Cantinetta Luca

It's official. Carmel now has more Italian restaurants than Italy. One of the newest is Cantinetta Luca, located next to the little park on Dolores between Ocean and 7th. It occupies the space most notably filled by Toots Lagoon for many years, and before that, Golden West Pancake House. That old use accounts for the narrowness of the restaurant, but the current occupants use the space very wisely, so it does not feel cramped. There are a variety of seating options, from bar stool style chairs at high tables and some bench seating along the wall in the bar area to standard tables in the back room.

The ambiance is quite delightful, and the bar area gets a lot of light. There were quite a few local business people there the day we had lunch, which speaks well for the establishment. I wish I could say that we had a good experience, but that was unfortunately not the case. This was largely due to the service, which was very poor. The wait staff seemed pretty clueless. It took 15 minutes to get our coffee, and it was long gone before anyone came around to ask if we wanted a refill. In fact, I had to flag two different waiters down to this end. On the brighter side, the coffee itself was very good and reasonably priced.

The pre-meal bread was fresh, warm and delicious. It was served with a tapenade that was bursting with flavor. Olive oil was served on request, and it was of very good quality, with a bit of a bite.

We ordered a simple lunch that was perhaps a bit too simple. The panini looked quite interesting on the menu, but the ham and cheese one we ordered came without any side dish, garnish or adornment whatsoever. It looked pretty lonely on the large plate. It was very tasty, with a nice quality ham, fontina cheese and an herbed spread. The bread was very good quality, though a bit thick for my personal taste, which I know is unusual. Still, it would have been nice to have some sort of vegetable matter on the sandwich, whether lettuce, tomato or even onion.

Be aware that the sandwich is listed in Italian on the menu as "prosciutto cotto." This translates literally as "cooked prosciutto" which simply means regular ham. Do not confuse it with the "prosciutto" (technically "prosciutto crudo") that appears on the appetizer menu which is cured from the raw meat rather than cooked.

One of the more attractive aspects of Cantinetta Luca is the selection of artisan prepared meats, or in Italian, salume. You can see them hanging behind glass in a separate room just behind the bar. We did not have the opportunity to give them a try on this occasion, but they certainly looked tempting. The menu only lists them as an appetizer. I would have liked the opportunity to have them in panini form. To be fair, I didn't ask if that was possible.

Our minestrone soup was quite delicious, and brimming with fresh ingredients. Nevertheless, being lukewarm it did not have the appeal it might have had otherwise. I suspect this was also a result of the inexperience of the wait staff, having it ladled into the bowl before the other orders were ready and letting it sit. There was a problem with the way our table was cleared as well, but I do not wish to belabor the point. Fortunately, the problems we encountered can be easily remedied, and it is certainly possible that our experience was a fluke.

The menu is quite interesting, and in the evenings they are rumored to serve bistecca fiorentina, the large grilled steaks made famous in Florence. I am looking forward to giving Luca a try at dinner time to see how they compare with the real thing.