Stationæry - Carmel By the Sea

Used to be good, now it’s not. Food this time was meager and small portions. Shocked at how much it’s changed. Steak and eggs literally only had one egg and tiny chunks of steak. Incredibly disappointed as we drove 2+ hours to come here.Food: 2/5

The restaurant is in a nice side alley off of Ocean. Never, ever have we experienced paying extra and extra and extra. Coffee refill and ,tap water were requested without being informed about the extra price. We were informed when asking for butter for the scone and jam at who knows what price, cost extra. The bill showed $3.50 for coin portion of butter. Nice food, service in that we got our food, and no reason to return. There are so many other places by Ocean that don’t insult your wallet. We are not cheap, but we would rather have a scone cost more from the start which includes butter, than have to pay add ons for the most common parts of a breakfast; lots of coffee, water and butter.

I made a reservation for a large party which they nicely accommodated last minute. The food was amazing and the coffee drinks were great. The mimosas were a little small and the **** Mary was very weak for the price of the drinks. Lastly, there was a young man wearing a cardigan. I think he was a host, hostess? I'm not sure. But he was very persistent about having us order quickly and leave. At one point he told us that they were trying to push 300 people through the small restaurant that day and we were holding things up. I'm much more used to casual brunches where it is acceptable to drink for a few hours and enjoy the food/drink/atmosphere/company. Definitely not the type of restaurant to go to if you want to take your time at brunch. They really push people in and out of that restaurant. The restaurant was half empty. They didn't even ask if I wanted dessert.

We didn’t realize how disappointed we were that Katy’s Place was closed on Wednesday until we finished our experience here. Since Katy’s was closed a local recommended that we go to the “best breakfast in town”. So, we did. The atmosphere was quaint. The service was fine. The server asked us if we wanted still, sparkling or mineral water. We didn’t see the need to pay for sparkling or mineral water so we chose still. Not until the server brought the glasses and opened the still water bottle did we realize that still water cost us $7.50. I looked at the menu and, yes, there it was……still for $7.50. Don’t assume “still” means “tap” at Stationaery. Coffee was $5.00. A refill….$5.00. A pad of butter……$1.00. Are you picking up on a theme here? My wife ordered a yogurt bowl and I had 3 eggs, side of bacon and a side of toast. It was all fine but nothing special. We left after having the “best breakfast in Carmel” make us $77.00 lighter in the wallet. Do yourself a favor and go to Cracker Barrel for about 1/3 the cost. Plus, Cracker Barrel will refer to you as “hon”.

We enjoyed a late dinner on a Saturday night, making our reservation the same day. Lovely little establishment in downtown Carmel. Loved the atmosphere—just a few tables, homey, with nice design. The restaurants was fairly quiet for a Saturday night—i.e., most tables were empty, but the atmosphere was still nice. Service was warm and attentive; the staff was clearly invested in us having a great meal. Very small dinner menu with starters, mains, and desserts. We both enjoyed the white asparagus soup to start; it was exceptional, with lovely texture and subtle flavor. For mains, we split a pasta with lamb and the burger. The lamb in the pasta was excellent, and the pasta itself was perfectly al dente. I thought the dish ate a little oily, though. The burger was very good, with a slightly toasted bun, tasty sauce, and crunchy lettuce. Thoughtful wine selection, although only one by-the-glass offering of red wine felt odd. The restaurant’s license does allow you to take wine home when you order a bottle, which made a bottle more feasible. We had a nice Beaujolais. The only complaint would be the price point—while it was a very nice meal, the food was very expensive, probably a little too expensive given the overall experience. But still a lovely meal and a place to which I would happily return.