Old Fisherman’s Grotto

We had lunch at the Old Fisherman’s Grotto during our CA trip in November 2015.
The place is not very spacious and the size of the tables and chairs doesn’t seem to help. We were showed to a booth and right behind it there was a group talking very loudly, so we asked if we could have another table. Surprisingly, the waitress said she would have to check (really?!). First time it happened to us. Anyway… After a few minutes she said we could sit somewhere else, which was not bad. But overall service throughout lunch was not as efficient as we expected.
We started with the grilled artichokes. Very disappointing. They were simply inedible. Very hard and poorly executed.
I had the Seafood Linguini Isabella. My dish, unfortunately, was underseasoned and the pasta was a bit too dry because there was not enough sauce. It had everything to be a good dish but it fell short.
I do, however, greatly appreciate and applaud their children’s policy.
(Unfortunately, more often than not, you will find adults behaving like a child — like it was the case with the loud group we encountered. Too bad we can’t ban those).

Food was wonderful… service was spot on… the only complaint is it’s too far away from home (SF)… Will definitely come back n visit when going to Monterey… thx Ricardo!

This place was very delicious after a nice dive! Their dessert was also an amazing add on. We ordered a few seafood played with risotto and the flavor was on point!

The positives first. The service was really fantastic. The setting is really nice and the ambience is kind of old school dark, but nice.
On this day, we had spaghetti, calamari, prawns and chowder. I don’t think anyone was ecstatic about their meal. The calamari was tough and the prawns were just not tasty.
They ended up crediting us for the calamari, which was great. I didn’t really even complain about it.
Perhaps it’s time for a new chef or the current one needs a vacation?

The food was very nice. The calamari app was unbelievably tender. The clam chowder was deliciously creamy. We ordered the market fish which was wild sea bass. It was lightly crusted and very good. We tried 2 different risottos and the caramelized onion one was the best.
The restaurant was dim and quiet. Our server (Andrea) was bubbie and enthusiastic.
Overall we had a pleasant experience and would recommend this restaurant to others

Well, first off. the service was okay. Being a young lady (23) I feel like my waitress judged me on that, tip wise. I’ve had multiple years of being a waitress so I understand the struggle. I’m a Great tipper if you take care of me and my guests. With that being said, service was pretty shitty. Excuse my language …
I had the soft shell crab sandwich. Which was okay for the first few bites. Then the last bite of the crab claw. Was disgusting I wanted to spit it out but I was in a restaurant and didn’t want to be rude. Just stay away from the soft shelled crab sandwich. I didn’t wana complain because I know how it feels.

Couples Heaven:
Food & service are amazing here! Chowder is yummy. Views are great! I appreciate the atmosphere for my family of 2 as well. Will return & recommend to others.

Terrific evening.
Always feel a bit weird going down to the wharf for dinner — along with all the tourists. BUT, it was more than well worth the risk!
Delicious food on the locals menu (Monday — Thursday) with discounted wine bottle pricing (–25%), exceptional service…
Chris Shake is absolutely maintaining his family’s well earned reputation for outstanding food, service, and ambience.

We ordered the Ultimate Seafood Combo, well worth it.
The wait time was just a little bit over 30 minutes but they do give you a pager so you can walk around until the pager rings.
The environment is much more suited for a good conversation with whoever you are having dinner with.

I was in town in on business last week and looking for dinner. Unilocal brought me here as it looked like an interesting place that had been around for a while. Located on Fisherman’s Wharf, this restaurant has a lot of nearby competition. Walking in, I realized that it is a two story restaurant that is dark and relaxing on the inside. I wanted a waterside table and was told it would be about a 20 minute wait (this was on a Tuesday evening). They gave me a pager and said that it would work all along the pier so I went window shopping in the pleasant weather that night. I was about 50 yards away when the pager went off about 20 minutes later so it worked as advertised.
The host seated me and presented the menu. One of the reasons that I came here was for sand dabs. I have never had them but read about them in the book, The Spirit of St. Louis, as a fish that west coasters eat so I wanted to try them. Lindbergh was introduced to them in San Diego when he went there to supervise construction of the airplane. Ordering that meal, I decided to add the clam chowder (white) so they brought me a cup of it. Wow, that was the best clam chowder that I can ever remember eating! Perfect (5). Seriously, I could have ordered a big bowl of it and along with some bread been happy, happy, happy for dinner!
About 15 minutes later the entrée arrived. The grilled fish sat on top of carmelized onion risotto with organic veggies (red bell pepper and green beans) covered with a buerre blanc sauce. This was a very good dish (4). I am glad I ordered it. With the chowder it was a full meal.
My table service was excellent (5). Ricardo was his name and he was a professional. Prices here are in the $ 20 to $ 40’s for most of the dinner entrees. This is a very good place to eat. I highly recommend!

This place is awesome. I did a Google search for best clam chowder in Monterey n this was #2. Place was nicely decorated n clean. The staff was friendly n attentive. So in comes me, my girlfriend n our lil girl to grub on some clam chowder. We ordered the Mexican shrimp, beet goat cheese salad, n 2 large bowls or clam chowder. Everyhting was awesome n tasty. But the clam chowder was the hit. it was soooo darn good I wanted to drink it. With lil bit of grinded pepper n some Tabasco sauce, I inhaled the chowder. They served it in a clam shaped bowl which was large. I will be returning to this place again hopefully soon. The only negative would be that our soup took a while to come out. But it was worth it.

I got reeled in by the clam chowder sample. Not afraid to admit it.
And, while everyone else is upset about the policy for kids, I get it. There are plenty of other places to take your kids, and I can’t fault this place for wanting a docile environment. I appreciated it, for sure.
I got the seafood sampler app and a bread bowl of baked clam chowder. I loved the sampler, and the chowder was every bit as good as the sample I received outside.
The portion size was pretttttty big, and about half way through the bowl I felt like I was sweating butter. So yummy, but SO HEAVY. I took the rest to go and felt like less of a man…
I do have to ding a star on value. The place is priced a little higher because it’s in a touristy area, and I just can’t say that everything my date and I got was really worth the little bit extra it cost for this location.
We had a great time though, and enjoyed our leftovers just as much as when we were there.

Delicious food in a great location. We were seated in a booth by the window so that definitely added a nice touch!
Loved the bread they started you out with — I actually preferred the normal white bread whatever it was to the sourdough. The clam chowder is definitely a must-​try. It has a little more zing that your normal New England Clam Chowder. I had the grotto pasta and my boyfriend ordered the salmon. We both thought our dishes were delicious and very filling.
We expected the restaurant to be nice and quiet since they don’t allow noisy children. However, it’s too bad they don’t also ban loud (drunk) adults.
I know they can get busy, but we were easily able to make reservations a couple days in advance.

Endless plates of delicious bread and butter. But slow down there, tiger. You’ll be too full for dessert like we were. :)
Seafood Sampler Appetizer (⁵⁄₅): portioned for 2 people, so not great for groups. Came with crispy calamari, wonderfully marinated shrimp and mango covered crabcake.
My boyfriend got the Baked Clam Chowder Bread Bowl (⁵⁄₅): so rich and filling we had to take half of it to go.
You know that FOMO feeling that happens when you order the wrong thing? Wish I’d purchased something else/​cheaper because my super expensive plate of crab legs, salmon and shrimp was definitely not as yummy as the rest, and it was double the price.
Warning, sort of: the upscale feel makes ya feel under dressed, but most people are as it’s pretty touristy.

We wanted to try this place as it received great reviews on Unilocal and online so, we decided to book a reservation and unfortunately, they were all booked and we were told that walk-in’s are welcomed so we took our chances and went to the location for dinner. To our surprise they had plenty of available seats and we were greeted and seated upon walking in.
Upon being seated we noticed that the table sat kind of high and we’re are not tall people but as the evening went on we didn’t mind it and completely forgot about the high table so that was no biggie for us.
The service we had was great as our waitress was highly knowledgeable and attentive to our needs. After receiving our entrée’s, my partner wanted to add on another dish and since our waitress came around often it was no problem ordering the additional dish. After every meal (drink, appetizers and entrées) we had servers come by to pick up our empty plates to make room for the next dish or next drinks and they even did a quick wipe down as they picked up the empty tableware. This could be on of the best service we’ve had at a restaurant thus far!
For the food, we ordered the rockefeller oysters, Steamed clams, Surf & turf and Fisherman’s Wharf Platter. The rockefeller Oysters tasted pretty good but some of the oyster meat were so small i could easily mistaken eating an empty shell with sauce. The steamed clams was okay as the saltiness of the clams overpowered the tasty wine sauce a slight bit. The surf and turf was cooked perfectly to my liking (medium-​rare) filet mignon however, the meat tasted a little too charred to my liking and it left a greasy charred residue on my plate. The lobster tail that came with my surf and turn was cooked perfectly with great seasoning to accompany it.
The Fisherman’s Wharf Platter tasted okay as well with the highlight being the half dungeness but, i wish they would of gave us a garlic butter dipping sauce instead of the regular butter dipping sauce as it would of gave the crab a lot more flavor considering it’s just a boiled crab with no other seasoning. The crab cake was okay and a bit too much mayonnaise flavor than i’m used to. For the prices they charge the meal was actually pretty good but, my one biggest gripe is that none of our meals came out steaming hot. or hot for that matter. everything was room temperature.
Great prices (crab is cheaper here than in the bay area) and amazing customer service but, i just couldn’t ignore the luke warm dishes which probably changed how the dishes could have tasted when it was hot. What’s really great and i don’t know if they do this regularly or because it was mother’s day weekend but once we got the check we were given a rose which is a pretty nice touch.

Of all the fish places on the Monterey Wharf, the Grotto appeared to have the highest marks on Unilocal for Fish & Chips. I was all-​in! When you sit down, they give you a large amount of sourdough bread. You’d think they’d portion it out for 1,2,3,4 people, but no. I enjoyed the bread very much. Next, I got a cup of the Tomato Basil soup. It was presented nicely, tasted very good, and it came with two slices of pre-​dipped garlic bread.
The Fish & Chips was also presented superbly. Two large breaded fish filets, along with a small bowl of french fries. The fish was cooked perfectly and tasted very good. The only negative was that it had too much of a fishy aftertaste (I’ve had orders that don’t). The fries were crunchy, but not too crunchy, but had too much salt on top. I think you should be modest in your salt application, and let the customer put more on if they choose. Overall, the meal, was well priced for size of Fish & Chips.
The Grotto is located in the middle-​ish of the Wharf/​Pier on the left side. Very old school fine-​dining place, with super comfortable leather bound booths. If it’s windy outside, I’d recommend getting a booth that’s not in the door’s wind tunnel, because every time it opens, you get a cold breeze.

After a long day in the Monterey area, we decided to go eat. This place had the most reviews in all of Monterey and they had a view as well as seafood. Sold.
First the ambiance has a very old school feel. Still, that’s something I quite enjoy in a day and age of chain restaurants showing up in every corner of the world. The service was impeccable and on top of everything. They even gave my fiancée a rose at the very end.
The food was phenomenal. I’ve never heard of a calamari steak served with eggplant parmigiana, but this place did it, and they did it with perfection. One of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. Really top notch. This was as close to a perfect dining experience I’ve had in a few months.
Overall, top notch and would come here again in a heartbeat.

Definitely looked like a tourist trap, but we were walking around Fisherman’s Wharf so we figured why not, I mean we are on vacation.
The clam chowder sample guy outside gave us a card for a free appetizer, so that was nice. It’s only valid for a limited selection though, so we decided to get the popcorn shrimp. In addition, we also ordered the «top shelf» bloody mary and the special chowder of the day with crab. The presentation of the bloody mary, which comes with 3 large prawns around the glass, was stunning, but unfortunately the bloody mary itself fell short of expectations. I love bloody mary’s but this one needed a more concentrated flavor of either tomato and /​or spice. The chowder itself was sooo rich and creamy but could have used a tiny bit more clam meat.
At the end of our meal, the waiter actually brought out the entire selection of desserts on a platter for us to choose from! And they all looked beautiful! We weren’t interested but I thought this was a clever gimmick to entice people who can’t resist getting it when it’s basically already in front of them.
Overall, the food was actually not bad, just marked up quite a bit. I’m sure there are probably better seafood options in the area, but if you’re just visiting Monterey, this isn’t a bad choice for the tourist vibe.

A friend’s recommendation turned into a bookmark, and then finally turned into a visit during a long holiday weekend. Sadly, no food was being served in the bar area (anymore). I was bummed… We wanted to eat light and not wait too long for a table. After checking Unilocal for other ideas nearby, we decided to just wait for a table… hoping we’ll get more hungry by waiting. It was busy everywhere in the area.
Thirty minutes later, We were seated at a window table and the view was a definite plus. Our waiter took great care of us throughout our visit. He checked on us often, and every time I looked his way, he made sure to come over.

As for the food, it seems like we did get a bit hungry from waiting. Their clam chowder did not disappoint. I had their cup, which was a pretty big cup, along with their bread and extremely addictive butter… a perfect accompaniment. Their crab sandwich was humongous with very fresh crab and a whole lot of bread. I ended up eating the bottom half of the toasted bun with the crab and ate the top half separately with that butter. I couldn’t finish off the wonderful side of fries because I was carbed out. My date was content with her halibut, but the coconut shrimp was nothing special… just the size.
Drinks were strong and the prices were on the steep side. But I expected that from a restaurant on the wharf.
As I was paying for our late lunch, the waiter comes up to my date and presents her with a rose. Afterwards, we strolled towards Cannery Row. We noticed that people were staring at us… particularly at the rose she was holding. The ladies were smiling, but the guys were giving me that evil eye.
Priceless.

Sign says «no strollers, no high chairs, no booster seats. Children crying or making noise are a distraction to other diners and as such are not allowed in the dining room».
We were still full from a night at Rosine’s in Monterey when we found this restaurant, lured by the jambalaya on the lunch menu –the only jambalaya being served on the wharf.
We had to go up some steep stairs to get to the top floor of the joint. Great ambiance, beautiful carpets, great atmosphere.
Our free appetizer with an entrée purchase came first. Breaded calamari –delicious but somewhat small portion, lightly breaded, cooked perfectly, served with onions –my favorite!
I got the $ 22 jambalaya, and the wife got the $ 9 bread bowl of clam chowder. Looking around, we saw people drinking the most bizarre of drinks –one came in a pineapple, another came lighted like a candle with a fire burning on the tip.
The jambalaya was spicy hot –as if the cook had dumped a few tablespoons instead of teaspoons of chili powder on the dish. Huge serving. Lots of andouille sausage, chicken, dirty rice, peppers, and two humongous prawns –which by the way didn’t have a whole lot of flavor.
I took my time with the jambalaya, drinking both the wife’s and my own glass of water. While my mouth was on fire waiting for relief, several waiters passed by the table, ignoring my empty glasses.
The wife took one bite of my jambalaya, and she too went for the water glass. Way too hot, and this woman eats spicy Korean kimchee by the bucket loads!
We were plenty full when the waiter came by with a display of desserts. The raspberry cheesecake was irresistible!
Took a while but the cheesecake came with red raspberries on the top of the cake, with blueberries and cream on the bottom, surrounded by a very fancy looking three color design of syrupt surrounding the cake.
$ 54.71 to get out of there, after tax and tip, the most expensive meal for us on our trip to Monterey! But that’s allright, as I’m willing to pay a surcharge to have a peaceful romantic meal free of interruptions from babies or toddlers.
And I’m not alone, as this place was the most crowded restaurant on the Monterey wharf –the place was packed and not a baby or toddler in sight!

Délicieux produits frais et ambiance romantique. A tester si vous êtes de passage la bas