4 Best Restaurants in The Monterey Bay Area, California

The menu here is mostly Mediterranean and southern French, with such dishes as osso buco and paella. The decor follows suit—stone walls and country furniture lend the restaurant the earthy feel of a European farmhouse.

Exotic Mediterranean flavors with an Afghan twist take center stage at this artsy, stylish space with soaring ceilings. In the evening, locals come to relax over wine and soft jazz at the blue-concrete bar, on the seasonal heated patio with twinkly lights, or at a communal table near the open kitchen.

A large old tavern with cathedral ceilings houses this popular bistro, where the Mediterranean--California menu changes seasonally, but regular highlights include paella, seafood puttanesca, and pepper-crusted rib-eye steak with Cabernet demi-glace.

This restaurant inspires European-style celebration and romance in an intimate French-country setting. Feast on authentic dishes from southern France and northern Italy—think beef tartare and escargot. Private dining is offered at Van Gogh's Table, a relic from France's Auberge Ravoux, the artist's final residence.