The Pocket

First time eating here. The food and service was excellent. Never felt rushed but also well attended to. We enjoyed the Brioche baked in skillet with sugarcane butter and smoke salt, the crispy calamari and roasted carrot bisque. All very well done, flavors were perfectly balanced. Main course was butternut squash ravioli and braised lamb in Yorkshire pudding with creamed potatoes. Again everything was done just right. We will be back.

Fantastic restaurant in Carmel. Service very good and passionate about the food and drinks. Cocktails were really good as was the wine list (varied). We ate on a Saturday night and the atmosphere was buzzing. As for the food, it was all excellent. The menu is really good and they have a list of specials with 3-4 starters and mains.

My wife and I were looking for a new spot to try in Carmel and we decided on this place. I saw some negative reviews but after our experience it’s one of our new favorite restaurants in town. The food was amazing and I like how they offered some unique things that I haven’t seen before. Then the service was just as amazing. We brought in a special bottle of wine and our server took great care of opening it and serving it. I highly recommend giving this place a try! Also, the cocktails were great!

Five for dinner. Portions are medium-sized. Fish was about 6oz. Photos are in order 1. Striped bass, prepared with skin on. I asked for the sauce on the side. Without the sauce, the bass was somewhat fishy and was served with sliced, purple potatoes. 2. Black cod. Flavorful sauce with a bit of spice. 3 Spicy crab noodles - yes, spicy with a lot of flavors. 4. Scallops, nicely prepared, grilled served with hush puppies. 5. Curried chicken with rice was the largest of the portions. 6. Flourless chocolate cake? A large marshmallow.... very sweet. Service was great, we weren't rushed. Atmosphere was open, light & crisp. Food...the fish was prepared properly, still moist and flaky. All menu entree prices were upper $30 - $65. Each of our meals were mid-$40's.

So this restaurant was recommended to us by our driver. We made reservations and went to experience what the hype was all about. We started with the pea greens salad and it was so yummy. The mains came, I had the halibut and my partner had the wagu short ribs. His was really tasty from what he claims but my halibut was a bit dry. We finished with the berry bread pudding…. AMAZING!!! My take is that the $44 plate is really expensive for dry fish. $14 for a glass of perseco and $25 for a glass of wine….. a little much. I do realize we are in Carmel but I would have tried another spot had I known. Well worth the try….. just expensive.

The outside seating area is nice with lots of heat lamps. I don't think the servers were happy to serve us outside though. Salads were good, black cod was fishy, curried butternut squash ravioli were over-curried to the point of being inedible. Mentioned this to the server who said "well, they are curried ravioli". She should have credited our bill, especially for a $30 plate. Prices are very high, as they are in Carmel. It's one thing when the food is good. Save your money on this one.

This is the most underrated restaurant in Carmel. When in Carmel, just go to The Pocket. I honestly feel most of the restaurants on the ocean street are over hyped. But Pocket is the one I would highly recommend which is couple blocks away from ocean street. They have amazing drinks and top notch service. This easily belong on Michelin guide.

The ambiance, service, and food were top notch. The dog friendly part made it even better. The waiting staff was attentive and knowledgeable about the menu and was able to give amazing recommendations. The fireplace and water feature was a great sight. The acoustics and audio set up with ambient music made it so any other conversations are muffled and blend in the background. Prices were extremely reasonable for the portions and quality of food. Definitely a great place to spend after a day at the beach.