Fandango Restaurant and other Pacific Grove, CA Restaurant Reviews

If Fandango's isn't the finest restaurant in Pacific Grove, I'd be very surprised. I don't normally hunt out the fanciest most expensive places to eat, but this was certainly one of the best places I've found since moving to Monterey. Fandango's is just one block off Lighthouse in Pacific Grove in a large old house. The restaurant opened in 1983 and was purchased by the current owners--the Bain family--in 1986. Fandango's features two main dining rooms plus five private dining rooms with charming fireplaces, murals on the walls, and comfortable stonework.

After paging through the 50-page wine list we selected a local Riesling (for a very inexpensive $18), and we ordered the tasty tapas appetizer ($9 for 5 or 6 small dishes). I moved on to a tasty tomato and onion with bleu cheese salad ($8.50) while Laura enjoyed the tender heart of palms salad ($7.50). For dinner I had the special scallops over pasta ($30) and Laura had the double lamb chops ($25). The scallops were huge and very tasty, and Laura enjoyed the lamb. For desert we each had a cafe latte which came as a shot of espresso with a small pitcher of whipped milk and a tiny cookie ($4 each). Laura and I shared a nice frozen Gran Marnier souffle ($6). The total bill was $120 before tip, but it was a great meal with an excellent waiter taking care of our needs.

Some of their meals are much more expensive, but I'm sure very tasty, such as the 26-ounce porterhouse (around $50) and the cold water lobster tail (around $75).

We had an amazing waiter with a slight French accent, the food was outstanding, and the decor classy yet comfortable. I highly recommend Fandango's to anyone.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: most expensive
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: 831-372-3456
Address: 223 17th Street, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Website: http://www.fandangorestaurant.com/

I had seen Fifi's in Pacific Grove several times, and always chuckled at the name... snooty French restaurant named after a poodle? Recently I went to dinner with a friend of a friend who used to live in Monterey, and he chose Fifi's. I hesitatingly accepted the invitation and joined them for dinner. I was very, very impressed with a great meal in a classy atmosphere.

The candlelit dining room, unique European decor, and the great variety of food on the menu gave a great first impression. We sat beside the door, but the creative red velvet curtain made us feel like we almost had our own private room. We started with the smoked salmon plate that had a good quantity of salmon and a variety of cheeses ($9). I had the small spinach crispy fried duck salad with goat cheese that was one of the best salads I can remember ($6.50...next time I might get the large salad for $10.95 and call it a meal!). For my main course I had a very good, but somewhat small swordfish steak that was cooked perfectly and served with a cheesy sauce and a tasty mix of steamed vegetables (about $23). I passed on their impressive variety of about 8 desserts, but enjoyed a tasty cappuccino. Our total bill was about $40 per person and worth every dime.

Laura and I returned almost a year later for a nice Friday evening dinner. We arrived at 8pm and the restaurant was maybe half full. We were immediately seated in the far back corner, as all of the window seats (with views of a parking lot) were taken. Laura started with a glass of the house red wine ($5.50), and I had an Italian Moretti beer ($5 ... isn't this a French restaurant?). After hearing me rave about the duck & spinach salad for the past year, Laura had no doubt that's where she would start her meal (prices have risen significantly to $7.95). I started with a small bowl of the of their tasty seafood chowder, which was only $3.25 with an entree. Since the duck salad was so good, I decided immediately on the fried duck entree (one of the most expensive items on the menu at $24); it came with the great grilled vegetables and an odd huckleberry reduction sauce that I barely touched. Laura had the excellent seafood linguine with pesto sauce ($20). We finished with cappuccinos ($3.75 each). This was another very good meal, in a nice atmosphere, for a reasonable price!

Fifi's is located at the entrance to the Forest Hill shopping center which is home to Dos Amigos, Thaiwaiian, and a few other good local restaurants.


Leave a Comment

Theme: French
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: 831.372.5325
Address: 1188 Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Directions: On top of the hill near the end of Prescott Avenue about 1.5 miles from Cannery Row. Between Safeway and Albertsons grocery stores.
Website: http://www.fifiscafe.com/

After visiting the original Fishwife in Seaside, I have been anticipating a visit to the bigger and nicer Fishwife location at Asilomar Beach in Pacific Grove. We arrived for lunch at about 1115 and were the only people in the restaurant until about 1145 or 1200. The staff was friendly and quick, but seemed to really want to push us into ordering more food ("How about chowder?"... "How about a salad?" ... "How about some coffee?" "How about desert?" How about if I want something else I'll order it?). This is a nice sit-down restaurant just around the corner from beautiful Asilomar Beach, but does not have a beach view.

Dad and Mom had the fried tilapia sandwiches, and I had the grilled tilapia sandwich with fries. The lunch dishes are very inexpensive such as swordfish for about $12. The bread they use for the sandwiches is awesome, and I really like the pico de gallo.

Other options include salads, huge bowls of Boston clam chowder, shell fish & calamari appetizers, a selection of seafood sandwiches, pastas, and a huge array of seafood dinners. Their non-seafood dishes are very limited such as grilled chicken sandwiches.

Perhaps the most unique feature at this restaurant is "The Fishwife"... their website calls her "legendary lunch hostess Anita Starr." She's so friendly but somewhat senile, waving through the window at us while we ate, then hugging us and patting our bellies as we left.

---

Fishwife actually has a small chain of four restaurants in the Monterey area: This Fishwife restaurant is at Asilomar State Park on the edge of Pacific Grove (Sunset Drive), the original Fishwife location at Seaside, a restaurant called Turtle Bay Taqueria in Monterey at Tyler Street & Bonifacio, and finally a second Turtle Bay location co-located with the Fishwife in Seaside.

According to the plaques on the wall, Fishwife was named as "Restaurant of the Year" by the State of California Senate and even more impressively it earned "Restaurant of the Year" in Seaside/Sand City.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Seafood
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter

Passionfish is one of Pacific Grove's finest restaurants for seafood and wine, and it offers a classy atmosphere and reasonable prices. We arrived with a big group of about 15 for a birthday dinner, and the lone waitress did a fine job of taking care of us, even willing to discuss the wine options and other aspects of the meal. We started with the unique fried olives ($5) and the frita mista (mixed fried veggies including artichoke, muchrooms, and more for around $10). For dinner I had the very good sturgeon special for around $20.

The food was good, the atmosphere somewhat formal yet pleasant, and the prices very good for this type of dining experience in the Monterey area.

Be warned that this can be a very busy restaurant....even with reservations we were forced to wait maybe 20 minutes, and there were perhaps 20 others also waiting for tables.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Seafood
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (831) 655-3311
Address: 701 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Directions: Lighthouse Ave (PG's main street), 1 mile from Monterey's Aquarium
Website: www.passionfish.net
Other Contact: passion@passionfish.net

Thai Bistro II is a small, family run Thai restaurant in an older house on Central Avenue's short restaurant row in Pacific Grove. Entering from the front you turn up a small sidewalk to the white house set back in a rather large lat next to a seldom-open plant nursery. A few tables are in the front lawn, and one romantic little table with a view of the water sits at the top of the steps on the front porch. Enter through the front door and you will notice the crisp white walls with a deep blue accent everywhere form the trim to the seat cushions. The restaurant has three rooms for diners, all with very close-set tables, making private conversation somewhat awkward and limited.

We were seated in the very back corner, but we could still easily sea the bay through the big front window from our seats. They gave us three menus: the huge regular menu with about six pages of food and drink, the one-page pea green vegetarian menu, and the small white menu with the wine list. We immediately ordered two Thai Singha beers ($4 each) and the satay skewers ($5) as an appetizer. For our main dishes we had the Thai fried rice with chicken and the pork and veggie stir fry (each about $9). The satay skewers were mildly tasty and served with sliced cucumbers in a sweet sauce and a flavorful peanut sauce. The two main courses were excellent, but we especially liked the pork stir fry and its thin, wide noodles.

Most dishes on the menu are served with a 1-5 scale of spiciness, so be brave... Thai food is supposed to have a kick!

Thai Bistro II was named Best Thai in Monterey County by the Monterey County Weekly in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. Yangtse's Taste of Thai in Salinas stole the honor in 2007.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Pan-Asian and Pacific Rim
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 831-372-8700
Address: 159 Central Ave., Pacific Grove

Peppers is a relatively popular restaurant located in one of the old buildings on a side street in PG. It opened in 1986 and has been honored numerous times with best of Monterey County awards and has been listed in national publications. Peppers has a relatively standard Mexican menu, but it has numerous nightly specials, many featuring seafood, which makes this spot a locals' favorite.

We swung by one busy Thursday night in April 2008 and were lucky to be immediately seated in a table for two right in front of the plate-glass window on the street. We started with a Tecate beer ($4) and a house margarita ($6), unfortunately the Tecate came in a can rather than the much preferred draft or bottle. We chose to start our meal with the garlic chipotle mushrooms on a tortilla ($7), and were very happy with this unique dish. For our main courses we both chose the long list of specials over the regular menu of Tex-Mex usuals, but it was hard to choose from some very interesting items like the swordfish fajitas. Laura finally decided on the chicken mole enchiladas ($14), and I had the steak taco carbonara special ($15). Both meals were quick and tasty, arriving with rice and beans along with plenty of fresh vegetables. Our final bill was around $50 including four drinks, the appetizer, and two main courses, about par for the Monterey peninsula.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Mexican
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Address: 170 Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Directions: Downtown PG, just off Lighthouse in 17th St

Thaiwaiian is another of the good local restaurants in the Forest Hill Shopping Center near Safeway. The Thai wife and Hawaiian husband who own the restaurant are friendly and often there. The restaurant is tiny and very, very casual, with a friendly atmosphere. It is dimly lit and features a small collection of Thai and Hawaiian art, as well as a TV with Hawaiian music. The restaurant began as a stand at local farmers markets and fairs, and finally established a permanent location here in PG around 2004.

As the name implies, the food is a collection of traditional Thai and Hawaiian dishes, but few meals would be considered a fusion of both cultures. We started with Hawaiian Spam masubi, an interesting little sushi-style roll with Spam instead of fish, wrapped in rice and seaweed (only $2.50 per order). We had Hawaiian Longboard Lager beers with our dinners to drink (about $4 each). My main course was the spicy sweet basil seafood entree and Laura had the sweet barbecued duck. I asked for and received a very, very spicy version of the meal that was excellent and included mussels, salmon, scallops, octopus, and more for $18--the same meal with chicken or beef is only $10. My friend's half duck was also great and cooked just right ($16).

I liked the food at this restaurant much better than Hula's, the other Hawaiian restaurant in town. Of course, Hula's has a much better atmosphere.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Pan-Asian and Pacific Rim
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: (831) 658-0134
Address: 11184E Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Website: http://www.coastclick.com/index.cfm/Thaiwaiian_Bistro_4790.htm

An Choi offers a mix of Vietnamese and a variety of other Asian dishes from Thailand, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and everything else besides Korean. The restaurant is located at the far end of Lighthouse Avenue not far from Point Pinos Lighthouse and Asilomar beach. An Choi sits off Lighthouse Avenue, kind of off on its own about 1/2 from PG's downtown. Inside the restaurant is deceivingly large, and it has a great cathedral ceiling over the dining room.

We had a great meal of imperial spring rolls ($7.50), shaken beef ($18), Hong Kong Crispy Noodles ($15), the prawn and garlic noodles ($16). The spring rolls were large and fresh, but served with a peanuty sauce rather than the traditional Vietnamese fish sauce. The highlight of our meal was the shaken beef which is a great meal of cubed filet mignon with garlic, pepper and onion. I liked the crispy noodles, which I first tried in Macau, that had shrimp and a few other seafoods with veggies. The fried prawns with garlic noodles were also excellent, and they came seasoned with a tamarind sauce.

Definitely overpriced, especially for Asian food, but it is a unique combination of a variety of Asian foods in a fancier than usual atmosphere.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Pan-Asian and Pacific Rim
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 831-372-8818
Address: 1120 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove
Website: http://www.anchoirestaurant.com/

Though I do not eat much Chinese food when I am home, I have an occasional desire for some good dim sum. After searching and searching I finally discovered two place in the area that have dim sum: the Golden House Chinese Restaurant in PG (dim sum on weekends only) and Tommy's Wok in Carmel (dim sum daily at lunch).

We arrived at the nearly empty Golden House around 1130 on a Saturday, and were seated with a regular menu and a dim sum menu. We didn't even peek at the regular menu as dim sum was on our minds. We looked through the 20 or 30 dim sum choices several times while waiting for the waiter to come back, and after asking a few questions we settled on the bbq pork buns, the pork and leek dumplings, the hun gow (shrimp rolls), and the shaw mai (also with shrimp). The dim sum ranged from $3 to $6 per plate and was all pretty tasty, but the service was a little too slow, especially for dim sum at an almost empty restaurant.

Golden House is tucked into the corner of a small shopping center; just look for the red Chinese lanterns out front. Inside is decorated with a few nice touches like the fish tank, lanterns, and paintings to give a clean, almost sophisticated look. We especially liked the yellow tea sets with the dragon.

While the service was iffy, the food was good, and its the only dim sum around. I'll be back for dim sum and probably to try some of their other dishes. They also offer takeout and delivery.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: 1116 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove
Directions: Near the PG Safeway near intersection of Prescott, Forest, and Highway 68

We stopped into Zocalo in April 2008 while visiting the annual Good Old Days festival. We had actually first noticed the restaurant during the 2007 Good Old Days, but never got around to trying this casual and popular restaurant near the middle of PG. This restaurant sits right behind the huge Holman Building, so is easy to find.

I had the chipotle chicken tostadas ($12) which was one large crispy tortilla with beans, chicken, and lots of lettuce, with a great smoky chipotle flavor. Laura had the asada enchiladas, which were also good, but I was glad to try their chipotle. Both meals came with beans, rice, and veggies. The refried beans are creamy and tasty and topped with crumbles of cheese. Their meals also include regular Spanish rice and a little pile of lettuce, cucumbers, and radish with a splash of lime. They also have bottles of Tecate beer for about $3 and a selection of other beers and wines.

The staff was great and friendly, the prices pretty good, and the food excellent. I'd give them the nod over Peppers--PG's other Mexican restaurant.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Mexican
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 831-373-7911
Address: 162 Fountain Avenue, Pacific Grove