History

Chowder came to Monterey Bay with New England fishermen and stayed because the wharf trade made it a calling card: to this day the stalls of Monterey's Old Fisherman's Wharf hand out chowder samples to walkers, each house claiming the creamiest pot. Carmel's version of the ritual is calmer, a cup at Flaherty's, whose menu leads with its famous clam chowder, or a bowl at the Hog's Breath Inn between courses of steak.

Common allergens: Shellfish, Dairy, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 tins chopped clams with their juice, about 400g total
  • 150g bacon, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 sticks celery, diced
  • 400g waxy potatoes, diced
  • 30g butter
  • 30g plain flour
  • 250ml whole milk
  • 250ml cream
  • Sea salt, black pepper, thyme

Method

  1. Render the bacon in a heavy pot until crisp, then set it aside, keeping the fat.
  2. Soften the onion and celery in the fat with the butter for 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes without colouring.
  4. Add the clam juice, milk and potatoes and simmer 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
  5. Add the clams, cream and thyme and warm through without boiling.
  6. Season, ladle into bowls and finish with the reserved bacon.

Tip from the editors. Add the clams at the end and never boil them; long simmering turns tinned clams to erasers while the base gains nothing.

Where to eat monterey-style clam chowder

Monterey-style clam chowder in Carmel-by-the-Sea

Flaherty's Seafood Grill & Oyster Bar ★ 4.4

Seafood$$$Dolores StreetSun-Thu 11:30-20:30; Fri-Sat 11:30-21:00

Flaherty's Seafood Grill & Oyster Bar anchors 6th Avenue in Carmel with freshly shucked oysters, its famous clam chowder and wild-caught sand dabs.

Signature: Sand dabs, Clam chowder, Monterey Bay calamari

Order: Wild-caught sand dabs with lemon tarragon beurre blanc.

Tip: Chowder and the raw bar carry the menu; lunch is the easier seat, and the crispy calamari makes the best table-opener.

6th Ave between Dolores & San Carlos St, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921

Hog's Breath Inn ★ 4.2

American$$$San Carlos StreetLunch daily from 11:00; Dinner Sun-Thu to 22:00, Fri-Sat to 23:00; Bar Sun-Thu to 00:00, Fri-Sat to 00:30Until Bar 00:00 Sun-Thu, 00:30 Fri-Sat

Hog's Breath Inn serves Carmel's latest full dinner, the kitchen running to 23:00 on Friday and Saturday and the courtyard bar pouring on to 00:30.

Try: Late steaks Fri-Sat to 23:00, then bar service

Order: A nightcap beside the courtyard fireplaces after the kitchen closes.

Tip: New operator Lee Morcus calls the 2025 restoration a tribute, not a reinvention; the sunken courtyard fireplaces survived the remodel.

San Carlos St between 5th & 6th Ave, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921

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