Cantinetta Luca - Italian restaurant in Carmel-By-The-Sea - Ocean Ave &, Dolores St, USA

We had a lovely experience last week at Cantinetta Luca. Our server (Ali) was friendly, knowledgeable and gracious. The caprese salad with burrata was delicious. We ordered the Bolognese pasta and the Carbonara pasta. Both were absolutely amazing. Perfectly cooked. The best ingredients. So flavorful.

Amazing subtly decadent dining experience. A delicious collection of cured meats transitioning to a wonderful pasta course. Not crowded, not fussy, just good quality food and good service

This was a lovely find in Carmel by the sea. We arrived last minute and weren’t able to book some of the more popular restaurants so we expected very little. However our server was friendly, helpful and very available to assist us. We were also surprised by the quality of the food, my pork chop was cooked perfectly and the flavour combinations with it were surprisingly tasty (I’m talking grilled peaches, kale and mushrooms). I will say that the focaccia we ordered as a starter would have been nicer with some herb seasoning but otherwise dinner and dessert were fab. Our cannolis were the best we’ve had in America so far so I’d definitely recommend that one in particular. My boyfriend kept taking bites out of my tiramisu also! We were seated quite close to another couple but they turned out to be quite friendly too so that was okay. I can imagine some people preferring more privacy though. All in all I would come back.

I ordered the focaccia and it was $3 extra for olive oil...which is pretty outrageous, esp with how small the amount of olive oil is you can see in the photo. I also ordered the Tagliatelle Bolognese, and I may be extremely biased about this because I've actually been to Bologna Italy and learned how to make bolognese, but it was pretty salty here and the depth of flavor wasnt as expected. And its a little disappointing as that is one of their most popular dishes. Everything is pretty overpriced, I asked for a sparkling water and got charged $7 for it. But the service was good and its a nice restaurant, I just dont think it was worth the $.

If you can, take a seat at the bar facing the kitchen where you can see everyone working, it’s just a gratifying experience to see the people hard at work making those seriously delicious Italian fares - it makes you appreciate the labor, the discipline, and the creativity that goes into making your meal. The food itself was amazing, the gulf prawns on the bed of chickpeas was just grilled to perfection. The fungi pizza was straight from the wood fired oven in front of me and it was so hearty and comforting. The carbonara was as good as it can get. Overall excellent, we will come back again and also try to sit at the same place.

In Carmel it is near impossible to get a bad meal. Cantinetta Luca is by far one of the best in town. We were here a year ago for the wife's birthday and this year was no different. I wanted to give 5 stars for atmosphere but the restaurant was very loud. There's a large table on the left as you walk in and the patrons were absurdly loud....

Allie was a fabulous server-great recommendations and really friendly! The carbonara was delicious!! Loved the burrata and the fresh tomatoes! Don’t miss the pink Negroni! We will be back!

Incredible restaurant! Our first time in Carmel and we happened to choose this place for dinner. We sat at the bar and both the food and service blew us away. The octopus appetizer and yellowfin tuna entree were exceptional. Julian and Timothy were also wonderful and helped guide our decisions with each course. We will be back here!! Loved every second.