Aubergine at L'Auberge Carmel

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Room of Five Tables, a Cellar of 3,700 Bottles

Aubergine sits inside L'Auberge Carmel, a Relais & Châteaux property in the heart of Carmel-by-the-Sea, and the scale is deliberately intimate — just five tables in the dining room, with an underground wine cellar constructed beneath the inn's courtyard. That cellar holds roughly 3,700 bottles across 1,750 selections, with particular depth in Champagne, Burgundy, Rhône, Germany, and California. The room itself, along with a salon warmed by a fireplace and dressed with fresh bouquets, carries the quiet ease of a European country house.

Justin Cogley and the Philosophy of Purpose

Executive Chef-Director Justin Cogley joined Aubergine in January 2011, bringing a biography that is genuinely unusual. Before enrolling at the Western Culinary Institute, Cogley spent four years as a professional figure skater with Disney on Ice, touring Asia, Australia, and Europe — an itinerary that exposed him to food markets and techniques he would later draw on. After graduating with top honors in 2005, he joined the team at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, eventually rising to Chef de Cuisine before moving west.

"If I had to describe my food," Cogley has said, "I would say each plate has a purpose." That purpose is rooted in ingredient quality and seasonal honesty: a vegetable might appear three ways on a single plate, each preparation distinct and pure. In 2013, Food & Wine named him Best New Chef, and Relais & Châteaux awarded him the title of Grand Chef — one of the more selective designations in international fine dining.

The Tasting Menu

The eight-course tasting menu changes daily and is priced at $285 per person. A recent sample moved through oyster with yuzu emulsion and cucumber gelée, uni with sweet soy and potato, ayu with Meyer lemon and trout roe, ribeye with kohlrabi and sunflower miso, and on through desserts including strawberry crémeaux with pistachio and olive oil cake. The progression reflects Cogley's stated goal: a broad, considered combination of flavors and textures, enhanced by skillful technique rather than overshadowed by it.

Wine pairings are available as a supplement — a California pairing, a Reserve pairing, a Champagne pairing, or a Zero Proof option — and the sommelier team is known for engaging, informed guidance on the origin and preparation of each course.

Recognition

In 2019 Aubergine earned its first Michelin star; in 2024, the 2024 Michelin Guide awarded a second. Forbes Travel Guide has recognized the restaurant with its Five-Star rating, noting presentation described as "picturesque and breathtaking," with colors and textures complemented by handmade serving vessels — shells, wooden boards, rock-imprint bowls. The restaurant has also received James Beard Foundation nominations for Best Chef West and Outstanding Service, and Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence. The service model, per Forbes, is attentive without being intrusive, with multiple sommeliers and servers each contributing expert context to the meal.