We were seated on the deck with a view of the Pacific . We watched the grey whales and the dolphins through the binoculars provided by the restaurant. The food was outstanding and beautifully served. Try the crab cakes - that are actually all crab! It was very hard to leave. The restaurant is close to the town of Carmel and the ride down the cost to the Highlands is spectacular. read more

Spectacular view and wonderful food served professionally. Wife and I dined here twice during our stay at Hyatt Highlands Inn, which indicates that we like this place a lot. This restaurant had ups and downs in food quality and service but never the spectacular view of the ocean. In the last couple of years, the food and service have been on an upward curve befitting the view. They have a full bar and made authentic East Coast martini for me, and wife had a good chardonnay for drinks during out second visit. We both had kier royale at the first visit, which was too sweet - should have specified dry. During first visit, wife had the oysters on half shell, Caesar salad, and dayboat scallops and pork belly, and I had the octopus appetizer, California salad, and fillet Rossini with foie gras for the main course. The oysters were fresh and delicious, and the octopus was so wonderfully flavored and cooked right that wife decided to have it the second time instead of the Caesar salad. The scallops with belly were delicious as was the fillet Rossini cwith foie gras (cooked just right as ordered- rare), such that we ordered the same dishes the second time as well as the two octopus appetizers. They were all just as delicious as the first time! The service by the same waitress on both nights was friendly, reasonably prompt, and professional. Having a delicious dinner with a good drink here, watching the setting sun over the Pacific Ocean is one of life's precious pleasures. read more

Excellent meal, all the way around. Can't beat the view, excellent food in taste and presentation, with great service. We'll be back!

My wife and I have eaten at The Pacific Edge many times over the years, with the exception of last year. We ate there in late July of this year. What a change and not for the better. I learned they have a new chief. The view is great, but the food was very average. My wife started with a crab appetizer, which was tasteless, and we felt that the crab was less then fresh. My appetizer was also tasteless. When I mentioned this to the waiter he told me other people liked it, I felt his response was defensive and not appropriate. We both thought the main course was good, but not memorable. The deserts were less the inspiring. Wy wife had a creme brulee which was bland. I had a chocolate hazel-nut mouse with ice cream. There was only one hazel-nut. It reminded me of a desert that you would get in an all you can eat buffet. The service was less then one would expect. We ordered a brussel sprout salad and when the waiter brought the main course I reminded him of the order. When he brought it we were about half was finished with the main course. The salad was so salty that we did not finish it. The dinner cost $175.00 and that was with %15 off because we were staying at the hotel. We did not have any wine. There are many good restaurants in Carmel, and at one time,in my opinion, The Pacific Edge was the best. That is no longer true. read more

This is my go to move for when guests are in. I L O V E this place. My husband and I moved here from Virginia in December and so far we have eaten here three times. We always call ahead and reserve a sunset table for 630. Even when it's cloudy, the view is just amazing. The service is excellent. Everyone from the hostess (who always compliments my outfits!!) to the server who's sole job is to fill my water glass, it's just the most friendly and relaxed upscale dinning I have been to. The wine list is extensive and the bar is excellent. This is the only place where I will order lamb chops (I do every time) and it's absolutely perfect. The chef is very nice and will come out to greet you if you request to see him. All in all it's California style hospitality........ everyone is just so relaxed! I plan on eating there at least three more times this year and I must say, it is the only place I can justify spending 200-300 each time I visit. I L O V E.... this place!!! read more

Great view, food and service. I've been going here for almost 10 years. It has never let me down. The view is amazing (they even provide binoculars to the deck patio tables). The food is tasty, seasoned with fresh herbs and spices. The service is accomodating and you can sit there for over an hour without the push out the door. Great place for a romantic date or for families - works for most occasions. A hidden gem that is still unspoiled. read more

My boyfriend and I were driving down highway 1 and sightseeing. We had heard the view so unbelievable amazing, and that we had to have a drink at the restaurant. The restaurant is at the Highlands Inn. You will first see valet parking, but there is also a self-park lot. We were there at about 4 pm, which I know is a transitional time in a restaurant between lunch and dinner, so I'll forgive the weird-ish vibe in there. Though, I find that hotel restaurants often have a kind of awkward atmosphere. The view CANNOT be beat though, so I have to recommend going there, at least for a drink. Caveat, it's very expensive--wine, by the glass, is between $12 and $20! read more

Food was good and they moved us to a better table. An all around great dining experience. Price was in line with quality and service.

This place is delicious and the views are amazing!!!!!!!! I had the grilled cheese, soup and salad. We used a restaurant.com certificate to help with the price of the meal. If you can, get there a bit early for lunch in order to snag an outside seat (or one near the window). The atmosphere is a semi-casual and very relaxing. I definitely recommend going! read more

I'm surprised Pacific's Edge doesn't have a better rating. My husband and I love to come here for special occasions when we can splurge (a lot) and drive down from San Jose! The views are amazing and we've always had a great table to enjoy them. The first time we came was in August for our anniversary and then in October for my husband's birthday. If we return to a restaurant we normally like to try something else but I think we had the same meal (or at least appetizer) the two times we've been here - it was that good. We highly recommend the abalone appetizer. I also appreciate the staff - they are attentive but not overbearing and don't rush you out for another sitting. And now I'm craving a fabulous super expensive meal I cannot afford at the moment....but it's so yummy! read more

Great food and views is what you will find here. It was good to come back after 6 years and find that everything was just as great when i left town. My only complaint is they are now closed at dinner. I guess they were cutting in on the hotel's own upscale restaurant at night. read more

Great views and beautiful restaurant. Went there for thanksgiving dinner. Food was so so and so was the service. Had to ask for water and silverware at least twice. It was extremely busy so I will cut them some slack. My turkey was good but Luke warm. Other entrees were good. The pork belly and kampachi second course were excellent. Dessert was mediocre. Worse dinner I have had on this trip so far. read more

My husband and I took visiting friends for Valentine's Day and felt so ripped off! $125/person not including wine and their added 18% gratuity meant a very expensive meal that was just not worth it. The appetizer choices were good but the portions were very small and the entry nothing that exceptional. My friends scallops although tasty had only two which were served over a tiny amount of greens. The other friend ordered the fish which again was so small. There was no dessert selection, passion cake was the choice for the evening. What a disappointment, six tiny tastes of sorbet and we were not even sure we tasted the passion cake. Coffee was offered after the dessert was eaten but otherwise the service was very attentive. We never mind spending good money for dinner but it better feel like we've gotten an exceptional meal creatively prepared for our money. So including a $65 bottle of wine and $750.00 later no wonder we felt ripped off. read more

Dinner for two valentines day. $125 per person plus a $65 half-bottle of wine. Total bill of $400, because 57% gratuity included. Okay that's fine. I sign the check. My bank statement shows $485. Eventually I was able to get a hold of staff and ask, their only response was that it "might" be a security deposit so I have to now keep checking on it. Two days later ANOTHER $485 charge shows up. WTF?! So now I'm $900 in the hole. These guys will take you for a ride. Be warned. read more

It was great to have a table near a window with a view of the ocean. There is a patio also. Not too many tables with a ocean view. I recommend asking for a ocean view when making reservations. The food was excellent. I had the hash and eggs. simple menu. The mimosas were a bit pricey $12 but mama liked them so that's all that matters. about $20 a plate with beverage. I needed a side of extra potatoes( I was hungry).The restaraunt upstairs was really pricey($40-50 a plate) and everyone has a view of the ocean. For the price The laid back atmosphere and great service was perfect for us. read more

Excellent place, food is fabulous as well as view from deck. Do not be fooled by dated Hyatt exterior this is no hotel restaurant. Excellent salads , sandwiches, best lunch i had in all of Carmel. read more

If you like elevator music, the Cocoon movie and hotel food, this is your place. Our mistake was that we went for dinner after the sun was down. We were told the restaurant has fabulous views, but since it was dark we ended up staring at our rejection for two hours in the glass window. Food was just ok. One appetizer, two entrées, a side of Asparagus, and a $35 1/2 bottle of wine ran us $170. We were disappointed. On a positive note, the octopus appetizer was delicious. read more

You cannot beat the view here. Fantastic! Food and service is a B, atmosphere and setting is an A.

Had dinner there last night with my girlfriend for her birthday. My review is going to sound nit-picky but for what this place pretends to be, sloppy service and mediocre food is not acceptable. First, we felt rushed to order...there is never a good reason for this. I was asked if I was ready to order, and I said I wanted to wait, three times. We ordered an appetizer and wanted to enjoy the sunset before ordering our entree, this apparently did not fit in to our server's agenda. Our appetizer arrived and was very disappointing. (The server who dropped the food asked "can I bring you guys anything else?") Who refers to a lady as a guy?. The tuna tartar was maybe one and a half ounces total. I understand including caviar justified the $18 price tag but why was the caviar dry and crunchy? Is this a technique I am not familiar with? If this was intentional it should be on the menu as such. In decades of fine dining I have never been served caviar that crunched like tiny cheerios with no milk. When ordering entrees I asked what the lamb was served with, I was told vegetables. I asked what kind and the response was "assorted". The server mentioned it was served with squash, an item I did not prefer. He graciously offered mashed potatoes instead. I accepted. I did not realize that the lentils, yogurt and curry pickled leeks were also going to be left off the plate . Why? I only mentioned the squash. (My menu was removed while we were eating our appetizer so I had no reference other than the knowledge of my server) We do not drink wine or alcohol so my only beverage was water. My glass emptied and I watched as my server passed my table at least 8 times without offering a refill; clearly looking at the table. My glass was completely empty. Empty with no other beverage at all. This is so lazy it's hard to imagine. My glass was refilled only when my date asked for a refill of her beverage (asked, her empty glass did not prompt an offer). When our appetizer was cleared the server took my date's appetizer knife and left all other appetizer silver on the table for the rest of the meal. The entree silver was brought in the server's hand with no service towel or mis en place, clutched and imparting hand oils, placed on the table with the appetizer silver. Additionally, the straw wrapper for my date's beverage sat on the table during the entire meal. The aged steak was good, the duck was acceptable. The sauce I was asked if I wanted on the side (I assumed it was squash related as it was during that exchange the SOS option was offered) was not a sauce at all but a glaze. Glazes should be glazed, otherwise they are just unfinished syrups. It was like putting maple syrup on my duck breast. Very poorly done. After refusing dessert menus our check was dropped. I was not offered coffee service and I did not ask for the check. At no point was there acknowledgement that we were there for a special occasion even though I noted that on my reservation (I wasn't looking for a free dessert but past experience shows a candle in a small cookie or some token is usually appropriate). The view was great and the staff pleasant. It was pretty obvious the food quality was not a concern to management and whoever is in charge of service training, well, needs some training. The sunset was beautiful. I f you are a tourist, go, spend a bunch of money, enjoy the view. If you are a local, avoid at all costs. read more

We had gone to the lounge several times for sunsets and cocktails and finally splurged on the restaurant for a birthday celebration. It was spectacular! The food was imaginative and fresh and the service was outstanding! The sommelier had amazing suggestions within our price range and it really enhanced the meal. Beautiful restaurant! read more

We went here for our eleventh anniversary and overall we had an enjoyable evening. The view was exceptional. We had no complaints about the service. The waiter was prompt and helpful. The food was excellent (I had the fish of the day and my husband had the filet mignon), and the pricing and portions were as expected for this class of dining. Our desserts came out with candles and the words "Happy Anniversary" which was a nice surprise. The only complaint is that it was quite noisy in the restaurant, like unexpectedly, distractingly so. Instead of a quiet dinner, we had to talk over a dozen very loud, self-absorbed parties. Aside from the noise, it was quite nice. read more

Beautiful views! The food was good, but service was a bit slow. They have fresh baked break and delicious seafood. Regardless, all worth it for the amazing view if you sit outside. read more

We ate here on 1/3/16. As happy as I am to call Highlands Inn our home resort I'm extremely disappointed that this is their flagship restaurant and the lack of SERVICE as well as the mediocre menu is unacceptable in my opinion if I'm comparing their standards to other Hyatt Residence Properties that we've visited in the past. The highlight of our meal was the views, bread and wine but honestly I wish we would have just stopped there because it was all down-hill after that. We had a reservation for 6:30pm Sun night and we were seated immediately. I ordered the KC Bone-In NY Strip (Med Temp) and my wife ordered the Salmon, and both of my kids had the Chicken Tenders & Fries. Both my wife and I decided to split the Potato Au Gratin as a side. As the food was delivered I immediately cut into my steak and noticed that it had been prepared at a Med Well/Well Temp. I politely asked the waitress before she even had the opportunity to leave our table what she felt the steak looked like. She responded with "It's looks well-done to me and I just don't understand why our cooks cannot cook it at the desired temp". She politely asked me if I would like another and I said yes Please. The kids are eating, I express to my wife don't wait on me and enjoy your meal while it's hot. A solid 10 mins goes by with NO apology from the Manager on Staff (Bastian DeWinter) and our waitress comes over and informs me that my steak should be out any moment and the manager comes over and introduces himself. My wife ask both the manager and our waitress if they're waiting on my steak to bring out the side of Au Gratin that we had ordered. The Manager (Bastian DeWinter) burns off as though he didn't even hear the question. Our waitress says OH MY, let me check on that for you. I had earlier informed the manager when he first approached our table that I was very Disappointed to be spending this kind of money and not be able to enjoy my meal with my family. Another 5-7 mins passes and my steak finally arrives with our side of Au Gratin Potato's. Kids are finished eating at this point, my wife has finished and I'm eating a terribly dry/seasoned $54 KC Strip that I could have done better with at a TX Roadhouse. At this point, I'm mad, frustrated but trying to remain calm as I didn't want to create a scene in a very empty, quiet dining room. Our server brings the bill (Full Tab) and my wife just about loses it. The waitress comes over and my wife informs her that due to what had happened as much as she didn't want to affect the servers gratuity that we felt inclined to do so based off how the dinner was conducted. The Manager must have noticed that something at our table was going side-ways because he decided to grace us with his presence for a second time and had the nerve to ask what the issue was. At this point we pretty much laid into him, let him have it and expressed all the reasons that we were frustrated with the meal. There was a no I'm sorry, I apologize, what can we do to make things better, he (Bastian DeWinter) literally just burned off and said NOTHING. If there was ever a classic example of a conflict avoider this guy fits the bill. It is a shame because it really is a beautiful ambiance. I have a feeling that the manager running this establishment has something to do with how empty this place was. read more

We used to live in Monterey and have eaten at this restaurant 5-6 times. It was always fantastic with great service & views so when we recently visited the peninsula, we made a reservation. We couldn't wait to eat there and were looking forward to wonderful meal. To say we were disappointed would be an understatement!! I don't know what has happened but the food was average at best and the price was outrageous for what we got. We were a party of 5 and no one in our group was happy with their food. This included appetizers, main course & dessert. We spent over $500 and after the meal, I was actually angry at what we got (or didn't get). Really felt like we got taken. I've had much better meals for half this price. I don't mind spending $500 on a great dinner and that's what I expected but that's not what we got. I won't go into detail (see OK's review for those because he's spot on) but we'll never go back. I was indignant and still am two days later. Charging that kind of money for a fine meal in a beautiful setting is one thing but charging that and delivering below average food is unacceptable. Sad that this fine restaurant has slipped to this level. Have a drink in the bar to enjoy the view and then head to one of the many fine restaurants on the peninsula. read more

Well, as you can see by my previous review...J.P. is no longer with the company. We went & decided to have a drink and appetizer..we asked for randall and they said they did not know of anyone of that name. What a complete joke. Randall said to come in and he would take care of us...as I said...we do not want anything we just wanted to let you know how awful it was. The valet lost our car keys...the hostess was rude again as was the bartender and other man hostess..or whatever his job title. When I spoke with JP I just wanted to let him know that it was so bad...service is everything...and you eat with your eyes at first. I just wanted to make them away of the totally unprofessional place...and it is Hyatt owned. Hey, all places have off-nights, but 2 times in a row and I did not even say who we were. Never going back. Rude staff, food was cold again, just not cool for a place that is so pretty. No wonder only 2 other customers were dining. read more

We decided to eat here since we were staying at the highlands. They were able to accommodate us without a reservation since it was a Monday night. We were sat at a table and ignored for 10 minutes, no offer of water, no bread and there were 2 different busboys standing around doing nothing. Finally a rather snooty sommelier came over to us. The wine list in my opinion was obnoxious, celebrating everything but California wines unless it had an inflated price attached to it. Our waiter finally came over and did not even apologize for his lack of service, not even a glass of water. Never saw a manager and our waiter did not do anything to make up for the fact that we waited 10 minutes for a glass of water or his acknowledgement of our existence at one of his tables. I did not expect a discount or free desert but I did expect an apology. Instead he spent the entire meal acting as if it never happened! No apology, no acknowledgement, not even a blaming the lack of service on the hostess. It was as if it never happened, even after we told him point blank we were annoyed. The food was good, not great. We had short ribs that were tasty but not succulent or remarkable in any way. The tuna tartar was ok but the ceviche was excellent. The desserts were great, top notch and we ordered coffee to go with them, but we were nearly finished with our desserts long before our coffee was served. That same inattentive and clueless waiter David didn't even notice or acknowledge the poor timing. Overall, for the price, I would've expected to be treated better and would've expected more remarkable food or at least a more attentive diner focused experience. read more

We had one of the most disappointing meals for a special event ever today. I booked a reservation online for my mom's birthday lunch. When we arrived it appeared that the girl working at the front didn't care that we had a reservation and/or they were unprepared for any reservations because no tables were set up even though the restaurant wasn't all that full. She wanted to put us at a table in the back corner near the front/on the way to the restrooms even though the rest of the inside only had people at about 2 or 3 tables. We asked to be moved and were moved to another table inside. From this point on we waited for probably about 20 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us. The manager came over to take our drink order while we were completely ignored by the 2 servers working. Other guests came and were being helped by the female server and guests that came in after our party were done with their food and gone before our food arrived. No one came to refill our drinks. Our server had an annoyed/arrogant attitude. When our food arrived about an hour and 20 minutes after we arrived the fries were cold. I expressed to both the manager and our server how unpleasant the service and our experience had been. The server was barely apologetic and just told me they were short staffed. The manager was nice and tried to make it better by taking 20% off our bill but by that point the experience was completely ruined and I was just embarrassed that we had chosen this restaurant for my moms special birthday lunch. I appreciate the managers apology and his attempt to make it right but it just fell short and was too little, too late. This restaurant clearly has many operational issues that need to be addressed and their wait staff need to be coached to have a better attitude. read more