A b o u t   U s About the owners and the Casanova Style: In the early 70s two brothers Walter and Gaston moved to Carmel. Walter was a painter & photographer, Gaston, a college professor. One day their sister Denise and her friend Michel came up for a visit from Southern California. The conversation turned to the great country restaurants of Europe we all remembered where we enjoyed great meals in a casual atmosphere with good conversation, a good bottle of wine and a great cup of espresso. As we talked we were getting hungry and a bit homesick for such an experience. At that time Carmel restaurants were mostly steak houses, chain coffee shops or outdated "old world" restaurants. Michel (who was a chef in Europe) suggested a unique concept for a small bistro that would only serve one meal a night, family style. Were we interested? Within a couple of months we opened our first restaurant "La Boheme" which was unlike any other restaurant in California. It was an immediate success but with only 32 seats it was soon too small for the lines of people waiting to get in. (Today this little gem of restaurant complete with its original French village décor came back to our family and is now called "La Bicyclette".) In 1977 we bought an old house and turned it into what is now Casanova. Michel supervised the kitchen, Walter was the Maitre D', Denise was the hostess and Gaston ran the office for the first few years. Looking back over the years we realize now what a trendsetter Casanova has been and continues to be. It is hard to believe that a "cappuccino" was an alcoholic drink in the 70's! We were the first restaurant to serve Café au lait and Lattes in a large French country bowls. We made fresh pasta when most guests did not know the word "pasta" and asked us to explain what "fettuccine" meant. (Is that possible?) Casanova introduced flavored dipping oil for bread to the California restaurant scene back in the 1980's. It has now become standard in Italian restaurants throughout the US. We played contemporary European music in our dining rooms when people only knew of Maurice Chevalier and Edith Piaf The Casanova style and decor also became widely imitated. Casanova has influenced not only numerous other restaurants but also the look of many private houses in Carmel and beyond. Guests often bring their designers and their architects to capture the Casanova look. We have seen numerous guests pull out cameras and measuring tapes between the appetizers and the main course! It has been a lot of work but also a lot of fun to create a world-class restaurant with a faithful local and international clientele. We still enjoy coming to work. And, we still sit together and enjoy our meals in a great atmosphere with a good bottle of wine and a good espresso.