Nora's is a new american restaurant in San Carlos Street, Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Editorially verified August 21, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Signature dishes: Cioppino
Must order: Cioppino with scallops, or the lamb chili named for grandmother Nora.
Tip: Shareables run $7-22 and handhelds $15-18, which makes this one of the village's rare relaxed-budget dinner reservations.
Address: San Carlos St between Ocean Ave & 7th Ave, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921
Casanova serves French-Italian cooking in a candlelit Carmel cottage whose dining room keeps the table Van Gogh ate at daily at the Auberge Ravoux.
Tip: Ask about the Van Gogh table when you book; the restaurant takes inquiries for it by email and that corner of the room fills first.
La Bicyclette runs a wood-fired village bistro at Dolores and 7th in Carmel, pizzas coming off the oven beside the Georis family's country cooking.
Signature: Wood-fired pizza
Order: A wood-fired pizza from the corner oven, then whatever the blackboard suggests.
Tip: Reservations open 90 days out, but the family keeps 40% of the small room for walk-ins, so an early arrival usually finds a seat.
Cultura Comida y Bebida cooks Oaxacan food in Carmel's Su Vecino Courtyard, backed by a mezcal library and a kitchen that sources from Oaxaca itself.
Signature: Smoky mushroom pozole
Order: Smoky mushroom pozole, then plantain tacos with cashew crema.
Tip: The mezcal library is the deepest pour in the village; ask the bar to build you a short flight before committing to a bottle page.
Dametra Cafe fills its Ocean Avenue corner in Carmel every night, serving Mediterranean plates and cioppino while musicians work the dining room.
Signature: Cioppino
Order: The cioppino; the house treats it as its proudest plate.
Tip: Owners Faisal Nimri and Bashar Sneeh built the room around music; expect singing between courses and queues on weekend evenings.
Grasing's pairs Kurt Grasing's coastal steakhouse cooking with a 3,400-bottle Carmel cellar that has held Wine Spectator's Grand Award since 2024.
Order: Wagyu from the grill and a bottle pulled from the Grand Award cellar.
Tip: The list runs 3,400 selections from 15 countries; give the floor a price and a region and let the cellar do the deciding.
Flying Fish Grill cooks East-West seafood on Carmel Plaza's lower level, running from salmon and lobster to abalone and clay pot dinners nightly.
Signature: Abalone
Order: A clay pot dinner, the house's signature format.
Tip: Book by phone between 09:00 and 16:00; the timbered room is small, split dinners carry a $10 charge, and the patio takes walk-ins.
