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When a restaurant is in its infancy, the dining experience is often awkward. You know how it goes—line cooks are still learning the recipes, servers hesitating when identifying tables, the manager practicing apologies before approaching guests, the usual growing pains.

That’s not the experience we had at Promesa.

Less than a week had passed since the Spanish tapas place in Carmel opened its doors when we dropped by on a Saturday. Yet the host greeted us like a college buddy, staff members were confident and comfortable and the ham croquettes crackled, revealing tufts of cashmere potato punctuated by sweet and tangy cubes of meat.

Promesa’s menu is refreshingly tight—gazpacho, two salads and four sandwich options for lunch, the same soup and salad, along with three choices of entree at dinner. The emphasis is on tapas, cheese and charcuterie.

You have the option of allowing chef Anthony Quintana to send out a selection of his choice. The kitchen keeps things simple, and as with the croquettes, a delicate touch brings out the best in potatoes (that aren’t fries—bias showing). Spanish tortillas, for instance, are friendly and lush. A dusting of salt lends generous pops of ocean spray.

Maldon sea salt and the grassy bite of olive oil make it impossible to avoid a bowl of marcona almonds. And the olive selection winds through the senses, once sweet and rich then fruity with herbal claws or mellow and nutty. Fried padrón peppers captivate with notions of charred meadow grass until they flare up with smoldering heat.

This is simplicity not overwhelmed by craft. In the chorizo and the sweet tomato spread over pedestrian bread and everything else that arrives at the table, a deft hand allows a range of octaves to play over the palate.

When a chef selects well and leaves things be, the results can be memorable. In a few ounces of Valdeón, a young cave-aged blue cheese, resides a savor so rich and buttery it tends toward toffee. Yet there are flourishes—a fruity compote, dry herbs—and the musty, forest floor sensation from veins of mold.

Promesa is a handsome space with a timeworn fireplace inside and a dining patio outside. Nice, although on this particular day the bread was a bit tired. 

Oh well. The crew is fully aware that hiccups await in the early stages of a restaurant’s life. But there’s an ease in their manner that welcomes guests to overlook anything out of step.

Promesa is on Mission Street between 5th and 6th avenues, Carmel. It is open daily 11am-9pm. 574-8865, promesacarmel.com