We've been coming here for years, and Aabha is hands down the best Indian food in Carmel. Every…read moremeal is consistently fresh, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. We've honestly never had a bad experience. I also wanted to thank the staff for being so gracious and kind after a little mix-up yesterday. Your professionalism and genuine care meant a lot, and it's just another reason we'll keep coming back. Highly recommend to anyone looking for incredible Indian food and wonderful service!

My first Indian lunch buffet and it was a great experience! Aabha Indian Cuisine is located in the…read morebustling Barnyard Plaza and has bright yellow interior, gracious service, and good food. The lunch buffet consists of ~8 banquet style hot dishes ready to scoop, plus salad greens and unlimited fresh herby naan brought to your table. On the Friday we went options included fried onions, mushroom masala, tandoori chicken, butter chicken, mango pudding, yellow daal, basmati rice, and a chickpea curry. Everything was well spiced and flavorful without being too salty or spicy, and we really enjoyed soaking up all of the sauces with rice and naan. The naan had anise seeds and other herbs in it and was crispy and fresh from the oven. On the side we also ordered an eggplant dish and mango lassi and found both to be excellent, especially the mango lassi which was naturally sweet and creamy. Everytime you get more food you are to use a new plate so it's very hygenic. Service was so kind and accomodating especially as we had two little ones dining in our party. Naan always came out quickly and the professionalism of the staff makes it feel like an elevated restaurant experience.

Where do we begin? Let me stage the scene. Family of four. We have a 3 year old and a one year old…read more My wife and I have not gone out to a fine dining restaurant in over 6 months. You know how hard it is with a toddler and baby. But we also know the importance of bringing them. We were super excited to have an unbelievable steak dining experience. We were in Carmel for two nights and we researched this place to eat at. Upon arriving with our party of 6 everything was smooth. We put our order in and then what felt like over 90 minutes we were asked if we wanted our daughter's burger to come out first. Which we did. After some time there. The A5 Wagyu came out. The stone plate was pretty cool. As a matter of fact, our 3 year old had her first tasting experience with the A5. She absolutely loved it. And so did we! The actual timeline was sit down reservation at 6:15 and first A5 Wagyu to come out was 40 minutes later. Then a total of 90 minutes before our entrees came out. That was the time stamp on our food pics. Finally our order came out which was a porterhouse we ordered to split for two. It had the spinalus, and all the yummy with it! It was incredible. My friend ordered just the spinalus and said it was the best steak he's ever had. The food was definitely A+. What happened next brought the experience down to a 3 star. We paid for our deposit through the chase reserve portal using Tock prior to arriving for dinner. We opted to utilize our points since we saved way more by doing that. We paid a $300 deposit worth points. So in essence we should've received a bill with a minus $300 on it. When we received the bill, it did not have the $300 off from it. So I asked about it and they said they would take care of it. After a very long time, they came back and said they're trying to take care of it. After more time, one of the servers said to me, if I can pay the full price on the receipt and I will receive a refund in a couple of days. So we did. We didn't want to wait any longer. A couple of days later I sent an email and the owner responded with an email from that night that he was taking care of the situation. Apparently, Tock reservations that do not opt to accept points and cash deposits will have a hard time. And since Saltcraft accepts Tock reservations with only cash deposits, I was SOL. A couple days later I was refunded the points back to my account. The food was off the charts! We had a great time devouring the yummy in all those steaks! The servers and people taking care of us were super nice and seemed to care about our experience. Overall, we felt they could've addressed at the end with the time of order till the food came out with apologies. But there was no apologies. They just brought out the food. Then the amount of time not understanding what was going on with the bill. That could've been addressed. After writing an email to the owner, he apologized that their service wasn't timely. "I'm sorry that our leisurely service style for the meal and the lead time for our steak process wasn't a good fit for your family." That was his quote. We wish them good luck and no ill. Things happen and hopefully we all get better from it.

Best steak I've ever had! The steaks take 30-40 minutes to make so I recommend ordering them at the…read morestart of your meal, but it's worth it. They're seared with duck fat which gives it a great buttery taste, allowing you to taste the fatty flavor on cuts of meat that aren't the most fatty. The fries that go with each steak dish are also really good and go with the steaks. We had the cowgirl ribeye and spinellis steak. They were both good, I personally preferred the cowgirl ribeye since it had more fat. For the other portions of the meal, I really liked the sourdough bread they gave us. It tastes freshly made. The mushroom side that we ordered my husband really liked, but it wasn't my taste since it was a bit oily. The toffee bread pudding we didn't really like-it was too sweet, very small, and not very well presented. The cocktails we had were stellar. We had the paper plane, Rio de Janeiro, and Thai boxer. My favorite was the Rio de Janeiro; I was watching it being made and they squeeze fresh oranges into the drink. It was a good combination of orange juice and cream. The Thai boxer was good, although I did think it was a bit watery. The service was great and we had a lot of good recommendations from the staff. The restaurant had good ambiance and visually pleasing interior design. It's located in a shopping plaza with easily accessible parking as well. Note-if you come for your birthday or special occasion, they don't do anything extra like a dessert.

Great pizza and a very relaxed vibe. A perfect hidden treasure lunch spot in Carmel! Exactly what…read morewe were looking for after some beach time.

Incredible pizza and service! Highly recommend! The chicken garlic pizza especially was delicious.read more

After a long search for a dinner spot in Carmel by the Sea, we found Basil's menu and thought it…read morelooked delicious. I ordered the caprese salad and it didn't disappoint. We also got a pizza (the name is escaping me right now) and it was very tasty. The martini and beer were great also. The staff is very friendly and attentive, very personable service. The outdoor seating is also very nice....cute and peaceful. Definitely recommend for a great Italian food experience.

I would give 5 for the food, 4 for the ambience and 3 for the service. The squid ink pasta got a…read moreflavor of Venice. The calamari appetizer was healthy and tasty. We had reservations for 7:15pm for indoor. We didn't get seated till 7:45pm and outside. They moved us in reluctantly (even though there were spots) and it turned out to be colder than outside (since the table was close to the door and a cold draft kept coming in). The fresh food made up for the not so friendly service.

Such a cozy quiet spot in Carmel! A little hidden, a little dim, a lot of warmth :) Intimate space…read moreboth inside and outside, and even if fully packed I don't think it would interrupt the dining experience. My friend and I made a dinner reservation a couple weeks in advance, and it wasn't too crowded on Mother's Day weekend! Rucolina ($18): Salad to share, perfect amount for 2. Arugula, beets, Gorgonzola, candied walnuts are a classic combo and we polished it. Linguine Alla Pescatora ($45): I thought it was so funny two girls next to us ordered this to share, but my friend ate it all by herself LOL. A huge dish of seafood, they don't skimp! I tried a mussel and the sauce was excellent. Gnocchi (small $22, large $44): I was hesitant about ordering gnocchi because I never like the gnocchi I've ordered at other Italian restaurants. Never thought me a gnocchi snob, but here I am. But other reviews raved about Il Tegamino's gnocchi (our waitress included) so I did it. Ok fine it's the best gnocchi I've ever had. Pillowy soft, straight out of the oven, still sizzling and bubbling when it was placed in front of me. It was cheesy and potatoey without either flavor overpowering the other, and the mushroom truffle sauce is IT. It needs the sauce. I ordered the large and had leftovers to share with my mom, but you bet I could've finished it. I would come back just for this! We picked this place expecting it to be a treat and a bit of a splurge, so we expected the prices. Our server was lovely; my friend loves sweeter white wines but a Moscato wasn't on the menu. She disappeared into the kitchen and came back out with a heavy pour of Moscato and my friend loved it! I first thought it was bold of her to assume she'd want the full glass but she was right :)

Tucked away from the main street, it is kinda of an intimate and more quiet spot to avoid the…read moretourists crowd. The outdoor patio is super cute, but we were inside; the lights are soft and the place small so the feel of intimacy is there. The food is good, the salad was fresh and the linguini has a ton of seafood; maybe slightly over cooked for my taste, I am Italian and i want my pasta al dente Keep spaces for the dessert, you must try the sorbets because besides being super refreshing, they are as italian authentic as they could be (every pizzeria in italy has them).

Great food, I really like the tri-tip and pastrami tri-tip and it comes with a nice size salad for…read morea good price

The one star is for the organic lettuce. This is an absurd operation... as I sit here at the…read morerestaurant writing this review I have been waiting for our check for 30 minutes. Oh I could ask for the bill, but it's more fun to watch the two workers on deck make and eat their salads... they are both literally sitting at a table right now eating lunch while I sit here with my sister with dirty plates in front of us and empty iced tea glasses. I'm dying to see what the damage is on the check... the salad bar is a fraction of what the Bay Park used to offer. The produce is fresh, it's good, but there is nothing amazing. And it's half of the size.... The other half is filled with 6 bread rolls and two tins of dried out focaccia. Most salad bar lovers lean vegetarian so I was confused by the HAM and lentil soup, but that could just be me. For a sweet bit of fun, they put out some apples and oranges... really? I'm not a big dessert eater but I think this lacks something to be desired as well. Now if you'll excuse me I'll go ask for that check! #WTH Update: $16 for one trip to the Salad Bar.

I stopped by here for lunch while attending a conference nearby and found it to be within…read moreexpectations of a California Pizza Kitchen experience. Inside, the decor is in your standard CPK style, but it was clearly an older building, with all the booths having some sort of damage and overall appearing faded. Several groups of local patrons were eating, and there was full number staff present. I appreciate that service was pretty quick. We were able to order from the Lunch Duos menu which is available from 11am-4pm Monday-Friday. *Original BBQ Chicken Pizza (7"): The most popular pizza from CPK, this one was very standard in terms of flavor and amount of chicken. I was surprised at how thick the crusts were for the 7" pizzas. *Thai Crunch Salad with Avocado: I actually liked this salad the most of the four dishes ordered. The greens were fresh, there was a decent amount of chips, and the peanuts and dressing created a nice tangy balance that felt light when eating it. You have to pay more to add the avocado, but the amount they give is fair and the avocado was fresh. *Brisket Burnt Ends Pizza (7"): This is one of the more recent pizza types CPK came out with a while back. There was a good amount of brisket, though some of it slightly dry. The meat is a little sweet, and I think the addition of the red onions complements it really well. *Sedona Tortilla Soup: The tortilla soup was thick and came topped with tortilla chips. You can taste the green tomato and some mild chillies, but overall not the most memorable for me. Overall, I think this is a fine place to stop by when you need a quick meal, and there's a decent amount of options to choose from. If I was in the area and wanted to sit down for a quick bite, I would consider coming back.

9.5/10 Absolutely…read moreamazing thin-crust pizza! We ordered the Margherita Pizza and the Five Cheese Fresh Tomato, and both were unique and incredibly enjoyable. The Margherita Pizza was a classic done right, tomato sauce topped with diced fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and freshly grated Parmesan. The crust was perfectly thin and crispy, and the flavors were simple but spot-on. The Five Cheese Fresh Tomato Pizza was the standout and our favorite of the two. We added mushrooms, which took it to the next level. It tasted like it had a light cream sauce and was loaded with mozzarella, gouda, Monterey Jack, and Romano. Rich, flavorful, and highly recommended. This pizza will not disappoint! Both pizzas were thin crust, crispy, and cooked perfectly. Service was fast and efficient, even though the place was busy. The ambiance was lively, and the staff was attentive throughout. Overall, a great experience we'll definitely be back!