California Travel: Spanish Tapas in Carmel-by-the-Sea

California Travel with Spanish Tapas in Carmel-by-the-Sea

As I have said before, I love tapas! For someone who is indecisive or doesn’t want to settle on one large dish of the same flavors, tapas is the perfect way to dine. On our recent family vacation covering all sorts of California travel, we had the privilege to make another stop at Mundaka in Carmel-by-the-Sea, for a mostly comped meal. Mundaka is a restaurant I could revisit again and again.

From the beautiful grounds to the intimate settings, and attentive staff, Mundaka is great for dates, or even family visits. While there is not a kids’ menu, there are plenty of delectable options that the kids absolutely love!

Something that surprised me during this visit for Spanish Tapas was that the menu had changed. While I was disappointed that I couldn’t get the yummy Cannelonis that I enjoyed on my previous visit, my palate was treated to several new and excited flavors. The menu is not large, and has some great seasonal dishes.

We were able to get the kids’ favorite dish again, which was this beautiful plate of Bravas; fried potatoes, brava sauce, and aioli. We all love this dish so much that we ordered two!

The kids were brave and tried a little of everything. Okay, they tried a lot of most everything! We ordered a couple of mini hamburguesas with truffle fries, to share. Always tasty! We did get them without the pickled cauliflower this time, and the kids preferred it that way.

Now that beauty at the front of the picture above. That my friends is a Bomba; housemade sausage, mashed potatoes and mojo rojo! Just look at it – it’s perfection by taste and by looks! Food that has creamy goodness oozing out of it has to be a hit!

Now the next dish was probably our least favorite, but still delicious. The husband isn’t into eggs so this wasn’t quite up his alley. We just had to try it though! This is not your typical ravioli. You may not have even guessed there was ravioli underneath all of that yumminess! This ravioli comes with corn, beans, ricotta, egg, and Serrano ham. Looks like it’s topped with creamy cheese too!

With all that I’ve shown you so far, you’d think we’ve had enough by now right? Think again!

Now for my husband’s favorite dish of the evening: Croquetas. Stuffed with bechamel, Serrano ham, and manzanilla, these little poppers on a stick were so heavenly that we had to get a second order. We were definitely not leaving hungry!

Just looking at the outside of the Croquetas, you don’t quite know what to expect. However, the combined flavors of are simple enough for the kids to love them, and rich enough for the adults to love them! These could be the ultimate comfort food too; with all of their creamy goodness!

Now for my favorite dish of the evening: Datiles! These are much like a Rumaki appetizer that my sister makes for Christmas Eve, but taken up a notch. These are a seasonal item and you just have to order them if you stop by Mundaka! You might be a little apprehensive when you hear the ingredients, but they create an explosion of great flavors in your mouth! Datiles are made up of bacon wrapped dates, goat cheese, and almonds. Oh. My. Yummy!

To finish off our meal, our waiter suggested one of the seasonal vegetables that is actually quite sweet and could double as a dessert. We took his word for it and ordered the Flores: fried squash blossoms in a lemon-verbena caramel sauce. I mean, just look at them! They look like dessert right? The kids were a little nervous of the texture and the faint green they could see through the fried outside, but the taste was very surprising and good. The little girl even licked the plate clean because the lemon-verbena caramel was so tasty.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; Mundaka in Carmel does not disappoint! If you need inspiration of what to do when visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea, or where to stay, read my last California Travel post.