MCL Restaurant & Bakery Carmel — Restaurant in Carmel

Off and on, I've eaten here since the mid 90's. I agree with some of the other critical reviews being posted. This place has gone downhill! Walmart has better fried chicken and less expensive! Servers do not give you adequate amounts of food compared to what one is paying. Prices have increased significantly just in the last year, but portions are diminishing and items just don't taste good anymore. Some long time regulars are not coming to lunch anymore because of the restaurant problems. The Manager seems unconcerned about the food, staff and customers. He's even been rude to long time customers that have given MCL a lot of business over the years who've noticed the restaurant's decline. I hope this is not ageism on his behalf? Like other reviews regarding customer/Manager interactions, why is a Manager being rude to customers when there are many other restaurants that want/deserve our business? This location needs an overhaul by returning to its former standards of offering sensibly priced delicious food and good sized portions. The overall cleanliness throughout the entire restaurant needs improving, too. Quite simply, it needs new management sooner...

Restaurant itself is gorgeous, very clean. Staff only cam around once, offered a drink refill, which was wrong, but was the LEAST of the bad experience. The food itself had ZERO flavor. Between my husband and I, we had the dark meat fried chicken, green bean casserole, mac &cheese, regular rolls, rosemary & garlic rolls, chocolate meringue pie, and the buttered potatoes. The only items that were edible were the chicken legs (not thighs-very chewy texture), the side potatoes (actually very good), Nd the rosemary/garlic rolls & Regular rolls. The mac & cheese, green bean casserole and the chocolate meringue pie were all horrible! Absolutely ZERO flavor, even when we added salt and/or pepper... and the pie tasted like it was old, very dark chocolate pie....(not the light chocolate dessert we get elsewhere!) We would GLADLY pay $40+tip if the meal was deserving of such, but it simply was not. We are from 2+hours away, and wanted a good "non-fast food meal " and was given nothing of the sort. I never leave horrible reviews, but for $50 worth of fried chicken and few sides, we expected to be able to stomach the few bites we ate! Would...

I cannot thank Sydney and the team at MCL Restaurant in Carmel enough for saving the day for my family’s New Year’s Eve party! When our original caterer canceled last minute, I called MCL in a panic, and Sydney immediately put my mind at ease. She went above and beyond to ensure that our event was not just salvaged but truly exceptional.

Sydney worked quickly to organize a delicious menu that perfectly suited our party needs, all while maintaining a positive and reassuring attitude. Her attention to detail and commitment to excellence exceeded every expectation I had.

The delivery process was just as smooth. Dalton, who handled the delivery to our event center, was incredibly professional and kind. He ensured everything was set up perfectly and even checked in to make sure we had all we needed before he left.

The food was phenomenal, the service was impeccable, and the kindness of both Sydney and Dalton made a potentially stressful situation into a memorable celebration. I highly recommend MCL in Carmel for any catering needs. Thank you, Sydney and Dalton, for making our New Year’s Eve...