Dametra Cafe
Ocean and Lincoln, Carmel
622-7766, www.dametracafe.com
This double-category winner is far and away Carmel’s most festive—even boisterous—dining experience. As if cuisine from all over the Mediterranean, ranging from gyros to shawarma to cioppino weren’t enough, co-owner Faisal Nimri regularly comes out of the kitchen playing string instruments, causing the room to explode in loud music and songs, with patrons hand-clapping and belly dancers prancing between the tightly spaced tables. A sort of dinner theater, if you will.