Monterey County’s best restaurants get national recognition—and a visit to Chez Noir shows why.

David Schmalz here. On Monday, July 14, just after 5:20pm, I ate grilled abalone skewered on a bay sprig. At the end of the sprig was a single, charred bay leaf, and each small bite of the meat was tender and buttery, with a hint of lemon, earthiness from the bay and umami for days. 

It was one of the best bites I’ve ever had, and also the most local: grilled abalone, on a bay sprig skewer? It’s the Monterey Peninsula on a plate. 

That dish was among a selection of four pairs of amuse-bouche that also included mini-shrimp Louie avocado toast, cherry tart tatin topped with shaved, dry-aged Jack, and peppers stuffed with BBQ seafood and sausage. Collectively, those tiny, delectable dishes took the palate on a short, tantalizing trip, previewing delights to come. 

That meal was at Carmel’s Chez Noir, where husband-and-wife team Jonny and Monique Black have achieved stratospheric success since splashing onto the scene in October 2022. In July 2023, less than a year after opening, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star (which it has since retained twice), and alongside Carmel’s Aubergine—which has two Michelin stars—it looks like it will be a fixture for years to come in the pantheon of America’s great restaurants.

I don’t eat out often—tight budget and all that—but when I do, I try to make it count, because even though I’m not a food writer, I love great food and have an extremely high opinion of my own palate, which is embarrassing to write but also accurate.

I say all that because even though I’m a journalist who likes great food, I rely on other journalists—like my colleague Dave Faries, the Weekly’s features editor and a food writer for 25 years—to help steer me to the right places to find it, because I’m not out there sampling the goods nearly as much as I’d like. 

Which is why I’ve long been a sucker for lists. The San Francisco Chronicle’s annual Top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area was a godsend for me when I lived in the city for much of my 30s, and I’ve long been a fan of all lists no matter the region—I just like to see what’s standing out, where. 

So when Los Angeles Times food critic Bill Addison published a list of the 101 best restaurants in California in June, it was an instant click for me.

Chez Noir was the only Monterey County restaurant on the list—which is not ranked—and Addison’s brief writeup was admiring and spot-on. Also interesting were the other two county restaurants he mentions even more briefly at the end of the writeup—Aubergine for a “blowout tasting-menu spectacular” (checks out) or Seaside’s Maligne for “more casual, full-hearted Italian Californian cooking.” 

Italian? 

In any case, that list was on my mind as I dined Monday night, but I was inspired to make the reservation a week before it came out, as I’d gotten an email from Chez Noir on June 2 announcing that New York City chef Joshua Pinsky, who helms his own Michelin-starred restaurant, would be joining the kitchen July 14 as part of Chez Noir’s “mes amis” series of guest chef dinners. 

A taste of the best New York City has to offer—alongside Jonny Black’s magic—without even leaving home. I love the concept, and if you want to treat yourself, I highly recommend. 

And as for lists, if you had to pick the top 10 restaurants in Monterey County, what would they be? I’m curious what y’all think.