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Carmel: Cantinetta Luca

Dolores Street , Phone: 831.625.6500
www.cantinettaluca.com

Reviewed by: Amy from MA, review #3171

When: 2009

Excellent Italian food in a stylish yet informal setting. Food in all price ranges, pizza to steak. Great antipasti, pizzas, pasta.

Directions: Between Ocean and 7th

We enjoyed our meal here. We began with two antipasti, some house-made salami and roasted mussels. Both were expertly done, very tasty. We gave our waiter our price range and general preferences on wine, and he selected a lovely bottle of a Piemonte wine.

The pizzas some of us ordered were great, with chewy, lightly-charred crusts and light toppings. The most "Italian" pizzas I've had outside of Italy. I liked my spaghetti with crab very much, and the Pappardelle Bolognese was also tasty. An apple crostada for dessert was delicious.

Reviewed by: JDeQ from Canada, review #2549

When: 2007

Cantinetta Luca offers casual, informal dining, featuring menu items such as delicious pizza, a dozen or so varieties of salumi and handmade pasta.

The restaurant offers casual, informal dining, featuring menu items such as delicious pizza, baked in an authentic, Italian, no gas, wood-burning pizza oven.

Luca also specializes in antipasti, a dozen or so varieties of salumi and handmade pasta. Whole fish and roasted meats are served family style. All of the presentations are simple and rustic; food prepared with fresh seasonal ingredients to bring out bold flavors.

The interior decor of Cantinetta Luca is antique/modern, inspired by the old refurbished buildings of Italy. The design is a blend of stone, brick and glass, chiseled wood and bright Italian colors. The decor features a barrel vaulted ceiling, brick and chiseled beams contrasted by superb contemporary furnishings and modern lighting all set off by rich colors and textures.

The only drawback is that the restaurant being very busy is also very noisy. Given that we were with Wendy and Rob, who clearly were well-loved regulars; we were seated at a more private table. Of course the special attention didn’t end there and we were to be treated with many other personal touches: special salumi on the antipasto platter, a glass of prosecco, and a glass of Brunello which the manager just happened to have sitting around opened.

The whole experience was amazing. The food and company was all perfect. The restaurant lists its closing time as 10 but it was 11 before we had left. As Paul and I walked back to the car he declared that the food was the best Italian food he had eaten outside of Italy – a high compliment that!

Reviewed by: Wendy and Rob from CA, review #2287

When: 2007

We have found a taste of Tuscany in every bite.

Directions: Downtown Carmel. Hwy 1 South, right on to Ocean Ave., heading West. Left on to Dolores, and on your right in the first block off of Ocean Ave.

Bar: Opens Daily at 12:00 - Bar Menu served until closing. Restaurant: Opens Daily at 12:00 noon. Lunch served from 12 - 2:30 pm. Dinner served Sunday - Thursday from 5:00 - 9:30 pm, Friday and Saturday until 10 pm.

New this past fall (2006) to the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel-by-the-Sea more specifically, is a restaurant where you will find a taste of Italy in every bite you take.

This very lively and extremely popular cantinetta cures their own salami, dry their own meats and make some of the pastas they serve. There is a full bar and a wine room with an extensive array of wines from every region and of every variety from Italy. There is a large selection of wines by the glass and even by the half glass with the theory that you can sample more than one or two if you choose.

We have eaten at Cantinetta Luca half a dozen times or so, in just the few months they have been open, and have our favorites from their current menu.

I have had the very luscious Pumpkin Ravioli in a brown butter, sage and Saba sauce a couple of times and we have shared the Bucatini Carbonara on all the other visits.

For our main course we made the mistake the first time by each ordering a dish and there was way too much food. Cantinetta Luca is set up for the main course to be served family style, serving 2-4.

We have found we love the Bistecca alla Fiorentina, a 24oz Prime T-bone steak which they drizzle with Santa Chiara Costa Dei Rosmarini extra virgin olive oil. The steak has been perfectly grilled each time and is served with a large bowl of mixed greens. This dish is right out of Tuscany.

The roasted chicken was very tasty and was enjoyed at the restaurant and the next day, after our first visit.

We have sampled a couple of the different Crostini which changes regularly, the Fennel Sausage, Anson Mills Rustic Polenta and Marinara starter and they had a tampanada sampler plate one night which was quite wonderful.

We’ve tried two of the pizzas, which are baked in a wood-burning pizza oven, Salsiccia-Broccoli Rabe, Zucchini, Fennel Sausage and Pecorino Cheese and their Margherita- with San Marzano Tomato, Mozzarella di Bufala and basil.

And to finish it all off there is a nice selection of desserts and after lunch/dinner treats.

The only negative I can come up with is that the restaurant is noisy, but that is part of the formula and what the owners wanted to create. It is less noisy early in the dinner hour and after eight.

We highly recommend Cantinetta Luca for whenever you are in Carmel, California. Enjoy!

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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