Fodor's Expert Review Cafe Gibraltar

While the cuisine here is broadly called Mediterranean, in the kitchen of chef-owner Jose Luiz Ugalde that term can mean lamb shoulder braised in a harissa-date broth, or cassola—fresh local crab and other seafood simmered in a tomato-vegetable broth. The imaginative dishes are served in a warm, pretty dining room; peach walls are lighted by flickering candles, and the booths are adorned with curtains and pillows. Two miles south of Moss Beach on the east side of the highway, the restaurant is a bit hard to find but definitely worth the hunt. At signs for Pillar Point Harbor, turn inland onto Capistrano Road, then right onto Alhambra.