Roy's - Carmel, Pebble Beach - 2005 (MOVED)

Rating (* for Poor to ***** for Excellent)

Food: ***
Service: ****
Ambience: *****
Value: **

OVERALL: ***

Roy's at Pebble Beach Website

GENERAL: I don't typically spend time writing reviews on restaurants with unimpressive food - but Roy's isn't just a restaurant. It's a destination (man, I heard this somewhere recently). It's in such a charming location to spend your late afternoon (Notice I didn't say evening - will explain later) that sometime I wonder how many are going there for the food.

FOOD: Did I say that I really can't stand Asian-Californian cuisine? It's probably because of my Asian heritage and the fact that I know some secrets to good Chinese cooking. Roy's claims to be Hawaiian, but the flavors and cooking techniques are definitely on the Asian side of Hawaiian. The food is creative and decent, but really not great even if I put on my American taste bud.

Appetizers were ok, pretty creative in general. We enjoyed the grilled butterfish and rare ahi. Entrees were disappointing - they taste like American food made by a Chinatown chef. Our friends recommended their chocolate lava cake (forgot the exact name), which is pretty good if you are a diehard chocolate addict - but it wasn't very sophiscated at all, kind of like a homemade dessert.

SERVICE: Just like what you would expect in a country club restaurant, this place offers country club service - casual, friendly and efficient. There seems to be a disproportional number of waiters and waitresses running around, so it's very easy to get attention. Also, they were very tolerant of children - even though the restaurant was definitely not designed to be children-friendly (steps and density to be dangerous for an adult).

AMBIENCE: "Pebble Beach" says it all. Oh, throw sunset into the mix. Too many restaurants in the Pacific Coast enjoys the scenario to treat the guests with a perfect sunset. You MUST go in the afternoon, like an hour before sunset, so that you'll be well-situated to enjoy it. It's like the restaurant was designed (it probably was!) according to some feng-shui orientation. Interior decorations were tasteful and comfortable.

A small problem - the night we were there was a Sun night, so there were lots of golfers having a good time at the restaurants. Yup, most male who got very excited talking about their game and all kinds of games they watched the week before. Yup, it was noisy, period. Avoid weekend if you can.

VALUE: Location, location, location. It's easy to blow $50-$60 a head with moderate alcohol consumption - not good for its average food, but a great deal if you enjoy watching beatiful sunset in a spectacular panoramic setting. Value is truly in the eye of the beholder - I just can't give them anything more than a two star out of my good conscience.

BOTTOMLINE: There aren't a whole lot of places I can compare Roy's to. Given it's prominent location with a great view, I'd say you won't be disappointed there - just don't expect their creative food to be as good as most of the restaurants in downtown Carmel. It's a place you'll remember - but unfortunately not for the perfectness of its food, but all the other things.

LAST WORD: Making a reservation is a great idea - so is getting there early so that you can to choose your table. Remember, going on a nice weekend day in the summer means lots of golfers talking about their lousy games around, so be prepared.