Opinions GRASING’S Carmel

We have had the opportunity to dine in some of the worlds-rated best restaurants. Grazings was another excellent experience, there was nothing to detract from the experience. I highly recommend this establishment.

Burgers and Beet salad phenomenal.
Leaks, Special Ahi and Dessert of Kings. So superb. Dawn, Kurt and our server all outstanding.
The best

My real problem with this restaurant is that the quality of food does not match the prices. The food is fine, but in the two times that I’ve been there I haven’t found it to be especially unique or enticing. Personally, I find the atmosphere to be, a little fuddy-duddy and mute, although I have been there when it is busy as well as when at lunch, it’s relatively empty. Admittedly, as I am not a wine drinker, I don’t appreciate their 22,000 bottles of wine stocked.

We always gravitate towards modern American food whenever we find ourselves in an area where there is one available Grasings went above and beyond surpassing our expectations and then some more. I can’t really put in words how delicious everything was coz that’s impossible. From the drink to dessert, I was simply blown away by the flavor profile. It was one of the best meals we have ever had. Simply amazing food

This might be my new favorite restaurant in Monterey. The crab cakes and veggie sandwich especially stood out to us and I’d highly recommend them.

I highly recommend this place. We went here as part of a food tour, we liked the host Mike and the food so much, we came back for dinner. Mike went above and beyond to make our double birthday dinner special, with complimentary champagne and dessert. Halibut was on special, it was flaky and tender as it should be . Their seafood is always fresh and wild caught. Nice atmosphere. Will be back for sure.

Delicious and beautiful food. Great service! We loved it all!! Also, the added details for my husband’s birthday were so thoughtful.

I'm always a fan of great cuisine.

Grasing's was no exception to that.

Had a birthday to celebrate here and we were all blown away by everything.

For starters, the alcohol list was...the most rarified list of collectibles I have ever seen. And I've been to fancy places from 3 starred Joël's Robuchon to French Laundry, still...I have yet to see ANYONE offer multiple pre-Prohibition selections or PRE-CASTRO cognacs from CUBA. We're talking fermented goodness with a century plus of aging and dutiful stewardship alongside some godly delayed gratification. I didn't even make it to the vino list, I was so amazed at the whiskey and cognac collections...

The Solstice Old Fashioned cocktail was perfection...Maker's Bourbon, Disaronno almond liqueur, walnut bitters, a very generous orange peel that was checkered and scored with precision and a nice cinnamon stick for fun. Best old fashioned since Covid, hands down.

Gosh, just for libation reasons, Grasing's is worth visiting.

Getting to the meal itself, had a bunch of starters. The wild mushrooms was excellente. Tomato and buratta was okay. Local Monterey Abalone was fantastic and a rare local offering. Got a bunch of sides, the MACARONI AND CHEESE and potato gratin WAS AWESOME.

Dessert with apple crisp was a great finale.

Shout to Mark for his amazing service and care of our group.

It's just really enjoyable to see the front of the house and back of the house work together so well.

Decor was incredible, very cozy, yet impressive. Old worldly yet hip. I just love the look and feel of the the high density hard woods that line the rafters and the overall building for those elements cannot be duplicated with today's construction at all.

Music was pleasant, can't recall what the genre of music was in the background. Wow, I'm a bad DJ lol. Was too busy staring at alcohol and carbs haha.

But yea, I think Mark mentioned the sommelier or owner goes to a lot of auctions to acquire the rare vintages of spirits. Mark mentioned something about this person also scores famous movies? Incredible. As a DJ + wine biz guy myself, I understandddd and see the depth of such a nuanced collection.

I cannot believe this spot doesn't have recognition from the Michelin guide.
Gosh, those fools mainly have a hard-on for French stuff. Ugh.

Still, I cannot help but recommend Chef Kurt Grasing's incredible cuisine. This is easily the best meal of 2024 already.

I will be back!

Terrible. Very bland and overpriced.

Food was outstanding but service was very poor. After taking out order, waiter never checked on us and our water glasses and cocktails were empty not did he check on use until he brought the bill. Would have ordered 1-2 more drinks and dessert, unfortunately lost revenue and repeat customers in future.

My wife and I went here last night and it was phenomenal! We had the seafood soup which was top notch, the duck breast was outstanding and the short rib was hands down some of the best I've ever had! We will definitely be back the next time we come back to Carmel. Also our server was so informative, nice and took excellent care of us.

Thank you for the VIP treatment Grasings!

Update we came back a few weeks ago and still absolutely outstanding from service, food and drinks. I lucked out and got the A-5 wagyu imported from Japan and it was absolutely phenomenal also don't sleep on the seafood chowder! Always a great experience and always world class. Thank you again Grasings ????

On the positive side, most of the food at Grasings was delicious, with the exception of the abalone that was just okay, and most of the service was attentive and helpful. But to enjoy all that I had to try to tune out the music, which was a bit loud and outdated.

Lovely restaurant with top notch service from Bryan. There were plenty of dishes with fresh local ingredients; both presentation and taste of the food were pleasant. Highly recommend for anniversaries. The Panna cotta was super.

The food is delicious, and the service was great!!!

Wonderful in every way!

I would say this place is a hit or miss and I'm giving a 4 due to their efforts. The servers were very knowledgeable but they don't refill your glass or really know how to attentively wait tables like other establishments do.

The appetizers were out of this world good. (Blackened ahi and crab cakes) but the mains were definitely not the quality of the price paid and was borderline bad. The desserts were outstanding (Panna cotta and apple crisp) again but the steak sides were meh. Had we known we would have just gotten starters and desserts and left it at that.

The price is very very high but whether it's worth it depends on what you get

True score is 3.5 but rounded up because our wait staff was nice. That and I may just be a spoiled Monterey local at this point.

Das Restaurant Grasings hat sich als SuperDuper herausgestellt. Sehr professioneller und herzlicher Empfang. Die ganze Bedienungs-Garde stand Spalier, hat uns freundlich begrüßt, einen schönen Abend gewünscht und an einen 2er-Tisch geführt, der uns gefiel. Die Bedienungen waren alle sehr nett und sehr aufmerksam. Immer mal wieder wurde nachgefragt, ob alles in Ordnung ist, nachgeschenkt oder Besteck gebracht. Auf einem Teller waren Brotkrümel, der wurde sofort ausgewechselt.
Das Essen war einsame Spitze. Ich hatte so eine Art Pult Pork. Das war so weich, dass man es mit der Gabel einfach zerpflücken konnte und die Sauce kein Fertigprodukt. Das Kartoffelpüree war frisch, echt und ohne Schalen. Frischgebackenes Brot (kein Lusch-Weißbrot), mit zarter Kruste, luffigem Inneren und Oliven. Die Zwiebelringe auch frisch, selbstgemacht (keine Tiefkühlware) superknusprig und süßlich. Alles war auf den Punkt al dente. Was sich natürlich auch im Preis wieder gespiegelt hat - mit Trinkgeld 200 $.
Leider nur eine Toilette für den ganzen Laden im Haus gegenüber.

I'll start with the food. We started with the calamari with leeks. Very hearty plate and cooked to perfection, which is also the case with the dinner plates. I had the Porkchops and my wife, the Sweet Potato Ravioli. We had Chardonnay with our meal. It's all totally delicious. The waiter was awesome, friendly and always there aside from the long pause to square up. Half the place is a quaint dinner area, the other a bustling bar. So all of that kinda bleeds into the dinner. Everyone walking in faced our table, so lots of awkward glances. We were in and out in an hour. If we go again, it will be for some Japanese beef or just burgers and drinks at the bar.

Very pleasant, dog friendly. Great food and service. Very good wine menu. Co-op with Inns by the Sea motels for discounts.

Not sure the price was justified but everything was very good, including fun chats with nearby tables and our server ????✊????????????

Bathrooms inside the establishment seem rare in these parts. This one was a little ways outside the restaurant.

We had a spectacular meal at Grasings this evening. We had the abalone appetizer, winter butter lettuce salad, a side of Brussels sprouts and the seafood pasta, and it was exceptional. Mark was our server and he was very courteous and knowledgeable - extremely professional, which is pretty rare these days. Thank you Grasings for a great evening out!

We so appreciated this dog friendly brunch spot! With beds and waters for the pups, the whole family felt welcome. The human food was incredible too!

Roasted beet salad was excellent. Burger was good. Very nice atmosphere and good selection of salads but very few main course options for lunch.

Customer service was great, they were attentive to when we stopped eating our appetizer and ready for the main dish; though never came to refill water. The staff was very pollite and when we called to make the reservation they were ready to fit the special occasion. Food is devine. ???? All the flavor you could dream of in a sauce, i mean each sauce fit perfevtly woth the meal. Presentation was beautiful and appetising aswell. The vegetables were cooked perfectly like you'd want them to be and not just steamed or over cooked or too soft. The fish was fresh eith perfectly crispy skin, the chicken was moist and tender, the oil may have been a little heavy in each dish but overall 5/5. Atmosphere is soft spoken and relaxed; feels elegante. Looking forward to our visit next time.
They do offer gluten free and vegetarian options.

Grasing’s strives for excellence. They saw we were waiting longer than the allotted window they gave us and unprompted brought out a calamari dish for us to share. The manager came over and let us know it was on the house and thanked us for our patience.

Our server was a rising superstar in food, he was personable, kind and knowledgable. The food itself was very strong, the ingredients and the preparation was straight forward, but stellar. Overall a very solid meal
In town.

Un endroit chic et élégant à Carmel. Le décor est bien soigné et le cadre charmant. Si vous êtes à la recherche d'un bon resto à Carmel, allez-y!