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Cafe Rustica

4.2 (665 reviews)
Closed • 11:00 am - 2:30 pm, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Cafe Rustica Photos

CAFE RUSTICA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Intimate
Outdoor seating
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Cafe Rustica

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Reviews With Photos

Kim B.

We grabbed lunch at Cafe Rustica after spending the morning at the refugue. The service was ok. It took awhile for our orders to be taken and then filled. The server refilled our waters. I had a burger. They do not offer gluten-free bread so I just had it on lettuce. They serve butter lettuce so it actually could be used as a bun alternative. The burger was grilled and was cooked medium rare as I requested. It needed sauce for flavor. It was accompanied by a large helping of french fries. My daughter had the salmon sandwich. It came with a side salad. I thought the salad was very tasty. She enjoyed the sandwich.

Spinach salad & pizza Napolitano
Laura E.

We sat outside last night under the heat lamps, which kept us warm. I enjoyed the napolitano pizza and had the leftovers for lunch today. Dad's partner and I shared a spinach salad. She had Jose's pizza and dad had the pork chop. My dad also ordered the Tuscan white bean soup (one of the specials) but they forgot to bring it out. Waitress was friendly. Yesterday could have been an off night but we would still come back when we're in Carmel.

Oven Roasted Pork Loin Medallions
Benjamin B.

Stopped by after wine tasting and live music. This place actually seems to be the most happening and packed spot in the area. No reservations but got here when they opened so we chose to sit outside. Greeted fast and nicely and seated to our choice. Great host. Immediately got a waiter to check in. He was pretty nice and awesome. We started with bread and butter which was great and a Cesar salad. The salad was almost perfect. House made croutons would have made it flawless. Got the dynamite with extra cheese and the pork medallions. The pizza was decent. Fresh ingredients and cheesy. Now if you follow me you know I rate a lot of pizza spots. So my nitpicks are the pizza had almost no sauce. So it was more like pizza bread. Considering how fast it came out. They could have done a little extra cook so that it came out gooey. But it was a lil cooler and hard. Other than that it's a good pie. Thin crispy. Good ingredients. Best in Carmel valley. Just not the best. Or near or. Pork medallions were delicious. The size portion flavor was good and the pile high of spinach was great as I love spin. Only issue. They advertised it with potatoes. But it was not mash potatoes. It was yams. To sweet for me. Either way. It's a great spot with good service and food. I wish I could give them a five if they adjusted some things

Passion fruit sorbet
Restaurant C.

A hidden gem in the serene, pastoral village of Carmel Valley. Excellent dishes. The Hungarian goulash has red pepper. It is made with pot roast. I did not expect spinach soup; it was the highlight of my meal. It is to die for. It was not expensive for this special soup. The passion fruit sorbet and the latte were an excellent ending to my meal. Our waiter made some suggestions. He was friendly. It is a small restaurant. We had reservations, as it is very popular. There is plenty of outside seating. As it was a cool day, we sat inside. It was a long trip, but worth it.

We ordered a pizza to go!
Shy C.

Wow! What a great place...from the moment we walked in, we knew we found our kind of place. The inside is cozy and warm. The staff were amazing and so accommodating. And the food...outstanding! I highly recommend making reservations. We arrived at 5:00pm and they said they had two seats at the bar open, so we enjoyed a bottle of wine and the clam appetizer, then ordered a pizza to take back to the inn we were staying at.

Kids Pasta with marinara sauce
Franny Z.

We ordered the soup of the day which I believe was a mushroom soup, Smoked Salmon on Crème Fraiche, Crispy Calamari Cattleman's Rib Eye Steak, and a kids pasta with marinara sauce (huge portion) for our main meal. Dessert we had the gelato and the root beer float. The pizza was phenomenal.

Sole special

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5 years ago

Always consistent, Always great. Loved the pastas and unique pizzas.

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

Delicious as always. Service was excellent in the charming mainstay in the Carmel Valley. Always great specials, respectable wine list.

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6 years ago

Best pizzas in Carmel!!!!! We came here for take out twice because it was just THAT good. The lorraine pizza is incredible.

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8 years ago

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Beautiful atmosphere whether seating indoors or out. The food is consistently wonderful, and excellent service every time.

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Page 6 of 17

Cafe Rustica Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Cafe Rustica

Do they take reservations?

Yes this is my favorite place to eat

Do they have parking?

They do. Easily accessible

What are the correct hours? It's Tuesday at lunchtime and you're closed?

Rustica's posted open hours on Tuesday are from 5:00 pm until "Closing."

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Bear + Flag Roadside - Our BLT - Sous Vide Baker's Bacon tossed in maple chili glaze with fresh lettuce, tomato on toasted Sumano's Sourdough bread - incredible!

Bear + Flag Roadside

4.3(144 reviews)
7.5 mi
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Locally owned & operated
Grab-and-go

This place is AMAZING! Literally the best BLT I've ever had in my life…read more Our friends recommended this place and when we pulled up I was a little surprised. It's up in Carmel Valley in a little area with a few other stores. The restaurant is super casual, you walk up and order and then sit down. They had a lot of different options of things to order - we opted for the BLT, the burger and the frickles. Everything was just amazing. It all came out hot, with the best flavors and seasoning. I still dream of that BLT. They have a pretty extensive wine and beer option too. Lots of beers on draft! The service was great. Everyone was really friendly, asked if we enjoyed the food, offered napkins, etc. Can't wait to go back!

BLT : 5/5 bites, Thick juicy bacon that somehow still maintains a crisp, & the usual lettuce,…read morebread,& tomato. Hot item $22 big shareable in my opinion i had half & bf had the other half. Burnt End Brisket burrito: 3/5 bites. The burnt end brisket burrito lacked Burnt ends. $14 Faction - buffer zone ipa: 4/5 sips solid. plenty of parking. good service. would return to give the Brisket Sando& other menu items a try. Brews available.

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Bear + Flag Roadside - Our Artichoke Burger (vegetarian) housemade artichoke patty, havarti, sprouts, tomato

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Bear + Flag Roadside - Family-friendly and dog-friendly (on a leash please) Patio

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Lucia Restaurant & Bar - Vegetable Wrap

Lucia Restaurant & Bar

4.0(246 reviews)
1.8 mi
•$$$

Food was okay. Service started out great, then went downhill…read more Came here over the weekend and the host was kind enough to seat us early and we cozied up in one of the booths. The atmosphere was chill and romantic. Kerry started off so energetic and knowledgeable about the chef and the menu. We ordered bread service, 2 oysters, the vegetarian pasta but added the pacific halibut. I ordered the fowl of the day, which was guinea fowl in like a deconstructed pot pie. Then it starts to go downhill. Our entrees took an unreasonable amount of time and even the floor manager recognized this and stopped by the table to check in. Additionally, we wanted more drinks and also had to flag her down for that. We barely saw him after he took our order. Our food came luke warm, like it was sitting under the warmer for some time. The sauce on my dish was cold and the halibut was overcooked and dryyyyyyyyyyy. Thankfully they removed this from the bill. I could see staying at the hotel and grabbing drinks at the bar. They also had a piano player in the lobby/bar area, so that was a nice touch. But would I come back for dinner? Unfortunately no.

This hotel has two 4-star diamond plaques on their wall so believe the hype. This restaurant is so…read morewell kept and just like the hotel, the food itself is fresh and incredible. The ingredients are grown on the grounds with nice veggie and fruit dishes. I thoroughly loved the classic breakfast plate with buttery crisp hash browns, and two egg Benedicts with a creamy Hollandaise sauce. My wife and son's eggs were cooked perfectly. Their bacon is cooked just right; thick strips and no burnt ends. Even the yolks are orange! My son's apple juice was freshly pressed, my smoothie was full of their fresh berries with no artificial sweeteners, and the cream for our coffee was pure. It's no wonder why this place is on the Michelin guide. The farm to table experience here is spot on. Even their sourdough toast has a nice thickness to it and pairs beautifully with their creamy butter and jam. There's not a single complaint here. The interior decor to the bathroom around this restaurant is just an A+. This is by far one of the best breakfast experiences I've had. I want to stay here next time with my wife and spend quality time because the ambiance is perfect all around. I totally recommend this restaurant and hotel.

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Lucia Restaurant & Bar - Lobby.  Beautiful and full of fresh flowers.

Lobby. Beautiful and full of fresh flowers.

Lucia Restaurant & Bar - Kids Plate

Kids Plate

Lucia Restaurant & Bar - Lucia restaurant. We dined outside on the patio.

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From Scratch Restaurant - Bowl of Chili with Triple D selection, cheese and cream

From Scratch Restaurant

4.3(2.2k reviews)
10.5 mi
•$$

My partner & I got into Carmel around 8:30am on a Saturday and had a long list of places to stop at…read morefor breakfast, but ultimately ended up stopping here for the easy parking & delicious looking food. We were seated right away without reservations. The place looks smaller than it is - they have a bunch of outdoor seating. It is a typical diner style establishment. And I'm not sure how accessible it is unless you know exactly where to park - there's a lot of stairs around. But it is a really cute location with lots of nice flowers and landscaping around. I can't remember our servers name - but he was really wonderful & had a great attitude. I ended up going with a custom skillet & my partner chose the biscuits & gravy and brisket chili. My custom skillet was super yummy & I was pleasantly surprised they had vegetarian sausage! It was well seasoned & the mushrooms were thinly sliced & cooked to perfection. I actually really enjoyed this meal. My partner really enjoyed his biscuits & gravy and thought it was one of the best ones he's ever had. He also was starstruck over the brisket chili, so I would definitely say to get a cup of that if that sounds like your thing. I would definitely stop back here on my next visit to Monterey/Carmel. I usually drive out to Carmel when visiting Monterey just because I like the food options more.

Really tasty breakfast spot in Carmel that definitely gets busy, so expect a wait during peak…read moretimes. The food was worth it though, and everything tasted fresh and homemade like the name suggests. Loved the little store attached to the restaurant too. It was fun to browse after eating. The surrounding shopping area is also really nice to walk around and explore. A highlight for my daughter was the Mickey Mouse pancake! Overall a solid stop if you're visiting Carmel and looking for a good breakfast or brunch spot.

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From Scratch Restaurant - View of inside seating

View of inside seating

From Scratch Restaurant - Hot chocolate

Hot chocolate

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Jerome's Carmel Valley Market - Store front.

Jerome's Carmel Valley Market

4.4(52 reviews)
0.2 mi
•$$

First of all, I love this store and I feel very fortunate that we have Jerome's in our small town…read more This review is specifically a sandwich review, as I finally tried their in-house made sandwiches yesterday. We ordered 3 different sandwiches. All three were built generally the same. I personally had a pastrami on a French roll with several veggies to add freshness. Although the sandwich price at $12 is on par for custom built sandwiches these days, I was hoping for more meat and veggies that would stand apart from other delis. But it was probably the least filled sandwich that we all have had in a while. The bread was fresh as well as the ingredients, there just wasn't enough meat or vegetables in the sandwich. I think it is a decent sandwich for the convenience. I just won't get another sandwich or seek it out when looking for a deli sandwich. By the way, they did put a healthy portion of alfalfa sprouts. So if you like sprouts, maybe Jerome's will be your sandwich place.

When you live on the Monterey Peninsula, one of the things you figure out quickly is where to go…read morefor the best food sources when you're when you're the one doing the cooking. There's always Whole Foods Safeway, etc. but a hidden gem in Carmel Valley Village is Jerome's. It's not one of these huge Safeway Whole Foods warehouse size stores. It's actually small and terribly efficient in a good way. He has his own butchers and they actually butcher. Nothing comes prepackaged in cellophane packages. Excellent meat, fish, poultry. A very nice selection of produce local providers lot of organics and a homey feeling. This is definitely a local spot. It's about 12 miles from Highway one and a nice ride through the valley to get to the Village. Jerome has some great wines at reasonable prices and as you might guess a fairly good uniqueness to his French offerings. The same could be said for local SLH/Monterey vintages again at reasonable prices I found some price less than the wineries. Look it's not the size of total wine, but it doesn't have to be. It just has to be good stuff at the right price that you can enjoy when you're making dinner at home. And I always seem to managed to buy a few bottles when I'm in there. Today was a 2021 Pisoni reserve Pinot--yum. They do a really good job each day preparing certain foods that you can have for dinner. There's prime rib night. There's pork chops. There's spareribs chicken all cooked fresh that day. Want a sandwich no problem. They've got a crew that makes what just about whatever you want. Bottom line they do with the big guys can't do.-- high-quality really good service and staff that seems to always smile. Enjoy yourself.

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Jerome's Carmel Valley Market - Wine example and price

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Trailside Cafe & Beer Garden - Breakfast Burrito

Trailside Cafe & Beer Garden

3.7(264 reviews)
0.1 mi
•$$

I brought my family of 8 (6 adults/2 children) for breakfast here last Sunday. The restaurant was…read morepretty busy, which was great to see. Beth greeted us and organized a table for us. I was pretty amazed how Beth and her colleague were able to keep up with all the tables, inside and outside. Nicely done! We ordered a diverse cross section of breakfast dishes. I ordered the Monty Cristo sandwich special (3/5) with the trailside potatoes. It was a ham and cheese sandwich using French toast. The ham was just thin deli meat and would have been better if made with a thicker ham steak. The trailside potatoes (4/5) were also not as good as my first breakfast here, but still pretty good. My wife order the jalapeno popper omelette (5/5) and really enjoyed it. The rest of our party had a good experience with their meals. So while the food was pretty solid, Beth was a rock star on the service side. Although she appeared a little hectic, she did a great job keeping everything straight and every table served with a smile. As a local, we are lucky to have Trailside Cafe. This is a solid breakfast choice.

Went to the valley for an appointment and stopped at this cute place for a bite to eat…read more Had a rustic feel, beautiful local art for sale on the walls, and it looks like they host music events as well. Food was delicious! I ordered a Three Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Tomato Basil soup and it was melty and buttery and it warmed my soul on this rather overcast day. Service was superb! I was able to choose my own table, she always made sure my Sprite was never empty, and she rushed a second sandwich order for me when I still had some soup left over and wanted more to dip. I didn't catch her name, but she was awesome. Thanks for the experience and I'll definitely be recommending this place to folks willing to travel to Carmel Valley. It's worth it!

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The Quail & Olive

The Quail & Olive

4.5(35 reviews)
0.0 mi
•$$

I chose to make a stop here after seeing their Winter Ambrosia White Balsamic online. Ambrosia…read moreapples are my absolute favorite kind of apple so I was super excited to try this out! Although it didn't have as much of that ambrosia apple that I was expecting, it was still quite good nonetheless and I picked up one bottle. I'd say overall, I found Baker & Olive vinegars (down in SoCal) to be more flavorful and true, but this place does shine in their "25 Star" 25-year aged balsamic offering, which definitely lets this shop stand out among their peers. The 25 Star is a must try, pours a dark, rich honey like texture and tastes like blackberry and red fruit with an ultra-long honey finish. I also picked up some Haskap berry elixir mix which I was really excited by. Haskap berries I had never heard of prior to visiting this shop and they apparently contain large amounts of natural antioxidants/anthocyanins which are incredible for health. I had previously been consuming elderberries and wild blueberries which are also high in antioxidants and was delighted to find yet another natural berry source for those. The olive oils there are also quite nice -- although I was not looking for olive oils that day in particular I would return to pick up a bottle the next time I am in the area. They have so many different varietals and even do interesting stuff like Butter Olive Oil (there is no actual butter contained -- the flavor is due to the addition of some kind of nutritional yeast). Looking forward to my next trip back!!! Do check out the rest of Carmel Valley as well, it's a beautiful locale and I caught the golden hour right around 4 pm which made for some unforgettable sun-kissed sights along the drive into the valley.

Came here as we've been getting into olive oils for their variety and was told about this place…read morefrom a local. It's a self serve kind of olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting, which is cool. It's straight up oil or vinegar; there's no cracker or bread to accompany it so you get the full, unfiltered version of the oil or vinegar. Lots of options to choose from and the hardest part may be picking! We ended up with 1 olive oil and 2 balsamic vinegars (satsuma orange and dark pomegranate) and can't wait to enjoy them! Cute store and friendly service as well

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Cafe Rustica - french - Updated May 2026

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