Cafe Kevah - Big Sur

Eating is a 5 for brunch. The view is a 10. The terrace is beautiful. Downstairs? Dogs are not allowed. But there are plenty of parking with shade for these hot days

We wanted to go to nepenthe, but this is just under and less crowded. We have coffee and smoothies and enjoy the view. The gift shop below is worth checking. Parking is hard, but we're lucky.

I love the view from here and the staff is friendly. Birds hang around to entertain you. I liked the cappuccino. I have breakfast Burrito, was fat, enough for two people. Even the food and coffee are not great, but it is worth the view! Again you can really beat the view not windy and you get amazing lookdowns to see the sea. Dogs are not allowed from parking level

We decided to check the café as Nepenthe had waited very long. Maybe it's a better place for breakfast, compared to lunch. We ordered a sandwich, banana protein shake and a glass of rose. The food was so poor that we ate shortly before we left. The view was amazing, and the service was good, but I cannot recommend the food at all.

With a name like Nepenthe (neh pen they , which is a Greek word meaning house of no sorrows it 's easy to see why the name here fits. ? There seem to be several businesses on site here, so let me explain how it appears to work: Nepenthe is the restaurant at the top area. Due to price point, we didn 't eat here and just went down a level to what we felt was less crowded, more open views anyway. Seemed to have a full coffee/wine bar and perhaps a limited menu. Didn 't have much interaction with the host, but she didn 't seem very friendly/happy. People seemed to be waiting awhile and getting stuck in corners without as many views, but it 's meant to appear as an upscale restaurant. It 's not, just has the view. Cafe Kevah is the mid level cafe with viewssss ? ?If I could get married all over, I 'd choose this balcony corner. Perhaps renewing of vows.? Our whole family LOVES this spot and will now be an every time stop for us.? We like to split cookies or danishes for the kids and we 'll sip on a coffee or something...makes it more affordable. Staffing at Cafe Kevah has always been super inviting and friendly in an authentic, honest way. Just a simple job serving food in a delicious place! (The top restaurant and the lower store can have a feel of arrogance which I 'm not about, but the mid level Cafe Kevah is just down to earth enjoyment of beautiful things! The price value for Nepenthe AND Cafe Kevah comes from the architecture allowing you to meld into the ambiance of the natural area. Go split something and enjoy the views, but don 't expect anything super delicious. It 's good, but not what the price point will make you think it will taste like. Phoenix Shop is down below...the bottom 2 levels. There are bathrooms located to the right immediately when walking in the double doors down and paintings on the bathroom walls (awkward for my kids ages 8 9 ??? . The store has many things to look at very eclectic shop, but out favorite is the porch on non rainy days on the top level of the shop. Staffing downstairs in the lowest level has always been friendly and helpful, but staffing at the jewelry counter is more often quite uppity. When I misplaced my wedding ring (at home, not at Nepenthe , I was looking around and the young girl barely seemed interested in answering any questions. Definitely won 't spend $1,700 with that kind of customer service! Other staff throughout the store were thankfully more friendly and made the browsing experience enjoyable. ??FYI, while I did not see any signs in the parking lot notifying anyone, dogs are not dog friendly. A dog friendly lookout point would be the staircases up from the parking lots. (We don 't have a dog yet, but my kids have been asking so we 've been noticing where dogs are and are not welcomed. Parking gets very tight, especially with a truck camper, so plan accordingly. Entering back onto Hwy 1 is right at an inclined curve so cars going north will have momentum