Carbone’s

Great little place that has a nice fire pit out back with plenty of seat few dart boards set up.

Chillaxing place with a welcoming staff, Sean and Trev. Definitely a place to enjoy a good drink with reasonable prices. Thanks Sean and Trev for making us feel comfortable. :) Rob and Jon

By far the best bar I have been to in Monterey. Very warm and welcoming local dive bar. Great people, staff, and owner. Bar food is amazing. Get the chili cheese fries!!!

I found Carbone’s a couple months ago and it instantly became my favorite chill spot in Monterey. Sal, Sean, and Trevor are all awesome with stories that will keep you entertained for hours. Sean is also a creative bartender who comes up with great drinks if you’re not in the mood for one of the great local beers they have on tap. Overall it’s a great place with a relaxed atmosphere (and a brand new jukebox).
As for the location, there’s plenty of room to relax whether it’s at the bar or out back on the patio. The upper patio has a couple couches and the lower deck has a great fire pit to relax around.
There’s also plenty to do with a pool table, dart boards, corn-​hole boards, and beer pong tables. The pool table is coin operated, but free on Sundays and before 7 the rest of the time. They host pool and darts tournaments weekly and there are turtle races on Sundays.
Last but definitely not least, the food. Bar food can usually be dismissed as the same old song and dance, but not here. They offer great sandwiches and burgers as well as the «Salsquatch Challenge» if you’re feeling brave and extremely hungry.

Great spot. Solid beer selection. Played free pool. Super nice guy behind the bar. Darts & huge patio as well.

Sal Carbone is the dude. Okay, so this review is waaaay late. I do not remember much. Not because it’s a year later but because alcohol impairs your memory. It was last October, my sister’s wedding night. We were kinda bar hopping in downtown Monterey — yes, very exciting. The bar we left didn’t have food and while we all stood outside trying to decide what to do, I got the strongest hankerin’ for french fries or ‘fri frize’ as I called them that night. (It sounds just the way you think it does-​short i on the fri.) I remember telling them that I want potatoes cut and fried the way the french do it and no one could deter my ‘fri frize’ mission. We saw the light of Carbone’s sign and started walking down there, my new sister-​in-​law propping me up, er walking next to me just because. :-)
When we got there, I approached the bar keep requesting fri frize and was told that they had just shut the kitchen down. I believe I proceeded to have some sort of fri fry fit because a minute or two later The Man-​Sal Carbone said they would fire up the fryers for us, but fryers only. Perfect because I only care about fri frize! The others ordered wings and hot dogs and stuff to make it worth their while and we certainly appreciated it! We chatted up with Sal and his new bride and people played pool and darts and mingled but I stayed right at the bar with my new drink (until I got cut off the alcohol by someone in our party-​rude) waiting for my frize. They were heavenly as french fries should be and I remember biting a hot dog that was legit as well. The little bar hit the spot to wrap up our night and I do remember the bathroom not even being that bad. We left full and happy, waited for our Ubers and made it back to our hotels somehow.
Come on-​Sal could’ve stuck to the closed kitchen but he welcomed us in and provided us with fried food, strong drinks and good conversation. My sis and her wife now go there whenever they get the chance, to watch a game or just hang out. It’s a cool place because Sal Carbone is the dude.

Great bar with decent selection of beers on tap, a pool table, jukebox, and large two-​level smoking patio out back with a firepit. Owner Sal came over and introduced himself and chatted with us. Bartenders provided great, friendly service, too.

Sal is an awesome guy… The bar is great!
Got a fun back patio and the drinks are a fair price!
This is a great Monterey bar spot!
Go have a beer and sit around the fire pit or play some darts!

Me and my girlfriend went here on a Wednesday night to check it out and see what this place was all about. I drive for Über on the weekend and a lot of people go here, mostly locals. Figured we would try it out and see whats up.
Upon first entry we can honestly say its no secret this place needs some updates or some general repairs. It looks dingy and like its been through hell and back. However, it gives the place just the right amount of dive bar feel that maybe its trying to go for.
When you go outside onto the porch out back, you see so much potential. I have never been here when its been packed but there is a ton of room to get stuff going. They had a darts board and a corn hole game setup which we had a blast playing with. The inside also has a Foosball table and maybe a pool table? Don’t remember off hand.
The female manager, whose name we forget was pretty awesome. She gave us a lot of background on the place and told us all about the owner.
Carbone’s has a ton of potential, it needs some updates and maybe some cleaning up but if you can look past that and focus on the space, games and the staff, you are in good shape. We will definitely go back!

Sal is the most thoughtful generous business owner I know. He is fun and personable. He cares about people and his regulars so if tough times happen. He does what he can to help.
Carbones is a fun laid back bat comfortable and safe. All the reasons why it is my favorite hang out in Monterey. If you are a good person I hope to see you there!

This is a classic «cash only» bar with an ATM nearby. Extremely tacky. All night long people walk in, order drinks for themselves and their friends, then have to spend $ 5 on ATM fees while looking embarrassed. This isn’t the 1970’s. Pay your taxes like everybody else, guys. Also, show your customers some respect by not screwing them for $ 5 for trying to patronize your business.

One of monterey’s better casual bars. Great patio good live music great drinks & convenient location.
Sal the owner is a great guy.

So, you are not local, but don’t want to do the tourist thing. This is where you go. Handshake and name exchange from Shawn (sp?) the amazing gal bartender before she makes your drink your way. Perfectly and for an extremely reasonable price. If you’re lucky, owner Sal shows up and regales the bar with epic tales. Everyone is a regular. Even me, although it is my first visit. Brought my iPad, never opened it. This is what a bar should be.

Awesome owner/​bartender and all the bar games you can think of or dream up.
Excellent!

One star for the may weather fight being on. One star for having drinks. Worst chips I’ve ever eaten, period. The chips are from a barn that was used to hold moldy sweatpants.

First Impression: The establishment looks a bit run down and it is cash only. I felt the service was rude. I had biked over and had a small backpack. I was refused service unless I hung my bag on the wall. It was the way it was requested which made me walk out. I’ll never go back and I recommend that «out-​of-​towners» stay away. Just my two cents.

I feel bad that it’s taken me THIS long to write a review of Carbone’s, because it’s long overdue. My life and I love this place. Why? Because it’s friendly and kick-​back, which is exactly what we look for anywhere we go.
My wife and I came here probably three years ago while we were on vacation down here. We actually found the place by looking on Unilocal.This was the first bar that popped up on our search, so we thought «why not?» We got there around 9:30 — 10:00 on a Wednesday or Thursday (I can’t remember), and saw that it wasn’t crowded at all. The bar had a divey, casual feel to it what included a pool table, dart boards, a jukebox, some comfortable chairs to play dominos or cards, and a fooseball table. There was also a pot of chili cooking on the counter of the bar. We loved it though. Definitely a nice change of pace from the usual douchey upscale spots that we sometimes found ourselves at back home.
The owner is a guy named Sal who looks like a body builder, and could find a second life as a stand up comedian, he was so damn funny. Sal reminds me of what bar tenders USED to be like back in the day, aka somebody that did more than just pour you a drink. At this place, you didn’t need televisions or music to entertain you, because Sal is the entertainment. He served us up some chili dogs, and kept us in tears because we were laughing so hard. Sal is a great story teller. Anyway, when we left, we promised we would return when we came back here.
So fast forward to February of this year, and my wife and I came down here to celebrate an early Valentine’s Day, since we both had to work on the actual holiday. So, of course, we had to hit up Carbone’s again. We walked in and noticed that the place still looks exactly the same as it did three years ago (which we liked). The only problem is that we didn’t see Sal. There was another woman working behind the bar named Sean, and she was a total sweet heart. She made great drinks for us, and was just as cool to talk to as Sal was. We ended up staying there for at least two hours talking to Sean and Sal (who eventually showed up), and had a great time. Carbone’s also has a full food menu now, which looked pretty damn good. We were kinda full at that point, so we didn’t eat anything, but it looked like they had everything on there from burgers to pizza.
If you just want to come somewhere for the night to have a drink and relax without being forced to hear obnoxious music, paying a cover charge, or being harassed by a bunch of frat bro’s, then Carbone’s is a solid option. It’s a no bullshit bar that makes you feel comfortable (as long as you don’t act like a jerk), and has a great staff that are very personable. Totally solid option if you’re coming in from out of town. Cheers!

Love this place — it’s hands down, THE BEST BAR IN MONTEREY!!! Dart boards, pool table, air hockey, turtle racing, midget wrestling, midget throwing, internet jukebox, and the friendliest bar staff ever. none of that pretentious BS you get from Alvarado St. I got bronchitis! Ain’t nobody got time fo dat!
When you come in new, you’re family; Hospitaliano, youknowhatimean? Foggettaboutit! Bored in Monterey? If you answered yes, that’s because you are not hanging out at Carbone’s. Grab a Cigar and go out to the back fire pit and chill.
The Owner: Sal– cool, laid back, and makes sure you, the customer, is happy. Provides a unique food menu from his kitchen if you get the beer munchies. Provides unique entertainment like Midget Wrestling and Turtle Racing for YOUR pleasure.
The Bartender: Sean– tough as nailz, but the sweetest bartender in Monterey. She’s believes in what she does; a deliverer of happiness. She’ll provide you with the drink you want. She works with you. Want something strong? Sweet? Fruity? Bitter? She can make it. If she can’t? She’ll make sure she can.
The Bouncer: Chris– when you first meet him, you’d think he’ll be one of dem Brooklyn tough guyz, but he’s not, he’s a sweetheart, and he does his best to remember you the next time. Unlike the typical bouncer, he’s down to strike up a conversation about TV shows, Darts, and whatever else is on your mind. Don’t get it twisted though, if you start some drama or try to act squirrelly, he’ll launch your @$$ out of Carbone’s so fast, your head’ll spin.
Yeah, I’m the Duke of Carbone’s…but the people make it what it is. Become a regular, and you’ll know what I mean.

Sean is a good bartender. Her name is Sean. S E A N people. Spell it right.
They also have midget wrestling once a year. Heard its good.

CASH ONLY! I’m amazed at why some establishments still do this. Don’t they understand people spend more when they can just throw it all on a tab and not have to worry about digging out money for each round!!! I know I do. So thank you Carbone’s for keeping me under budget…
Regardless, we did have a good time here, very pleasant bartender staff although drink prices are a bit high. Good jukebox tunes. Very much a local’s place and you can feel that vibe pretty quickly.
Live rock music did grace our presence, although it was tucked into an enclave out in the back patio, which according to the bartender, that’s how the locals like it. Otherwise the ‘indoor’ live music was a guy on a stool playing heartland Americana on a banjo.