Yafa is a mediterranean restaurant in Junipero Street, Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Editorially verified August 22, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must order: Ask the host for the night's mezze and grill pairing.
Tip: The room fills with return visitors and celebrations; reserve ahead, and note dinner is the only service of the day.
Address: Junipero St & 5th Ave, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921
Il Tegamino hides in Carmel's Court of the Golden Bough off Ocean Avenue, a small family-run room cooking Italian comfort food behind a candy shop.
Order: The night's baked tegamino, the namesake pan dish.
Tip: Find the courtyard entrance tucked behind the Cottage of Sweets; the room is tiny, so book before you plan the rest of the evening.
Akaoni serves traditional Japanese cooking and sushi at Mission and 6th in Carmel, a small room listed in the Michelin Guide and booked by phone.
Order: Sushi from the day's fish list, called out at the counter.
Tip: Seats are few and hours are short; call ahead, and remember lunch only runs Thursday through Saturday.
Village Corner California Bistro has fed Carmel from its Dolores and 6th corner since 1948, serving breakfast and lunch daily on a flowered patio.
Order: A patio breakfast, the seat locals have kept since 1948.
Tip: The kitchen posts vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, and the patio's retractable roof keeps fog mornings comfortable.
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.
Signature: Cioppino
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.
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.
