I had my small wedding reception here. 14 people in the party. They suggested we start off with three varieties of oysters. Everyone loved them, all said they were the best oysters they ever had. The food is homemade to order and is the best Italian food I've had in California. The family atmosphere made everyone feel very comfortable. I love this place and will be sure to stop in for Mama's lasagne every time I'm in Fort Bragg.

Last week, my friends and I were on our way to the Wharf Restaurant, when we were curious about the Carine’s Grotto. We decided we would try out the food there, plus we could sit on the deck and eat, watch the sea lion and seagulls if the weather was good. After ordering chowder, the chef came over to talk to us about his chowder recipe. He was so charming and even offered his phone number so that I could call him if I had questions about how exactly to prepare it. That was so nice of him! My girlfriends split a hamburger and it was delicious. We all enjoyed ourselves and we would recommend this restaurant, but we cannot comment on many other dishes. The only drawback is that the menu prices are high.

I am rating this restaurant with two stars only because some of the food was good (great clam chowder, salad and shrimp). However, the overall experience was one of the worst we have had at fine diining prices. The service was very strange. We felt that we were speaking a foreign language to the staff and the only person that seemed to know anything was grandma. The atmosphere was..what can you say about picnic tables with red and white oil cloth. We ordered calamari which was overbreaded and very tough. The fish and chips were okay, but had better at Red Robin. The menu was very overpriced (most dinners were $28) for the food, atmosphere and service. And then you get the bill! Grandma writes up the bill on a small piece of paper and gives you the total. It's impossible to tell if you were charged correctly. She then tells us that she only takes cash for a $180.00 bill! As far as I could tell, it was not posted anywhere in the restaurant. After giving her our last dollar, we left and will never return!!

Drove the Ft. Bragg north harbor and settled on Carine's for lunch. Walked into the very empty establishment and walked through the casually decorated dining room with walls coverd with family photos of an obviously Italian family, that dated from the 1950s to the 1980s (where are the new ones?). Chose a table outside. Grandma Carine came out to take our order from a menu that had a photo of Grandma and her mother from the 1950s. Soon realized that all help, from cook to waitress and busboy were either descendants of Grandma or had entered the family via marriage and all were closely under her thumb. (No one but Grandma handled any money, and it was CASH ONLY -- there is an ATM close by) One mustachioed son, who desacribed himself as the black sheep of the family didn't seem to have anything to do but to pester us by talking about the weather and searching for pelicans and harbor seals on the water.
Since it was lunch, we decided to forego the $30 entrees and have the $17 fish & chips. Grandma sold us each on a cup of "the best" clam chowder, too.
It took a while for our food to arrive, and Grandma was right, the clam chowder was some of the best I had eaten. But the fish & chips were dry and tasteless, so I drenched tem in salt and vinegar.
Now that I've seen the act, I don't think I would return for another meal.