Pop quiz-by-the-sea: How many small cities in the country can claim as many restaurants per capita as Carmel?
Correct answer: zero, a fact that helped inspire Carmel-by-the-Sea Culinary Week, now entering its fourth year.
Additional tasty numbers to consider: Carmel’s one-square-mile hamlet, with more than 60 restaurants, is also home to 18 wine tasting rooms, pouring award-winning vino in storybook settings and further filling out the high-density flavor grid in a town of 4,000 residents.
Another fun fact about Carmel is also relevant. Its first post-Mission identity was as a bohemian artist enclave, which is reflected in this year’s festival motto, “The Art of the Plate.”
“The theme pays homage to the artistic heritage of Carmel-by-the-Sea and the creative, imaginative spirit the destination brings to culinary enthusiasts,” says Visit Carmel executive director Amy Herzog, organizer of Culinary Week.
Other updates for the May 31-June 8 event include an emphasis on live cooking demonstrations. A Farmers Market Culinary Showdown will headline, inspired by concepts from Food Network, wherein Carmel chefs receive a basket of local ingredients and compete for the best iteration of a light bite. Guests will get to cast their votes and the winner will be named CCW’s first ever Farmers Market Showdown Champion.
As many as 30 Carmel restaurants are slated to participate in the wider event, and represent a powerhouse lineup that includes Basil, Barmel, Cafe Luna, Seventh & Dolores, Foray, Stationaery and Flaherty’s Seafood Grill.
“Our restaurateurs are so brilliant, and are experts at showcasing their individuality,” Herzog says. “These local artisans are a cornerstone of our community, so working closely with them has been a true honor.”
Promotions vary from special prix fixe menus to live entertainment, the latter increasingly a delicacy in Carmel.
A sampling of the proceedings: a Sparkling Sake Special at Toro, a Roses & Rosé workshop at Il Tegamino, and a special Caraccioli Cellars winemaker dinner at Chez Noir are also on the docket, as is a new self-guided Pub-Crawl-by-the-Sea.
Often CCW works off synergies like that between neighboring spots Talbott Vineyards tasting room and The Pocket restaurant. For Culinary Week, Talbott, which carries Pocket menus for opportunistic tasters, will share specials normally not offered outside its elegant tasting venue to pair with complementary Pocket dishes.
“A little something different,” Talbott tasting staffer Josh Adams says. “Things you couldn’t normally get.”
Other one-off events will pair well with, say, an al fresco lunch or an evening dinner.
Those start with The Kick-Off Party at Carmel Plaza 3-5pm Friday, May 31, with tasting tables hosted by featured restaurants, live music, and local wines from Chalone Vineyards, Dawn’s Dream, Galante Vineyards, Folktale, Scheid Vineyards, Blair Estate, Wrath and Talbott.
Other events include a screening of The Freshman at the wooded Forest Theater on Saturday, June 1; a showing of Kitchen Brigade at Sunset Center on Wednesday, June 5; and a lively Terrace Concert at Sunset Center on Friday, June 7.
A recent crop of new restaurants adds to Carmel’s current culinary moment. El Bistro by the Sea, Pizza Heaven, and Jeju Kitchen (a pop-up in the Carmel Burger Bar) have all debuted in the past few months, with Jeju making a cameo in The New York Times.
Those debuts come not long after recent high-visibility recognition, with Chez Noir earning a Michelin star and a James Beard Award nomination, as well as Aubergine, the area’s first Michelin recipient, pulling in the 2023 California Sommelier Award.
All in all, it’s a lot happening in little Carmel. Fortunately, to help fit it all in, Culinary Week actually runs nine days—though aspiring appetites would do well to dig in early and often.
See curated menus and get tickets for special Culinary Week events at carmelcalifornia.com/carmel-by-the-sea-culinary-week.
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
