Abalonetti Bar and Grill

We ended up eating here 3 times because we could sit outside and not be hit by the wind. All three waiters we had were very professional and personable. Now for the food: excellent category is flash fried oysters & fried calamari. Good: fresh oysters & bay shrimp cocktail. These are the small shrimp, they tasted very fresh with great homemade cocktail sauce. OK: baked garlic was served with bread that was very oiled with a light sprinkling of parm cheese melted on it. I asked for their regular bread & butter, the garlic itself was good. Still in the OK category– bread salad, and very salty Calamari Siciliano. As with great wait staff, the waiter brought a fresh batch made with no salt when we mentioned how salty it was. Perhaps some of the ingredients they use has a lot of sodium. Either way if you like your food salty you might love this dish.

Wonderful service, great food! My husband had the stuffed Salmon and i had the Calamari eggplant. Waiter Joe was on point all night.

Got lobster ravioli (~$ 23 after tax and tips) this time. The source is great!
It serves with shrimps which is at perfect balance of salty spice and retaining of its fresh taste. However, the shrimps are so yummy that it kind of dominate the dishes which lobster shall be the shining star, so one star is deducted.
Waitress serving us was super friendly.

Loved the service here, yummy clam chowder, some of the best seafood pasta I’ve had in a while, and finished off with some Crème brûlée. What more can you ask for?

uHad the flash fried oysters and they were perfect as was the Caesar salad and the best clam chowder on the wharf. We enjoyed it so much we are coming back for dinner. The antipasto bar was lovely and it was spotless. Also a nice view of Monterey Bay.

We were a group of 8 with 4 kids. They were the only restaurant in the Wharf that could sit us right away, so we decided to give it a try.
Service was good, attentive and friendly. We asked them to just bring the food as they had them ready since the kids were hungry, and they did. Two dishes at a time about 3 – 5 minutes apart between each pair of dishes.
The first round of the complimentary bread was a little stale but then they brought us a couple buckets of fresh from the oven bread and they were nice and soft.
We had the clam chowder to start with. Ordered a «bowl», but the portion was on the small side. I thought it was just slightly better than Fresh Choice’s clam chowder, which was actually not bad, but not great.
I had the abalonetti original calamari dish. Breaded calamari with their special sauce that was more like a liquefied tartar sauce. Tender and not stringy at all. It was good but nothing special. My wife had the crab sandwich and it was pretty good.
The fried calamari appetizer that our friends ordered apparently were very salty. The angel hair pasta that was supposedly good, was just ok according to their comment. The Antipasto Bar was a large dish. Don’t order unless you really want to binge eat some veggie sprinkled with some tiny squid, or maybe those were baby octopus.
I would not not visit the place again. If I do stop by, I’d try one of the not-​fried dishes and skip the clam chowder.

Aracely is the best!!! The food was delish
And our drinks were superb!!! Best customer service in Monterey!!!

Every time we come home, my husband must visit the wharf for clam chowder. It just doesn’t taste the same on the East coast. This visit was no exception. We had parked at Lover’s Point and walked the trail to Fisherman’s wharf so we actually were a tad bit hungry anyway. Of course every restaurant offers samples of their clam chowder and we had thought we were going to go back to the one that was usually our favorite, but today their sample was off — too much garlic perhaps. Anyway, when we hit Abalonetti, my husband proclaimed this chowder to be the one to try this visit.
The restaurant inside is quaint and comfortable. They also have a large outdoor seating area which is protected from the wind — probably the largest outdoor seating on the wharf. We opted to sit inside. There are plenty of windows so the view was nice.
My husband and I each had a bowl of their clam chowder while my mom ordered the roasted Gilroy garlic. The clam chowder was thick and creamy. I tasted plenty of clams and liked the addition of the potatoes. We enjoyed the chowder here. I also had to try some of the roasted garlic — I love how roasting mellows the flavor and this was perfectly spreadable on the fresh sourdough that accompanied. The antipasto bar looked good although we did not partake.
We had a nice visit. Our server took great care of us. The food was tasty. I would come again and try more things from their menu.

Review for Fish and Chips Café. We always walk down the wharf tasting all the chowders and finally end up here. Unassuming and simple this place has great chowder bowls and garlic fries. If you don’t care about a table with an ocean view or waiter service and want to save a few $$ then this is a great selection.

What a great place. Location, atmosphere, food and service was amazing. We had the firecracker calamari and oyster Rockefeller for appetizers. We also tried the clam chowder, crème brûlée and chocolate cake. We had the calamari pasta, stuffed salmon, parmesan crusted rock fish and chicken. From appetizer to dessert we enjoyed everything and will return!

By far the best Calimari I have ever tasted! We opted for the Wood fired brick pizza! Delicious! The bread and Calimari were both complimentary! Come visit this amazing restaurant! I will be back for Calimari and an ice cold beer!

Our server was very attentive, we never had empty water glasses which was nice.
But the food was only good, not great.
There was a seagull walking around inside the restaurant and it occasionally flew around.
I Realize thats not really «their fault» but unique to the location of the restaurant. But it was still weird.
As we were eating, There was a small disagreement between the bartender and the manager about someone’s drink order.
I feel that could have been handled elsewhere, as opposed to right smack dab in the middle of our lunch.

The place is nice outdoor sitting area.
The best clam chowder in the wharf, we also like the antipasto bar.

This place was ok. Went for a late lunch– intrigued by $ 1 oysters and it is dog– friendly. It’s in a very touristy spot– where restaurants practice «guerilla marketing techniques» with clam chowder samples. These folks don’t do that– thank god!
The oysters were good and fresh! The calamari was good. The antipasti plate— not so good. Had the happy hour margaritas– ok for the price.

Went here with dude is now my ex and it was OK.
Our server one was absolutely fantastic. That’s for sure. He was quick, friendly, and attentive. All things you need when you have two, tired, starving athletic people at a table.
But the food yeah. I mean, we were in Monterey so we wanted seafood. It would have been a crime against humanity to not eat some fish. How I would describe my food: BLAND. Like, super bland. No flavor whatsoever. So just skip over this place if you’re looking for something with taste. If you’re just trying to fulfill your basic need of consuming food then cool. Eat here.

Stopped by for a quick lunch before heading home today in our RV and 3 dogs! Parking was easy the walk through the wharf is fun and this restaurant is very dog friendly! We sat on the enclosed patio where they provided our dogs with a water bowl and offered a menu for them as well served in a frisbee.
The clam chowder served in the bread bowl was very good and the crab sandwich was amazing as well! Would definitely recommend this place!

Good enough place along the old fisherman’s wharf in Monterey. Their advertising for happy hour convinced us to come in. We were happy with our margaritas!
Calamari wasn’t out of this world.
For high-​quality, belly-​satisfying meal along the wharf, better to visit the Old Fisherman’s Grotto!

Do you feel like romancing the ladies at Fisherman’s Wharf?!?
Then come here playas! I needed a place to take both of my ladies, the wifey and my side chick (GiGi Monster). I called Abalonetti and they said that their restaurant was dog friendly so I reserved outdoor patio seating for two and half. This place can be found half way point up the Fisherman’s Wharf. They have indoor seating and outdoor seating, if you are bringing a canine like me then you will probably have to ask for outdoor patio seating. They also have an array of the drinks from the bar. To start off we ordered a strawberry piña colada, it was damn good. GiGi Monster wanted some patron shots, but she forgot her ID at home so she got a dog bowl with water in it!?!
We ordered some Toast with Whole Garlic Cloves to start off as our appetizer. It was quite yummy especially if you love garlic. It’s a must to get seafood when you come to Fisherman’s Wharf, so we ordered a dish that this place is famous for the «Cioppino». It was loaded with crab, shrimp, clams, mussels, fresh fish, and calamari. All of this yummy goodness is simmered in Sicilian marinara, garlic and white wine and it comes with bread. The seafood was fresh and it was a perfect dish to share for two people.
You can’t ask for a better place to have lunch or dinner than overlooking the water at Abalonetti Bar and Grill. We will be sure to peep this place out again next time we visit Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey.

I don’t think you should go there if you are looking for a grilled fish sandwich, but if you ask a waitress about the house specialties and go for them, you won’t be disappointed.
The main issue for me when it comes to seafood is to be able to get something local and fresh.
Abalonetti proposes fresh, local salmon, sardines, oysters, and few others that I don’t recall.
Oysters: 99c/​fresh oyster is a great and delicious deal.
Baked garlic oysters: amazing. In France we are a bit reluctant with baked oysters, but those were amazingly prepared and cooked. the combination of basil, butter and salty sea water gave them a unique taste.
The deep fried squid: to me, is nothing special or extraordinary in that place, but good (light battered).
Now, entrees…
Grilled squid: very well presented, seasoned and cooked. large portion. lot of fresh veggies.
Stuffed salmon (warning: NOT on the menu!): stuffed local salmon with local artichokes, crab and shrimps. This dish was awesome. Fine, tasty. The sides were spinach, cooked and seasoned to perfection with garlic, the garlic mashed potatoes. The sauce was in the proper quantity and not heavy in taste. This dish was nearly perfect
If you go to this place do ask for the stuffed salmon!
Seamed clam in butter sauce: great, nothing to say. Sauce was nice, perfect seasoning. Large clams.
The recommended wine (white Vantana, south Monterrey) was surprising. light but fruity. Dry.
The clam showder wasn’t great. too heavy, too much starch (or flour).
You can seat outside.
Great view. Very friendly staff.
We paid 150 $ for 1 bottle of wine, 4 cocktails, 3 entrees, 4 starters (incl. 12 oysters)

There wasn’t much of a wait on a Saturday afternoon and we were able to sit comfortably as a group of 4.
The quality and taste of the food was pretty mediocre. We ordered:
— Clam chowder bread bowl $ 12.95: Tastes as you would expect. I did enjoy the freshness of the sourdough.
— Crab sandwich $ 16.95: It’s a cold sandwich served with fries on the side. The ingredients compliment each other quite nicely.
— Angel hair pasta and sicilian marinara $ 12.95 (+ extra to add chicken): This dish was disappointing. The marinara tasted as if it were made from a can of tomatoes and it was not only watery but also sour and tasteless. The portion was also quite small, making it a let down altogether.
Our waitress was very accommodating and my brother in law was able to customize his angel hair pasta by adding chicken for a little extra.