"If you 're 30 minutes away from Monterey (or at Carmel , don 't bother looking around for food.. just go to Gusto! Seriously, I don 't understand why the place was empty when I went. The food was a solid 10/10 in terms of quality, price, and quantity. We got Calamari, Burrata e Prosciutto Pizza, and Linguini con Scampi. The calamari was crispy, not too salty, had a mild squid taste and wasn 't rubbery inside. If you made calamari before, or if you ordered Calamari at a lesser place, you 'd know the big difference in quality. The Burrata e Proscuitto pizza is very light in terms of flavor and heft. Most american pizza focuses on thickness, strong salty flavors, or extremely cheesy. Not this one! The basil on the pizza is light but noticable, and not overpowering. I lack the vocabulary to describe the burrata and proscuitto. I like how you can see them make the pizza from tossing the dough, slicing the proscuitto, and putting it in the wood oven. This is the MUST GET item here. It looks like a big serving, but really it 's light. 1 hungry person can solo this. Linguini con Scampi is also a must get if you want pasta. The pasta is firm, consistent, and not salty. It is the sauce that adds flavor to this dish. You know the sauce is good if you can see small chopped bits of garlic swimming in it. The SHRIMP (or Prawn..? is perfectly cooked. Like the squid earlier, you 'll instantly know this is top notch shrimp cooked without a flaw. The meat of the shrimp is not too firm, but also not mushy inside. It easily slides out the tail shell. Another MUST GET. It looks like a big serving but do not be intimidated!! The ambiance is in between upscale and italian mama cooking in the kitchen. They play italian opera and some older music, which really fit the ambiance. Nothing too loud and the volume was low enough to have a leisurely conversation without semi-shouting. The bathroom is clean, but only 1 stall/toilet for men."
Marinara Pizza
