Stationæry — Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea

Stationery is my new favorite spot for breakfast or lunch. It is a hidden gem deep in Carme-by-the-Sea. It is owned by a lovey young couple who are doing everything right! All of the food is locally sourced, organic, hormone free and tastes even better then the photogenic platters they are served on. I had the Stone River Trout served in a crispy potato pancake and topped off with horseradish and crepe fresh and a touch of foraged minors lettuce! Talk about fresh! Another morning I had the vegetable hash which was made up of fresh peas, purple potatoes, tiny green mildly spiced peppers, and a duck egg. Their signature sweet dish is a butterscotch pudding with unsweetened whip cream that melts in your mouth and wakes you up in the middle of the night dreaming about! I have eaten there three mornings in a row. What else can I say? It is a gathering place of a mix of locals, young families, and tourists who seem to know where to find that secret hidden gem. It won’t be a hidden gem for long as word is spreading rapidly. I feel like Anthony and Alysa are long time friends...their warmth, humility, and the way they support one another as they are raising their two small little ones just above the restaurant is heartwarming. This is a family friendly place, unlike other spots in carmel that might frown when they see a baby or a stroller, it’s hard to imagine how you could feel any more welcomed or at home. To my mind this will be the first of many restaurants this young couple will own and I for one will send everyone I know there for a meal. On a scale of one to ten...they get a 12! Above and beyond accommodating, attention to detail, and dishes served so beautifully you hate to eat them because you just want to study them. But one bite in and you will Wonder what just happened and secretly wish you could lick the plate clean! Bravo! And encore! This couple is going places and what I love even more is the fact that hey are helping support other young business owners like local organic rancher Mark Farr of the Corral de Tierra Cattle company, who also has a booth at the MPC Friday Farmers Market. They also open up their doors for an up and coming young Chef Klaus Georis who is offering special pairings of wine and several course dinners from Friday’s-Sunday’s. I live the camaraderie and support that they are all offering one another. It is heartwarming and unique in the times we are living in and there is such a sense of feeling welcomed and pampered. Cheers and bon appetite! Please tell them Kat from...

One of the most uncomfortable situations I’ve been in in a restaurant. Let me explain…

My boyfriend and I went to Stationaery this morning for brunch and drinks. Our waiter, Seth, offered us a quick, effective and friendly service. We were visiting from Montreal, so after having paid, we had a great conversation about Carmel, the restaurant, and things to do in the village. All of a sudden, another waitress with short red hair rudely interrupted us by grabbing Seth by the arm and telling him he was needed in the kitchen…now (how unpleasant and unprofessional!!!). We could see our waiter was startled and immediately left without a word, and the owner quickly followed him. Before disappearing inside, we were able to hear the owner say that a table had left, probably because they waited a bit too long before being served. Mind you, we had only been talking with Seth for about 3 minutes. We were made to feel extremely guilty and bad for having a simple conversation with our waiter…imagine that! Never in my life have I, as a client, felt guilty for talking with a waiter. Especially as a tourist. It was unacceptable for the owner and waitress to make us feel like we did something bad. This should have been handled privately and more discreetely, as this totally ruined our mood and afternoon at Carmel. We were on vacation, and robbed from a great time since we just felt so uncomfortable. If you don’t allow your waiters to have conversations with their patrons, call yourself a fast food restaurant and offer fast food priced items…simple as that.

Before this whole fiasco, we were considering coming back for supper and happy hour at Stationaery, but instead, we decided to leave Carmel altogether. Thanks for ruining one of our vacation afternoons!

With that being said, the food was great, and Seth offered us great service. Overall, a very polarizing experience given the situation, but warrants a 1-star review due to the horrible management of the situation by the waitress and owner. Had this not happened, this would have been a 5-star review....

I really wanted to like this place based on recommendations but unfortunately it fell way, way short. The check in process was ridiculously chaotic. Upon arrival for my brunch reservation i was directed to go to the back of the line for the hostess stand. But, I have a reservation for like right now? “All these people have reservation”. Hmm that’s concerning but ok. Turned out they did not all have reservations. The hostess then proceeds to walk the line with her ipad and TAKE RESERVATIONS for the day of from the people now in front of me in this line. And taking her time while doing so too. By the time she reaches us, she’s like oh you are a bit late for your reservation. No, miss, I wasn’t late, it’s that your colleague didn’t mark me as arrived when I actually did and made me wait in line instead! She literally then continues to walk the line behind me and take reservations before returning to me and finally escorting us to our table, 30 minutes past our reservation time. This was among the most ridiculous experienced I ever had.

I was really hoping the food would make up for it, but no, sadly it did not. I ordered shakshuka and my friend ordered french pancakes with a side of eggs. I stepped away from the table when they brought food, and they very confidently plopped it down in the wrong order. I came back to my friend poking at the shakshuka which they put in front of him. You may wonder how it wasn’t obvious to him that it wasn’t a pancake… that’s because the pancake looked nothing like a pancake!!! The best I can describe it is a small dish pizza made of white dough with some fruit on top. I tried a piece of it and it basically tasted like half baked dough. As far as my dish, it was the worst shakshuka I had in my life. The eggs were so overcooked I struggled to cut them with a knife! The bread was burned and the tomato sauce seemed like it came out of a can. I may have to go to a local place where I live for a pallet cleanser on it.

I would not return to this place and would not...