Rustic European Family Style Cuisine

By Carol & Joe Davis
Dining Detectives

We always enjoy our trips to Carmel to dine, shop and walk on the beach. Our favorite lunch spot has always been Casanova Restaurant which serves country French & Italian Cuisine, has a World Class Wine Cellar including 10 vintages of Opus One and serves the most fantastic Spinach Gnocchi which we crave! We knew that they had another restaurant called La Bicyclette but had never dined there as they had formerly offered three course dinners with only a single choice of entree. We chatted with Executive Chef John Cox who overseas both restaurants and were pleased to hear that there were now four choices for entrees, so we were excited to try La Bicyclette on this trip

The interior is very cozy and the décor makes you feel like you are dining in a charming French country kitchen. We ordered some local wines by the glass and enjoyed the light music in the background. The first two courses are served family style. We loved our first course which was an Heirloom Tomato Salad with fresh mozzarella and opal basil. Our second course was delicious Mushroom Soup which was served piping hot in an individual copper pot and had great texture and wonderful flavor. It was really fun to serve your own soup and have as much as you want. The entrees that we chose were both delicious as well. The Viande Entrée was Meyer Ranch Natural Sierra Filet of Beef served rare, as ordered, with bacon gnocchi and fabulous green beans and the Poisson Entrée was tasty local Sole with lemon verbena served in parchment with spinach, potatoes and champagne grapes. The sweetness that the tiny champagne grapes added was delightful!

The Carmel Valley Wines that we enjoyed were the 2008 Georgis Sauvignon Blanc and the 2007 Cowgirl Red Cabernet Sauvignon. As we were finishing our entrees, we saw the Profiteroles au Chocolate dessert headed for another table and knew we had to share one. These cream puffs with vanilla ice cream, toasted almonds, and chocolate sauce were light and as tender and as delicious as they looked. They are known to be the best Profiteroles in town! Espresso in cute stylish cups was the perfect finish. La Bicyclette is popular with locals and tourists as the menu changes every few days and there are now multiple entrée choices. We really enjoyed our charming French dinner!

La Bicyclette
Delores & 7th
Carmel, CA. 93921
831-622-9899
www.LaBicycletteRestaurant.com