Dining
Restaurant L'Auberge
Executive Chef Christophe Grosjean's menus are in a constant state of evolution, influenced by the kitchen team's creativity and by purchases from the local farmers' markets. The Restaurant at L'Auberge Carmel offers a creative tasting menu and wine pairing designed by Chef Grosjean and his team. The intimate 12-table restaurant features an underground wine cellar that was constructed beneath the inn's courtyard to house the restaurant's 4,500 bottle collection. Chef Christophe Grosjean creates a dining experience designed to be a gastronomic journey. The meal, a choice between four or eight to ten courses, begins with explosive bright and complex flavors. As the menu progresses, the flavors become more pronounced with European influences and respect for tradition. The menu has simple focus; that each element be its very best. The 8-10 course Chef’s tasting menu is set without choices or selections, except for adjustments based on a guest's dietary restrictions. A diner's only decision is to trust Christophe and his kitchen team as they guide guests through a gastronomic journey.
The wine list features great wines from around the world but especially wines from Monterey County, California and France. The restaurant is open seven days a week from 6:00 - 9:30pm.
Almost immediately upon opening the hotel and restaurant received critical acclaim from national magazines. The restaurant was featured in the January 2005 issue of Bon Appetit, as "Best of the Year. Restaurant Hot Seat". Robb Report's 17th annual "Best of the Best" June 2005 issue selected L'Auberge Carmel as one of the new best dining destinations in the United States. In January 2005, Conde Nast Traveler's Readers Poll selected L'Auberge Carmel as the #42 best hotel in the United States, and the magazine's January 2006 issue listed the hotel on its prestigious Gold List.
Bouchée, our highly praised sister restaurant, is within walking distance. It is located on Mission Street between Ocean Avenue and 7th Street. At Bouchée diners will experience extraordinary food and wines in a setting of simple elegance. Bouchée serves creative California cuisine and offers an a la carte menu. There is also a wine bar and wine store at the restaurant offering an excellent selection of rare and hard to find wines. Bouchée is open every day for dinner only beginning at 5:30 p.m. Reservations are recommended. For information or reservations contact the Front Desk or telephone the restaurant at 831-626-7880. The Wine Store opens daily at 12:00 noon.
Cantinetta Luca, our popular Italian sister restaurant is also within walking distance located on Dolores Street between Ocean and 7th Street. The menu offers casual, informal dining, featuring items such as delicious pizza, baked in an authentic, Italian, no gas, wood-burning pizza oven. Luca also specializes in antipasti, a dozen or so varieties of salumis and handmade pasta. Whole fish and roasted meats are served family style. All of the presentations are simple and rustic; food prepared with fresh seasonal ingredients to bring out bold flavors. The executive chef is Jason Balestrieri who worked under Joachim Splichal at Patina, the famed Los Angeles restaurant. The interior decor of Cantinetta Luca is antique/modern, inspired by the old refurbished buildings of Italy. The design is a blend of stone, brick and glass, chiseled wood and bright Italian colors. The decor features a barrel vaulted ceiling, brick and chiseled beams contrasted by superb contemporary furnishings and modern lighting all set off by rich colors and textures.
There’s always lots of activity at Luca giving diners the opportunity to watch chefs in action because the restaurant and bar were designed around an open kitchen with the stove centered as an island, accessible to chefs from all four sides. Cantinetta Luca also has a glassed-in meat aging room where its housemade salumis are dried and cured.
Bar: Opens Daily at 12:00 - Bar Menu served until closing.
Restaurant: Opens Daily at 12:00 noon. Lunch served from 12 - 2:30 pm.
Dinner served Sunday - Thursday from 5:00 - 9:30 pm, Friday and Saturday until 10 pm.
Telephone 831-625-6500 for reservations.