Il Tegamino

My stop in Carmel to watch the sunset started with a dinner at Il Tegamino.
Upon arrival, I appreciated its «hidden» charm (tucked in the back) and the cozy size of the restaurant. Service was excellent and courteous, though after looking at the menu I have to question their description of Italian «comfort food» given their high price point and small portions. Being from the East Coast, your basic Italian «comfort food» is a big heaping plate of what granny’s fixing on the stove; though, to be fair, I’d say this is comfort food for the Carmel «overspending elite.»
Fair warning — when you sit down and you order, they ask if you would like a soup or salad with your meal, but be cautious — this is between $ 10 — $ 12. To me, the right term should be «would you like to ADD soup or salad» not «would you like soup OR salad with your meal?» See the difference?
For my entrée, I ordered the gnocchi, which I felt was tasty and excellent, though I have to admit when I saw the small soup bowl they came in I almost did a double take. Definitely the best place to eat if you like to consume your food like the seagulls passing above. However, it was tasty and the smoked fresh mozzarella really came out.
For dessert, I tried the Limoncello Tiramisu, which was a disappointment. Stating it was a «limoncello flavored mascarpone» with the ladyfingers soaked in «limoncello» was either wrong or overstated. The mascarpone certainly had the flavor of it, but not the ladyfingers, which tasted like they were soaked in lemon-​tinged air.
Despite the flaws, I’d probably return, preferably with a date — and I’ll make sure to bring my own wine.

Do you believe in fate? I often do when it comes to food. My original plan was to swing by Dametra for dinner on the way back to the Bay Area from the Central Coast. But with a indefinite wait time without reservations even on a Monday evening, it was not conducive to our lack of time and another almost 2 hour drive after. So knowing our normal backup of St. Tropez closed back in April, I decided to look for a new place to try.
Thanks to Unilocal,Il Tegamino popped up. After seeing that it was a relatively new family owned business, I decided this was the place to check out before everyone else discovers this hidden gem. Hidden it was as it is not visible from Ocean Ave even though you enter from there but is tucked away reminding me of Venice where you just stumble upon great restaurants down random alleyways.
Since the two outdoor tables were occupied and the inside wasn’t too loud on a Monday night, we sat inside and realized we met our server (I think his name is Sean) before when he was at St. Tropez. What a coincidence and why I said it was fated we eat here and have that excellent service again of course.
Now onto the food. Not wanting my husband to go into a food coma with the drive home, I had to consciously make an effort to not let my eyes get bigger than my stomach like I normally do and ordered just enough.
The complimentary bread is delicious in itself served with mushroom and olive oil and is just the perfect amount to stave off your hunger and still leaving you room for your meal.
Polpo Con Vellutata di Patate — Sauteed octopus with potato olive oil cream — It might be a personal preference but I like my octopus tender vs. charred and overly chewy and this dish delivered in every way. Tender enough to cut with a fork and coupled with the creamy but yet not butter laden potato was just the perfect combination. I would want to get this just for myself as a light entrée next time.
Since the Polpette meat and meatless balls are suppose to be one of their specialties, we decided to try 2 kinds with 2 in each order. They do have a sampler one with one of each kind but 6 would have been too much for us.
The Polpette di Manzo is ground beef, pine nuts, raisin, garlic, bread, parsley and parmesan served with a tomato dipping sauce. I was surprised that this was served barely lukewarm so unfortunately I was not a big fan of it. I preferred our other choice, the Polpette di Funghi which is a mushroom meatless ball with a blend of Portobello and Porcini with ricotta cheese, thyme, bread, and parmesan, served with an aioli. Since the ricotta already lends a richness to it, the creamy aioli was unnecessary and would have been fine and even preferred with the tomato dipping sauce.
For our pasta, we had the Paccheri al Ragu Napoletano which is unstuffed large tube pasta served with a slow cooked short and pork rib ragu. Sauce was on point flavoring every bite of the pasta that we could’ve used an extra few pasta tubes to gather up every morsel of that delicious sauce. Only thing that could make this dish better is if the paccheri pasta was housemade like at E Tutto Qua.
Although so tempting to get that hazelnut gelato offered that night, we did have to head out so hopefully fate will be on our side again soon and find ourselves back here on a evening when it is available again.
Note: It is a small place and therefore they do not take reservations unless you are reserving their entire restaurant.

A newish place in a small courtyard off Ocean Avenue. Authentic Italian without that Carmel cutesy overlay. No pizza. No loud music. Specialty: various kinds of meatballs («polpette»). we passed them up in favor of a simple insalata mista, a «starter» of polpo con vellutate di patate, and a spaghetti pescatora. All three superb, with the polpo a standout, far more flavorful than your usual rubbery calamari stuff. Three dishes (shared by the two of us) plus a bottle of Sauvignon blanc from the Alto Adige (a great wine at $ 35) more than filled us for about $ 100, tip included, good quality price ratio, esp. for Carmel.

The best of the best! I am Italian and I can surely confirm that this is the most authentic restaurant in the Bay Area.
Food is delicious and the owners are very welcoming and nice.
Thank you! I fell like at home when I come to your restaurant!

A+ for service, the waiters and staff were very nice and friendly. They were attentive and the restaurant seems to be run like a small family business. I enjoyed that aspect of the dining experience. It is a small restaurant, but none of the tables felt too close together, which was nice.
The food was good, but not as good as I had hoped. We had the lemon risotto and the gnocchi. Not sure what exactly it was, but it missed the mark for us. I think we should have tried the meatballs, or a dish with some sort of meat or poultry in it.
Overall a nice experience, but I recommend checking out the menu beforehand to ensure there will be something that catches your eye. Regardless, thank you Il Tegamino for the great service!

Just a fabulous find on a misty evening. We sat outside using the space heaters (with lovely blankets available if needed) which was surprisingly toasty.
Two of us shared AMAZING delicious PERFECT mushroom meatballs (do not be fooled by the name of these. They were a savory mix of ricotta and mushrooms and stuffing, and although we also had the beef meatballs, which were delicious, the mushroom meatball was to die for.
Also shared a pasta dish with fresh mozzerella which was very good, and a glass of yummy Montpulciano. Our young waiter was personable, had great recommendations, and gave excellent service. The owner came out to check in with us, and was appreciative and respectful (I cannot imagine what the other Unilocaler Emma did to deserve such treatment).
Romantic, cozy, and a must-​check-​out spot, hidden gem!

Little Italia of Carmel…
The service was too good to believe, the food was extra ordinary, especially the dark chocolate desert…
It’s a bit expensive, but hey — that’s the type of the place :-).
If you there on vacation — go check this place out and your tongue and stomach will thank you ;-)

Great meal for the price point! I would highly recommend the burrata appetizer. I had the special– pesto pasta. I mostly enjoyed the Joiseppi, the own you, who made us feel like we were at home. Excellent atmosphere, people, and PASTA! The only reason I went with 4 stars was the steak was cooked past our request.

Carmel’s hidden Italian treat. –Seriously, its tucked behind Cottage of Sweets, candy store.
This is my go to place for super authentic Italian cuisine and I’m not alone. With its charming rustic and intimate atmosphere, local celebrates are routinely spotted here.
Even when I don’t have dinner, the atmosphere lends itself perfect for dessert and drinks. –I highly recommend the Lemon Tiramisu.

TLDR: THE FOOD IS TERRIBLE, AND THE CHEF DRUNKENLY YELLED AT SOME OTHER CUSTOMERS.
We stopped at Il Tegamino a couple of nights ago and were starving. We ordered the Pescatora, the meatball sampler, and the gnocchi. The food was terrible, and I don’t really ever complain in restaurants, but I actually couldn’t eat my pasta (and I’m a HOG– I will eat anything, and I was HUNGRIER THAN A STARVED MULE). I told them it was inedible, and the people at the table next to us leaned over and were like «Have you ever had worse food?» I mean– this was so bad that the whole restaurant was talking about it.
THAT’S WHEN THE CHEF CAME OUT– HE APPEARED TO BE DRUNK WITH A GLASS OF WINE IN HIS HAND– AND STARTED YELLING AT THE PATRONS AT THE OTHER TABLE AS THEY LEFT THE RESTAURANT.
He yelled something like «You’ve really made my day, you assholes. If you don’t like my food, go eat at the Olive Garden.»
It was so crazy that I was actually LOLing, and I kind of enjoyed my experience at Il Tegamino because it was so so so so bad. Like so bad it was good…
Here’s a run down of the food:
Pescatora — This was truly inedible. It was like SUMMER CAMP SPAGHETTI. I complained about it to the server, who acknowledged it was bad, and they took it off the bill (I REALLY appreciated that).
Meatball sampler — This was ok, but not great. We got this first, and it was sort of a red flag.
Gnocchi — Edible, but very Chef Boyardee.
This is a FANCY RESTAURANT in the charming and upscale CARMEL-​BY-​THE-​SEA, but it was truly terrible (to the wait staff, it is not your fault! that chef is crazy! go work elsewhere!). Will not return. Will not recommend. Will be regretting the $ 67 I spent there for the rest of my life.

We went to Il Tegamino based on good Unilocal reviews, but it turned out not to be below our expectation. The main waiter was fine, but after the courses were served, no one came by to check whether things were ok or not. Dish 1 the breaded pork was over-​fried, a little too hard to chew. It was rubbery and didn’t taste like much. Dish 2 the seafood pasta was reasonably good, but the muscle was a little raw therefore tasting fishy in a bad way (though not too much). Dish 3 pork meat balls were above average, though on the dry-​side. Dish 4 the gnocchi was not very flavorful — the cheese was rubbery. Tiramisu of coffee was good, two of us liked it; but the tiramisu of lemon had noticeable chemical flavorings and bitterness, I had to abandon it mid-​way. The only item that all of us unanimously liked was the complimentary bread and olive oil.
We expected a lot before going, and didn’t mind the priciness. However, we felt the taste and quality of food didn’t match the price.

the best bite of food for the weekend was the octopus with potato olive oil cream. it renders me speechless. the octopus was beautifully tender, and ever-​so-​gently laying on a bed of the most heavenly potato olive oil cream. if we hadn’t ordered all that food to feed an army, i would have been delighted at taking 10 orders of these back with me.
giuseppe is wonderful at describing every dish, checking on patrons, and recommending items on the menu. it was a lovely dinner spent with a sweet sweet man and equally lovely restaurant staff. the restaurant is charming and quaint, the food is rustic-​chic home cooking with a delicate pizzaz.
highly recommended.

So glad I Unilocaled this place — what a hidden gem in Carmel! They don’t take reservations because their place is small. Closed on Wednesdays so plan accordingly.
Bread with vinegar and zucchini ⁵⁄₅ — slightly tart and sweet zucchini with vinegar in oil served with soft bread
Lemon Risotto ⁵⁄₅ — delicious!
Mushroom Meatless Meatballs ⁵⁄₅ — delicious!
Ragu Napoletano ⁵⁄₅ — so good! Melt in your mouth pork rib with tender pasta
Service was great! Can be a little tricky to find — entrance off of Ocean Ave. Look for white rabbit sign and you’ll see this store’s sign underneath. Tables inside are a bit cramped so ask for outdoor seating.

Molto buono! I mean, just… WOW! The first time I ate here, it was the night before the Big Sur Half Marathon, and it was the perfect place for some serious carbo-​loading! Having been to Italy recently and becoming much more picky and discerning when it comes to Italian food (it was just so good there, of course!), I had high expectations of Il Tegamino after reading several of its rave reviews on Unilocal.
Well all my expectations were exceeded! From the quaint outdoor patio, lovely ambiance, and friendly staff to the authentic, delicious food, we were transported to Italy in an instant.
The Gnocchi di Agerola (fresh hand-​cut, house made gnocchi) melted in our mouths and made us sink into our chairs a little more in complete satisfaction. The Rucolina (arugula & roasted beets salad) and Patate al Forno (rosemary & thyme roasted potatoes) were also tasty. That gnocchi though! That dish alone will bring me back there. With no room for dessert, we just savored the last sips of vino (a little wine for extra carbo-​loading never hurt anyone!), and literally practiced our Italian swear words so we could let the staff know how %$#@^&* amazing our dinner experience was!

Tucked into a little alcove of stores, away from the street-​facing shops, and without a physical address number by which to locate it, finding Il Tegamino will certainly be the most difficult part of your visit here. Once you arrive at this tiny, romantic spot known for its Italian comfort food, the hard part is done, leaving you faced only with a decision of what to eat and drink and, maybe, where to sit (in addition to indoor seating, a few heat-​lamp enhanced courtyard tables are available).
I was told by my server that meatballs are Il Tegamino’s specialty and I think they’re selling themselves short. The menu lists 6 different meatballs, 2 per ($ 8) order, or a sampler of 1 of each ($ 24) and I had to learn the hard way that a little bit of meatball goes a long way. Between 2 of us, three meatball orders were consumed from those which came highly recommended: beef, crab, and cauliflower. I don’t think you can go wrong with a single order of beef meatballs (which are good but cannot compare to those at SF’s Tosca Café) but the crab and cauliflower versions were unremarkable.
I kicked off my meal with Burrata Caprese ($ 13), a beautiful pile of fresh cheese enhanced with balsamic vinegar, cherry tomatoes and other ridiculously good ingredients. This, along with the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon I ordered could fail to delight no one.
Because of all those meatballs, the only other dish I sampled here was a shared Paccheri al Ragú Napoletano ($ 23). Large tube pasta, slow cooked with short rib and pork rib meat, tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese was reason enough why nobody should be stuffing themselves with meatballs here.
Complimentary spoonfuls of saucy, rich Tiramisu finished off what the meatballs had started (completely overfilling me). They were a tasty, lovely close to my meal.
Il Tegamino is tiny and accepts no reservations and even though they were full while I was there on a weeknight in January, there was no wait for an indoor table. Dinner for two, including a bottle of $ 48 wine, tax, and tip, ran about $ 124. This is an upscale adult restaurant that’s neither ornate or pretentious. It’s perfect for those wanting an intimate spot from which to enjoy very good food and wine. Go light on the meatballs and I think you’ll agree.

Carmel By The Sea, CA
* Is this place Amazing as other reviews point out — Nope! However, it should be in your top 5 if not 3 Carmel dinner spots and a consideration for a second visit.
I’d try Da Giovanni or Cassanova first.
* Tip: Make sure you are not arriving hungry. No Reservations — arrive prior to opening to ensure a seating or put your name down and plan to wait a hour — hour and a half. Hour plus wait is fine as you are in Carmel!
* Why the wait — seating is limited and food is good.
* Seating Options: Inside main room, inside back room (appeared to have 1 or two tables) and outdoor covered /​uncovered patio.
* Service: Not over the top, adequate and friendly.
* Ambiance: Inside is a home run. Some may feel the same outside, not me.
* Bread: Fresh and very good for Not being served warm. Accompanied with olive oil and thin sliced cooked zucchini, good.
* Misto AKA Mixed app. I like the Tuna the most. The crust was really good and reminded me of the tuna casserole my Mom made.
* Tip: Get the Octopus App. Overall Delicious. 9 out of 10 places prepare octopus in similar manner, not here — well seasoned, light crisp. Awesome!
* Lasagna: very small portion. Not too heavy, noticed but the egg did not add another dimension. Overall not bad, tasted fine. Have not determined if solid.
* Seafood Mixed pasta: Very light sauce. Felt as if more salt was needed. Fresh made or not — Spaghetti just Dumb Downed what can be considered a more sophisticated dish.
* Limoncello Tiramisu: I am sure it was prepared perfectly but did not stike a chord with me.
* The Bill: Overall I’d say expensive so be very strategic on what you order. See Pics.
Next Door to Pariaso Vineyards tasting room, a nice way to pass the time and enjoy a tasting.

Why oh why did I have to come here? It’s like I left a piece of my foodie heart here. I loved the food here, it was beyond amazing.
We ordered the Bruschetta salad. The cheese they used on top of the greens was very dreamy. It just melted in your mouth. A must try.
I also had the gnocchi. Soft, delicate potato pasta. I felt like I was in Italy instead of Carmel. The food was perfection, and every time I am in town I have to come here.

The best place you’ll never find in Carmel! StaAmazingly flavorful and delicately prepared Italian food, tucked away in a hole of a place on Ocean ave.
Starting with bread, amazing oil, balsamic, garlic and chili bread dip! Then a great green salad.
But the big thing here are meatballs. Beef, veal, tuna, salmon, mushroom or crab meatballs and so on. And they are all awesome with varied aolis. Just amazing. No one else has this!
Seek this place out. Great food, outstanding service. Finger into the eye of every other Italian restaurant in town!

Italian food is tricky. There are plenty of commonplace restaurants dressed up in swanky décor to serve Americanized dishes like chicken parmesan rebranded as pollo alla parmigiana on big, pretentiously heavy menus with equally pretentious service in tuxedos. Only rarely do you find a truly authentic restaurant serving good honest food that seems to have come straight out of a kitchen in Italy. Il Tegamino, tucked away in a quaint courtyard in Carmel, is one of these hidden gems.
Il Tegamino is owned and run by brothers, and their theme is Italian comfort food. Despite the categorization as $$$ and its located in the affluent touristy town of Carmel, it is less so fine dining and more so a meticulous, top-​notch culinary masterpiece of classics like meatballs and lasagna – food that everyone is familiar with, only with a lot of thought and effort put into it.
(++) Complimentary bread and flash-​fried zucchini with mint (and a lot of herbs that the server listed but that I don’t remember): Very fresh and soft bread, among the best free restaurant bread I’ve ever had. Although initially we were hoping for olive oil and balsamic vinegar because that’s how society has conditioned us, this unique side of zucchini was an original take on the basic bread course.
(++) Polpette di Granchio (crab seafood ball: crab meat, chives, bread, celery and bell peppers, $ 8): The concept reminds me of Japanese crab croquettes or Chinese fried crab meatballs, except not panko and more crab taste. Here, the thin outer fried coating adds just the right dose of comfort food-​ness, leaving the focus to the filling of crab and crunchy chopped vegetables. The only other place I’ve seen this structure in fried food is Gregoire’s famous potato puffs in Berkeley – Il Tegamino has serious cooking skillz.
(+++) Polpette di Funghi (mushroom meatless ball: portobello and porcini mushrooms, ricotta cheese, thyme, bread and parmasean cheese, $ 8): We liked this more than the crab meatball because the parmesan/​ricotta cheese blend adds a rich, complex dimension. Now I’m curious to try the cauliflower!
(+++) Paccheri al Ragú Napoletano (Large tube pasta with slow cooked short rib and pork rib meat tomato sauce and parmesan cheese): Very homemade style. The sauce is exclusively tomato-​based, kindling a sense of simple farm-​to-​table cuisine – none of the heaviness of creamy alfredo sauces. The short rib and pork rib are also quite down-​to-​earth. At first bite you may think it’s overcooked because the texture is similar to carnitas or pulled pork, yet it’s tougher and tastes surprisingly plain. But the dish grows on you. Because the cuts are lean, it is not immediately satisfying like carnitas; instead, you gradually begin to notice the subtle nuances of slow-​cooked rib and the herbs it’s simmered in.
(++) Tiramisú al Limone (ladyfingers gently soaked in fresh limoncello layered with lemon whipped marscapone cream, $ 7): More sweet than I would have liked, but a thoughtful and memorable spin on tiramisu. The limoncello subbed well for tiramisu liquor, retaining that delicious taste of an alcoholic dessert while rendering floral overtones.
I would recommend coming before 6pm if you don’t want to wait. The décor is rustic with great attention to detail, down to the finishing touches of twine for napkin rings. Although it may not have the most intimate ambiance, on the corollary, the small and cozy restaurant creates a lively atmosphere. I can’t help being amused by an energetic little kid who spoke up when the server stopped by. (When I was little, I considered Olive Garden to be fancy and expensive… the foodie force is strong with this kid!)
TL;DR: Genuine and creative Italian food! You’re literally stepping into the kitchen of two Italian brothers who are fantastic cooks with equally fantastic hospitality to share a taste of Italy from their family recipes.
Probably among the fanciest comfort food ever.

Amazing spot for dinner in Carmel. Went here with my parents, wife, and two year old on a rainy Thursday night. Stepping inside felt like stepping into someone’s warm, cozy home. And that is what the food experience was like too.
All the dishes were amazing– literally some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had. Nothing complicated though — just simple, super flavorful food. We had a pasta with a short rib sauce. It was really perfect balance of meat and tomato. We had a special ravioli stuffed with sundried tomatoes and cheeses. That was super flavorful as well. Some of the best ravioli I’ve had. We had the meatball sampler. It’s a thing there. That was ok… Nothing spectacular though. Good but not like the two pastas we had.
The service was amazing too. The guy that owned the place was super nice. Took care of us. Giving my daughter milk and telling us about the place and taking time to get to know us make us feel welcome.
I would highly recommend this place to anyone eating in Carmel. Very fair prices for fine dining.