Yafa — Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea

My fiancé ordered the lamb shank, which was one of their specials that day. The one good thing we could say about it is that it was really tender. It seemed to be slow cooked really well. Unfortunately, though, it was pretty flavorless. Even the liquid it was sitting in just looked and tasted like chicken broth. I saw a picture that someone else left in their review and it looked like it was sitting in a rich, flavorful sauce but unfortunately the one we got looked pretty different. The mashed potatoes were not the best either. I ordered the seafood pasta, and while I did like the flavor of the creamy tomato sauce, the pasta was described as “fresh artisan fettuccini” on the menu and it tasted like dry store-bought pasta. I think they were banking on the fact that people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, or maybe it was actually fresh and just not that good. I could probably forgive this easily if the rest of it was great. But for me, most of the seafood was over cooked. Especially the octopus, which tasted kind of rubbery, and the salmon. And there was a fish bone that I had to pull out of my mouth after a bite of the salmon. They are such small pieces, that I would have expected a little more attention to detail before being served. Lastly, we ordered the pita bread with labne as an appetizer. The labne was good, but the pita bread (although it came out so hot and steamy), seemed subpar compared to even more run of the mill Mediterranean restaurants I’ve been to. I don’t know for sure if they make it in house or not, that is hard to say. But it didn’t feel like it was freshly made like they tried to make it seem. We also heard the baklava is store bought, which I would expect from a lot of places but not this one. I’m disappointed because I know it was great at one time, but it almost seems as if it is coasting off it’s previously...

5 words: Reserve ASAP for Lamb, etc.

In full: A Michelin mention is a no brainer. But what they deserve is at least a Michelin star. Two is more like it. Three I've never experienced but I imagine that requires some astronomical hob nob snobbing to achieve. Anyways stars don't really matter, at least not to me. What does is the quality and experience of the meal and this is the peak of what you want. absolutely one of the best restaurants I've ever been to from customer service to cuisine with the best lamb and specials I've ever had the pleasure of eating. It isn't an exaggeration to say that over 10 years ago my family ordered several lamb racks, the chef was singularly welcoming coming out to greet us, and what happened next is an experience to remember for a decade. No lie. We still talk about that lamb and the service to this day.

I don't know why I didn't revisit Yafa sooner. Probably because it's buried by the louder more popular places and I remember trying to go but it was closed (I think COVID?). But when I crave good food and I went back to check the reviews then saw a reviewer who was actually angry he didn't get his lamb rack I knew I had to come back again. And well...there's a reason why he's angry and though I disagree with the rating it is just that life changing. That said it isn't just the lamb rack. Everything we had was spectacular. Singularly so. Anyways I can jabber on and on but my plus one and I both agree you should just reserve this amazing place and enjoy an incredible meal and night out. See my profile and where I've been then come to the decision to enjoy this place when possible. The only con is when you've had food this good it makes any other cuisine seem meh. And saying this as a bonafide local, is...

Took my girlfriend here for her birthday dinner. Weird overall experience. We had a reservation, yet the host seemed confused (even though the reservation was on his computer). After being seated, we were greeted by two different waiters, neither seemed to know that other was already helping us and the whole restaurant only has 12 or so tables (small intimate place). Food was not what we expected (and not very tasty). My (vegaterian) girlfriend ordered the 'Cauliflour Steak'. What came out was a roasted head of cauliflour???? Nothing 'Steak-like' about it. Based on the description, we were expecting something that resembled and tasted like a steak. It was very odd and unsatisfying. I ordered the Kabob special which was described as 'Ground Lamb and Beef Kabobs'. I was expecting one Ground Lamb Kabob, and one Beef Kabob. What I recieved was 2 very overcooked hamburger looking things that tasted identical (so I think the ground lamb and ground beef were actually just mixed together?) It was not very tasty and the product description was misleading. I've had many beef kabob and many restaurants. . . and they are always chucks of seasoned beef. Overall, for an expensive Carmel restaurant, we were not inmpressed with the service...