Dametra Cafe — Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea

If there's ever a place that serves food that's to die for and celebrates its customers/patrons like the way Bashar and co do at Damietta cafe, please do let me know!!!

They take special pride in celebrating their customers and their day ( we witnessed a couple birthday celebrations where I haven't seen it been done this way till date ) as if it was for one amongst their team/familia.

We got in a bit later in the night and got our names down to be seated at the bar. In less than 5-7 minutes we got a call and got seated comfortably on the bar stools next to their cozy little corner bar.

Amir would be our server/host for the evening and made our experience further awesome as he aptly described how each of our dinner/desert choices that we made, were prepared , celebrated the birthdays for the evening by playing an instrument and being an amazing human overall.

We started with an order of the Calamari and Spanakopita, each of them being deliciously delicious and done to perfection.

Our main course included a Lamb Shank (Lamb is the only Halal meat that they have) and an Almond Crusted Halibut. The Shank was done to such perfection that it oozed nothing but amazing taste in every bite. The fish was phenomenal as well and definitely had us asking for more.

Amongst all of this there were a couple of celebrations that were squeezed in celebrating birthdays wherein in one of those Bashar came out and sang his heart out while playing the instrument and had everybody on their toes dancing.

We ended the night with an order of delicious Raspberry Cheesecake and it turned out to be amazing. Definitely an evening/dinner to remember for us for a long time to come.

It would be a cardinal sin, if you happen to be around and haven't visited Dametra Cafe and their wonderful hosts along with an exceptional cuisine that they have to offer!!

Even if you had to drive down from a distance to enjoy what they have to offer, it would be so well worth...

I honestly do not understand the hype of this restaurant.

The location is great-- very central to the downtown area of Carmel with lots of boutique shops within reach. The menu is pretty standard-- they serve classic Mediterannean dishes at standard prices, if not on the pricier side, because the food wasn't great. The service was slow, our server was standard at the beginning but after we were done eating, our dishware wasn't taken away and we had to pay at the server station because we couldn't get his attention to bring the bill. The ambiance was the only thing I can confidently say was good because of the live music they had on Sunday night which was really fun!

The food was fine. The Flaming Cheese Saganaki ($22.95) was good, especially with their last-minute addition of acid with the lemon squeeze. Their Dametra Pasta ($31.95) didn't have any flavour other than salt as they serve it with capers, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes, notoriously salty food. The sauce was the consistency of water and didn't add anything to the dish so it was highly disappointing considering they named the dish after the restaurant.

The restaurant itself was ok. It’s a small place, typical of authentic restaurants in the Mediterranean but I think the thing that interests people most about the place is the allure of a busy restaurant with a wait list. People see a bustling restaurant and expect it to be really good so they get on the waitlist but there's only really a waitlist because it’s a small place (rather than it being a superior quality restaurant). If the best thing about the restaurant is the live music which doesn't really have anything to do with the main parts of a restaurant: quality of the food and service, then that says something about the experience.

Next time I'm in Carmel, I won't waste my time waiting to get a table or trying to get a reservation, I'd try one of the other...

Penchant for spontaneously breaking out in song and dance. After a fun day at the MBA, we decided the adults get to indulge as well. We arrived right at 5 without a reservation and already the place was half full and working on one server. Immediately thought we are not going to have a good experience. But, we were quickly seated by the hostess after she moved around some tables and staff descended on the table to set it up. We were seated in minutes of saying "Hi". Someone also came by and asked if we wanted anything to drink and start with... it did not appear that they were running on less staff. We ordered the spaghetti bolognese for the girls to split, a Czech beer for me, glass of wine, and calamari for the table. Our regular server came online and we also ordered the special lamb chops, Istanbul kabob and the lamb shank. Lamb shank - the meat was sliding off the bone. Juicy and tender. Would have loved more sauce to lick off the plate. Yes, it was delicious. The potato gratin was a nice balance of cheese and potato. The special lamb chop was grilled wonderfully. A tasty crust and I could have gnawed on the bones for days. The kids devoured their spaghetti. You know it is good when their faces are in the bowl shoveling noodles into the mouth. Half on their face and in their mouth. I want to be a kid again. We finished with their flourless chocolate cake. This really should be called the blackhole chocolate cake. It was so darkly chocolate and delicious. The kids asked for more and if we were not responsible adults; everyone would have gotten their own. Overall a wonderful meal. Great place to bring the kids after a day of fish shopping at MBA... kept wanting sushi but this place is the definite treat.

Oh, between dinner and dessert, the lute came off the wall; a chef of white apron guy came out and sang with dancing all around. Be careful the place spontaneously combusts into...