Carmel was already synonymous with cute. It's even more adorable now that Treehouse Cafe (626-1111), in the old Dolce Vita Ristorante on San Carlos south of Ocean Avenue, occupies a picture perfect little haunt with oak trees framing its second story deck space and cozy dining room.
The spot is in the midst of its soft opening today (Monday, Aug. 5). Staff tells me it's been packed all morning and into the afternoon. (Hours are 7:30am-4pm seven days a week.)
The breakfast and lunch is brought to the hamlet-by-the-sea by the same Fadi Alnimri who brought Mid Valley the Greek-leaning Athena Cafe and Sakana Sushi in downtown Monterey. (He’s since sold both; Sakana Sushi is no more but Athena remains as strong as ever.)
His brothers are behind International Cuisine in P.G. and Dametra Cafe in Carmel; now he’ll apply his own around-the-world approach.
Breakfast is all-American—pancakes, Benedicts, breakfast burritos—then a mix of Thai, Mediterranean, Russian, Italian, Spanish and Greek come in. The "Greek burger" with feta cheese, pesto sauce and caramelized onions ($13 with salad) and yellow curry chicken ($15 with wild rice) were best sellers today.
“I can do all this stuff,” Alnimri says. “I’m a chef. I love to cook. When I do it from my heart, it comes out awesome.”
Cute one too.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.