Excellent food and service! and other Monterey, CA Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: Montrio

This was a restaurant recommended by the concierge at the hotel and it was one of the better experiences we had in Monterey.

Located in an old, historical renovated firehouse, the interior is very beautiful and great attention is paid to detail. There were some wrought iron bottle holders and the bar had a really nice wood counter, overall it was very nice.

As for the food, it matched the interior. We had halibut and rib eye steak and although the fish was good, the steak was one of the best I have ever tasted (unfortunately, it was my girlfriends dish, so I could only taste it)!
The starters were also very nice (I had calamaris) and even the bread was excellent and instead of butter or something else to go with it, there was a plate with olive oil and vinegar which not only was very tasty, but also looked great.

On top of this, service was also great, so I can only say this was a great experience.

At almost $50 per person, it was not cheap, but it was worth it.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 831 648 8880
Address: 444 Calle Principal
Website: www.montrio.com

Restaurant Name: Old Monterey Café

Voted best breakfast! - That is what is says on the door, the menu, the website, etc and it is possibly true. I did not try many other breakfast places, but this one was definitely nice.

The fact there seems to always be a queue outside waiting for a table, is a good sign.
When you finally do get a table, you are presented with a menu that is more than likely to contain something you like: from fruit to omelets, from steaks and Mexican food.

One of the times I had the breakfast burrito, which was excellent and set me up for the whole day, as it is very substantial and the other time I tried the "huevos rancheros". Also very nice.

Service was efficient, but not too friendly, but I guess it is OK if the food is good. I did not like the hard plastic cups they had for beverages. They are awful to drink from and I doubt it can be good to wash plastic many times...

Prices are very reasonable, expect to pay around $10-$12 for breakfast.

It is open from 7.00 to 14.00, so it is also suitable for a not-too-late lunch.

Favorite Dish: Beakfast burrito
Huevos rancheros

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Theme: Local
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 831-646-1021
Address: 489 Alvarado street
Website: http://www.cafemonterey.com/

Restaurant Name: Papa Chano's

I am not sure if this is a chain of restaurants or not, but in any case I will eat here again if I visit Monterey again.
It has the appearance of a regular fast-food restaurant, but food is surprisingly good. I had first eaten here in 2004, but completely forgotten the name of the place. It was very nice to find it again this time and food was just as good as the last time.

There is a large variety on the menu and the servings are HUGE. I eat quite a lot, but was never able to finish my burrito.

It is semi self-service, so you just go up to the counter, order, pick your drink and wait a few minutes at the table and you will get your order. You can get your own salsa's and salad from the bar.
Service is not always very good, but considering you pay less than $10 for a great meal, I can live with it.

Later during our stay, we asked some locals which restaurants they recommended and this was one of them. We sure were proud of having found it :)

This was the cheapest place we ate at during our stay and it is conveniently located in downtown Monterey on Alvarado st.

Favorite Dish: Beef burritos are excellent!

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Theme: Mexican
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: (831) 646-9587
Address: 462 Alvarado St

Restaurant Name: Rosine's

This is a place that serves meals all day - from breakfast to dinner and is conveniently located on Alvarado street.

Service was a bit slow, but friendly and efficient.
You will probably have a hard time deciding what to get as the menu is quite extensive and although the emphasis seems to be on salads and sandwiches, there is also a broad range of soups and even some pastas. Of course, the dinner menu also includes more classic choices such as steak.

I had the 'Ultimate' Burger, which was a bit more than I could eat, but very nice and my girlfriend had the cobb salad which was fresh and tasteful.

Overall, I would have liked the service to be just a bit faster (it took over 20 minutes to get our order), but I am generally satisfied. At about 12$ per person (lunch), it was good value for money.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 831-375-1400
Address: 434 Alvarado Street
Website: http://www.rosinesmonterey.com

Restaurant Name: Jamba Juice

Although it is a restaurant chain, it was still nice to have a specialized "juice bar", such as this one.
On a warm summer day (or any other for that matter), a juice can taste great whether it is just a refreshment or part of a breakfast.
There are more choices than you have time (or patience, in my case) to choose from and if you are picky enough, you can always replace the strawberries by cranberries :)
You can also have bagels, muffins and some other pastry to go with the juice.
There is regular fruit juice, you can add ice cream or yogurt to it and there is a whole range of "boosters" you can add as well. Take a look at the website for more details.

For the brave, there is the "wheatgrass shot"...


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Theme: Health Food
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: (831) 655-9696
Address: 398 Alvarado St, Monterey, 93940
Website: http://www.jambajuice.com/

Restaurant Name: Gilbert's Seafood Grill

It is quite obvious that you will not get the best value for money or quality of food, for that matter, when you eat in the tourist area.
We knew that, but decided to try this place anyway as the view was quite nice and we knew what we were in for.

This restaurant looked quite nice with the window tables overlooking the bay.

I had fish and it was good, can't remember which kind though, so obviously it was nothing special.
My girflriend had the lobster tail and was quite happy as well.

I wasn't too impressed with the service. The waiter was not very friendly, but quite efficient.

It was also quite expensive.


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Theme: Seafood
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Address: Fisherman's Wharf on the pier
Website: http://www.restauranteur.com/gilberts/

Restaurant Name: Rappa's

I don't like eating at the Fisherman's wharf.

Not that it is a bad place, on the contrary, there is a nice view, the wharf itself is nice, but it is just a big tourist trap. Restaurants are expensive, food is not always good and I get the distinct feeling they are after my money all the time...

Having said that, Rappa's is actually not one of the worst. Food and service were quite decent, although not even close to the quality of some restaurants downtown.

I had a fried calamari steak which was not too bad. The menu offers a decent range of fish, pasta's and sandwishes.

As mentioned above, service was decent, but a bit slow.

The view from the dining room is probably the best you can get on the wharf.

Prices vary depending on your choice - lunch specialties are less than $10, but fish can put you back up to $16. A full meal will cost around $20-$25.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (831) 372-7562
Address: 101 Fishermans Wharf # 1
Website: http://www.rappas.com/

Restaurant Name: Domenico's on the Wharf

This one was almost a complete disaster.

We were a group of 6 people, all European (you will understand why this is relevant later) and although I would have chosen something different, it was for work, so we ended out coming here.
The waiter came to our table and quickly started to ask for nationalities when he noticed the accents were not American. I could see a smile on his face...

We then proceeded to order and everything we seemed to order was either an "excellent choice" or a personal favorite of the waiter. Some had seafood (I can remember the lobster special) and one person asked for a "Rib-eye" steak which was, obviously, a "favorite". I asked for the Filet Mignon instead and we also ordered a bottle of wine.

When our order finally arrived (did I mention service was a bit slow?) I got a Rib-eye steak instead. When I mentioned this to the waiter he just said "No, it is Filet Mignon". Being a meat-lover and someone who knows one piece of meat from the other, I told him it was NOT a Filet Mignon. He went back to the kitchen and said "you are right, I must have made a mistake, since the Rib-eye is my personal favorite, I wrote down that instead - What an idiot!
I decided to keep it as I like it anyway and did not feel like waiting for a new one.

After about 10-15 minutes he came by the table and picked up the wine bottle. "Oh, there is still something left" he said and then put it down. After another 10 minutes he came back and looked at the bottle again. This time he had the nerve to say "I thought you were European, how come there is still wine left". Can you believe this????
I think everyone was just left speechless and did not react.

On top of this, this waiter also had drool coming out of the sides of his mouth. Absolutely unbelievable.

This was an experience to remember... in order to not repeat - ever again.
We paid over $40 per person, which was not cheap. At least we did not have to leave a tip.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: (831) 372-3655
Address: 50 Fishermans Wharf # 1
Website: http://domenicosmonterey.com/index.htm

Restaurant Name: Jugem

We have been fans of Japanese food for quite some time and enjoy eating it in different places around the world.
Jugem is located on the main street in Monterey (Alvarado) and we had seen it one day, while walking around and decided to go there for dinner.

We had, as usual, some sashimi and sushi. Everything was fresh and quite tasty.
At about 40 USD for 2 people it was reasonably priced considering the relatively large portions.

Decor is quite nice, although a bit dark.

Service was generally fine, although a bit cold.

One annoying thing that marked our experience was the owner(?) who stared at us the whole evening in a very unfriendly way. As we were leaving I picked up the bill and as I was leaving I asked if I could take it with me (I like to keep bills from the different restaurants I go to abroad) and she was almost upset by my outrageous request! She finally gave me the stub with the amounts, but without the name of the place. Charming...


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Theme: Japanese/Sushi
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 831 373 6463
Address: 409 Alvarado St, Monterey, CA 93940-2710