Upscale restaurants for a nice dinner out in Carmel, NY

The Carmel, New York area offers an abundance of dining experiences that can cater to any appetite. If you’re craving an upscale experience with decadent dishes prepared in elegant style, you’ll find various options. Whether you’re craving classic Italian, reimagined French, or a tower of seafood, there’s something on this list to suit you.

Rraci’s Restaurant

Rraci’s Restaurant serves decadent Italian cuisine featuring a variety of pasta and desserts made fresh in-house each day. Start your meal with gourmet antipasti like the mozzarella di prosciutto featuring an 18-month-aged prosciutto di Parma or the whole baked clams served in a white wine sauce. For your entree, you’ll find an abundance of inspired Italian options like the funghi ravioli stuffed with porcini, portobello, and shiitake.

If you’re craving a hearty meat dish, you can choose from several options featuring chicken, veal, duck breast, prime filet, or New Zealand baby lamb chops. Steaks and chops are prepared in a custom broiler that sears the meat perfectly at 1,200 degrees for a rich, juicy flavor. These entrees all come with the vegetable and starch of the day, highlighting the best and freshest ingredients available at that time.

Rraci’s ever-changing fish entrees are sourced from the market daily. If you’re a real seafood lover, you won’t want to miss the seafood tower for two offering an abundance of jumbo shrimp, king crab legs, oysters, clams, and Maine lobster tail on a two or three-tiered tray. The extensive wine list includes vintages that can pair perfectly with any selection.

You must leave room for dessert when dining at Rraci’s. Executive pastry chef Lari Isenaj makes an award-winning souffle that’s as artistic as it is delicious. The menu features an enticing selection of sweets, including apple tart, carrot cake, creme brulee, tiramisu, and freshly made sorbetto or gelato.

Putnam House

Putnam House combines elegance with rustic touches for a memorable dining experience. The restaurant adds to the ambiance with live music, comedy acts, or a DJ on select nights.

The Putnam House menu is small so that the kitchen can prepare every dish to perfection. You can start with appetizers like crab cakes, grilled octopus, buttery garlic steamed clams, or New Zealand mussels. The steak is the highlight here, with options like grilled filet mignon, seared New York strip, bone-in ribeye, and a 32-oz porterhouse for two. If you’re not in the mood for steak, you’ll still have several options, including grilled salmon, bourbon-glazed pork chops, and chicken marsala.

Complete your meal with gourmet sides, including grilled asparagus, sauteed string beans, Asian bok choy, or roasted Brussels sprouts. Putnam House also features a full bar and rotating drink specials. Check out our other suggestions if you’re craving a classic steakhouse dinner in Carmel. 

McKinney & Doyle

McKinney & Doyle boasts “serious cuisine in a not so serious atmosphere.” This is the perfect restaurant when you want a dinner that will delight your taste buds without the pressure of getting dressed up to go out. Stop in here after a casual day of shopping to treat yourself to something special when it’s time to get off your feet. You can check out our suggestions for local shopping destinations as well.

McKinney & Doyle makes it easy to sample and share with an extensive menu of small plates, including avocado egg rolls, crispy maitake mushrooms, Moroccan spiced lamb meatballs, and seared Denver scallops. If you prefer a large plate, you’ll have abundant gourmet choices to consider.

Distinctive flavors are abundant in all the creations. The oven-roasted muscovy duck breast is served with a strawberry lavender chimichurri, Himalayan red rice, and slivered almonds. The oven-roasted Atlantic cod comes dusted in black trumpet with a red pepper puree, cilantro pesto, and crispy leeks. The house salad featuring mixed greens, diced pears, pecans, and stilton cheese accompanies every large plate.

On Tuesday nights, McKinney & Doyle serves a pub menu with dishes such as chicken parmesan, meatloaf, and house tacos if you prefer something more casual. The dessert menu includes old-fashioned pecan pie, vanilla bean creme brulee, ice cream sundaes, and other enticing options.

Prato Trattoria

The Spaccarelli family of Prato Trattoria hails from Italy, bringing traditional family recipes to the table. Each day, pastas are prepared daily, featuring the best fresh ingredients. If you’re wondering where to find the best products in the Carmel area, this restaurant will put it right on your plate. We have some other recommendations for getting fresh local produce here. You may even enjoy wild foraged ingredients in your ravioli filling.

John Spaccarelli Jr. hand stretches the mozzarella each day for a creamy, tender flavor that’s truly unique. The artisan breads are handmade and fermented for at least 14 hours for unparalleled flavor. The broad menu includes pasta, chicken, veal, and seafood dishes. You’ll find plenty of familiar Italian favorites like homemade lasagna, cheese ravioli, chicken parmigiana, and shrimp scampi. Prato Trattoria also serves fresh handmade pizzas. If you have room for dessert, the Nutella chocolate hazelnut dessert pie is a must-taste.

The Arch Restaurant

At The Arch, you’ll enjoy an eclectic menu set to soft jazz tunes. You can dine indoors beside a cozy stone fireplace or relax in the sunshine on the picturesque patio. Reservations are highly recommended and the dress code is business/country club casual with a rule against wearing shorts, T-shirts, or flip-flops.

The menu at The Arch highlights seasonality, offering a selection of fresh seasonal vegetables with every entree. You can start your dining experience with an elegant appetizer like baked escargot, pan-seared Hudson Valley foie gras, or gruyere and cheddar cheese souffle. For your entree, you can enjoy options like a crisp honey orange roasted duckling, beef bourguignon, roasted king salmon, or black Angus beef Wellington. The dessert menu is equally sophisticated with choices such as Grand Marnier chocolate or raspberry souffle, flourless Belgian chocolate cake, and banana brioche bread pudding.

Do you know of another upscale restaurant in the area? Contact our team at Meadowland of Carmel and let us know so we can update our list. We want to make sure we always have the best suggestions for our customers as they’re heading off in their new vehicles.