We came here three times in our five night stay. Most plays simply closed at 9pm and this place had the most vegetarian options of any that were open late. We ate each night at the bar area and the service was great. Jay from Scotland made some killer martinis for my wife and Marisa was super friendly. There was another short Latin man who was awesome too and feel bad I forgot his name. The bruschetta and Ziti Al Forno were great. The pizza was just so so for us and the only thing keeping it from 5 stars. We would be back next time in the area.
Review Source:Had the good fortune to visit with my wife and daughter. Â Very accommodating as we dropped in early on a Friday Night. Â Wonderful food, the Gnocchi appetizer was incredible. Â Deserts were OK, Cannoli was disappointing. Â Service was ok. Â We were at the end of a room and perhaps suffered a lack of attention due to that. Â We will go again.
Review Source:The decoration in the restaurant is alright. Not too many crowd during weekdays.
The Service: So so... the server is just doing the job, taking order of our food. Didn't feel very personal. Didn't feel the warmth at all. Ask the server to recommend any dish on the menu... he respond "everything is good here...."?
The Food: So so... I order pasta with mushroom & sausage. I didn't feel very special or wow. The taste is very bland. The pasta is a little bit overcooked. Didn't have much seasoning. The portion is okay.
The Parking: Street parking (FREE!)
I was so lucky to be treated to a birthday dinner at Vesuvio. It was the first time I have ever gone and wow, was I impressed!!
We went up to the rooftop lounge thinking we would start with a drink up there, however it was way to windy. We made our way back downstairs and were seating at a cozy table. Â I started with a delicious glass of sauvignon blanc and the insalata arugula. It was SO good! The tomatoes and feta were so fresh and the dressing was nice and tangy. (my mouth is watering just thinking about it).
I couldn't go to vesuvio without trying a pizza. I ordered abbruzzese pizza which was complete with goat cheese, basil pesto, roasted tomatoes and pine nuts. It was truly heavenly. The crust was so light, fluffy, and freshly made (as well as the other ingredients).
Our waiter was great as well. He didn't rush us at all, answered all of our questions, and waited for us to finish our salads before the pizza arrived (this avoided that akward plate dance that you do to make room for other entrees).
I did dock one star for the hostess. She was speaking with a friend when we arrived and when we came back down she stopped to seat us. However, she didn't stop the conversation with her friend and she was walking. We were left doing this akward walk, pause, walk, pause...listen to their conversation kind of thing. She either should have ended her conversation completely or asked us to wait until she was done. (Waiting would've been better than that akwardness).
All in all I cannot wait to go back to Vesuvio (and my boyfriend who ate the leftovers I brought home cannot wait to go either!)
My wife described this establishment on leaving as an upscale pizza joint with a rooftop bar which on reflection is bang on.
We booked the night before, arrived a little early and went up to the rooftop bar for a pre-dinner lubricant.
There was noticeably more men than women so perhaps the pine-comb article stirred a few chaps into making the pilgrimage.
Anyhow, the drinks were loaded which made the walk back down to the restaurant a little tricky. After being seated we went with a couple of starters being the cheese, salumi and bruschetta. Wow, the plate sizes are generous which left us in no doubt but to share a pizza which was their house salami special and very tasty indeed.
I rated three out of five, not because of anything we ate wasn't good but because the menu seemed packed yet it just didn't have us salivating which was a surprising conclusion we both came to on deep perusal.
We will return but likely we'll get there early, rush the rooftop, find seating, get a few drinks down us and soak it up with a pizza calliexcellent and social evening.
So if you are looking for casual dining or a group dinner that won't break the bank this is certainly worth a look-see !
Vesuvio serves great Italian food and drinks (and the rooftop patio upstairs, called Starlight 65, serves many of Vesuvio's apps around fire pits).
We debated on where to dine, but after seeing that the rooftop patio was much smaller than we expected, we were seated in the main restaurant at a cozy, romantic corner booth.
The drinks are so good! The pineapple caipirinha is no longer on the menu but they'll make if you ask (and you should ask!). We also tried the tequila abuelita - a very strong, very smooth margarita in a martini glass.
The food was amazing. The arugula salad (with feta, wine-pickled onions and capers) was elevated by the good quality olive oil and vinegar in the dressing. My husband's Chicken Vesuvio (with potato wedges and artichoke) had an amazing vinegar-y chipotle cream sauce. My Grappa Pizza Firenze (with tomato sauce, unmelted mozzarella, arugula and halved cherry tomatoes) needed a little more flavor or spice, but it was light and healthy. The New-York style cheesecake (with blackberry sauce) and tiramisu did not disappoint.
The service was great. The host opened a new section of the restaurant to seat us when she noticed that we'd been somewhat ignored at the bar while waiting for the table. Our server was prompt, funny, helpful, and did things like ask, "Are you done with this?" before removing a plate or last two sips of a drink.
We'll be back! If nothing else, than to have more pineapple caipirinhas and to try the limoncello mousse cake next time
We were seated in the bar area during a busy Saturday evening. The bar offered the same menu as in the restaurant, and I actually preferred being at a high-top table to scope out the place.
Service was friendly and efficient. The bar pours a strong G&T as well, so that was a great start. We each had a mixed greens salad (which was large enough that we could have split) and had the gnocchi appetizer to start. The gnocchi were soft, cheesy and delicious with truffle oil.
I had the carbonara, which was fantastic. The pancetta was of great quality and generously portioned and the peas still had a nice crunch to them. The sauce was creamy and smooth.
The menu is large and I am looking forward to trying a pizza on the next visit. I will be back for sure. It took me a while to get over Piatti's departure, but I'm happy with its replacement.
We were seated promptly near the kitchen on the upper stand. Â Great view of the entire restaurant.
Servers were attentive and we were well taken care of.
I had the pasta with a wild boar sauce. What surprised me was the inclusion of a generous piece of boar on top of the pasta. It was very flavorful.
My wife's food was excellent too. She had a shrimp and risotto special. Very good but not what she thought it would be.
They have a good wine list at reasonable prices for Carmel or any tourist town.
Walked into a mostly empty restaurant for happy hour appetizers, snacks, and drinks with my family. Â The woman who was to seat us was as unfriendly as a cougar at a seniors dinner. Â We ended up at the upstairs bar (different name) and had a great time. Â When we came back down It was still empty when we left about 1 1/2 hours later. Â
Service: F+
Food: ?
Ambiance: D
This is a nice fun spot with good happy hour food and friendly staff.  But the happy hour white and red are pretty close to undrinkable. Worse yet, and people please tell me if you see this recent trend too, happy hour pours are about half a glass. So essentially you drink  half a glass of bad wine for $6 while the guy next to you pays $9-12 off the menu and gets a full glass of good wine. Happy hour people get shafted. Do the owners think we can't see through this??
Review Source:Did not have dinner here but we did enjoy drinks and appetizers for happy hour at Vesuvio. Â Great location, tasty appetizers and a bar outside on the roof terrace kept us happy for a couple hours. Â Maybe it was the sunshine and a few lemon drops (perfectly tart, not too sweet) in comfy outdoor furniture that did the trick, I'm not sure. Â But we had a fantastic time! Â Would love to go back for dinner.
Review Source:Excellent restaurant and excellent rooftop bar. Our waitress was superb. She was totally subtle yet attentive. The organic chicken with the artichoke hearts is delicious and an ample portion. (Only desire was for our water glasses to be refilled a tiny bit more frequently during the meal.)
Overall superb!! Great for a date or for a small group.
We were visiting the area over New Years and didn't plan ahead by making New Years Eve dinner reservations. Our concierge found a table for us at an earlier seating at Vesuvio. We had no expectations one way or the other, but just hoped it wouldn't be a total bust.
I can happily say we enjoyed our entire experience here. Friendly staff, great wine selection, and everything we ordered was delicious. The restaurant was very charming as well.
If we visit the area in the future, we will definitely come here again.
We called at 9:30 pm. and were told kitchen is open till 10.. So we walked down and were  wonderfully greeted with FRESH right out of the oven baked bread.... I believe our waitress "Marisa" Baked it herself. All the food was good and Pizza was great, but the best food ever was the GNOCCHI GRATINATI AL TARTUFO.. ohh momma.. Cant wait to get back.. Thank you Marisa and Vesuvio for a great dinning experiance.
Review Source:Best happy hour in Carmel without a doubt. Outstanding rooftop patio-lounge area: the peninsula's best treehouse bar. I don't know where else I can get a burger and a drink for 10 bucks. Craft cocktail selection is awesome, especially the Old Fashioned. I loved the arancini and the baby back ribs are a good deal for happy hour. Downstairs is a good choice if you like Italian food. Pizza, too.
Review Source:I arrived there before 10 pm; no attention was given to me regardless the eye contact that I made with the bar tender. After ten minutes I've succeeded ordering my drink and I've asked about the food menu. They responded saying we will check the kitchen if they're still open. After long while they told me that the kitchen is closed. Unfortunately they were still serving some other people.
Review Source:Solid overall, but a few opportunities for improvement.
The decor is very nice overall, particularly the fresco styled mural, Vesuvius photo over the fireplace, and cozy vibe overall.
The menu has some unique choices, like the wild boar Bolognese my husband ordered. His dish was quite delicious - the boar and sauce nicely working in tandem for a full, bold flavor. My pizza was well prepared, although a bit acidic - although that's a taste thing. The Bruschetta was fresh and juicy, although the cheese could have been a bit more prominent in relation to the tomato (again taste thing).
The main issues were that the bread tasted old and was served to us cold. I would ordinarily give a lower rating for old bread, but understand that this could have been a temporary lapse in management. My husbands noodles were a bit stuck together - but that's minor. The main issue was the bread, which should always be fresh and warm.
I was taken here for my birthday last night, and I have to say that Vesuvio gave me one of the best Italian meals I have had in a long time (besides my Italian mother of course).
I highly recommend going a little earlier and having a drink up on the roof. There were fire pits roaring and little tiny lights scattered across the deck. Truly amazing.
The meal: I can definitely recommend the Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni. Others at our table had the Shrimp Risotta, the Carbonara pasta, and the ai funghi pizza. They all agreed their meals were amazing as well.
If you are looking for a good wine, go for the Boekenoogen Pinot Noir. It's nothing short of amazing.
We live in Carmel have gone here several times since it opened for the rooftop happy hour.We have taken out of town guests mostly. It has always been fun, with great service, delicious food and is a great value. great ambience!
I don't know why others have complained. We must always be there on the good nights.
Salad caprese was DELICIOUS...they offer a choice of tomatoes and mozarellas, did the heirloom tomatoes and the buffalo moz from italy, it was so creamy. Â Ate light, the white bean soup was lovely. Â Service was super. Â They have a great happy hour, rooftop lounge, $5 glasses of wine, nice wines to boot.
Review Source:Just returned from a dinner for 4 tonight. Â From the get-go, the wait staff was an issue. After sitting awhile, we were approached by a waiter who asked if we had been helped. Â We said no, and then he said, Oh, I will be your waiter (like he was doing us a huge favor). Â We were never told the specials of the day (as we heard a different waiter announce to the folks next to us). Â
We did order an unusual assortment of food this evening, as one of us had special food needs (nothing solid - after jaw surgery).  We specifically asked if the crab bisque could be pureed.  Our waiter assured us it already was.  When all the food was delivered to the table.  The crab bisque  was switched for red pepper puree! Our waiter told us: "oh, there are crab pieces in the soup, so I brought you the red pepper instead.  They were too busy to puree the crab bisque"  WHAAAAA????  The fact that he actually brought the soup to the table without first asking was deplorable.  We were too polite to refuse and frankly the soup was very good.  It was the fact that we were not given an option that is unthinkable!
We actually enjoyed the food this evening, but our waiter was such a disappointment - we had to get his attention just to order wine with dinner (we had delightful peach bellinis for aperitifs, but he never bothered to ask us for drinks beyond that).
I definitely want to return for the food (4 stars for sure) - just not the same waiter!
I'm revising my opinion on the pasta. Â It's first rate. Â I had the veal parmesan the other night, which comes with an alfredo sauce that is very good. Â Not too rich and cheesy or heavy, but not too runny and flavorless either. Â
Previous experience with spaghetti is also just as good.
I was visiting friends of mine in Carmel last weekend and they suggested we go to this place because of the great rooftop deck. Â I can't argue with that, it was a great set up, but the positive point of view ends there. Â
We walked up the stairs and found an empty table right away, however we waited for service for more than 15 minutes. Â No wait staff arrived, one of my friends decided to order our drinks from the bar. Â He returned and said they will bring the drinks to us. Â Once they arrived we ordered a couple of appetizers that took more than 20 minutes to reach our table. Â When they arrived we ordered another round of drinks and two more appetizers. Â Only one of them made it to our table (the other was added to our bill -- but no where in sight --)
I'm not sure what the issue was at this place. Â There was five servers that I could count, and the rooftop had MAYBE 10-12 people. Â I noticed the staff spent a lot of time around the bar chatting with each other and not paying attention to their customers. Â
Next time I visit Carmel I will DEFINITELY not be going to this place. Â I will also suggest to my friends that live there not to take anyone else to this place, they will be as disappointed as I was.
This would have been a one star rating, but I decided to give them two because it was a nice view.
Great Food, Great Service, and all around a good value, for Carmel.
We started with the Bruschetta, you get 4 big pieces and was perfect to share between 4 people. Â $8
I had the Lamb Shank with Mash Potatoes. Â It was perfectly cooked and tasted great. Â $28
My wife had the Gnocchi, which I tried and it was nice and pillowy.... Â $20
We ordered a bottle of the Pepe Cab blend and was very pleasantly surprised. Â It was one of the less expensive bottle, but was very tasty.
The reason we came here was for the rooftop deck, but we didn't even end up getting up there, since we arrived at 9:30 for our 8pm resi. Â We had called and pushed it back a couple times, and the hostess was really nice and easy going about it.
Great experience, I recommend it
What a lovely evening! We started out with drinks atop Vesuvio, at their Starlight 65 bar. Â The sunset was beautiful, and the couches, heaters, and fire pits made the rooftop warm and inviting. Â
We then went downstairs for dinner and had a truly beautiful meal. Â The server was very nice and really let us take our time. Â He clearly knew the menu and was able to provide recommendations when we began narrowing it down. Â We started with the arancini di riso, which done right, isn't easy to come by. Â This was done right. Â It had a creamy consistency with a nice crunch to it, but wasn't over-fried. Â For my entree, I had the gnocchi served in a gorgonzola-sage sauce. Â The sauce was a little too creamy, but it was by far the best gnocchi I've had...they were like fluffy little pillows...not too dense, not too soft. Â My boyfriend had the "ziti al forno" with sausage and mushrooms. Â It was also quite good. Â For dessert, we shared the cannoli, which paired nicely with a cup of coffee. Â
Great meal. No complaints. We'll be back!
Ok, I really don't see why some people may have bad reviews, the place is nice and cozy. Your typical Italian joint, nice girls, loud groups, drinks back and forth. If you wanna sit on the terrace and be forgotten and blame it on everyone else be my guest.
I'm gonna be honest and say the menu is different. A LOT of it it's stuff I've never seen or heard of, so I stuck with the Pizza (pepperoni & sausage) which was really good, and I'm from Brooklyn, so I know good tasting pizza, at least on CA, where pizzas are bad and made different from NYC. My wife decided to try the Short Ribs Ravioli (I know, weird) but man, that stuff was delicious. I had to help her eat them, cause they're big ones. Really tasty and saucy. Â Got some extra dirty martinis and they were good as well.
We took our 2 yr old daughter, it was like 7pm, and everyone was very helpful and accommodating, the hostess, our beautiful waitress Kate, the manager. Of course, as most times, people were loving our daughter, and this couple from two tables beside us bought us another round of martinis.
I was feeling all defensive thinking it'd be bad due to all the bad reviews some people give to this place. Y'all need to either try to go a second time to the place and see if you have a better experience OR send back whatever it is that you don't like. No one has a gun to your face to make you eat their stuff.
Great place with a rooftop bar, and the people working there are awesome. Â The mussels were superb, the space was romantic. Â We decided to go downstairs for some dinner.
We thought we ordered cioppino off the menu, but it was more like a seafood pasta - delicious nonetheless. Not knowing this, we also ordered the papardelle which was also great.
There are a billion italian options in carmel, but this one is pretty all-around good times. Â Plus, I think the owner is running for Mayor, so there's always that.
Location, ambiance, service and some really good food and wine made for a perfect evening; everything was excellent. Â This is a new restaurant so I followed the consistent good comments and ordered the spare rib ravioli recommendations from fellow yelp'rs and they were spectacular. Â We also had several specials which also proved to be very good.
Do not always believe what you read and take a chance once in awhile? Â We gambled and won.
After meeting at the Starlight 65, Vesuvio's rooftop lounge we decided to grab dinner to postpone all drunken ridiculousness until we had some food in our system. Â
Momo and I started with a glass of red wine (mine dry and her's a bit more fruit-forward)... later I realized why it tasted so familiar, it was the '07 Pepe Vesuvio - their very own Cab blend. Â I'm actually a very big fan of this wine and it is the same bottle we took up to the top of our Soberanes hike a year earlier which is a whole other story... Â to make a long story short the only way my mother and sisters could get me to hike was by promising me wine and a picnic on top of the cruel mountain.
Anyways, we enjoyed the insalata di gorgonzola which was your typical salad with Gorgonzola cheese bits and candied nuts, in this case walnuts. Â Veal 'Marsala' was tasty and I was a fan of the large quartered Crimini Mushrooms in the sauce and we both enjoyed the side of tagliatelle covered with a light Alfredo sauce, light in regards to the thickness of the sauce. Â The charred beef filet mignon had solid presentation but didn't "wow" us. Â We were craving greens so we ordered the side of asparagus and broccoli. Â Both sides tasted fine but the "broccoli in garlic & oil" was overcooked and borderline mushy - another minute and you would have had homemade baby food. Â "Grilled Asparagus" was decorated with nice thick Parmesan shavings, almost overkill. Â
All in all we enjoyed all our menu choices minus the steamed broccoli and we had a great time celebrating her belated birthday. Â We enjoy the ambiance at Vesuvio as well as the Starlight 65 Lounge and enjoy running into friends and seeing familiar faces at one of Carmel's newly opened restaurants.
I would go back to have a drink on the
roof garden-bar. Nice atmosphere up there.
The restaurant not so much. Pretty blah
overall, but not when it comes to prices.
overpriced for what you're getting. come
on it's pasta, we're not talking TopChef here.
Go for a drink, have dinner somewhere else.
On a tip from a friend, I heard Vesuvio, the latest from the team behind Little Napoli and Peppoli, "erupted" last night, officially opening its doors for business. I've been on quite the Italian kick lately, so I knew I'd have to pop over to check them out sooner or later. Turned out, I was there sooner rather than later, grabbing small bites and pizza there tonight.
We got there around 6:15 and had our choice of tables in the dining room or the lounge. We opted for the more secluded and relaxed lounge. We took a few minutes to pore over the diverse (albeit large and bulky) menu, which has an assortment of Italian cuisine: appetizers for $10 to $12, soups and salads for $7 to $8, pastas for about $20 and seafood and entrees for $25 to $30.
My friend and I settled on some small plates and a pizza. We started with the arancini (4 for $9), spicy crab cakes (3 for $12) and mozzarella "burrata" ($12).
I was thrilled to see arancini on the menu--these delicious risotto fritters are rare finds on menus in these parts. Sadly, one bite in and my heart sank--the rice was overcooked and mushy. What a disappointment!
The crab cakes similarly weren't all that great. Sure, I appreciated the little kick of spice, but the crab cakes were packed with chunks of raw onion--way too much for my tastes. Plus, they were fried--I much prefer a quick browning over deep-frying for my crab cakes.
The mozzarella burrata was perplexing. When it arrived, it looked beautiful, dressed with balsamic and slices of tomato. But we were scratching our heads--where were the crostini? Most places serve crostini to "plate" the cheese. Apparently that's what the tomato was for? I would have been forgiving of this presentation if the tomato hadn't been cut so thick and if it actually tasted good. (It's a little early for good tomatoes, and these were hard as rocks and not very flavorful.)
After disappointing appetizers, I was a little apprehensive about the pizza. Whew! The pizza fared better than the appetizers. We ordered the spicy sausage and peppers pizza ($16) on the recommendation of our server. The sausage was a nice blend of sweet and spicy, with a good kick of spice against sweet herbs. The peppers could have been cooked a little longer to make them softer, but that's a personal preference. The crust was nice and thin, just how I like it, but it was a tad too charred for my tastes.
Last but not least, we decided to try dessert--tiramisu ($8). The tiramisu here was heavy on the chocolate. I'm not usually a fan of chocolate, but even I appreciated the addition of dark chocolate shavings on top. The ladyfingers were soaked a bit too long if you ask me, but the filling made up for their shortcoming.
Our server was nice and friendly, but it was clear she was still getting into her groove. There were little hiccups--forgotten plates for small bites, silverware cleared prematurely--that get smoothed out as a restaurant, and its servers, get more experience under their belts. But she was helpful and welcoming, which can make all the difference in Carmel's sometimes stuffy restaurant scene.
The atmosphere at Vesuvio was interesting. It seemed very quiet and sedate in the dining room, but quite the opposite in the lounge. The music--and thus the conversations--were loud, amplified by the stone tile floors. The decor was an odd mix--old black-and-white photos, reprinted Roman mosaic murals, rustic metal fixtures and a flatscreen TV all in one room. I'm all for a fun, eclectic atmosphere, but perhaps a bit more focus could really help evoke the Italian bistro vibe they're striving for.
In the end, I'm torn what to think of Vesuvio. Honestly, I think they're trying to do too much here to nudge their way into Carmel's emerging late-night food scene. I applaud their efforts, as it's nice to see more restaurants open late--Vesuvio plans to stay open until 11:00--but I think they first need to focus on the food and atmosphere, both of which felt incomplete to me. Sure, they're a new restaurant so perhaps this will evolve over time, but I have to wonder, is there really anything *new* here at Vesuvio. I couldn't help but feel a sense of culinary deja vu, that I'd eaten the same meal at Little Napoli. And I wasn't the only one with this opinion--I heard the table next to us say the exact same thing while they were eating their entrees.
I'd love to see Vesuvio grow into its own identity. Hopefully in time this will happen--especially with the Starlight 65 lounge on the roof above Vesuvio--and I look forward to coming back in a couple of months to see how things evolve here. The menu certainly piqued my curiosity--penne in pink vodka sauce is always a favorite of mine, and in time, maybe they'll get their arancini right. But in the meantime, I'll stick with more tried-and-true restaurants like Joe Rombi's La Mia Cucina in Pacific Grove or Carmel's Cantinetta Luca when I'm craving Italian food.
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