A Lively Atmosphere & A Good Dive Bar
Some might argue that Happy Hour in Carmel is any hour you are awake in Carmel.
It would be a valid point. Especially if you are in one of its many wine tasting rooms on the Carmel Wine Walk.
But Carmel does have Happy Hour and here are the two best ones.
Because of the times, you can hit one, then walk to the other in five minutes. But here’s the thing: they are polar opposites in atmosphere.
This is the top place, quite literally, is Chef Pepe’s on the open rooftop of Vesuvio Italian restaurant (6th & Junipero, Wed-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.). The other is BarMel, a more down-to-earth bar (to say the least), formerly Odie’s, located next to Mundaka (Ocean & San Carlos in Carmel Plaza, seven days a week, 3-7 p.m.)
Vesuvio’s rooftop is the most desirable Happy Hour place in Carmel and once you walk up the stairs, you’ll understand why that’s the case. It’s gorgeous.
A large wooden deck holds couches, cozy chairs and tables in a supreme setting. This is Carmel cozy, a place to sit back, get a glass of wine, some appetizers and say “ahhhh.”
Actually here you can have much more than appetizers – burgers and pizza big enough for two are around 10 bucks. That wine is $6 and cocktails are $5, and but you must know that tax is added for each drink, so one glass of wine is actually $6.51.
When the rooftop is full – which is often so don’t show up at 5:30 and expect to be on the rooftop – the spillover goes to the classy downstairs bar. You’ll have to politely crawl over people at the bar to order, the be patient to get the bartender’s attention.
This is a quiet, classy bar, something you would expect to find in classy Carmel.
BarMel, Carmel Dive Bars
The scene is completely different at BarMel (get it, bar in Carmel).
This is a casual, borderline dive bar where you’ll drink with well-oiled locals and a few people working at wineries or wine tasting rooms who want to loosen the collar.
It’s not a rocking, crazy place (yet, that happens after about 11 at night) but it has the best drink prices in town. And perhaps in all of Monterey Bay.
BarMel has has $3 draft beers – try the local Otter Ale – and drinks that include margaritas and something unusual but good, a Dark & Stormy. Plus $1.50 street tacos.
What PubClub.com likes to do is start out at Vesuvio, then go to the more casual BarMel. It shows our diverse personalty and Carmel shows its diversity by providing these two, but different, Happy Hour bars.
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