My Husband and I got Married here in the Georis Gardens behind the Corkscrew Cafe, last October. We were thrilled with the space as it is gorgeous and we wanted something casual and intimate. We felt passed pizza and salad were just that! Aside from some small details like the DJ (not hired through Corkscrew) basically dropping the ball on everything, the evening was a beautiful success... and by that I mean we got married! We had passed Pizza and Stationed salad/dessert. It all worked out well, I didn't hear of anyone not getting food, and they even fed us a second round at 9 pm after dancing and drinking. Christen is the GM/Coordinator for such events and was very helpful and knowledgeable. You can tell she does this a lot and was very helpful and hands on during the event, I am pretty sure every time I asked for a glass of champagne she hand delivered it herself. I would suggest flats or wedges as the ground is gravel and rough terrain. The space is perfect for about 100 we were just over that. Parking can be a bit tight, but we made it work and make sure you have designated drivers as it is a bit out of town. My ONLY complaint for the day was that the Owner of the Joint (Not Christen) was lurking about making my bridal party uneasy. He is not a charmer but owns a cool place. They are lucky to have Christen, and I would recommend her for any event you may have! read more

GREAT restaurant!!!!!!! We walked here after some wine tasting. The outside seating was so cute & relaxing w/ plenty of distance. We had the burger which was one of the best burgers I've ever had. Onion rings & pizzas were delicious. Can't wait to come again! read more

This is a great place to sit and relax after an afternoon of wine tasting. My husband and I just moved to Carmel Valley and we have already visited twice. We have tried 3 of their gourmet pizzas (The Meyer lemon, fig and sausage) all of them were excellent. This review is of our second visit on August 31st. Our waiter was Chris and he was phenomenal. You can tell that he really loves his job and is passionate about wine. Chris really understands customer service and is willing to go the extra mile to ensure his customers enjoy their dining experience. He is the kind of employee that every restaurant wants to have. *This is important to note since the first time we visited the service was less than spectacular. In fact we never actually got a server the first time we ate here. A waitress in another section noticed us sitting there and brought us water and reluctantly took our order. So we never heard the specials and we weren't told about their half price pizza happy hour even after we ordered a pizza. read more

After a long day my boyfriend and I finally made it to Carmel, needless to say we were hungry. Our awesome Airbnb host had dinner reservations for us at 8:30. Driving to this place at night is a little difficult; hopefully GPS will save you. As we check in the hosts tells us that our table isn't ready, so we wait for about 5 minutes. To the right of the kitchen my eyes are in a daze with the wood fire oven they cook pizzas in! Once we sit our energetic waiter takes our drink orders. We pass on appetizers and go straight for the entrées. I decide on the short ribs and my boyfriend orders the sweetNsalty sausage. It isn't long before our food is arrives. The short ribs are placed in front of me and as I take a bite I quickly notice the tenderness. It is slathered with a chili-honey glaze and each piece oozed with sweetness. I literally did not need a knife. I wait for the chili to make its appearance, but nothing. None the less, the ribs are still tasty. Definitely something I'll recommend. Moving onto the pizza, it too is amazing! It's fresh out of the wood fire oven; the sausage still simmering and the cheese finding its way into every crevice. The caramelized onions give it a hint of sweetness as I crunch into each bite. I can't help but pick at the sausage spread generously throughout the pizza. I try not to devour it all as I still would like to look at the dessert menu. At last the urge to eat more pizza subsides as dessert is now taking over my mind. The waiter returns quickly with the menu and we decide on the Chocolate Malted Cake. Before we even realize it the dessert is in front of us. A nice sized chocolate mousse cake to share, or not. Chocolate crumbs are spread like a trail. The combination of malted sorbet, mousse cake, and chocolate crumbs are too good to leave behind. It ends too quickly and an empty plate is left. My stomach is full, but my mouth wants more. read more

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Ate here on my last day in Carmel & I wish I would have done so sooner!! The food, ambience and service was phenomenal!!

3.5 stars. The Corkscrew was a little bit more classier than I first thought, but not necessarily in a bad way. We were one of two tables in the joint just before 7pm on a Thursday night and it quickly filled up shortly after. The service was excellent and knowledgeable. Small, pricey menu. I can't justify paying $9 for a bottle of Stella Artois. We both ordered the natural burger and added cheese. The roll, which we thought would be the best part, was lackluster and fell apart two bites in. As for the beef, I would of rather had an In and Out burger. That's not a knock just a reality. My girlfriend thought the burger was good but felt the same way about the roll. The fries were very impressive. It was a different experience but we won't be returning if we emerge back into Caramel Valley. read more

My husband and I decided to try this place out recently. We were the second table seated on a beautiful sunny day. Unfortunately from the time we ordered until the time we received our food but almost 40 minutes. It was good, but a looooooong wait. Given if you are catching up with some friends in from out of town and sharing a bottle of wine, great. If you swam, ran errands, don't drink and just want to eat? Maybe go elsewhere. read more

We stayed in Carmel Valley for a weekend getaway and came to Corkscrew Cafe for a late lunch as it was just a few miles from our hotel. We get seated in a corner area with our baby, and there's constantly a fly buzzing around us the entire meal which was quite annoying. We had the charcuterie plate, which was good but certainly overpriced. For our entree, we shared a pizza which got forgotten about so it was probably 20 minutes before someone noticed and tried to correct it. Waitress and guy cooking the pizza was arguing back and forth who's mistake it was that the pizza was forgotten. Waitress said she put the order in, guy making the pizza says he never saw it. We get the pizza and it's just okay. Drizzled with a lot of chili oil so it was quite oily, I wished I had paper napkins to clean up the grease. The pizza was cooked in the woodfire oven but didn't impress. Service overall was really meh. Waitress wasn't friendly. Waters weren't refilled. Yelp failed us this time around with trying to find a good place to eat. I don't plan to return. read more

Excellent food- especially when it comes to the French fries. These are among the best I have ever eaten- a slight obsession of mine. The service is not the fastest, so don't go there if you are in a hurry! That said, the location and ambiance are fabulous- so take your time!!! read more

When we drove past this restaurant and saw a flag from Catalonia we thought, "We've gotta go here!" So we dropped off our bags at our hotel and then walked back. Sadly, there was a 45-minute wait, so we went to another restaurant. The next day we tried again, and had more success. The decor is early California, yet cozy and warm. There's a ceramic pizza oven with wood burning in the corner. The hostess was friendly and our waitress was efficient and kind. The food was very tasty. Sadly, we ate the beet salad before I could take a photo! My wife and the trout and I had a pizza...cool to resist after seeing the oven! I also ordered a glass of a local red wine. I asked for a recommendation and our waitress brought me a taste to sample of a Cabernet Franc. Wow! And when she brought me a glass, she also left a little in a small carafe. I hate it when restaurants charge you a fortune and then pour you a 1/6 of a glass! We were full after our entree, but thankfully we still ordered dessert! We split a flourless chocolate cake with caramel sauce and rosemary. Amazing! It also vale with a scoop of vanilla gelato. Like the beet salad, it was gone before I snapped a photo! Apparently there are also outdoor gardens which we didn't see. We'll have to go back! read more

Corkscrew Cafe - Wood-fired pizza...pig and fig! - American Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

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The Corkscrew Cafe is a great find. We had lunch in their outside garden. The food was fresh and made with great quality ingredients. It is so fresh that we observed our server actually pick a lemon from a tree and use it to garnish our iced teas. I had a California BLT and they happily added turkey on request. The accompanying green salad was fresh and tasty. The fries are very good too. There is a tasting room which we did not take advantage of, but seemed quite popular. The bonus of dining here was that we got some landscape inspiration for our own home. This restaurant is a great stop on a sunny day in Carmel Valley. read more

We've been going back for several years and continue to be impressed with the quality of their food, which changes from season to season. They now have a separate dinner menu, which is exciting as Mat has a passion for his cooking. read more

Corkscrew Cafe - Lunch at the Corkscrew Cafe with my wife is always right. Finished with a delightful corn ice creams desert. - American Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

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We just left the restaurant after one of the most pleasant dining experiences I've ever had. Our server was fantastic! After we told him we had been turned away from the Georis Winery because they wouldn't do a tasting for us with only 10 minutes before closing, he brought us a trio of tasters of Georis wines (the restaurant is owned by the same people). The service throughout the meal was prompt and attentive but not over bearing. I should have asked his name so I could call him out properly. Outstanding server. The food was excellent. Beautifully plated but still with a rustic feel. Imaginative menu, well executed. The have a simple kids menu that they have pasted into the front page of kids books. Love them giving a book to the kids as entertainment - why don't more places do that? The dining room(s) are small, intimate and simply decorated. They have a pretty outdoor patio area as well. A highlight of our trip to Carmel valley. Go eat here. You won't regret it. read more

Best pizza I've had in California. Kicks mozza's ssss. Takes it inspiration from Bianco's in AZ and makes an incredible pie.

Great wood fired pizzas at night and coffee in the mornings. Great location right in Carmel Valley village, I only wish they were open later, as they closed at 8:30pm on Friday read more

We were at the Carmel Valley Art and Wine show this afternoon and decided to stop in to Corkscrew Cafe for an early dinner. The outside seating was full but the host sat us beside a lovely open window with fragrant jasmine right outside. That's where the good ends. To start I ordered the beet and quinoa salad with spicy mustard, hubby order the green salad with fruit. Then we ordered the sausage pizza to share. When the beet and quinoa salad arrived I thought it was an incomplete plate because on the large salad plate was literally half a plate of salad. It was arranged in a half moon design but barely filled half the plate. Really? For $14.00 dollars??? I wasn't aware that quinoa, beets and apples were that expensive?? The salad itself was bland, the apples very sour and I never found the spicy mustard. The savior of the salad was the goat cheese hidden in the salad. The pizza finally came and it was literally covered in chili oil. So much so that the entire plate had puddles of oil under and on top of the pizza. AND it was so spicy it was almost inedible. I don't recall if it said on the menu that the sausage pizza was so spicy. With all the wonderful artisan pizzas in our area, many of which hardly use oil at all except for a sparse sprinkle on top this was unacceptable. I would suggest that the pizza chef at Corkscrew be sent to Gusto pizzeria in Seaside for training on authentic Italian pizza. Corkscrew pizza does not cut it. So for these reasons Corkscrew Cafe has been "Chopped". Not a place I would ever go back to. There are too many good restaurants in Carmel to put up with this kind of foolishness. Thanks but no thanks. read more

This is the best restaurant to visit during COVID 19. You pay up front (everyone masked safely) and then proceed to seat yourself somewhere in the enormous grounds. The tables are far from one another, and the only time you have anyone around you is when they carry out your food or check back with you. Food and drink are wonderful. read more

What is there not to love? Beautiful atmosphere, gracious service and very creative cuisine. The Roasted Pear salad was an extraordinary blending of fresh flavors, delicate lovely and delicious! The tacos were so so but 5 stars for the wine list. Both the patio and indoor tables are California casual and very welcoming.. loved it! read more

Corkscrew Cafe - Corkscrew Cafe - American Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

Came here a couple times, once to check it out for my sister in law's rehearsal dinner, and the second time for the actual rehearsal dinner. Food: Seasonal farm to table like California fare offerings (apparently some of their produce comes from their own gardens). I believe they have their own wine as well. They seem to specialize in pizza, and we got to try a variety during the rehearsal dinner. They also offered a lovely salad with prosciutto, hard boiled eggs, and fava beans...very interesting and delicious. The outdoor patio area for events was beautiful with the garden and lights. It worked really well for the rehearsal dinner. Small private lot (that was always full) and street parking. read more

Fantastic charcuterie. And loved the roasted garlic appetizer! The coffee set up is adorable. read more

Corkscrew Cafe - American Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

This used to be my favorite place in the village. Myself and a friend went in recently and while the staff was very friendly and helpful the menu just isn't what it used to be and some of the things we used to enjoy are not available. The entire place has changed. read more

All we got was arugula and racism. First off, it's absolutely overpriced, which we were willing to overlook because of the cute atmosphere. Two of my friends are gluten-free and/or vegan, their options were salad. My vegan friend got the arugula salad, which after taking away the Parmesan, was a pile of lettuce. That's it. THEN, we got our checks. My friend, Kaz, her full name is Kazmiera, not "kamikaze", which is easily understood by using basic knowledge of grammar in order to sound out the spelling of her name. So the waitress looked at my other friend, who has a darker skin tone, and said "oh you must be kamikaze, because of your darker skin tone and all. No hate, though." EXCUSE ME? Kaz is my fair skinned friend with red hair. I regret giving a tip at all. We won't be back. Please keep your racist assumptions to yourself, or better yet, smother them. The waitress was in training. I suggest you let her go or instruct her how to treat all people with respect. read more

Amazing little restaurant. My friend and I came here for lunch before wine tasting and were pleasantly surprised by the flavors of all of the dishes we ordered. The blistered stone fruit with burrata is indescribable. It is such a meaty dish-- even with no meat. The squash blossom pizza with burrata is something I would happily eat every day. Thin, cracker crust with beautifully sliced squash blossoms, piles of burrata, and an irresistible olive oil all work so well together. In addition to the food, the atmosphere is welcoming with bright little touches. If you are in the area, go! read more

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Excellent atmosphere and delicious food. A bit pricey but that's how it is in the area. I like the little garden in the back. The pizza is great, the staff is nice. read more

If you have some extra cash left over at the end of the week, this is a good place to go. If you go during happy hour, you can get half-off pizzas. Great local atmosphere and food. They brought us complimentary champagne. Their oysters were to die for. :) Highly recommend. read more

Found this little place in our way home from Monterey. Great find. We had the pastami and a burger and they were both great. Cool collection of cork screws too. read more

Corkscrew Cafe - The Corkscrew Pastami. - American Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

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We only had a pizza while we at the nearby tasting rooms, but it was great. We'll definitely keep it in mind next time we go wine tasting.

Just st lol be everything about this place - been coming here for years - mostly for lunch on the patio The corn meal chili releno and the trout are two staples for me D read more

Wonderful place to grab a pizza. They have a wonderful staff and a unique vibe and environment that sets them apart. My favorite pizza is the duck and my wife's favorite is the lemon one. Sometimes we get a third to bring home to the kids after our dinner date. The classic burrata isn't quite like you'd expect though. They have special flavors and fresh Parmesan that makes you want to start cooking pizzas at home and adding anything you can find in your kitchen. Even oranges! Yep they have blood oranges on their lamb pizza. Wild! Best kept secret in Carmel valley! Head on over and say Steve sent ya! I love this place! read more

We were taking our first time off post-covid in Carmel Valley. Our family had lunch there and we ordered salads and pizzas. The pizzas took a while to show up, but they were worth the wait! Very unique and fantastic flavors. My wife proclaimed them to be the best pizzas she has ever eaten. We were all blown away by the flavors - comparable to our first time experiences at Flour&Water (SF), Oak&Rye (Los Gatos) and Doppio Zero (Mountain View). read more

Delicious meal was amazing. A real holiday treat to share with my mother, see photos. Roasted garlic with warm Brie cheese and toast points made for a tasty start. The garlic shrimp thin crust pizza was perfect size with fresh, delicate flavors. We shared the seafood pesto pasta with much appreciation for a superb and memorable dining experience. The fresh red raspberry topped eggnog creme brûlée completed our utterly delightful dining adventure. Do treat yourself to life's pleasures! Kudos to the service staff, chef and ownership. Happy Holidays ! read more

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With a group of 11 wanting to eat outdoors, it can be challenging to find a place that serves good food in a nice setting. We made reservations, and enjoyed a table for our large group in a lovely tree covered area. The pizzas we ordered were very good, and for others in our group that ordered hamburgers and salmon, everyone was pleased with their choices. We had a nice bottle of wine, and a few of us enjoyed the lovely presentation of a bottle of beer on a tray with cheese (since when did this become a thing?!). In sum, we had a wonderful time with family and old friends thanks to Corkscrew Cafe! read more

This is my favorite place in all of Monterey County. Amazing space, delicious food, and great service. My go-to restaurant to bring out of towners to because it's a great way to show off Carmel Valley. read more

Called in a takeout order. When I got there, they had messed up and hadn't even started it. They didn't offer an apology or discount. After they finished making my order, they shortchanged me! I could tell I hadn't received the correct change for my payment so I asked for the receipt and then he admitted he owed more change back. Very disappointing. read more

We had an out of town guest so I broke down and agreed to go back to Corkscrew. My bad. I decided to have the fish tacos, pretty safe choice. ich. I couldn't even get them up to my mouth, the corn tortillas disintegrated in my hands. The coleslaw topping wasn't even coleslaw it was chopped cabbage with no dressing. Great atmosphere but save yourself the trip. read more

Delicious little place. The pizza was amazing. I got lemon pizza with meat.... who would have thought but I loved it! The meat and roasted garlic was also amazing. What a tasty place! I will return. Thy take reservations. It got busy at about 7:20pm. read more

I what into corkscrew and they seat us the table and chairs aren't very nice we order food and I get a Caesar salad. I soon learned that if you ordered right the food was ok but if you ordered wrong it wasn't very good my friend ordered the hard way luckily the Caesar salad wasn't terrible. The food also takes a while before it arrives.we got a plate of 6 pieces of crappy bread for 26 bucks the food was so expensive and not worth getting if you want some good food I would recommend Rustica it's near by and they have some good food for better prices read more

This is truly a magical little spot in Carmel Valley. We've been coming here for years and every time have such a lovely and special experience. Today we enjoyed the best cheese & charcuterie board ever! An amazing combo of cheeses, house made jam, salami, prosciutto, coppa, house baked bread & crackers. We also had the hummus and roast veggies, which was delicious. The wine choices are always on point. Love all the Georis wines. The sunny day was perfect for the Georis Chardonnay & Les Abeilles. Love, love the Corkscrew! read more

Trying to be something they are not...... I had high hopes for the cute little place.....the interior is beautifully done and the back patio is fantastic. But they need to choose what they want to be....fancy or hipster. Can't be both. They charge high prices and try to make a upscale menu.....but it's just not that good. Leave lemons off my pizza. It's just not right. You're trying too hard. Leave classics as classics unless you know what you're doing....lemons don't go on pizza. period. (I tried, had to take them off) The music out back was terrible when we visited. It was loud "backyard BBQ" type music, which I love, but it really didn't flow (at least for dinner time) and was really distracting. It's like it was just the cooks music but being played for all of the guests to hear.....loudly. The servers seemed knowledgeable and we had great service....but they all kinda had the hipster tatted, low pants vibe. I don't mean that mean.....but choose the vibe you want. Like I said.....you can't be both. It's an ok experience, but not worth the price. read more

Pretty small pizza and an expensive price very skimpy on the toppings... tourist food