their veal sweetbreads and wild mushroom ravioli. And how could I forget the escargot!

4.5 stars. The service was slow and it wasn’t even that crowded. It took 20 minutes until the waiter came to take our order. However, the food came very fast so I only took half a star off.
We sat in their lovely outdoor patio (felt like we were in France). We started with escargot and crab cake appetizers, and french onion soup. The appetizers were yummy but our favorite was the soup.
We shared the fruits de mer (fruits of the sea) entrée and it was awesome. The linguine pasta was great and the tomato cream was not too creamy. It came with a few ginormous scallops, plenty of mussels, and other seafood. The entrée came with a bread basket and soup or salad (we chose french onion soup for $ 2.5 more, well worth it).
The servings are big. Very affordable. Great value for money!

Love this place! Friendly staff and great food! Ordered the french onion soup and Brie pizza. They also have a dog menu! Puppy pâté or Fido filet?!

We came for dinner and had two cocktails (neither of which was very good; the Cosmo was weak), French onion soup, mushroom ravioli, steak frites, and soufflé. I don’t know what French onion soup is supposed to taste like, but it was fine. The mushroom ravioli was pretty okay, but probably under seasoned, as was the steak frites. I expected more flavor, but the doneness was fine, so I just added salt. The fries were pretty good – like if In & Out fries were good.
The thing that tips me from 3 to 2 stars is the soufflé. We had one grand marnier and one chocolate, and I’m honestly not sure if I’ve ever had worse soufflé before. From a textural standpoint, they were a touch too eggy, but the worst attribute was the weak flavor in each. Only the sauce in the chocolate soufflé tasted like anything, and it tasted powdery.
On a positive note, the food definitely started to taste better as I got drunker, but really I just came in with too high of expectations. At this price point, food shouldn’t be this mediocre.

TL;DR — I would give this place 5 stars if it were solely based on how much my dog enjoyed her lunch.
The hostess was REALLY sweet and the patrons were all… well… townsfolk of carmel. The waiter was a little cold at first, but warmed up as the other tables cleared up.
I got the mushroom ravioli, the bf got the penne and our dog got the filet (steak?).
The food was just ok. The ravioli was ok. A little too heavy and it relied heavily on the truffle oil. But at $ 16/​plate, I guess thats what you can only expect. The penne was weird in my opinion. Pretty flavorless and could use more seasoning.
Its cute and an ok option for the location.

We were in downtown Carmel and originally went to two restaurants with extremely long waits before we discovered this one, which was considerably emptier than La Biciclette and Little Napoli. However, the reviews were overall good we decided to go for it.
A host warmly ushered us inside and we were offered to sit outside on the patio. At first I had my doubts but when I saw the seating area I changed my mind. It is absolutely beautiful, complete with candlelight and lanterns. It feels almost like a European courtyard. I would return just for the ambiance alone.
As expected with places like this, the wine list is extensive and expensive. Luckily the Chardonnay we picked out was actually really good. You are first served two types of bread, ciabatta and herb slab and while fresh and soft, it is not served warm. It comes with crudités, which consisted of a very watery and strange hummus, beets, shaved radish with marinated red pepper, and mixed olives. The olives were my favorite, sadly the other bites did not offer much flavor :(I preferred the olive oil provided on the table to the strange hummus water.
We ordered Escargot because come on, French restaurant? You have to. This dish I actually enjoyed a lot. Super garlicky, cheesy and delicious, and no strange aftertastes. After we finished the Escargot it took forever to bring out our main dishes. Not a huge deal, but I could tell the other tables were getting antsy with the slow service also.
I ordered the lamb, which was a full 8 rack of lamb cooked to order served with seasonal vegetables and mashed potato. The lamb was actually cooked perfectly but the sauce that came with it made me do a double take. Did I really just taste BBQ sauce!!! When prices are this high I expect a little more of a refined palette than BBQ sauce on my lamb.
My cousin ordered the daily special, which was Alaskan Halibut pan seared served with pasta in a mushroom cream sauce. The fish itself again was cooked well, but the sauce was a bit underwhelming. Not to mention strangely enough, there were two pieces of lobster tail included in the dish even though they were not described as coming with it. Not necessarily a bad thing just sort of a random addition to the plate.
As full as we were we decided to order tea and soufflé for dessert. You get a choice of chocolate and Grand Mariner so we chose one of each. I happened to love the tea and the way it was served. That alone is a memory worth returning back for. Same goes for the soufflé, which was a beautiful site to behold. Taste wise I’ve definitely had better soufflé but it did the trick. Go with the chocolate one though.
Is St. Tropes the absolute best French food I’ve ever had? No. Best service I’ve ever had? No. However, the unique peaceful European style ambiance here and the presentation of the food is enough to make it a magical evening. It is worth giving it a try.

I went to this restaurant on a recommendation from a local I chatted up on the beach. We sat in a booth for dinner (my wife & I, not the dude from the beach) and felt afterwards that the food added the final, perfect touch to a great couple of days off.
I had the Fruits de Mer, which was heaven in a gluten-​free option! The owner /​chef himself came out and we spoke at length of his trade. I think we found our new favorite restaurant. (Try the Crème Brûlée!)

It saddens me to give a 4-​star place a 2-​star review. But alas, that was the experience that we had when we dined here recently. We were in the Monterey area for 4 days and made this our «fancy» family dinner. Unfortunately, it was let-​down on multiple levels.
Service: Our server straight up walked away without a word when we were in the middle of ordering drinks. We weren’t dawdling or hemming or hawing… even with his «wish I weren’t here» attitude, I couldn’t imagine he would just walk off. Wow. One second, eye contact, the next, gone.
His attitude pretty much remained for the rest of the evening until the very end when he deigned to give us a smile while handing us the check, wishing we had a lovely time. I would hardly count going thirsty because we were out of water, asking multiple times for things as simple as ketchup or utensils counted as enjoying ourselves.
Food: With the exception of the escargot, the crab cakes and one daily special, the duck confit, all our dishes were unremarkable. If a French place couldn’t do escargot and duck confit well, they should just shut down. In this case, they needed to move onto improving their other dishes.
Hubby ordered a pizza… I know, his fault for ordering pizza at a French place, right? But they could have at least made it taste better than one of those late night pizza places you call on your way to passing out on your balcony.
I got the scallops w/​fettucine. While the scallops were cooked well, the whole dish was just under seasoned, underwhelming. Mom got the Fruits de Mer which was also a seafood pasta of sorts. She ended up only eating the seafood and leaving the pasta behind.
Brothers ordered the bistro steak frites and filet of salmon «oriental». The steak was overcooked and not seasoned well, though the portion was huge. The salmon was also nothing to write home about. Brother who ordered the salmon usually has a big appetite but had trouble finishing this dish.
Dad got the best dish — the duck confit. Very well done and came with a good amount of food.
By the end of the evening, we were exhausted by disappointment and decided to pass on dessert.

Cute, small restaurant but average food, at best.
When my boyfriend and I were deciding on what cocktail to order, the waiter came by and asked us if we would like water. He asked me if I wanted sparkling or bottled. I said tap water is fine, especially if we were planning on having cocktails. I felt like he rolled his eyes at us after I said «tap water is fine.»
Cocktails were ok. My kir royal did not taste of any cassis. My boyfriend’s Paris Manhatten was better. But they were $ 10 and $ 13 respectively. Not worth it, honestly.
I ordered the Mussels as an entrée and my boyfriend had the Diablo pizza. They brought out «complimentary bread» and hummus, beets, and crudite. I could have just been find with bread and butter. The hummus was watery, the beets were canned, and the crudite was just some roasted peppers and eggplants with no flavor. It’s like, why bother?
Our entrees came out after. My boyfriend’s pizza was undercooked and sad. It was like a microwavable pizza. But way overpriced. It was like pizza you got in a high school cafeteria. I felt bad. The mussels were overcooked and extremely tiny (probably because they were overcooked). Both dishes were less than $ 20 each but definitely not worth the price.
The kicker for me was when we were finishing up, the waiter and waitress was setting up the table in front of us for the next party. The younger waiter was going to get wine glasses to set the table and the waitress goes «Don’t bother». I found that odd, but then I noticed the table was an Asian family coming in. I found that offensive, being that I am Asian American and noticed that every other table, including mind, had wine glasses set out. Was it racist? Stereotypical? Whatever. I didn’t like it. It rubbed me the wrong way.
Will not return.

Nice… pet friendly… good food.
The food was great but the service and pet friendly accommodation was simply amazing. above and beyond enjoyable.
Go here. especially if you have a dog.
The separate menu and ground throws for 4 legged family was awesome!
Great food, friendly, relaxed, patient and attentive service.
Traveling with animals and being able to enjoy a quality experience can be challenging sometimes but this was NOT a concern here.
Many thanks for a lovely evening

This is the cutest little restaurant! Not only do they have an awesome menu for us, but they have a menu for your dog companions as well.
Everything we had was great!

Wow, talk about an immaculate meal. I feel like I’ve met Remy a la Ratatouille reincarnate.
Positively life changing. Even my not so adventurous wife tried the sautéed sweetbread with mushroom and asked for seconds.
And the fruits de mer where each morsel of mussel, clam, salmon and curl of calamari was slow poached to perfection. To have a cooked piece of shellfish just melt in your mouth. Sublime…
And to top it off with the incredibly balanced dessert Tour Eiffel. As an ad man and a foodie, I can honestly say I was floored and speechless.
But genuinely satiated. And happy. To the beaches of Cote de Azur and back. Merci.

Dinner for two during ATT weekend. Settling in as one of our top 5 ‘go to’ restaurants in town. Charming, great ambiance, low noise level, terrific food, interesting cocktails and great seating.
Started with a plate of hummus, olives beets and roasted peppers, followed by the salty and creamy blue point oysters (perfectly cleaned and presented).
Moved on to the Chicken and artichokes (locally grown) and the swordfish with carrots and green beans paired with a very nice Reverdy Ducroix Sancerre (sauv blanc).
Friendly and knowledgeable wait staff — chef/​owner Jean was tending bar and making sure everyone had a great meal. Check this place out if you are gluten-​free foodie (most of the menu is tagged that way).

After window shopping in the area I worked up an appetite. I was at the stage of not being able to decide on where to go. There are too many restaurants to choose from. Hubs came to the rescue and decided for us to have lunch here.
We were greeted and seated outside. I ordered the burger ($ 13.) and Hubs ordered the Diablo pizza ($ 16.) and a Firestone ($ 7.)
The food came quickly after. The burger was huge. The bun was so soft it was hard to keep in tact. Fries were good. The condiments were served on the side in cute small glass bottles. The sun dried tomato aoli was very tasty, I used it on the burger and fries.
The patio area is nice on a warm sunny day. There are umbrellas and heaters. Our waiter was attentive throughout our meal. A great place off the beaten path without the wait and crowd.