Dining in Monterey
 

Looking for dining recommendations for Monterey. Will be staying at the Monterey Plaza. Definately want to be able to walk to the restaurant, wont consider driving at all.

Heard some good things about cibo, appears they have jazz on sunday nights. What else would you all recommend? No money or food limitations, up for anything. Thanks in advance.

Well, that limits it a bit. We just returned from a stay at the Plaza. I need to post a report later. Acutally, we really enjoyed Schooner's Bistro, right at the hotel for lunch. The food is wonderful. There is also The Duck Club right at the hotel where we had a wonderful breakfast. I'm betting that their dinners are wonderful.

We drove into PG for dinner at PassionFish. We also had an amazing dinner at Roy's, but you HAVE to drive there.

Let's see, there's The Whaling Station in Cannery Row. Very good steaks, ambaince, service here. Also, if you want to walk to the wharf, there's Cafe Fina and Domenico's where we enjoy the seafood there. The sand dabs are great!

I really want to try Fresh Cream, but I don't know where that is located. How far will you walk? ***kim***

Thanks Kim. We would walk up to a mile in either direction. I didnt realize we would be limited dining wise, that's sort of the reason we decided to stay at the monterey plaza, thinking it was centrally located.

The Monterey Plaza is centrally located to the Canery Row area and there are quite a few restaurants down there. Most are casual places. There is a restaurant called Bushwackers on Canery Row - we went there a couple years ago and it was pretty good. They have an open fireplace in the center of the diningroom which is nice on a chilly evenning.

Yes, there are a lot of places to eat. The Fish Hopper, Bubba Gump's, Blue Moon, etc. are all walking distance from the Plaza. I just had some special places in mind that I wanted to try this trip and they both required driving.

Too bad you can't try The White House in PG. It is amazing, if you're really a foodie you will appreciate this place.

I still want to try Bouchee in Carmel, Grasings and The Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur. So many good eats, so little time!! LOL ***kim***

Penne, the Plaza is centrally located on Cannery Row, but there are a lot of great restaurants that aren't on CR--in PG, in Carmel, and in other parts of Monterey, which is a spread-out little town. Furthermore, I'm afraid a lot of the places near CR are big chains. But you've gotten some good suggestions here, so you won't lack for decent dining. (Will you have a car at all?)

Fresh Cream overlooks the Bay in the Heritage Harbor complex, between the Wharf and Lighthouse Avenue, not far from the Monterey Plaza. French/Californian.

Kim, you might be interested to know that Fresh Cream was originally created and owned by Robert Kincaid, owner of the White House in PG. We used to have our business dinners there and they were always great. But he sold it years ago, along with many of his signature recipes, like the Duck in Blackberry Sauce and Holland Dover Sole, etc., which you can still find at Fresh Cream. Of course, now you can get them from the source at the White House. I haven't been to Fresh Cream for a long time, but I've heard it's still good and someone raved about it here recently. Hope one of you will go and let us know.

The Sardine Factory is located near your hotel up on Wave Street. Ask for the Conservatory Room. Cibo is a little bit of a walk (but not far) -- located across from the Doubletree in downtown Monterey. The food is good, as is the ambiance (although it can get noisy).

I forgot about that place, surfergirl! We dined there many years ago when we first starting dating. I have read mixed reviews about it now, tho. Penne2538, you may want to also post your questions on the Chowhound board, under the CA heading. www.chowhound.com is the web address. ***kim***

SInce you are staying at the Plaza, ask them about the place at the end of the Lifeguard Pier. It's not very formal but we've had some very good seafood there. The Plaza does have a car and a driver I think still if you would like to go someplace not within walking distance.(They did when we were last there a few years ago).

Hi Winerycat! We were not impressed with our meal at Passionfish. I wrote a report on the Chowhound board if anyone is interested. My husband won't return there, his duck was not prepared how he thought it would be.

I really wish we would have opted for Fresh Cream, especially since my daughter pulled a fast one on us and decided to order room service instead of dining with us. I just kept our reservation at Passionfish.

Penne, if the hotel does offer the car service, The White House would be my first choice. We also have very much enjoyed the Old Bath House in PG. They have early bird specials that are reasonable and include apps and dessert! Keep us posted on what you decide and how you liked it! ***kim***

Winerycat: I just checked the menu out at Fresh Cream. Now this place is at the top of my list for the area.

I noticed on the dessert menu, they also serve the chocolate sac, which we adored at The White House for dessert.

On the menu at Fresh Cream it is listed as the "sac au chocolat." Now how can I get back over to this area? LOL ***kim***

we just got back from a trip to Monterey Plaza. We like to walk also. I didn't think the wharf area was too far to walk, there is a nice walking/bike path you can take right behind the hotel. We didn't eat there though. Fodor's book recommended a place there by the Marriott. I think it was called Mondrio Bistro or something like that. We never made it there though.

We ate at Blue Moon in the Cannery Row area. It was good but I thought too pricey. Nice views and ambiance though. We also walked to a Thai place in Pacific Grove that we liked (kids pick). We had one dinner at Schooners in the hotel and it was ok.-- good for kids. Had breakfast at Duck club which was very good. We drove to Monterey Fish House, which was good but very crowded and noisy.

I felt that there were probably more places in Pacific Grove I would have liked to try but we were tired of driving by night time and enjoyed being able to walk to dinner.

Wow, thanks all for the advice. We will have a car but just dont want to have to worry about driving that night. Will be driving up from san simeon that morning and its our honeymoon so just want to relax in the evening, and have maybe 1 too many drinks to worry about the car :)

Plus, we will be eating in some great spots already, gary dankos in san fran and french laundry in Yountville, so it's not that important to us.

Looking for breakfast the next morning and have read some good things about Monterey Cafe, First Awakenings and LouLou's Griddle. Any advice on those?

Thanks again for all the help, this is a great resource. I'll post our final yet very busy itineary when completed.

we had breakfast at first awakenings and really enjoyed it a lot. yummy omelet/crepes. you can walk there from the Plaza as well.