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Shearwater Tavern, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Shearwater Tavern

4.2
4.2
99 Reviews
$30 and under
Contemporary American

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 5 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Good for groups
  • Good for business meals
  • Great for happy hour
Located in the idyllic seaside community of Carmel, Shearwater Tavern features breakfast and dinner within the Carmel Mission Inn. Our dinner menu has a selection of smaller plates to share along with some larger individual plates.
We have partnered with a local dairy, coffee roaster, honey purveyor and bakery.
Our Chef Fabian Di Paolo's menu is New American with Influences from his Argentinian, Italian, Floribbean roots. Our cocktail program features beautiful classic and specialty cocktails along with craft beer and California wines. You must try his House made Parker House rolls.

Order delivery or takeout

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary American, Breakfast, Cocktail Bar
  • Hours of Operation
    Breakfast Mon–Fri 7:00 am–10:00 am Brunch Sat, Sun 7:00 am–11:00 am Dinner Tue–Sat 4:00 pm–10:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (831) 624-1841
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive Chef
    Fabian Di Paolo
  • Private party facilities
    Visit https://www.carmelmissioninn.com/special-events/start-planning/ to fill out a request! We have a private dining room as well as other meetings spaces and a lovely patio.
  • Area
    Carmel
  • Cross Street
    Carmel Mission Inn on Rio Rd.
  • Parking details
    Hotel Parking
  • Public transit
    Across the street at Crossroads Shopping Village
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Takeaway, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Experiences

  • Christmas Dinner at Shearwater Tavern

    USD 90.00 per person

    25 Dec 2024 only
    Menu Coming Soon! Join us this Christmas Day for holiday dinner, our menu features holiday inspired offerings to both eat & drink
    Christmas Dinner at Shearwater Tavern photo

What 99 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.2
4.2 based on recent ratings
  • 4.1Food
  • 4.4Service
  • 4Ambience
  • 3.9Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • California Central Coast

    Good for groups

  • Monterey / Carmel

    Child-friendly

  • Monterey / Carmel

    Innovative

  • Monterey / Carmel

    Good for groups

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Shearwater Tavern offers a diverse menu with standout dishes like "octopus is out of this world good" and "the onion soup was terrific." The service is praised for being "attentive" and "high-end professional." While some diners found prices steep, the restaurant's central location and "ample parking" enhance its appeal.

99 Reviews
  1. OpenTable Diner

    Dallas

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on 29 November 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    It was a perfectly homey yet sophisticated Thanksgiving dinner service for the travelers. We enjoyed the juicy turkey and pungent butternut squash soup very much. And the dessert- pumpkin fran was the best!!

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  2. M.J.

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 29 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    Customer service was very good. We had Thanksgiving dinner and felt the food was overdone. The menu notes Parker House rolls, which were only a hodgepodge of dinner rolls. And the “brûlée” sweet potatoes were just mashed. The salad was very sad and wilted.

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  3. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on 29 November 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Enjoyed family style Thanksgiving dinner; wait staff was very attentive and personal. Ambience was delightful, with ample space between tables. The bar is particularly attractive, and as locals we will surely frequent the Shearwater Tavern.

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  4. Wendy

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on 10 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We hadn’t visited the Carmel Mission Inn for several years and knew that it had been refreshed since our last visit. We decided to have dinner at Shearwater Tavern, tucked inside the Carmel Mission Inn and had an absolutely wonderful experiencey. Our outstanding dining experience began with a delicious Caesar Salad paired with their wonderful signature Parker House Rolls—warm, house-baked, and served with local honey butter and a bit of sea salt. These starters set the tone perfectly for the main event: a flawlessly grilled bavette (flank steak), a favorite of ours, topped with a rich green peppercorn sauce and accompanied by crispy shoestring frites. Our steak arrived cooked precisely to our medium-rare preference and request, showcasing the kitchen's attention to detail.

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  5. Megan

    Tahoe

    19 reviews

    3.0

    19 reviews

    Dined on 3 November 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    Very small dinner menu on a Saturday night. It’s not the menu they post on their website. Service was just ok. Calamari appetizer was way over cooked and tough. Chicken Cesar and the burger were good. Don’t plan to return in the future.

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  6. John

    VIP

    Seattle

    5 reviews

    1.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on 20 October 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    Hotel restaurant. Dated. Awful service. We walked out.

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  7. Sean

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    4.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 20 October 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3
    Food as excellent. Ordered a few small plates to share and it turned to be satiating both from a taste and amount perspective. The cocktails were a disappointment. Ordered two different kinds and both seemed as thought the ratio of ingredients were off.

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  8. Michael

    Los Angeles

    9 reviews

    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined on 19 October 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    First class menu, and the service high-end professional. Quality of food is excellent - local, healthy, fresh. Very interesting menu - and amazing wine list. A little bit noisy for an intimate dinner, but still a beautifully designed/built dining room. Overall - an excellent choice and only 5 min. from Carmel Village.

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  9. Linda

    Central Coast

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on 16 October 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Very good appetizers and small bites. The steak was cooked perfectly and the fries delicious. The veggie tempura was perfect with our martinis❣️

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  10. beth

    San Francisco

    25 reviews

    2.0

    25 reviews

    Dined on 21 September 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 2
    We really wanted to enjoy our meal at Shearwater Tavern. We had been there a few times over the past 2 or 3 years, but we stopped going because it was just "fair." We heard there was a new chef/new menu, and the reviews seemed to be better as well. So we thought we would try it again. Unfortunately, we really did not see very much improvement, and the prices seemed much higher than they should be. $30 crab cake appetizer? That's considerably higher than at Mission Ranch, for example. In addition, Shearwater's $24 hamburger was reminiscent of the pre-formed (but high quality) burgers available frozen from a grocery store. Other Carmel establishments charge $22 or so, but their burgers are bigger, tastier, and better presented. And $10 for Parker House rolls - hmmm, unlimited fresh sourdough (or even fresh made garlic bread) is complimentary at 2 of our other favorites in town. Even their molten chocolate was disappointing, though we appreciate the GREAT SERVICE of the waitress (who gave it to us as we were celebrating an anniversary) - this cake, like some, seemed to undercook the center to create the "lava;" as a result, it tasted like cake batter. A single chocolate ganache truffle dropped into the batter makes for a much more delicious cake, IMHO. So, again - GREAT WAITRESS, fast service, but food was just OK, and the prices seemed unreasonably high, even for a resort town, when compared to other (arguably better/better atmosphere) dining choices in town. The Locals' discount card is a nice touch, but they're going to have to really improve before we try it again. Even with that, the food isn't worth the price. Sorry.

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FAQs

Shearwater Tavern offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (831) 624-1841.

Shearwater Tavern is rated 4.2 stars by 99 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 5 times today
Experiences are available.

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Shearwater Tavern

3665 Rio Rd, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93923-8609

Additional information

  • Cross Street
    Carmel Mission Inn on Rio Rd.
  • Area
    Carmel
  • Hours of Operation
    Breakfast Mon–Fri 7:00 am–10:00 am Brunch Sat, Sun 7:00 am–11:00 am Dinner Tue–Sat 4:00 pm–10:00 pm
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary American, Breakfast, Cocktail Bar
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Hotel Parking
  • Public transit
    Across the street at Crossroads Shopping Village
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Fabian Di Paolo
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Takeaway, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Phone number
    (831) 624-1841
  • Private party facilities
    Visit https://www.carmelmissioninn.com/special-events/start-planning/ to fill out a request! We have a private dining room as well as other meetings spaces and a lovely patio.
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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