Cottage Restaurant — Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea

We are visiting the area for my sons birthday. We walked over and there were about three people in what seemed to be a line. I asked the process they said they had already put their name on the list. So I went in and the little short lady was running around so I asked. "Excuse me Ma'am is there a list?" She went toward another table so I thought perhaps she didn't hear me. Another man came in and spoke to a guy that was also working there. They spoke in Spanish and the man who worked there told the guy they were busy but he would be able to get a table for him and his friend. the guy who came in went back out side. The place is so small you can hear a lot from the entrance. The lady passed me again and I asked if I needed to be on a list. She looked at me and said, "You don't have a reservation?" I said, "no ma'am I didn't know I needed one. Outside they said to put my name on a list." "Well you need one" she stated walking away. I asked the man inside who had spoken to the guy in Spanish. "She said you need a reservation, is that true?" He nodded and said "Yes. Yes you do." "But you just told that guy you could get him a table for him and his friend." I replied. Obviously he didn't know I understood Spanish. "I'm sorry ma'am you need a reservation." He said turning away from me. There were four of us. There were open dirty tables outside and at least two open tables inside. I work in hospitality so I understand being busy, but lying and rude service or only serving certain people is ridiculous. There are many places to eat herein this little town. We ended up Walking to Café Carmel which was busy but they were just so dern nice! At Café Carmel we had delicious pastries, yummy French toast, lattes and great service. This place looked appetizing from the pictures and some reviews but service matters. Perhaps they need to learn how to handle stress or rushes. If they just focus on certain people and not newcomers, good service to all I guess doesn't matter. We would have waited as it was a lovely day and we are vacationing. But the experience was not worth us spending our money here. It is just so very unfortunate and I would encourage anybody to go...

During the last day of our recent Carmel visit, my wife and I enjoyed breakfast at the Cottage Restaurant. We had heard good things about this restaurant and were eager to give it a try. It did not disappoint! We started off with coffee and I ordered a Mimosa. My wife ordered an omelette. The Cottage Restaurant has a selection of ingredients that can be added to the omelette; one can choose three ingredients and any extra over three are $1.25 each. My wife chose the cheddar cheese, bell peppers, and mushrooms. The dish came with cottage potatoes and she ordered toasted sourdough as her bread selection. I chose the breakfast burrito. As with the omelette, one can choose three ingredients, and I chose cheddar cheese, ham, and bacon. The burrito also came with cottage potatoes. The portions were generous and we were both pleased and full! Service was great, not too intrusive, and the staff was very friendly. Recommended for a hearty, tasty breakfast. Apologies for the somewhat...

This is a great little restaurant with very good food and great service. We had pancakes, eggs, bacon and the Benedict. It’s a limited menu but if you find something you want it’s probably going to be delicious. Space is limited and seating can be cramped yet the food would be worth it if not for the other interior conditions. The major problem I have is the extremely old and worn out interior condition. This place needs upgrades now. The carpet is worn and stained, even sticky in places. My son sat on a bench seat with very old pillows as back cushions. When we got up to leave his black shirt was covered with tiny white feathers. It was so bad we couldn’t get them all off and had to return to the room so he could change. I spoke to the owner who acknowledged the problem and said she would get them cleaned. These pillows are done. Cleaning won’t solve this problem. Until this cool little joint upgrades their interior we...