Carmel Restaurants, PortaBella

The Quintessential Carmel Restaurant.

A GuestLife Monterey Bay Great Restaurant

In Italian, portabella means beautiful door. In Carmel, it’s a threshold well worth crossing. During the day, passersby on Ocean Avenue are lured in by the sight of diners happily engaged in food and conversation on the picturesque flagstone patio. At night, heady aromas and laughter waft innocuously out the famed front door each time it is opened.

Inspired by regional dishes, the menu takes you on a gustatory tour of Italy, Southern France and Spain, complemented by a wine list offering an excellent selection of California wines, many by the half-bottle.

An outstanding opener is the Dungeness Crab and Scallion Cakes — plump, delicate disks of flaky crabmeat paired with fresh greens and a toasted sesame aioli and cilantro-chile sauce. If soup’s more your style, try the Roasted Corn and Crab Bisque or the Soup du Jour, which on some lucky nights is a hearty Mediterranean vegetable version teeming with fresh portabello mushrooms and chicken.

A standout among the entrées is a gloriously tender Grilled Chilean Sea Bass with a tangy citrus confit and a mound of fragrant, saffron-laced risotto. For those who prefer the fruits of the land, the couscous, made with lamb shank, chicken and six fresh vegetables, is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

For dessert, you won’t want to pass up the signature Floating Island, a miraculously lightweight towering wedge of baked meringuecrowned with a toasted almond caramel sauce and served with crème anglaise.

Circulating among the diners on any given evening is managing partner Csaba Ajan, who generates an atmosphere of effortless congeniality as he welcomes and attends to his guests. The Hungarian-born restaurateur was trained in the Black Forest region of Germany and is well known locally as the former managing director and vice-president of the Mobil fivestar rated Quail Lodge, where he spent 19 years.

Quintessentially Carmel, PortaBella occupies a space that over the years was a favorite gathering spot for writers, artists, and a variety of celebrities. The historic “Comstock”-style building was designed by Edward G. Kuster in 1925 for bohemian author Harry Leon Wilson. It has housed a host of dining establishments since then.

PortaBella is open daily for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Year-round heated garden patio dining (dogs welcome). Cocktails from 11 a.m. to midnight.

Menu Highlights

Warm Wild Mushroom Napoleon

Roasted Corn and Crab Bisque

Scampi al Diavolo
Picante Sauce, Chardonnay, Shallots, Garlic, Peppers, Saffron Risotto

Paella Valenciana
Shellfish, Chicken, Chorizo, Organic Vegetables, Simmered in Saffron Rice

Côte de Veau
Grillec Veal Chop, Pink Peppercorn Sauce, Cauliflower Gratin, Roasted Potatoes

Photography by Batista Moon Studio

PortaBella
Located on Ocean Avenue between Lincoln and Monte Verde in Carmel
(831) 624-4395.

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