Yafa - Mediterranean restaurant in Carmel-By-The-Sea - Junipero St &, 5th Ave NW, USA

I would give this place a 4.5 stars. The service was very friendly and helpful. I ordered the Lebanese Hummus and the Rack of Lamb. I think the Hummus was way too small of a portion for the price. As an individual it’s fine, but for sharing it’s not enough. The Rack of Lamb was cooked perfectly, the mashed potatoes were very good, the spinach was bland and mediocre. Could have had a better side other than the spinach. When I received my order, there was a lamb chop that didn’t have any meat on it. For $40 I expected at least 4 full chops. I mentioned this to the server, and they quickly gave me another much larger one, so they really take care of you. Overall I would come here again. The food needed a bit more salt, but other than that, it was good.

What a wonderful experience! I first learned of Yafa at the Taste of Carmel. Two weeks later, I decided to try dinner. It did not disappoint! We ordered the Mezza platter which had a plethora of Mediterranean delights! Kalamata olives, two kind of hummus, feta, cucumbers, tomatoes, grilled artichokes and all the pita you could imagine! Unfortunately, we ate most of the plate before I remembered to take a photo ;) I also ordered a glass of the House Pinot Noir. It complimented every course of my meal nicely! Next I had the grilled pear salad. I loved the chat on the pear! It was delicious! For my entree, I had the combo kebab with lamb and chicken. The meats were succulent and flavorfull. We ended the meal with a slice of chocolate cake. It had the perfect balance of chocolate and sweetness. If you love Mediterranean cuisine, please try Yafa!

My husband and I shared the babaganoush appetizer and grilled artichoke salad which were both specials and were delicious. The butternut squash ravioli and chicken kebab entrees were superb. The evening we were there, the owner was the host and waiter for the whole restaurant and he did a great job keeping up.

Our experience here was a perfect 5 stars. We came to Carmel for the weekend from SF and chose to spend our Saturday night at Yafa - couldn’t be more glad we did! The restaurant ambience is much more charming than the photos online suggest. We started with the grilled pear salad, and it was absolutely delicious and fresh. For the main, we split Grandma’s meatballs - 10/10. The meatballs themselves were SO good and well balanced (still thinking about them the next morning) and the stewed vegetables were equally great. For dessert, we split the Dates. They were buttery, rich, and so yummy with the walnuts. Highly recommend Yafa - the perfect date night!

Food is good, nothing special though. I’ve eaten the same dishes in Greece, Turkey and UAE and here they don’t taste like the same. Baklava, unfortunately, is very far from the original recipe. Overall it’s too expansive considering what we’ve eaten (28$ for a roasted cauliflower?), and I think that it’s only because of the location..

We didn't have a reservation and we were sat right away, which was great. Except that we were sat at a table with someone's coat over the chair and shoes under the table. The server went to 2 tables that came in after us before even acknowledging us. The steak was way over cooked but they did offer to take it off the check

Been here twice and the food were delicious. I enjoyed the lentil soups, salad and the mixed grilled they offered. The Baklava were excellent!!

Nice wine, average food, good hummus and salmon, disappointing overcooked rice and eggplant dish. Excellent dates dessert. Cool ambient, but a little too squeezed together tables. Very fast delivery and much attendance from friendly staff. For our European liking it was too much attendance, almost pressure like to do everything fast and confirm your happiness, but maybe it was just a cultural difference.