Grasings — Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea

We, a party of 6, went there on 3/2/23 to celebrate an 81st birthday. The Manager was lovely and warmly greaated us. Our waiter was not nearly as friendly or welcoming. Nor did he take a moment to acknowledge or wish my best friend's mother a Happy 81st Birthday. Even when we brought it to his attention it seemed to bother him. In past visits we had a much warmer welcome. We were also disappointed in the food. This is a pretty pricey restaurant. You know that you're going to be paying a big bill by the end of your meal. When you're paying those prices you expect everything to be delicious. The cocktails were weak, yet quite expensive. We ordered the calamari appetizer and sadly had to send it back. I wish I had taken a photo. The color was pale white. Not a crispy golden brown. They were soggy and undercooked. Our waiter was so busy doting on another table, I assume they were spending more money than we were... we had to flag down random wait staff to take the calamari back. We were also shocked for this caliber restaurant to be charging $9 for bread-and-butter. Really? For that price I would expect the butter to be fresh made, whipped, and super spreadable. Instead it looked like someone unwrapped a block of butter, threw it on a plate, and served it. It was hard as a rock. Completely unspreadable. I ordered the Filet for $50, Plus an additional charge for sauce. It was incredibly disappointing. It was very small, and thin, and a bit dry for what was supposed to be a prime filet. It's a terrible thing when you feel compelled to lean across the table to tell your spouse, "we can cook a better one at home." The waiter really only seemed to perk up when a gift was opened that he found fascinating and wanted to snap a photo of it. We ordered desserts and again, for the price, I am stunned that Grasing's restaurant wouldn't comp one dessert for an 81 year old's birthday. Our bill was nearly $600. Many restaurants know that a small gesture goes a long way. Not offering a complimentary dessert for a birthday? For this caliber restaurant? It just feels cheap, or how do you say? Pennywise pound foolish. What's $13 when you're paying a $600 bill? My friend was back down in the Carmel today. She once again tried to give Grasing's another chance. She and her boyfriend went. They tried to order drinks and she told me no one would wait on them. Her boyfriend went to the bar twice trying to order. He was told to go sit at the table and someone would come. Noone ever did. They finally got up and walked out. I don't know what's happened to Grasing's customer service, but something is wrong. I used to love this place. I am in no...

According to the menu, this place was selected the best restaurant of Carmel in 2018. The prices certainly reflect this. Because of this, I came here for the final dinner of a romantic weekend with the wife. All the other places during our trip had been just awesome, so we were expecting the same for the best restaurant in Carmel.

We were sit in the patio area. They have heaters so this was quite nice. Our waitress was the highlight of the night. She took care of us, even though at times I felt that she was paying more attention to customers inside the restaurant. We started with half a bottle of a Dundee Hills Pinot Noir for $45. The wine was OK but not out of the extraordinary. Since I selected it, we made the best of it and enjoyed it.

We then ordered our appetizers. My wife had the crab soup, which was savory and we were satisfied with it. I had the calamari, you know because we were on the coat and seafood should be better than inland. Unfortunately, this was the first mishap. The quality of this plate was way below average, and the combination with breaded vegetable was just unpropitious. I have had better calamaries in Davis, just in the valley. How come this be possible?

For dinner, my wife was not that hungry so she ordered the mac (lobster) & cheese, which is an appetizer in the menu. This plate was also tasty; I mean, how could one screw up this at the best restaurant in the city of Carmel... I ordered the prime rib; term medium-rare; a special for the day; cost $45. The plate came with roasted potatoes and vegetables. This plate had nothing special. The meat term was OK, but it arrived cold as if came from spending 10 minutes in the fridge. The vegetable's term was variable; broccoli was OK, but carrots were as hard as rocks. The potatoes were very good though. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed with this plate. I have been around enough to know not to send food back to the kitchen. I left 3/4 of my dinner on the plate, which felt terrible given the waste of food. This experience ruined what could have been a lovely dinner. The silver lining my wife, who was very supportive.

I also have to recognize our waitress Talya, who upon realizing that I was not satisfied with my plate, she went in and managed to waive the cost of my plate. With the numbers of restaurants in Carmel, and several reviews complaining about the same thing here, I doubt I will be visiting this place again, and unfortunately, I cannot...

I'm always a fan of great cuisine.

Grasing's was no exception to that.

Had a birthday to celebrate here and we were all blown away by everything.

For starters, the alcohol list was...the most rarified list of collectibles I have ever seen. And I've been to fancy places from 3 starred Joël's Robuchon to French Laundry, still...I have yet to see ANYONE offer multiple pre-Prohibition selections or PRE-CASTRO cognacs from CUBA. We're talking fermented goodness with a century plus of aging and dutiful stewardship alongside some godly delayed gratification. I didn't even make it to the vino list, I was so amazed at the whiskey and cognac collections...

The Solstice Old Fashioned cocktail was perfection...Maker's Bourbon, Disaronno almond liqueur, walnut bitters, a very generous orange peel that was checkered and scored with precision and a nice cinnamon stick for fun. Best old fashioned since Covid, hands down.

Gosh, just for libation reasons, Grasing's is worth visiting.

Getting to the meal itself, had a bunch of starters. The wild mushrooms was excellente. Tomato and buratta was okay. Local Monterey Abalone was fantastic and a rare local offering. Got a bunch of sides, the MACARONI AND CHEESE and potato gratin WAS AWESOME.

Dessert with apple crisp was a great finale.

Shout to Mark for his amazing service and care of our group.

It's just really enjoyable to see the front of the house and back of the house work together so well.

Decor was incredible, very cozy, yet impressive. Old worldly yet hip. I just love the look and feel of the the high density hard woods that line the rafters and the overall building for those elements cannot be duplicated with today's construction at all.

Music was pleasant, can't recall what the genre of music was in the background. Wow, I'm a bad DJ lol. Was too busy staring at alcohol and carbs haha.

But yea, I think Mark mentioned the sommelier or owner goes to a lot of auctions to acquire the rare vintages of spirits. Mark mentioned something about this person also scores famous movies? Incredible. As a DJ + wine biz guy myself, I understandddd and see the depth of such a nuanced collection.

I cannot believe this spot doesn't have recognition from the Michelin guide. Gosh, those fools mainly have a hard-on for French stuff. Ugh.

Still, I cannot help but recommend Chef Kurt Grasing's incredible cuisine. This is easily the best meal of 2024 already.

I...