Best Lunch Restaurants in Carmel

Everything was wonderful - food, wine, ambiance, and especially service. One tiny quibble was that they did not dumb the table between dinner and dessert, but maybe they were slightly understaffed that night. Our server was otherwise perfectly attentive and knowledgeable!

We had a great Valentine meal at Anton et Michel. They had planned well for a busy night with plenty of staff, and did not over book. We received a friendly greeting and were promptly taken to our table. There are various dining spaces, all are modern and inviting. Marco provided friendly and prompt service. Since my spouse doesn’t drink, I appreciated that they had a nice selection of half bottles, including several sparkling wines. My husband had the filet mignon, which he found an excellent quality and cooked a perfect medium rare. He would have liked a bit more sauce, so he will ask for extra next time we visit. I had the seafood fricassé, which included scallops, shrimp and smoked salmon ravioli in a decadent cream sauce. We ordered cherries jubilee table side for dessert. The presentation was lovely with an abundance of cherries. The perfect ending to a delightful meal. Highly recommend!

We love Mission Bistro restaurant. We go there every time we are in Carmel. The food is consistently good, as is the service. We were recently there for lunch just a couple of days ago. We had the muscles. Those are fantastic. The broth is amazing. We had the burger and the chicken sandwich. Both are very tasty and very large. We had leftovers, and those were good the next day as well. I do recommend taking the pickles off the sandwich as they can overpower the flavor if you're not a huge pickle lover. They periodically have a housemade blue cheese wedge on the menu, it's a delicious salad with a zesty blue cheese dressing. I've also had their salmon dish several times, and that has always been very tasty.

Dinner at Portabella was perfect; from the cozy atmosphere, a warm greeting when we arrived, wonderful service from Veronica, and undoubtedly some of the best food in Carmel, our experience was fantastic. As a part-time resident of our beautiful city, I am so happy to have this gem of a restaurant be better than ever!!

Our first meal at Le Soufflé…it was fantastic. Quick service and excellent soufflé.