We were so impressed by this cozy, inviting, wonderful spot. We had the clams (delicious), goulash (stick to your ribs yummy) and the star of the meal, the Flammekeuche. Great wine list, excellent service, and super cozy. We can't wait to go back! read more

Great, great little Italian restaurant with the BEST cozy & romantic atmosphere, delicious, innovative, yet classic cuisine, wonderful service, and reasonable prices. My beautiful partner and I discovered Cafe Rustica on a recent getaway to Carmel Valley, and we liked it so much we went back there the second night of our stay. I highly recommend it! read more

My parents were here last trip they were in Carmel Valley and really had recommended this place. As I got to the place I thought it's really cute and beautifuly put together restaurant. I observed the patio had a seating for 6 which could be perfect for us. As we approached the hostess she told us could be a 25 minutes wait. I had no problem with waiting at all and we decided to walk out and just wait on the side walk. As I walked out that table for 6 was still setup and not occupied. 15 mins later I got a call that the table was ready and as we walked in its the same table I saw 15 mins ago. I don't understand why it took 15 mins to sit us at a table that was ready 15 mins ago. Waitress was friendly and food comes in large portions for the price. I have to say food is a five star for me. All our dishes was very tasty however beer drinker keep in mine no draft or local brew at all. Good wine list of course so I highly recommend this place! read more

Cafe Rustica - French Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

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This restaurant has a wonderful reputation. But, unfortunately, it didn't measure up to its reputation when we stopped in for a quick lunch. After being seated we waited 15 minutes for anyone to wait on our table. Food was just so so. Nice place, but not great. read more

Lovely atmosphere, good friendly service and nice selection off their menu!!! Kids food is good, we have been to Cafe Rustic on each of our trips to Carmel and have not been let down. read more

Great lunch spot in Carmel Valley Village. Food great, service great, location great. Will definitely be back soon.

As a local I often find it worth the 20 minute trip to enjoy the great food provided by this restaurant. On our last visit though. We simply asked for Olive Oil with our bread instead of the butter pats provided. The waiter promptly said "we do not serve olive oil with our bread". We even offered to pay for it !!! Still a no go. Well this set the tone for the dinner unfortunately. The food was otherwise good as always but I was put off by this ignored request with no proper explanation. I have since sent them a bottle of olive oil for the next person that may ask. read more

Usually a welcoming atmosphere. However, sometimes the servers are very unprofessional, so it depends who is going to be your waitresses. Nice to sit outside. Most salads are great. Not French at all. Standard American. read more

We were visiting the area and this was one of the recommended restaurants for dinner. There were 6 adults plus a toddler and they gave us spacious booth which was perfect for our family. We all ordered something different and each entree was delicious and nicely presented . The portions were generous and the prices were reasonable. We shared 3 desserts and they were all fantastic. We are soo glad we found this little gem in Carmel. We will definitely come back when in the area. It was a meal we will remember! read more

The staff at Talbot Winery recommended we try this place if we could get in, we were able to sit at the bar and this place did not disappoint food was fabulous, large portions so you might want to consider sharing. Our server Angela was amazing! I would highly recommend eating here if you get a chance! read more

As my chef friend An Italian in Merida, Mexico would say "Fantastico" Eggplant appetizer amazing Delicious beet salad Generous portions Best bread in the tri-county area read more

Wonderful lunch!! The red leaf, pear and blue cheese salad was amazing as was the BBQ chicken pizza. Thomas was our server and he was very knowledgeable and attentive. Best restaurant coffee we have had in a long long time! Great wine list too. read more

What a great place to dine either in or outdoor. Very warm setting,with outstanding service and incredible food. I had the Hungarian goulash, flavorful but not overly heavy. Pizza was wonderful, crispy crust. read more

Hands down best restaurant in Carmel Valley Village. Consistent food, the service is a little stiff but the food is great. Cozy, warm and always wonderful. read more

We loved everything about this place honestly felt like we were in Europe. We could have licked the plate . Service was excellent . Price was great! Win win all around! read more

Dinner last night was a tad disappointing. Service was good. She was friendly and attentive. My friend enjoyed the BLT salad and butternut squash raviolis. I had the soup which was a bean vegetable and very good but very short on beans. Steamed clams were delicious. I also had escargot which came semi warm and I sent it back to reheat. When I got it back they had put it in the oven and the snails were like hockey pucks. The cook only needed to stick it under the broiler for 30 seconds. Hard to screw up escargot. read more

I ordered the Calamari, 1/2 pound Sirloin Burger, and a Caesar Salad that we shared among 3 people. This was one of the best burgers I've ever had before. The salad and calamari were also extremely tasty. The waiters were are all very friendly and the chefs all payed attention to detail on the food. All of this was only for 37 dollars so I highly recommend you stop by the restaurant. It was also very peaceful and surrounded by nature which was nice as well. They allowed dogs too and the experience was a solid four stars. read more

This remains our favorite restaurant. The fish special and roasted chicken are superb. We make it a point to eat here every time we are in the area, and we've been doing so for more than 20 years. We love the consistently superb food. The owner is top notch and most of the staff is also. However, after many visits, I feel compelled to also state that there is one waiter (a large man with a French accent) who is consistently brusque to the point of rudeness. When asked questions, he appears annoyed. He failed to ask if we'd like coffee or tea and failed to check on us at all. Just acts like we are pests at his table. Rather than asking if we'd like pepper ground onto our salads (as every other waiter has done) he slammed a pepper grinder down on our table and walked away. He did not attend to our water. We had to flag down another staff member for refills on water every time we needed it. And he has been this way EVERY time we've had the misfortune of ending up at one of his tables. As I stated previously, his behavior is inconsistent with all the rest of the staff. The owner is wonderfully gracious too and I can't imagine why he keeps this guy on. But other than this one waiter's behavior, Cafe Rustica still remains one of our very favorite restaurants. . read more

Arrived at a perfect time! Service and food was excellent. Quaint atmosphere, relaxed and enjoyed our meal! Delicious spinach salad and egg salad sandwich with added smoked salmon! read more

Great food. Nice ambiance. Looks like an old house turned into a restaurant. Vibey. Delicious. Would suggest

We always love this restaurant. Consistently great--I love their salmon and hubby loves the pizza. Great service too.

lovely romantic dinner, great food at fair prices! nice wine selection too.

After a day of outdoor excursions Cafe Rustica was the perfect spot to relax and get a bite to eat at. The patio seating is wonderful and the heaters they provide make evening dining very comfortable. Their pizza menu is varied and provides options that both an adult and a child would enjoy (don't be afraid to ask to add to / take things off of the pizzas). While many pizzas have floppy, soft crusts Cafe Rustia's pizzas had nice crisp, thin crusts. I especially recommend the desserts, the chocolate torte was amazingly rich. Also, I love that they allow dogs to join their owners at the outdoor tables. Cafe Rustica is both a refined dining destination that an experienced "foodie" would enjoy and a family friendly dinner spot. read more

I've been enjoying this previously comfortable and warm restaurant for twenty years. Tonight was awful for our party of four. Our server was an ill mannered,pushy, very unprofessional girl who shouldn't be in the front of the house. She said entrees come with soup or salad. Then charged us $27 for three soups. She asked about ground pepper on our shrimp skewer appetizer and proceeded to put so much on it ruined the dish. I asked why, she said 'you didn't say stop.' Passive aggressive, almost hostile. Kind of mean. Very confusing. We had dinner, and dessert. Server asked us if we wanted ice cream on the bread pudding and apple galette. We said yes. Then added $3.00. A meaningless issue except we felt hustled and gamed. I'm not going back or recommending this place again. After 35 years in the restaurant business in S.F. I understand being hustled and crapped on. Don't eat here if you expect gracious hospitality and good service and food. It's slipped into irrelevance. They're squeezing patrons before they go out of business. Stay away. Word. read more

Soooooo romantic and sweet! The staff is as pleasant as the food is delicious! My new favorite place in the area!

One of my absolute favorite restaurants. Their beet salad is to die for. I would eat here once a week if I could. I have grown up in the Carmel Valley Village and this is by far my favorite restaurant. The service is also wonderful. read more

Two words - mushroom soup! This place has the most amazing mushroom soup - so good in fact that we will drive 2 hours to get there and eat the soup adn then 2 hours to get back home. Now that is not to say that the other menu items are not good - they are all quite tasty...it is just that in all of our travels there has never been a place with better mushroom soup. Romantic ambiance outside - lots of food and drink options to choose from - and friendly service. My only wish is that we lived closer - we would definitely go there more often. read more

The pizzas here are the best! I just had a Smoked Salmon with creme fraiche, Bermuda onion and capers. I had to fight off my other table mates who all wanted a piece. We went with a large group for dinner and sat on the patio in the warm valley sun. Quite enjoyable. Friends ordered pizzas, Margherita and Lorraine, Roasted Chicken and Rigatoni. All were happy and satisfied. Also, we all had either soup or the butter lettuce salad. All very good, salad needed a touch more dressing. Service was attentive but not intrusive. The patio is pet friendly too. read more

We had a fabulous lunch here today, and will definitely be back. I had the Tri-Tip Steak Salad, and it was huge, with extremely fresh ingredients and the tastiest butter lettuce I've ever had. My husband had the Sand Dabs, and raved about the dish. The best part of our meal was the amazing dessert - our waiter suggested the apple strudel and it was delicious. The strudel is served with a caramel sauce that is fantastic, and the entire dessert melts in your mouth. We look forward to eating here again soon. Plus, dogs are allowed on the patio, which is great when you've been spoiled by the restaurants in downtown Carmel. read more

We are lunch at cafe rustica on Saturday and it was great. I ordered the egg salad sandwich and it came with a warm German potato salad. The potato salad was soooo good. It was fresh and light. My husband ordered the rigatoni and he loved it. We were there at 2 and they closed at 2:30 so be careful not to drive there and it be closed. read more

The food here was excellent! It is pricey but worth it for tasty, good quality food. The atmosphere is also really nice. Would definitely recommend! read more

Delicious!! We were wine tasting in the Carmel Valley and decided to ask for lunch recommendations and Cafe Rustica was mentioned at every winery. We decided to try it out and it was perfect. We each got a pizza and shared among ourselves. It was hard to decide which we liked best. Very cute restaurant with excellent customer service. We will definitely return in the future. read more

Appreciate the friendly atmosphere and attentive service. Can't go wrong with this place. Menu limited to what they do well and they knock it out of the park on each special. read more

The beet salad was delicious and the escargo was scrumptious. The pizza crust was thin and light ; our pizza was amazing. I like the vibe and the staff were very attentive. We came back again because we loved it so much. Highly recommend read more

Great food.. great service.. very cozy charming restaurant. Salads were delicious and the pasta was delicious. Raspberry sorbet for dessert .. nice evening read more

What a fun restaurant! The salad and pizza are delicious.. oh yes, good wine too. Very popular so be prepared for a wait. It's worth it.

Wow. We went for dinner this evening and saw a terrible episode. I'm ashamed that a couple was treated so poorly by the waitstaff and also criticized by a nearby diner. Shame on you all. I will not be returning. read more

Café Rustica is one of my favorite places to have lunch. Their butter lettuce salad, and their grilled cheese sandwich are amazing! Just can't get enough of this place. read more

Drove down to this cute looking little cafe from South San Jose just knowing i was going to love it! ......Wrong. The cafe itself is adorable but the food we had was bland and nothing you couldn't make at home for pennies on the dollar. Our first choice was what we had read was outstanding - their calamari appetizer. It was a very small serving and the coating on the calamari was so light it actually fell off before you got it to your mouth and certainly if dipped into the one sauce that accompanied the dish. Most of the plate was taken up with a large butter lettuce leaf and some escarole. My husband and I both ordered the egg salad sandwich topped with a slice of smoked salmon which sounded good and unusual. Wrong again.... Very average egg salad, a nice slice of smoked salmon, again a huge butter lettuce leaf and a large white hoagie type roll that had absolutely nothing on it. With this came another huge butter lettuce leaf with what we assumed was warm potato salad which appeared to be almost runny and slimy looking and again very, very bland. On a final note our waiter, who we believed was French, was somewhat rude and condescending? Do not understand this sort of help, why be there? Go find another kind of work not SERVING others. Not sure who this bland restaurant caters to other but perhaps the locals elderly of which there were several tables of. read more

I worked down the road at Parsonage winery and this was one of my favorite spots to send people. They have great outdoor seating, excellent service, and they know their food. The chef/owner Julien is a great guy, too, so I felt good supporting him and his business. Try anything on the menu and I guarantee satisfaction. read more