The Restaurant at Mission Ranch

Set on a sprawling property, the so-called Clint Eastwood restaurant is Carmel's most famous dining destination. The actor "saved" an old dairy farm from being bought and turned into a condo complex in 1986 and today the restaurant has a perfectly bucolic setting, with sweeping views of the Santa Lucia mountains in the distance. The often-changing menu is elevated farm-to-table. During the day and on warm nights, there's a beautiful dining patio.