Little Napoli

O lugar é uma graça ! Há o restaurante e logo ao lado o wine bar. Entre os dois, uma viela charmosa para sentar e degustar um bom vinho. O restaurante é digno italiano. Recomendo o nhoque trufado que está no cardápio como aperitivo como sendo uma janta para quem não está com tanta fome e quer apreciar uma entrada. A burrata é especial! O vinho Pepe que é da casa é uma ótima sugestão para harmonizar!

Authentic Italian food. Friendly staff. Everything we ordered was tasty. Felt like we were in Italy. Save room for dessert too! We got the sorbet and Crème brûlée and it was delicious. We will go back!

Love it. Try the seafood cioppino. Very delicious. Also the best garlic bread ever. Walked in during lunch time. Wait for about 5 minutes.

The pic of the seafood pasta on the menu looked really delicious but the taste didn’t impress me, to be honest. Caesar salad was not bad. Extremely attentive service.

Stopped in for some dessert. We had chocolate mousse and a lemoncello mousse cake. I LOVE chocolate mousse and this one is perfect! It is very rich so you may want to share like we did. The lemoncello cake was moist and delicious.

Wrong review

We came here for lunch with a group of 16. We were seated right away and the service was quick.
Most of us ordered their lunch special: soup or salad with a pasta or pizza entrée for $ 13.50. It’s a great deal. I was actually very surprised that the portions were quite generous. Some of us ordered the mixed green salad, which was quite impressive, not just some ice burg lettuce and tomato. The dressing was kinda sweet, but very nice! I ordered the crab bisque, which was creamy and delicious. Most of us ordered the pasta dishes, they have about 8 – 10 different selections. I tried 4 (pesto, smoked salmon, their special cheese sauce with, including a lasagna dish. All of them were superb!
Gnocchi alla Gorgonzola:
Carbonara di Como: This is my favorite pasta of all the ones I tried.
Pesto Genovese
Smoked Salmone «Andrea»
Lasagna «Raffaella»
Grandma Celia’s-style Spaghetti & Meatballs

Real Italian. This is the place to be. Great wine selection. They have this appetizer with baked garlic, sautéed tomatoes, olives and and a baguette. I could eat this dish daily. Welcoming and warm vibe here!

Pro:
*Great taste
*Great quality food
*Generous portions
Con:
*Service was a bit slow
*Only one bathroom (and a bit hidden)
My family and I took a road trip around Central CA during New Years and we stopped at Little Napoli for lunch while we were in Carmel. It was already close to 2PM when we arrived but there was still a 45 min wait. I’m glad we decided to wait though because the food was delicious! My mom and I both ordered the Cioppino (They have two kinds and we got the kind with red sauce.) We loved it. For $ 18-​$ 19 for lunch, they gave generous portions of seafood (shrimp, scallop, crab, mussels) and the sauce wasn’t too bold or strong in flavor. It was a good combination with the seafood. My sister got a salmon dish and after sharing with everyone at the table, she still had a decent size piece of fish left.
Maybe because we visited during the peak holiday/​travel season and so the restaurant was crowded when we went, but service was a bit slow. It took the server about 10 minutes to get our drink orders (all just water) and another 10 minutes for the water to actually come out. Other tables also had complimentary bread brought to their tables as soon as they sat down, but we had to flag our server down to ask for some bread. I’ll just attribute this to them being busy and not a major drawback.
If you need to look for the restroom while you’re dining at Little Napoli, it’s on the left side of the restaurant near where the fireplace is. It’s not very clearly marked and there’s only one restroom, so be prepared to wait in line to use it.

As noted by the hostess, it was a cold night and everyone in town was craving hot, soothing Italian comfort food. Our party certainly shared that same sentiment. They kept the bread/​olive oil/​fresh parmesan coming, much to our delight. I also had the white truffle pasta appetizer, which was rich, tasty, and the best bang-​for-​your-​buck value on the menu, in my opinion. It went well with the lighter Sinatra special salad that I ordered, and overall it was a fantastic meal for the group.

We were glad that Inside seating was full when we walked in around 2:30pm. We opted for the patio in the courtyard at the back of the restaurant instead of waiting. The courtyard was rather charming and cozy (tiled meandering walkway, oregano planted in weathered tin pots on each table, and wrought iron window gates). Because the courtyard was some what enclosed and protected from wind drafts by buildings around, it was comfortable enough even for January.
We ordered garlic bread, meatball panini, and carbonara. While I’m mot a big fan of garlic bread, the marinara spread renders a rich but pleasant flavour. The carbonara source was a bit runny but flavour was just right with a good amount of pancetta.

I went here with my boyfriend to celebrate our second year anniversarry. We walked in without any reservation we just got lucky to get a seat at the patio area. We were a little isolated but we enjoyed we liked having a quiet area to ourselve.
Garlic bread is a must. Fried Calamari is ok. It was served to us a little cold.
He ordered the Sinatra special. It was rigatoni in ted sauce with sausage and touch of goat cheese. He really enjoyed it.
I ordered spaggetti alle vongole. Definitely a must try. Generous anount of juicy fresh clams in a bed of spaghetti.
Service is a little slow. But i will definitely come back for the good food.

I was spending the day in Carmel and wanted to find a nice place for lunch. This was one of the few places that wasn’t too pricey and I’m so glad I came here.
We ordered the Carbonara, Bolognese, and sausage pizza from the lunch menu, which were all $ 15. The Carbonara was a bit too runny and the sauce tasted exactly like alfredo sauce. However, it was quite good and the pancetta was delicious. The Bolognese was very good and I loved the variety of meat in the dish. My only complaint is that the noodles could have been cooked a bit shorter. I didn’t get to try the pizza, but it seems like everyone else really enjoyed it.
Service was a bit slow and it took some time finding a waiter to take our order. However, orders came out fairly quickly. Prices are very reasonable and the portions are huge. Not the best Italian restaurant I’ve been to, but it’s solid.

I was at Carmel for a friends birthday and we were looking at Unilocal for a good place for lunch and saw good reviews for here.
The environment and décor made you feel like you were in Italy. Service was pretty slow here, took the waiter forever to take our order and forever to get our champagne showers going. We ordered 3 appetizers to share: fried artichoke lollipops, bruschetta pomodoro, and truffled gnocchi. Out of the three, I recommend the truffled gnocchi, it was one of their specials and it tasted amazing, truffled just sizzling in your mouth.
For entrée, I ordered the muchroom & gorgonzola tartufati, MUST TRY! Great flavor, creamy and delicious!

My new favorite search filter is the «Good for Kids» option.
For those of you who don’t know what that option fully entails, here’s a quick breakdown:
it’s a place where the dulcet sounds of my little girl screaming blends into the pre-​existing white noise of the other screaming kids.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s really a beautiful sound.
But most folks don’t appreciate it and, until recently, neither did I.
Moreover, it’s also really nice not to be the only table in a restaurant with a kid. My wife and I are more at ease, my little is more at ease, and the restaurant can’t help but feel a lot more homey.
What also helps is when places, like Little Napoli, serve super good food.
The garlic bread is a must: the balance of butter and garlic is oh so yummy.
The creamy Mozzarella alla «Burrata» literally melts in your mouth.
Grandma Celia’s-style Spaghetti & Meatballs is a classic done right.
And the veal marsala with pappardelle will impress with how tender the veal is, the texture and taste of the pasta, and how it all marries in that marsala sauce.
Overall:
Good food. Warm and inviting space. Nice staff.
Funny story:
Our waitress saw the cracked candle holder on our table and assumed my little one was the culprit. She smiles and says, it’s okay honey, thing break, and removes it.
My little one looks up, smiles, says thank you and then continues to color.
My wife said, when did she break the candle holder?
To which I said, she didn’t, it was me. *wenk wenk*
Good for Kids (of all ages) option rocks.

«Carmel, Italy»
In the quaint downtown of Carmel one will find many Italian restaurants. Decided to eat at the one that has the highest ratings and to carb load session before we run the Big Sur ½ Marathon. Reservations are highlight recommended because restaurants in downtown Carmel can get filled quickly especially if there is a huge event that weekend. Parking is a hit or miss. Entering the restaurant made me feel as if I was in Italy. Definitely had that vibe and ambiance. The inside was very cozy, dim, yet welcoming. Our table was seated by the fireplace which made it more cozy and comfortable.
CHIANTI CLASSICO SINGLE-​VINEYARD, PEPPOLI from Tuscany ($ 13.5/glass) — the benchmark Chianti Classico with bright cherry and rose petal aromas. WOW. I know how to pick my Sangioveses. This wine was in the «REDS» section and no indication of the type of red wine but a Chianti is a Sangiovese based wine. Sangiovese = my favorite of all wines. It is a soft wine with a long finish. This has crawled up the list of favorite Sangioveses that I’ve tried. Highly recommend!!!
GARLIC BREAD — crunchy and flavorful slices of bread. When they said garlic bread they weren’t playing around with the garlic. Felt like I was eating a whole garlic.
FRIED ARTICHOKE LOLLIPOPS (4 pieces) with chipotle aioli — This appetizer was creative and delicious. The fried artichokes were prepared well and chopped finely and packed into balls then deep fried. I love artichokes and never had it prepared in this way. The presentation was cute, upside down lollipops with a dipping sauce. Highly recommend!!!
PENNE ALLA VODKA «Jackie O» — spicy pink vodka sauce, pancetta & peas. Very filling plate! The penne was al dente. The sauce wasn’t pink and more orange with no flavors of vodka. Lots of panchetta and peas making it hearty and salty pasta. Honestly, I think i can do with less peas… less to no peas, my palette didn’t like the play of «ham&peas» in the pasta. Still a very good dish. Recommend.
SPAGHETI ALLE VONGOLE — manila clams, garlic butter-​white wine sauce. OF MENTIONS… the white wine sauce was watery.
CREME BRULEE ($ 9) — Traditional baked custard recipe infused with candied orange peel. I think I can accept crème brûlée in any shape, size, and form but texture of custard is a different thing. The custard was smooth but not as smooth as a really good crème brûlée. Still good, we ate it up. Recommended.
SPUMONE ALLA NAPOLETANA ($ 8) — Chocolate, pistachio & cherry ice cream, with toasted pistachio nuts. Probably the best spumone ice cream I ever had. Great way to add texture with one of the best nuts in the world… pistachio!!!
Will I be back? For another wine session!!!
Until the next review…

Stopped here on our way back from Big Sur. Cute little restaurant with gorgeous photos of different cities of Italy made us reminiscent of our recent travels. My hubby, mom and I started off with their special garlic bread. It was good, not very garlicky, a little cheesy on top and came with a side of marinara for dipping. Honestly, I think the regular free house bread with a side of olive oil and balsamic was just as good because their house bread was fresh and crispy.
We ordered the cioppino which was on a bed of angel hair pasta and it was pretty good. It came with a lot of seafood: scallops, shrimps, calamari, mussels, clams, etc. The sauce was on the thin side so I just dipped my bread into it. Good but nothing too special.
Now on to the STAR dish. The veal ravioli with porcini mushrooms was to DIE for. The ravioli was perfectly handmade topped with mushrooms in a delicious cream sauce. I couldn’t stop eating the sauce. I dipped all of my bread in there and basically cleaned up the entire plate. It was so good, we really thought about ordering a whole other dish of it but in the end decided we were too full. So if you come, order the veal ravioli! It will not disappoint. Service was wonderful as well!

I just don’t understand the bad reviews on here. Aside from the tap water that was served tasting like chlorine, our experience was perfect. The food, ambiance, location, service, portions and price, were all on point. There are pics below.
I mentioned the water. Not sure what’s up with that, but it is gross. Tap water in LA is so much cleaner somehow; which shocks me. Oh well, that was minor. I just ordered bottled. I suggest you do too.
I ordered the red pepper soup and the abbruzzese pizza. Both were excellent. The complimentary bread is yummy and great for dipping.
My Dad ordered the lamb shank and devoured every last morsel. I have a before and after pic.
We were just visiting, but if I ever return, I will come here. The little town it’s in is adorable and so is the restaurant.

If you’re visiting Carmel I’d definitely find time to give this Italian Restaurant a try. I have been here a few times but went back recently and tried a few new things.
Of course, I had to try the pizza. We got the Abbruzzese pizza (goat cheese, pesto, tomato sauce, roasted tomato, pine nuts) as an appetizer (see my pic) and it was really delicious! The taste combo was off the chart and I’ll be trying that again when I go back. For the main courses we had Penne alla Vodka «Jackie O» and Baked Cannelloni «Tricolore». At first I thought the portions were kind of small (compared to say Buca Di Beppo or Cheesecake Factory) but they were just right. the Penne all Vodka was amazing and comparable to other versions I’ve had in Rome, Italy and around other restaurants in NYC and LA – it was salty, creamy, but not too spicy. The Cannelloni was interesting, it basically was like three types of sauce with stuffed pasta filled with chicken and zucchini; again very tasty.
The service here was good but the place was hot inside (the day could have been hotter than usual). Prices were significantly cheaper for lunch (expect to pay like 30% more for dinner on some items). I didn’t like the bathroom – it was a tiny hallway, single unit, near the kitchen so be prepared to sweat while you wait to wash up. However, those last points won’t stop me from returning.

Comemos um peixe e um espaguete com meatballs. Nada de espetacular. Atendimento muito bom, mas comida bem normal para o preço cobrado.

I loved my visit Little Napoli!
In the mood for some pasta, I made a same-​day reservation for 8 PM. My wife and I were seated right away at a quiet table in the back.
First plate up, was a salad: di Stefano — crispy goat cheese, roasted beets, fig-​balsamic, greens (excellent!) and two outstanding pasta dishes (we switched plates half-​way though):
Penne alla Vodka «Jackie O»: spicy pink vodka sauce, pancetta & peas
Gnocchi alla Gorgonzola: potato gnocchi in gorgonzola-​sage sauce
Both plates were incredible — rich, delicious and not something I’d ever make at home.
Thankfully, we had been doing some serious hiking during our visit to Big Sur, so we were able to work our way through most of the meal (large portions), however, we took a bit with us for a snack the next day.
Service was very good — our waiter was very polite, friendly and efficient.
I love pasta and Little Napoli serves it up really well.
5 stars

Not sure if the simple Italian style didn’t suit our palettes or if they had an off day, but we were underwhelmed by the offerings here after gleefully arriving with high expectations. The seafood was mostly fresh and well done, but at these prices and with this much hype I expected to be blown away. Probably won’t be back for round two.
We had been sightseeing in Monterey and Carmel, so we were famished by the time we sat down and ordered to eat. We arrived in the late afternoon just as they opened for the dinner rush at 4pm on a Saturday. We ordered the Spaghetti alle Vongole ($ 25) and the Il Pescatore Cioppino Rosso ($ 29), with the famous garlic bread ($ 5) as an appetizer. Usually, hunger leads to a positive impression of everything. That this did not happen here underscores how underwhelmed we were.
The food was not bad, but unfortunately at a place like this that’s quite disappointing. The garlic bread was good, encrusted with a cheesy top and served with marina sauce, but not much to write home about. The seafood was mostly fresh: the clams, mussels, and shrimp tasted like they were just plucked from the sea, but on the other hand the bay scallops, the crab claws and the squid tubes left me wanting more. The real letdown was in both sauces, maybe this was an authentic Italian style we weren’t accustomed to (my partner had been to Italy before, so this is unlikely) but they were not particularly flavorful or memorable. At an Italian place, that’s the kiss of death.
I will say that the service was exquisite and our waiter was charming and helpful. The place is very quaint, has a fire place, and is covered with Italian memorabilia. You could do a lot worse, ambience-​wise.
Overall, Little Napoli left me wanting more. I came expecting more than your average touristy place and left with my wallet lighter and my palette unsatisfied. I’m clearly in the minority here, but I’m proof that your mileage may vary at this particular restaurant.

Es ist super, die Vorspeise, das garlic bread was awesome und auch das Hauptgericht war sensationell. Zum Nachtisch noch nen leckeren cheese a cake oder panna Cotta und das essen ist perfekt. Allerdings am Wochenende viel los deshalb vor 7 kommen oder reservieren!!!