Patisserie Boissiere Restaurant — Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea

TLDR: A perfect combination of exquisite French cuisine, attentive service, and intimate ambiance made this rehearsal dinner truly memorable.

We chose Patisserie Boissiere Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea for our son and future daughter-in-law's 35-person wedding rehearsal dinner! This dinner exceeded all expectations with impeccable French cuisine and attention to detail.

Owners Lydia and Giuliano created a custom French bistro menu for our event. Their thoughtful touches - from personalized menus to elegant flower arrangements - transformed the space into something truly special.

The menu showcased perfectly executed French classics for our guests to choose from. One of our guests had travelled from Paris and exclaimed that the menu was a taste of home. Starters included Abalone tempura, baked brie, mushroom goat cheese tartlet, and Frisée salad. The specialty of French onion soup was rich and beautifully gratinéed. Standout entrées included wine-braised boeuf bourguignon and Maple Leaf duck breast prepared two ways with cherry chutney. Our table particularly loved the lamb shank in rosemary reduction and the local halibut in herb sauce.

Giuliano's wine expertise shone through as he curated selections that perfectly complemented our tastes, demonstrating both his knowledge and ability to work within various preferences and price points.

The dessert service crowned the evening. As a patisserie first, their selection was unmatched - from perfectly crisp mille-feuille and delicate éclairs to rich chocolate mousse and classic crème brûlée.

The service staff maintained perfect balance throughout, expertly orchestrating our heartfelt speeches in-between courses while never missing a beat with their attentive yet discreet service.

For anyone planning a special event or seeking a French dining experience in Carmel, Patisserie Boissiere Restaurant delivers excellence on every level. Lydia and Giuliano truly transform a meal into a celebration with their combination of superb cuisine, expert wine service, and gracious...

This is Carmel, so you kind of expect charm. But even by Carmel standards, this restaurant stands out. We stop in from time to time for their stunning desserts. The chocolate pot de crème is a stand out for us, but every dessert we've tried is enchanting—so much so that they’re a touchstone of conversation between my wife and me. That is to say, we share the desserts, but talk about them throughout the day, or often for weeks or months later.

If all you can do in Carmel is see the ocean, but want to savor the essence of Carmel in your room or back home? This is how you do it. Take a dessert with you.

The restaurant's name, pâtisserie, suggests it only specializes as a pastry shop. But it’s also a wonderful restaurant. It has a small, intimate, beautifully decorated, dining room that has an understanding of light. It has just 40 seats. The wait staff is friendly, but has that expert sense of timing that only comes with experienced servers.

As for the dinner menu, it mostly consists of "French Classics", so it's a little meaty for us—which is to say, we’re not the best judges: Pescatarian and vegetarian here. But we've very much enjoyed the available options. They have a very talented chef and sous-chefs, and are always eager to please, so I bet if we asked to order off-menu, they'd be accommodating, especially if they weren't too busy, and we gave the chef pretty wide discretion.

The prix-fixe Thanksgiving meal was amazing. We’re hoping they’ll offer prix-fixes for every other holiday on the calendar--or just every day.

Anyway, take it from locals who appreciate subtleties, fine dining, and who’ve gone to a lot of restaurants in the area. This is among the best our area has to offer, whether it’s Carmel, Pacific Grove, or Monterey.

I don’t think Google’s algorithm filters out good reviews in favor of bad or mediocre ones, like Yelp, but I’m still crossing my fingers this gets through-- I hope others get to experience...

Our expectations might have been too high due to the great reviews. Too many mistakes made for a less than enjoyable anniversary dinner, even though the food was pretty good. First, we were served wine, my husband tasted it and it was very good. Unfortunately, it was not the wine on the wine list. We didn’t notice until we drank half the bottle. It would’ve been absolutely fine if they told us that that particular wine was not available and asked us if they can substitute. But that is not what happened. But, we did enjoy the wine. Second, We ordered the charcuterie and was told that it was no longer available. We then changed to the baked brie and truffle pate for my appetizer. We started eating the baked brie but noticed there was no pate. We called the waitress and let her know. Her response was “there is no pate?“ I am not quite sure how the waitress who brought us the appetizer could not have noticed that half the appetizer was missing. She did bring over a separate plate of pate, but it was obvious that it was not a truffle pate, but just plain liver pate. Once again, the pate was not bad, just not what was represented on the menu. The table next to us had to call their waiter back also. The special that they ordered was a chicken breast dish. He told the waiter he has a chicken thigh and a leg on his plate instead of a breast that was the special and asked what had happened. The waiter shrugged and no real explanation was given. The gentleman was not very happy. If a restaurant asks the table, if they are OK with the substitution beforehand, that would be acceptable to a point. We didn’t like that they left things out or substituted without even asking the diner first. Even the wine. The food tasted perfectly good, but we left feeling a...