Put Carmel Cafe on your To-Do List

The Carmel Cafe has been on my agenda of places to check out, but I had not quite gotten around to visiting the Sarasota location until I was invited to a dinner featuring their new Spring menu and cocktails. My previous knowledge of the Carmel Cafe was limited to their multiple locations throughout Florida, and their daily specials that give a serious bang for your buck: $4 wine and apps for happy hour during the week, and prix-fixe meals for $14 every Sunday and Monday, crazy right? Well, it turns out that Carmel has a ton more to offer than a great deal.

As a wine bar Carmel Cafe offers 3 oz., 6 oz., and 9 oz. pours, a wonderful option for pairing their carefully selected wines with their varied bites. The staff expertly suggested pairings for each course that perfectly complemented our plates. You can check out their extensive wine list here. We also had the pleasure of sampling the cafe’s new spring cocktails, all made with fresh fruit and herbs. Of my favorites were the Spring Thyme, made with cucumber puree and fresh thyme, and the low calorie Acai Berry. Along with the Lavender Lemonade, and Twisted Berry cocktails, this Spring menu makes it easy to appreciate the blossoming Springtime.

We started off with a taste of Carmel Cafe’s goat cheese sprinkled with chile and drizzled with honey on a toasted baguette, which served as the perfect introduction to the variety of flavors to follow. Next, a hearty aperitif: the seasonal tomato and veal based soup, with lentils, topped with parmesan. The next course forced me to challenge my own dietary restrictions. Pork belly. I refuse to eat bacon willingly, so pork belly was a push. The underside of the succulent porker was served alongside the most amazing 14-spice sauce echoing middle-eastern flavors. The sauce was so good, I even had a second piece of pork belly. We also snacked on a sausage, pineapple, fennel and roasted red pepper flatbread with mint, fontina and harissa yogurt. The flavor combinations were enough to sway my aversion towards pineapple on pizza. I greedily snagged an extra slice of the flatbread from the shared plate. Maybe I should have saved some room for dinner, but I really couldn’t get enough of the starters.

Dinner featured the Mediterranean Sea Bass topped with tomatoes, olives, and capers, and served with herb oil angel hair pasta and broccolini. The sea bass was served skin-on, perfectly moist and flavorful. I cleaned every bit of my plate without reservation. We also experienced a little surf and turf with the Seared scallop and braised Pork belly (yes, more pork belly) atop creamy corn sauce and quinoa polenta cake, served with a side of haricot verts. I strategically cut my scallop into tiny bite sized pieces so that I could savor every melt-in your mouth morsel. The creamy corn sauce was an incredible compliment to both the scallop and the braised pork belly. A quinoa and polenta cake?, just the seamless combination of two things I love. I guarantee that I will be having scallops the next time I dine at Carmel Cafe.

Just when I placed my napkin down to begin the digestion of my Carmel feast, dessert had arrived. A dainty chocolate covered strawberry (not usually on the menu) with salted caramel drizzle and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oh. my. goodness. I’m not big on dessert, but the presentation and richness of each separate delicacy beckoned to me. I ate it all.

It’s no wonder the creator of Carmel Cafe has found ample success to share the flavors of the Modern Mediterranean cuisine at locations all over Florida, and now even in Pennsylvania. From locally sourced ingredients, to recipes inspired by their trusted chefs, the Carmel Cafe has much to boast.