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Carmel-by-the-Sea's Best Restaurants that are most frequently booked by customers of Yafa Carmel-by-the-Sea
Ranked #5 in Carmel-by-the-Sea's Best Restaurants.
Yafa Carmel-by-the-Sea Yelp Reviews
Latest Reviews On Yelp
30 Reviews
0 Replys |
A restaurant should serve excellent food matched with
A restaurant should serve excellent food matched with personalized service while creating its own community. Add a Michelin star and you have Yafa in Carmel by the Sea. I have reviewed Yafa twice in the past and am compelled to write a third review after dining here two nights in a row!Dia, the owner has great pride in his restaurant as he helps greet, serve and engage his clientele. It is like coming back home to your village where you can feel at ease and be spoiled. Alex our server only aims to please with a strong knowledge of the menu and makes excellent recommendations. There are many Mediterranean style restaurants presently in Carmel. Yafa rises above as fine dining. The prosciutto appetizer, hummus, newly added artichoke salad, watermelon with Feta cheese and olive oil whetted our appetites. The prosciutto was lean and tasty. Our table loved the new artichoke salad. The vinaigrette dressing was a wonderful combination of citrus and artichoke mixture. It also had something a little spicy. I enjoyed the freshness of the watermelon with the saltiness of the Feta cheese and creaminess of the olive oil. The Yafa pasta was tasty and ordered by different members of our party' after tasting my dish the night before. And I could not help myself in that I ordered the rack of lamb two nights in a row. Cooked to perfection at medium rare, both tender and moist. It is a must order if you love lamb. We treated my mother here as she is half Greek and loves Mediterranean food. She wants to come back again!Thank you Dia and Alex for allowing us to break bread with you in your home. Yafa is superb!
Be the first to ReplyOne of the worst restaurant experiences we had in Carmel!
One of the worst restaurant experiences we had in Carmel! Crowded, loud, rushed, hectic - and this was with enough people to wait on tables and the owners in sight. But we had to ask for everything twice. (It was just me and my husband. Every other table was crowded with people. This restaurant cannot handle that kind of unpredictability so if you're a dos, forget about it. And, about the food: Appetizers were ok, but my entree - lamb kabobs - was inedible...tough, and almost choked on them. Ate around them, told the owners, and they took only 10% off the bill. NEVER again!
Be the first to ReplyI have nothing but negative things to say about yafa, it is
I have nothing but negative things to say about yafa, it is truly terrible. I am not a chef in the slightest, but I can make much better pasta with box pasta and prego pasta sauce then they can here. The service was below average and the cost came out to about $50 a person. Do not go here.
Be the first to Replynice little environment (kinda like an old house) very
nice little environment (kinda like an old house) very cool lamps. accommodating (we arrived at 9pm and were seated). wonderful truffle fries, very flavorful, side of olives (vegan ate it, said it was a delicacy) still water was crisp.i ordered the salmon, it was very good, a bit over salted in my opinion but i would definitely order again.roasted pear salad was fresh, flavorful, crisp. pears were delightful. it was really refreshing and bright.affogato was delectable (coming from a half italian and a quarter italian). overall this was a wonderful last minute spot for a romantic dinner, we would definitely recommend dining here
Be the first to ReplyI have eaten here before and the food was good, although
I have eaten here before and the food was good, although the last few times the quality has been hit and miss. Today my hummus and pita were flavorless. They are also now charging 3% to use a credit card! They don't tell you this, it is just added to the bill.
Be the first to ReplyOverall nice Mediterranean restaurant in Carmel.
Wanted to try this restaurant out as was recommended on the Michelin guide, and overall was tasty! Perhaps not 5/5 quality of food, but would come back. Be sure to get their cream dessert - surprisingly light but tasty in flavor!
Be the first to ReplyNot happy with this restaurant.
Busy holiday weekend and they call me two days before my reservation (that I also had to put money down for) and let me know that they decided to close for the day and are canceling the reservation. Now I have to scramble to make reservations on a busy weekend at another restaurant.
Be the first to ReplyWe had an early reservation, and they sat us by the window
We had an early reservation, and they sat us by the window near the sidewalk. It was the perfect spot. We had the Lebanese hummus, the Jerusalem, lentils, and we toped it off with the rack of lamb. Everything was fabulous. Then the owner Dia came by and introduced himself He was so kind and attentive. They really make sure you have a great time. I can't recommend this place enough!
Be the first to ReplyIn summary: small portions, AMAZING tomato cream sauce,
In summary: small portions, AMAZING tomato cream sauce, decent food but not worth the price. Found this restaurant via the Michelin Guide. We came here fairly late on a Monday night - would recommend going earlier for dinner as they may run out of some dishes by the end of the night! Service was quite fast and our server was very friendly :) We ordered the special appetizer, the vegetarian dolmas, and were not super impressed. The Santorini plate (we swapped the prosciutto for a vegetarian dip) was good but a small portion. We ordered the butternut squash ravioli with the tomato cream sauce instead of the standard brown butter, and the portion was much smaller than expected. However, the tomato cream sauce was the shining star of the experience, highly recommend. I literally licked the plate clean of the sauce. For dessert, we ordered the chocolate fudge cake which was decadent but honestly not too special in comparison to store-bought chocolate cakes. Overall we didn't dislike any of the food but the portions are small for the price.
Be the first to ReplyCame in last night looking for a nice dinner and chose this
Came in last night looking for a nice dinner and chose this restaurant, after a long day of travel. 2 adults, 1 7-year-old. We've been lucky! This is one of the really best Mediterranean restaurants I've ever visited in the US. Everything we have ordered, if it's the appetizers, the mains or the Beirut Pistachio Pudding (called simply Malabi where I'm coming from) was just perfect, signed out with awesome Turkish coffee and owner's contribution of Port wine. We will definitely come back again as the food not only was very well cooked, but also felt fresh and made from wholesome ingredients. If we will be around sometime again, we will visit this awesome restaurant, no doubt
Be the first to ReplyReturned to Yafa and we were so disappointed.
Food was mediocre at best and service was lacking. Server had to come back to table to ask what we had ordered. Grilled octopus was undercooked and entrees were nothing special in terms of taste or presentation. Extensive wine list by the bottle and glass, but that's about it. We won't return again. Not cheap and not worth it. Too many great spots to choose from.
Be the first to ReplyIncredible Mediterranean restaurant which happens to be a
Incredible Mediterranean restaurant which happens to be a Michelin restaurant! Wine is incredible to match with the main dishes. Fast service. Friendly owners.
Be the first to ReplyThe Mezza appetizer was fantastic! The specialty kabob was
The Mezza appetizer was fantastic! The specialty kabob was good too. The Yafa pasta was bland and the meatballs tasted like cinnamon. The waiter asked how it tasted and I told him it was bland and he said,"oh." We mentioned we would like the candle at our table lit and he joked about "lighting the roof on fire." He never lit our candle, everyone else including the vacant tables had lit candles except for ours...maybe they forgot about our candle, the waiter was nice and accommodating even if our candle wasn't lit.
Be the first to ReplyVery friendly owner and efficient staff.
Food is generally very good and we have tried many of the dishes ranging from kebabs to steak to pasta. Not always perfect on temperatures of the meat. We got a Kafta Kebob which was really undercooked and my last steak was somewhat over cooked. But overall, a really good place.
Be the first to ReplyExcellent food, superb customer service is what you will
Excellent food, superb customer service is what you will get coming to Yaffa. From the moment you fit fine, greeted with sparkling wine, you are made to feel welcome and special. Selections of appetizers can be a meal on their own. Hard to choose just one! The two we had were amazing!! Our entrees, lamb and meatballs were flavorful and cooked perfectly. We accompanied our meal with delicious Pinot noir and then was treated to port for a birthday toast with the owner. Birthday cake and a song closed our meal perfectly and we left full with packed away leftovers from a filling meal!
Be the first to ReplyWanted to like this place more.
Baba ganoush appetizer was solid. The steak was overcooked but the vegetables served with it were undercooked and too firm. Once we did not order wine or alcohol the staff seemed more interested in quickly turning our table over than in our dining experience.
Be the first to ReplyMediocre food at least for take out.
Tiny portions and expensive. I guess that CarmelAlso. Have a steak or pasta. The town is better suited for that kind of food. Fyi. I am from the Middle East !
Be the first to ReplyThis was such an amazing restaurant with the best
This was such an amazing restaurant with the best Mediterranean food in Carmel. The owner and staff were incredible and the food was delicious. We had the salmon, sole, pasta, ganouche and kabobs and everything was scrumptious!! Definitely try this over any other restaurant in Carmel and you won't be disappointed!!
Be the first to ReplyI took my boyfriend here for his birthday dinner.
We got the deep fried artichoke hearts, garlic truffle fries, the lamb shank special and the lamb raviolis. For dessert we got the pistachio pudding. Everything was incredible. 100/10. The atmosphere was excellent. We will be back for sure when we are here in Carmel again. Thank you for the great Service and food. Dinner tonight was the cherry on top for my boyfriends birthday.
Be the first to ReplyWe came here based on the Michelin Star review and it
We came here based on the Michelin Star review and it didn't meet our expectations.We ordered the following:Fried Artichoke Hearts - The seasonings were very good but unfortunately it was undercooked. We struggled to tear the leaves apart and it was so undercooked that we could barely eat any of the meat off the leaves. I felt like we wasted the artichokes not being able to eat much of it. I was going to return it to have them recook it but decided to just wait until we receive our next food item.Pear Salad - My husband had this and he said it was good and ate all of it; he didn't say anything particularly good or bad about it. I didn't try any of it as I was waiting for my grilled Octopus.After waiting 40 min since the Pear salad and no one acknowledging us during our wait and seeing others getting served who arrived and ordered after us, I waved the owner down and he knew why I waved him over without having to say anything. He apologized and ordered the Baba Ganoush appetizer while we continued to wait for our other 2 ordered items.Baba Ganoush - comp'd appetizerThis was fine but I think because we were already annoyed from having to wait longer for 2 dishes that shouldn't have taken long at all (i.e. eggplant and grilled octopus), we weren't really into this dish. I ate it only because I was hungry having only the uncooked artichoke appetizer. Grilled Octopus - This was probably the worse octopus I've tasted. I've had this same dish at other mediterranean restaurants and it wasn't tough, chewy and bland as it was here. There was absolutely no taste to it and it tasted fishy. I didn't get the same toughness and fishy taste at other restaurants. All I tasted was olive oil and oregano, no lemon and definitely no garlic despite it states this on their website.Teta's Eggplant Delight - This was very good (too bad we had to wait 50 min for this and seeing others who arrived and ordered after us received their rack of lamb first). It was obvious that those who ordered the more expensive entrees were accommodated first.It wouldn't have been so bad had someone (anyone) come to check on us from time to time knowing we were waiting but instead I had to wave the owner over. Not sure if we'll come back to try again but certainly it was not Michelin star rated,We are also in the restaurant business and certainly we would not have let our clients sit there waiting but one good thing is that their bus boy was very good in filling our water glasses and cleaning the tables when needed.
Be the first to ReplyAwful! Just do yourself a favor and chose another place.
Unless you want a mediocre chewy octopus (not sure if the other reviewers even ate at the same place), bland watery soup, bland Lebanese hummus and...wait for it....tasteless boiled mishmish (not!) chicken with a sprinkle of almonds swimming in tasteless watery sauce with a side of...you guessed it...tasteless rice and two boiled pieces of pumpkin. This was the worst meal I have ever had. Run!
Be the first to ReplyGreat ambience.
Food was delicious. The thing I appreciated the most was service. Different foods from the Mediterranean (from Turkey, Syria, Israel, Morocco, etc). I asked which part of the Mediterranean was the original and it is Levent, Turkey (I think that's how you spell it).Food: I appreciated that the dolmas were warm, I almost always have it cold and now that I've had it warm, I think I'd like warm from now on. The rice was rice. The tabbouleh was fresh. Can't tell if freshly chopped but it tasted like it was. The Aleppo kafta was good. The spices that are mixed in was subtle. I felt it was a little bit over cooked since it got a little dried up inside. Then you pair it with the tzatziki. Then you pair it with the feta/sun dried tomato. The highlight of the night was the feta/sun dried tomato. I believe it was meant to go with the bread but it was delicious with the kafta, nonetheless.Thank you for the great service.
Be the first to ReplyYafa is great! The customer service was superb, the Zataar
Yafa is great! The customer service was superb, the Zataar appetizer was outstanding. We will definitely come again. Highly recommend!
Be the first to ReplyThis place has potential but needs a little bit of focus
This place has potential but needs a little bit of focus and training. The ambiance is wonderful, convenient street parking outside too. The server seemed really new and anything we requested he simply said no to it. Hot sauce? No. Veggies? No. I'm gluten-free and before ordering, confirmed they could substitute pita for veggies with the baba ghanoush. It was a small portion, brought out with 6 slices of cucumber, which was overripe and old/soft. They charged $4 for that. The chicken kebabs were good and a good portion size too. Soup didn't seem freshly prepared.
Be the first to ReplyI forgot to take pictures of the food because I was too
I forgot to take pictures of the food because I was too busy devouring it. Every dish had such a great and distinct flavor profile and was SO delicious! The service was just as great and our family couldn't have had a nicer evening here. We cannot wait to go back!
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