The Italian-Californian fishermen's stew of crab, shellfish and tomato broth, claimed by every coast town on Monterey Bay and served across Carmel.
Cioppino grew out of Italian immigrant fishing communities on the California coast, a pot built from whatever the boats brought in, thickened with tomato and wine. Monterey Bay's Sicilian fleet made it a peninsula dish as much as a San Francisco one, and it never left the local table. In Carmel it spans the price scale: the house pride at Dametra Cafe on Ocean Avenue, and a scallop-loaded version at Nora's comfort-food dining room on San Carlos Street.
2 editor picks for Cioppino in Carmel-by-the-Sea, ranked by editorial score. All Carmel-by-the-Sea signature dishes · Cioppino across every city.
Also in: San Francisco.
Dametra Cafe ★ 4.5
Ocean Avenue · Ocean Ave between Dolores St & Lincoln St, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921
Dametra Cafe fills its Ocean Avenue corner in Carmel every night, serving Mediterranean plates and cioppino while musicians work the dining room.
Nora's ★ 4.2
San Carlos Street · San Carlos St between Ocean Ave & 7th Ave, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921
Nora's brings the Nimri family's comfort cooking to San Carlos Street in Carmel, ladling cioppino, lamb chili and fried chicken since summer 2025.