Mission Bistro

"Mission Bistro in Carmel by the Sea is truly a culinary gem that deserves every bit of praise it receives. Let's talk about the food. The waffles were a delightful combination of fluffy perfection and crispy edges, topped with just the right amount of syrup and fresh fruit. Next up, the Eggs Benedict. I've had my fair share of Eggs Benedict, but the ones at Mission Bistro elevated the dish to a whole new level. The eggs were perfectly poached, the hollandaise sauce velvety smooth, and the English muffins toasted to perfection. Served with lox and spinach unlike your traditional Canadian bacon. And then there's the Shuka. This Mediterranean-inspired dish was bursting with vibrant colors and bold flavors. The eggs were nestled in a rich tomato sauce infused with aromatic spices, creating a dish that was both comforting and exciting at the same time. You won’t be disappointed here !"

"The grill, toasted bread and arugula! The good… The buttered sourdough bread toasted on the grill was good. Simple but nice touch compared to the typical basket of bread and butter. Now the bad…. Except the afore mentioned food highlights, the use of salt is over the top at this restaurant. It started with the calamari, which was sent back and came out the same… salty! The server admitted salt level couldn’t be changed when he said it was premixed, likely code word for pour frozen pre-made calamari out of the bag into fryer - put back into freezer. It wasn’t bad, at least not fishy smelling, but too salty. But the salt didn’t end! We asked the server to tell the kitchen staff not to overly salt our mains. Can you guess what our mains tasted like? Let’s start with the swordfish from the bottom of the stack. The mashed potatoes - not heated, and too salty. Oops the sauce under the potatoes…. SALT and more SALT, inedible. Again the mushrooms on top the potatoes… even more salt. Now finally the swordfish…. Not salty, but instead gross, fishy smelling indicating either not fresh or improperly cleaned prior to cooking. Inedible was the conclusion after sampling. Note to “chef,” swordfish shouldn’t grossly smell fishy. My spouse wouldn’t even allow me to taste the fish - yeah that bad. I can confirm the temp and saltiness of the mashed potatoes. Not even amateur execution, simply pathetic cooking. Now to the other meal - steak frites…. Likely preseasoned, frozen fries, cooked well but overly salty. But they are fries, which could receive a pass on slighty high salt except for the known salt heavy hand already in the kitchen. And the steak…. Not too salty, but then good steak benefits from a bit extra salt. Too bad our tongues were reeling from a trip to lick the Bonneville Salt Flats! And as for good steak, not so much…. The steak had no taste and was dry. I guess that’s why there was a small container of port sauce on the side. A note…. The steak is precut by the “chef” which not only covers for him not paying attention to the requested cook level (which they got right) but also allows a taste test. Note to “chef,” likely best to pour the sauce (if good) over the dry steak to cover up the lack of taste and dryness. I couldn’t even get to try the sauce due to the disaster the restaurant wants to call lunch. To end the meal which we only had one bite each, we asked the server to take the food away and bring us the check. Then he came back and asked what was wrong but didn’t want to listen to the criticisms. I asked for the check a second time to pay. Then proceeded the typical denials in the kitchen as the staff gathered behind with the “chef” even walking to an area to see who sent his “perfect” food back. Note to staff: Patrons can see you when you do this in your restaurant - it ain’t professional. And a real chef would have the balls to come out and listen to genuine criticisms from customers, especially a new “chef” from what the recent reviews indicate. Another minute plus of waiting for the check that didn’t come. I actually had to walk most of the way to the kitchen to get the server. Then in front of 3-4 of his colleagues, I asked for the third time to get the check. I actually had to raise my voice to a stern tone and remind him that I was asking for the third time and that we would simply walk out if we didn’t get it immediately. That’s when the server said that we didn’t need to pay and wished us a happy rest of the day. Talk about a huge waste of food due to incompetent cooking. Simply don’t eat at this place if you want to prevent food waste… Unless you only order the toasted bread and pick out the arugula from in between the salty calamari."

"Initially we were sad they have a new chef and have dropped their excellent French Dip sandwich—BUT wow this place is really fantastic right now! Excellent crisp, refreshing wedge salad. Really lovely crab cakes with a light lemon-dill sauce. Black Cod with miso saki soba noodles, and finger soy sesame oil was a delicious plate, but... The grilled swordfish main with roasted cauliflower, eggplant, olives, and almonds and a delightful romesco. Absolutely outstanding plate of food!"

"Cozy dog loving restaurant, French flag but didn’t notice any French dishes on the menu (perhaps some sauces). Both of our waiters were very nice and attentive. The food however was sub par, as we ordered the ribeye steak was not tender. The food was overall very greasy, even the vegetables were drenched in butter or oil. However, two things noted about this restaurant that were very nice to see, were separate kids menu and dog menu. That was very nice to see."