Forge In The Forest Restaurant

Fun stop with good lunch bites and drinks! This is a cute little place in Carmel and great for a quick lunch. The outdoor area has a nice lush green vibe but we decided to sit inside for a more casual vibe.

We sat at the bar and the person helping us was very friendly and the right level of engaging and giving you space.

We had a few cocktails, all which were delicious! Gin sonic, tequila smash and espresso martini. Their cocktail list is extensive - so definitely something for everyone.

Food was tasty! My chicken Caesar with blackened chicken was really delicious and generous portion of chicken. The turkey sandwich was also really good and hit the spot.

My husband and I came for a late lunch that unfortunately was pretty bad.

We were first seated towards the back of the courtyard and there was a strong smell of urine. We ended up moving to a different seat because the smell was so overwhelming.

I ordered the chicken parm and my husband ordered a turkey sandwich. My dish was not good. The chicken was burnt and the pasta was mushy. The turkey sandwich was decent but the truffle oil fries were drowned in oil.

Our waitress was inattentive and missing for most of our lunch. We had to ask other staff members for help because she was never around. I saw another waitress (who was very sweet and talked kindly to her tables) more than I ever saw our waitress. It seemed like we were the only table not assigned to her, so we were pretty much the only table that barely got any service.

I wanted to liked this place because it is very cute but the lack of customer service and cleanliness left us not wanting to come back.

I was looking forward to coming here but unfortunately, it was a terrible lunch experience.

We were offered a table outside in the sun. As someone with a disease where I can't be in the sun for extended periods of time, we asked if there was anything else. We were sat at the half circle stone fire pit. It wasn't ideal, but I wouldn't have even mentioned it here if it wasn't covered in ants.

Our server was absentee most of the time. She finally came and we placed our orders just after a table of two women placed their orders.

Our food started coming out. Two plates out of five. Waited a little while longer and two more plates came. The two women's server came by their table with two bowls of soup as an apology because their POS system was down. The woman started complaining that we ordered after them and got our food before them. The server went to the back and came back after speaking with her manager and said their meals would be free.

Our server did not come back. We waited and ate half our meals while our companion had nothing. He got up and asked and was told they were making his sandwich. We all finished eating.... then his sandwich arrived. We asked the server why he didn't get his food until we were all finished and she said the receipt for the kitchen didn't print because the system was down. My other colleague had been out of soda for quite some time and she asked for a refill, which wasn't brought back for a while.

No apologies. No offer to discount even just his meal. Nothing at all. Then we waited another 10 minutes AFTER he finished eating before our server came back with our check.

As far as the food goes, it was pretty average at best. The experience definitely diminished my opinion of the restaurant, but my friend's fettuccini alfredo was flavorless. I've never seen anyone need to add so much salt and pepper to a pasta dish. I had the margherita pizza and the sauce was really sweet. The other three enjoyed their food (French onion soup, chicken sandwich, and ruben sandwich).

Well. Back again last night. We pretty much ordered the same items. The Chinese chicken salad and fries.

I neglected to mention their house made ranch dressing to dip the fries in. Delish!!!!!

Watermelon lemon drops were a hit again.

I just love their staff who are so friendly.

And you cannot beat their outdoor seating. Cozy and warm. But vibrant and cheerful.

I understand why there is only 3.5 stars for this place. The potential is there it really is but the quality of the food is just not very good! The outdoor seating is very lovely though and magical, and of course it's a win being dog friendly. I will say the Reuben sandwich was incredible, but my husbands burger was almost inedible. Service was slow but decent.

A beautiful, enchanting restaurant with great service, delicious food and drinks! We received a warm welcome with our pup and got seated outside
right away without reservations on a Friday evening. We weren't starving, so we just had the Beet Salad and their famous French onion soup with a couple glasses of wine and enjoyed everything. We would definitely return next time we're in town!

Simple food. Straightforward tastes and service. Will always come back. Thank you Forge in the forest!

Hubby & I escaped to Carmel for our wedding anniversary. Forge in the Forest was a must for lunch. Always amazing food and service. Highly recommend!

All the years we've been staying across the street at the Carmel Bay View Inn (excellent!), it's not clear why we never bother to eat at Forge. It's hard to find a bad restaurant in Carmel, and Forge is no exception. The outside patio area is picture perfect; like coming across an old inn after a long road trip. The night air was a bit nippy, but they made sure our table had its own overhead heater. The drink choices were plentiful and service was very good. I started with an excellent French Onion Soup, and paired it with a very good Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken. One of my friends had the Street Tacos, which were filled generously with Chicken, onions, and tomatoes. Everything else our table had, was also very good. We'll need to stop back to try more of the menu.

If you're looking for a tucked away outdoor dining spot in Carmel, Forge is the place to visit! When planning, we saw they didn't have an online reservation system and we didn't find the time to call them. Thankfully, there was no wait when we visited and we were able to snag a spot in the shade. I will say that the outdoor patio area gets quite crowded, so I'd recommend trying to make a reservation if you're on a time crunch to be safe.

FOOD:
I got a breaded chicken sandwich and the brioche bun was so soft, a great contrast to the lightly breaded chicken. Everything about the sandwich was delicious and I completely devoured it. My boyfriend got the Prosciutto flatbread, which was out of this world! We loved the figs on the flatbread and thought it was a unique dish as we've never had something like that in San Francisco.

SERVICE:
Great service, no complaints. They also have a menu for canine friends, which was so cute! Overall, I love the ambiance and vibe of The Forge; we had a magical afternoon there filled with really great food.