Disappointed and deprived in Carmel
Living in Carmel by the Sea, we get a lot of opportunity to visit the many restaurants within walking distance. On this occasion, we invited some friends to dinner and a show and decided to give Merlot! Bistro a try. Considering we had been to Portobella, which is right next door and has the same owner, we fully expected a similarly enjoyable dining experience. Alas, it was not to be.
The ambiance and service were admirable, what one would expect from a more up-scale restaurant (this isn't a Denny's, after all). The menu is sufficiently diverse in choices and offered something for everyone. Salads, enjoyable. Dinner, however, was disappointing. My New York steak with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables was amatuerish and tasteless. The steak was tough, over-cooked and lacked any discernable flavor--a true regret. The garlic potatoes were anything but 'garlic' and had been beaten into submission with poor texture. The grilled vegetables were definitely grilled but also lacked any subtlety. Overall, the meal was on par with a Denny's steak dinner, with less flavor.
My dining companions fared better, but not overly so. In general the food lacked imagination in presentation and palette. Considering we spent about $75 a couple for dinner and dessert, we definitely didn't get our money's worth.
I can only hope that our mid-week experience was an abberation. However, I'm not wiling to spend another $75 to find out, not with 40 other restaurants within 4 blocks.