Best Kept Carmel

There's a reason that great food is rooted in family and tradition. There's a richness to recipes passed from generation to generation. Longevity is proof of quality, service and culinary excellence. Great food takes time.

From decadent desserts to mouth-watering pastries, Carmel-by-the-Sea serves up elegant treats and creative confections.

Greg and Madigan Ahn are the founders of the Folktale Group that encompasses Folktale Winery, Seventh & Dolores Steakhouse, and The Annex wine tasting room adjacent to the restaurant.

Jonny and Monique Black are both veterans of some of the most widely recognized Michelin Star kitchens in the world, so it's no surprise that Chez Noir received a Michelin Star only months after opening.

Carmel-by-the-Sea is filled with painting and poetry, sculpture and photography. But you could make a strong argument that theater is the foundational art form of the village.

You might think you have an idea of what dining in Carmel-by-the-Sea is like. Maybe it's fresh seafood or delicate wines and delicious California-grown fare. Carmel is that, and more. It also serves up completely unexpected flavors and experiences.

A kaleidoscope of flavors and settings, the culinary scene in Carmel-by-the-Sea is undefinable and evolving. Indigenous tastes, refined comfort food, fine dining with flare, restaurants with long, legendary histories — it is all here in a single-square-mile walkable village where there is a place to dine, drink or snack around every corner and down almost every passageway.

There are layers to art exploration in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Landmark art galleries showcase renowned artists on the main streets and in prime locations. These are great galleries to explore and experience art that has been polished and perfected, sometimes over decades, by masters of the craft.

Art is everywhere in Carmel-by-the-Sea. It's in the past and the present. It's in galleries, historical landmarks, and the stunning natural beauty of the coastline. If you're walking down the beach, it may be sitting on an easel in the sand, being created brushstroke by brushstroke by a plein air artist right in front of you.

Yoga starts with a simple breath. In and out. If you're on the seashore in Carmel-by-the-Sea, you will hear the waves pulsing into the white sand of Carmel Beach, beginning to synchronize with the cadence of your breath.

No two experiences on a Carmel trail are the same. One day sun may glint off of crashing waves, while dolphins frolic in the deep blue swells.