Il Tegamino — Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea

I was drawn in by the great reviews, but left sorely disappointed and to be honest, a bit angry. We came here during the off-season and, as expected, Carmel was fairly quiet and we had no problem getting seated. Things went downhill from the moment we sat down. First, our waiter chose to ignore us while he entertained an older couple who he probably judged to have deeper pockets than us. Usually I don't care much for service, but this was quite egregious. We were seated first and did not get to order until well after the other couple had started on their first course and after being entertained by our waiter from the moment they sat down to when their food arrived.

Despite that, I was really looking forward to the food. I ordered the pescatora, my husband ordered the pachetti. We shared the burrata caprese and the soup of the day. The burrata was tasty, but I do not recommend ordering the lentil soup if you ever see it on the menu. It was incredibly bland. My husband enjoyed his pachetti, however don't be fooled by the photo you see posted of that item. It uses large rigatonni, not homemade pasta as picture.

I wish I could say I enjoyed my pescatora, but it was really, really disappointing. First, the menu indicated that there were scallops and after digging around for quite a while, I finally found two tiny bay scallops that looked like they had been cooked to death in a tomato sauce and came from the bottom of a large vat. The squid that was in the dish suffered from the same fate, it was clear that they were really, really old and came from the bottom of a giant stock vat. I shudder thinking about how long the scallops and squid sat in that vat. In the picture attached in this post, you can see the squid front and center and...dark brown and rubbery. I expected more from a restaurant in this price range and in this seaside town! Lastly, the shrimp that came with the dish were super mushy. I took one bite of the shrimp and could not handle it, I gave up on the rest of the dish.

Trying to salvage the meal, we ordered the flourless chocolate torta caprese. I've attached a photo, that cake was neither chocolate nor flourless. We even asked the waiter and he said 'oh we use almond flour in the cake, that's why it looks like that' but I'm sorry, I went and looked at photos of the same dish posted previously and it looked nothing like what was presented to us.

Overall, super disappointing and you can tell they were trying to skimp because it was the off-season. If what you want is a good meal, do...

Il Tegamino can be a bit hard to find, tucked away in an off-strip enclave called The Court of the Golden Bough, consisting of a few other interesting shops. The fact that it's off the beaten path plays to its charm, however. The indoor dining area is cozy with about 5 tables. The rest are outdoor with propane heaters to keep guests warm during chilly evenings. The ambience lends itself well to date nights or a casual night out with close friends.

Unsurprisingly for a neighborhood family Italian restaurant, service is warm and reasonably attentive. The only hiccup when we were there was my main dish was served well ahead of my companion's.

The food, however, is unremarkable. Not bad but not outstanding either. We started with the Rucolina salad, which the menu describes as an arugula salad, roasted gold and red beets, candied walnuts and sweet gorgonzola cheese with honey vinaigrette. The mix of beets and greens was just right, however, the cheese and walnuts appeared late to the party.

For the main course, I had their Ragu Napoletano while my dining companion chose their Rigatoni alla Carbonara. The Ragu Napoletano featured a large tube pasta with slow cooked beef short rib, pork rib meat, italian sausage, tomato sauce and parmesan. All in all a solid and hearty dish, but not something you'd shout about from the rooftops. The carbonara was classically prepared except with rigatoni pasta, which my dining companion found more effective at sopping up the sauce, albeit at the expense of a starchy aftertaste.

Our dessert consisted of limoncello cake and affogatto. The latter was ok, but the cake was sadly frozen. Thirty seconds in the microwave may have done the trick, but requesting that would've also shattered any illusion that the cake was freshly baked that day. (Yes, to be fair, many things are prepared well in advance in any restaurant, but the trick is keeping matters of preparation strictly backstage.)

In summary, Il Tegamino gets high marks for ambience and service. The food is ok, but when you're just steps away from other Mediterranean restaurants in Carmel-By-The-Sea, "ok" just...

⭐ 1/5 – Disappointed and Overpriced

I was genuinely looking forward to dining at Il Tegamino after reading so many glowing reviews, but it turned out to be one of the most disappointing meals I’ve ever had — especially considering the price. My husband and I were celebrating a special occasion, and what we hoped would be a memorable dinner ended up feeling like a waste of over $130.

The only reason I’m giving this one star instead of zero is because the servers were friendly and attentive, and they did their best to provide good service. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make up for the food. What can we really say when they ask how our meal is? It's not the servers fault that this is what the restaurant serves.

The chocolate lava cake was especially frustrating — a tiny, two-inch dry dessert with no "lava" inside. It tasted stale and pre-made. For $16, this was incredibly underwhelming. Honestly, Trader Joe's sells a $5 frozen version that’s larger, gooier, and far better.

The $20 bread and zucchini appetizer? A few slices of bread, some chewy and hard, served with oil containing cold fried zucchini. There’s no universe in which this is worth $20.

We also ordered the Ragu Napoletano and Ravioli di Campagna, and while they sounded impressive on the menu (and looked amazing in photos), they tasted like pasta with jarred sauce. Nothing about the flavor stood out or felt worth the fine-dining price tag.

This place might appeal to those who care more about the ambiance than the food, but for people who value actual flavor and quality, I wouldn’t recommend it. As an average worker splurging on a celebration dinner, I can’t afford to throw away money like this — and I left feeling...