My morning in Monterey started with a light breakfast at the Comfort Inn Carmel by the Sea; and then I drove down the scenic 17-Mile Drive in pebble beach. Once I was done exploring the beach, like the good little hobbit I am, I was ready for second breakfast. I decided on the Little Swiss Cafe, a restaurant near my hotel in Carmel.
The Little Swiss Cafe
Carmel by the Sea is an extremely cute town on the pacific coast that looks more like a European village than a California seaside town.
The Little Swiss Cafe fits this European motif to a tee. It is exactly what it says it is, A Little Swiss Cafe.
The Carmel area is known to be an expensive place to visit, but my goal is always to keep costs down and I hoped that the Little Swiss Cafe would be able to help me accomplish this. The restaurant is highly regarded with locals and tourists alike. They like the Little Swiss Cafe because they provide a quality breakfast at a reasonable price. Me? I was most interested in the cheese blintzes. If you are new to my blog, you will quickly learn I love food. For some reason, however, I never in my life could recall ever having a blintz. Heck, I wasn’t even 100% sure of what a blintz was. All I knew is that it sounded delicious.
I arrived at the little swiss cafe right around 11am expecting that there would not be much of a wait. Turns out that there was about a 30 minute wait and they are a cash only restaurant. As a points addict, I never carry cash, so I put my name down and ran to the closest ATM. By the time I got back, I only need to wait 10 minutes before a table was ready for me.
Little Swiss Cafe Food
The menu at the Little Swiss Cafe is a slightly elevated version of what you would find at a standard breakfast restaurant. They have their own take on the staples: eggs, pancakes, waffles, breakfast burritos, and biscuits. Reading through the menu and looking around what they other people were eating, it all looked amazing. However, I was there for one reason only, cheese blintzes. As it turns out, a Blintz is a cross between Pancake, Crepe, and toaster pastry. Essentially, It is a thin pancake wrapped around a ricotta and cream cheese filling. The Little Swiss Cafe tops their Blintzes with powdered sugar and serves them with sour cream and strawberries.
The second I cut into the blintz I knew I was in love. The filling flooded out of the pancake and I eagerly scooped it up. Their blintzes are completely and utterly amazing. As I am not a person who generally likes sweets, this came as a bit of a surprise. The Little Swiss Cafe serves a perfectly balanced blintz that did not overwhelm my palate with sweetness. They key is the side of sour cream its flavor perfectly cuts through the sweetness keeping it in check.
There were however, a few negatives with the meal. Personally, I think think the lack of anything to go along with the blintzes made the plate look bare. The plate would look more complete served with a more suitable side. Maybe the addition of more strawberries or a seasonal berry mix.
Little Swiss Cafe Cost
When it comes down to it, this blog is about keeping our wallets happy. When I planned this meal I was looking at an out of date menu. By the time I visited, the prices of most of the items had significantly increased, however, they still were relatively affordable. My cheese blintz plate cost me $12.00 prior to tax and tip, slightly above my goal of $10 for the meal. While the blintz is amazing, if I had a redo on this trip I would check out Tommy’s Restaurant. Tommy’s is famous for their cheap hearty breakfasts, which start at just $1.50.
Overall
The Little Swiss Cafe serves an amazing cheese blintz and delicious breakfast at a reasonable price. While they are slightly more expensive then I would normally spend, the food is absolutely worth it. They are the one of the best value for money options in Carmel by the Sea.