Moss Landing Cafe

Very bland Mexican food. I’ve been here twice and have not been satisfied. I would rather stay in Watsonville at a local restaurant like cilantros and Jaliscos. Prices are steep for low quality food.

Excellent place to have breakfast. It’s a small place but the food is mind blowing. Friendly staff

We love this place. Breakfast lunch or dinner. We come here all the time. The owner Mark is really friendly and always comes over to talk to us. We have been coming here for close to twenty years. Really good food.

On a random day trip to Monetary, we decided we were hungry and needed to grab a bite. Unilocal reviews nailed it when rating this spot! Driving through Moss Landing, we pulled into the picturesque café. Walking in, it felt like home with the smell of food and the quaint clientele. The food was spot on! Fried artichokes, clam chowder and the calamari sandwich were all exactly what we asked for. If you’re ever in the mood for a fantastic little diner scene with equally amazing food stop by and get the billboard advertised FREID ARTICHOKES!

Lunch New Year’s Eve was so much fun, thanks to the owner, and the food was excellent! And a big thank you for having Rombauer Chardonnay!!! Deep fried artichokes is a must to order, can’t wait to return!
Thank you!

The open-​face crab sandwich was piled high with chunks of crab in a light dressing. The fresh avocado slices on top were a perfect creamy compliment. I definitely got my seafood fix! Delicious! Wait staff was friendly and the food came out fresh within minutes of our order. Sure beat waiting in the long line at Phil’s Fish Market!!! We will certainly visit Mark’s Moss Landing Café again!

My family and I randomly ended up here when our vacation rental was a lot farther from Monterey than expected. When we found out that the thistle bushes all around us were artichokes, we had to go eat some. We tried the Moss Landing Café based on the good Unilocal reviews and it did not disappoint. Admittedly all I cared about on the menu were the deep fried artichokes, which were excellent and not at all greasy. The crunch of the breading and softness of the artichoke were the perfect combination. They are served in generous portions with tartar and cocktail sauce, both of which were delicious.
I had low expectations for the rest of the food, but I was pleasantly surprised by everything we ordered. The fried oyster po’boy rivaled some we had eaten in New Orleans and the open faced crab sandwich with steamed artichoke was equally as tasty.
Nothing about the décor or weird Twin Peaks vibe in here would indicate that the food would be this good, but take the chance and try this place out if you are in town.

a Unilocaler recommended moss landing café.
i dined with a friend there the other day.
my steak, eggs, and ‘taters tasted great.
my friend liked her crab dish, but could not finish the plate.
service was sublime.
we had a great time.
yay! i’m a fan
will visit again, as soon as i can.

While driving North we saw some signs marked «Fried Artichoke». Incredibly friendly service and a nice homey feel at this establishment. Fried artichoke hearts and crab cakes were amazing, a definite must-​have! Also try their homemade muffins!

A little bit expensive, but totally worth it. My favorite is blackened squid and eggs. DELICIOUS!!! Have yet to try something that wasn’t unique and delish. Definitely a good place to eat in Moss

Crab & Shrimp Huevos Rancheros. Scrumptious. Who cares about anything else — great music jamming and kick ass hot coffee!

I somehow managed to clear my plate of insanely delicious pancakes, artichoke/​bacon/​onion/​mushroom/​tomato/​salsa scramble, hash browns, and homemade carrot pumpkin muffin. Probably because it was all perfectly cooked, mixed, browned, and fluffed. Thanks for the city wide blackout Monterey, otherwise we never would have found this gem!
Great job Mark and team, thanks for the full belly and happy faces!

Fabulous breakfast at Moss Landing Café. I had the special Artichoke Scramble with carrot muffin. Being surrounded by artichoke fields, very logical choice. My husband had omelet with crab and shrimp, and my son had breakfast burrito.
A great place for local fresh food!

Had an open faced crab sandwich for lunch… OUTSTANDING! Now a Macadamia nut crusted Sea Bass for dinner, started with a warmed Caesar salad… Very different. I loved it.
Breakfasts & lunch daily. Dinner is only served Friday & Saturday evenings. Reservations recommended for dinner. The locals pack the place for dinners.
Would have been 5 Stars if the seating was more comfortable.

My coffee was always filled and never had to ask for service. Small café set near moss landing beach and the Marine Lab. Good weekend family owned breakfast café and diner.
Ordered the traditional eggs and sausage breakfast.
Not a gourmet place but I received good service and lots of coffee.
3.5 stars

Bad attitude and bad food. What more do you want from a local eatery?
My blue cheese burger came with mustard and pepperoncini. huh? why would someone treat blue cheese like that? that is so so wrong.
after i saw this, i took my plate right to my waitress and said the burgers don’t come with mustard. She said they do. I said it wasn’t on the menu or I would have asked for it to be removed. She said well what do you want? I asked her for a blue cheese burger without mustard and handed back my plate.
She never apologized and asked how our food was. Two waitresses working in a small café means you should get good customer service as neither was stretched too thin. honestly ladies!!!
The chef came out and asked two tables next to us how their food was. He didn’t ask us. That’s really too bad. i would have liked to tell him in person rather than on Unilocal.Oh well.
To their credit, they fixed the mistake but it was overcooked and had no flavor. Sad.
their «famous fries» are anything but. they were too crispy and too hot to eat and they didn’t have enough salt or flavor. just don’t bother with this place. save yourself!
interestingly enough, my mom had been here a few months prior and the same blue cheese burger did not come with mustard or pepperoncini. Inconsistent food and a bad attitude. I am so not impressed. My very low tip reflected that, and i honestly considered a penny tip but the bus boy was helpful so i didn’t want to do that to him.
lastly, let me say that my biggest pet peeve in a restaurant is when my check is placed while on the table while I’m still eating. That is not soooo ok. We weren’t even halfway through our sad flavorless burgers when she dropped the check. Not cool in any way shape or form.
I will never go back. Ever. Too bad for them. better for my stomach which wants flavor and my wallet which wants quality for my money.

Great location, great service, great food, and for $ 9.95 you cant beat the price. WOW! This local Mom and Pop little restaurant is a must stop when transiting between Santa Cruz and Monterey on highway 1. Try the Surfer Special, it is a breakfast sandwich and a short stack of pancakes. The pancakes = amazing and the sandwich is amazing as well. Super nice down-​home feel to this place; comfortable, inviting, and old fashion. My new breakfast place. Thank you Moss Landing Café.

Good basic breakfast at a reasonable price. Knew we had the right place when field workers showed up for breakfast!

Excellent little café to grab breakfast on a foggy morning! And, we did so 2 days in a row while staying in the area. Very good scrambles (with artichokes, of course) and ridiculously yummy pancakes and raspberry french toast. The pancakes are super fluffy and cooked to perfection. And the raspberry sauce on the french toast was so sweet and tart that I devoured it way too fast. The bacon had the best flavor. We also were able to meet Mark the owner and chef. He makes everything from scratch and buys his ingredients locally from the farm stands nearby. It doesn’t get better than that folks!

It’s a 3.5 It definitely should and could become a 4 stars after more tries!
Friendly staff. The owner goes chat with customer form table to tables. I like this atmosphere.
The daily catch (cod over Cesar salad) was nice: the cod was very fresh, perfectly cooked (no salt!). The meat was firm. tasty. Too bad that the salad was literally drenched in dressing.
The onions rings on the top of the fish were really thin, fine and delicate (very thin batter). This dish could be a 4 stars, but it’s a 3. 15 $ from what I remember.
Deep fried artichoke with homemade sauces: excellent. 4.5 stars. I’d present it differently and avoid putting the sauce in plastic containers but that’s just (a not important) detail. Those chunky bites of mini-​artichokes (home battered) are simply delicious.
Deep fried oyster tacos (12.5 $ I think). 2 tacos with 2 giant deep fried oysters. The salsa seems home made. it’s nice, juicy and tasty. I didn’t like the tortillas and fries are not home made but frozen. It could become a great dish I think if served differently, maybe on toasts or salad or even on a bed of salsa in their shells and should be better served as a starter, I think.
It’s a nice mom and pop restaurant. Go try the deep fried artichokes!