Enzo — Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea

Enzo: Tasty Food, Great Atmosphere

We were in Carmel by the Sea with friends from abroad. We were hungry and needed a meal before embarking on our city excursion. Enzo was the first restaurant that caught our attention as it welcomed dogs and piqued our interest. We opted to sit in the small yet comfortable backyard, which was nicely arranged.

The young man serving us was charming and always wore a smile. His great humor led to a few good laughs during our meal.

I wasn't too hungry, so I ordered a Calabrese sandwich featuring Italian sausage, bell peppers, and Mozzarella cheese on Ciabatta bread. My significant other initially ordered an Artigiano sandwich with chicken breast, Mozzarella cheese, and grilled eggplants, but as she wasn't a fan of eggplants, she swapped the eggplant for something else (although I can't recall what). We each sampled half of the other's sandwich, allowing us to taste both flavors. Our friends went for pasta, and we all enjoyed cold Italian beers. I chose Menabrea Bionda, which was both cold and delicious.

The sandwiches beat my expectations, particularly the quality of the bread. It made a significant difference in the overall flavor. I thoroughly enjoyed both half-sandwiches. It's worth noting that the Calabrese sandwich packs a spicy kick, so consider this if you're not a fan of medium spiciness.

We spent more than an hour at the restaurant and wrapped up our meal with coffee drinks to energize us before leaving.

For those on a tight budget, it's important to know that Enzo is not a budget-friendly option, and the pasta portions aren't particularly generous. However, the high quality of the food and service and the pleasant and relaxing atmosphere more than compensate...

The person who served us was pathetic. We were a party of four people. As soon as we entered the restaurant we could sense his unwelcoming attitude and bad vibes. He arrogantly asked us what can he help us with and we requested for a table of four. Every freaking two minutes he came by asking for are you ready to order when we clearly mentioned we are still deciding and looking at the menu. When asked for suggestions he carelessly provided one and when I had questions about the wine , he said well it’s good and I was so fedup with his attitude by then I just ordered the wine. He came by multiple times after that to check and make sure we order something no matter what after ensuring that we will start with just drinks for now. His attitude, behavior and the way he speaks with his customers is exceptionally terrifying and unacceptable as he makes sure you feel bad for not ordering food right away. He came by to take back our menus more than twice and cleared out cutlery as soon as he felt we might not order any food. How and why would we order food when the environment and server is so disgusting. The menu says customer is not always right, which indicates and proved his way of treating us . We left the place within ten minutes while he was still gossiping, point fingers, making weird faces and passing comments to his fellow workers about us. I would strongly suggest others NEVER TO VISIT THIS RESTAURANT EVER IN THEIR LIFE, because of just this person. He truly acted like he is giving away food and drinks for free. Utterly disgusting service and person. Truly...

I have never written a bad review of a restaurant, but my experience was so bad that I have to share it. I ordered “Pollo Al Limone: Grilled chicken breast lemon sauce seasonal veggies”. What I got was a wafer-thin slice of chicken overcooked in lemon sauce with a side of the oiliest, overcooked breakfast-potatoes I have ever seen. There were no “seasonal veggies” on my plate. I was hoping that the flavor would make up for it, but it didn’t. The only reason I ate it was because I was starving. On any other day I would have sent it back. Honestly, I would have been embarrassed to serve this meal to children, and Enzo felt comfortable charging me $33 for what amounts to $4 of food I could have bought down the street at the local market. THIRTY THREE DOLLARS!

The service: While ordering, I asked our waiter if “Pollo al Limone” was a popular dish. His response wasn’t even a word. It was more of a grunt that amounted to “Meh”, and he seemed annoyed that I was bothering him with such a question. My wife’s food was cold when it arrived at the table, and my son had two bites of his flat-bread and refused to eat any more. They never once came by to ask how the food was. When the bill came for the four of us, it was just under $200. With the 20% tip that is expected, that would have been around $240. I tipped $0. I have never done that before in my life, but I was so upset I even wrote “TERRIBLE” on the top of the bill. You should avoid this restaurant...