Monterey Fish House

The Monterey Fish House is usually packed every night of the week. I've been going there for 8 years and on your random Wednesday night the line will be out the door. SO WHY on a three day weekend, that also happens to be Valentine's Day and the AT&T Golf tournement is in town did the Monterey Fish House run out of food?? First of all, they double booked so making a 7:30 reservation was pointless. We got seated at 8:00. They ran out of oysters; there's only 2 choices of Saviogon Blanc wine and they ran out of one of them. The beer on the menu says Guinness Stout but they don't carry Stout, only Draught and there is a difference. Before the end of the evening we overheard a waiter announce they ran out of prawns. Who is the Buyer for this restuarant and why are they still employed?? It was an extremely disappointing Valentine's Day. Pros: Seafood is fresh Cons: Poor planning more

Everything on the menu is fabulous. Even for a ""seafood"" place, their steaks are great, and it is the only place I order chicken! Sit at the oyster bar and nibble on appetizers or enjoy a whole meal. In the 10 years that I have lived in Monterey, it is the best restaurant. Pros: The Food, Staff, Meeting People at the Oyster Bar! Cons: NONE! more

Even with reservation, you must wait for seating at this small restaurant. Well worth it. Specials are more expensive, but great sauces. Comparable with the Fish Wife. A local favorite. more

Despite great food, I made a reservation on Feb, 1 2008 for a 6 pm dinner reservation for Feb., 14, 2008, only to find out at 5:45 pm Feb 14, 2008 that they showed ""NO"" reservation under my name? Where do you go at 6 pm on Valintine's Day at 6 pm for dinner, without a reservation? more

I've been here at least seven times in the last eight months. It's always crowded and despite making reservations, only once have we been seated promptly. That said, the seafood is the freshest and the best in town. The sauces are delicious without being over-poweringly creamy or cheesy. My favorite entrees are the shrimp scampi and the Sicilian Holiday Pasta. The golden rule is to listen to the long list of daily specials which vary depending on what's fresh and in season. Most recently, we had a barbecued baby squid appetizer with just the right touch of smokiness, crisp on the outside, yet tender and moist on the inside. We've also had softshell crab fried and served with light tomato-based sauce and capers. Scrumptious. My visiting friends have brought their business visitors from Japan and they have loved the Fish House and said it was the best restaurant they had been to in Monterey (they were here for a week). We've never had rude wait-staff even when the restaurant was packed. Desserts are barely passable here but hey, it's the Fish House, this is where we go for fresh seafood. Pros: Fresh seafood, delicious sauces, polite and patient waiters Cons: Bread, desserts, wine are all a little blah. more

6-2-06 HAD DINNER WITH 6 PEOPLE. SERVICE WAS HORRIBLE. 3 DIFFERENT WAITSTAFF CAME TO OUR TABLE WHEN WE REQUESTED WE DIDN'T WANT TO ORDER UNTIL WE ATE OUR APPETIZERS. WE GOT OUR FOOD. 1 PERSON GOT THE CLAM LINGUINE AND HE GOT DEATHLY SICK WHEN HE WENT BACK TO HIS HOTEL. DID NOT FINISH THE FOOD. 1 PERSON HAD CLAM CHOWDER AND IT LOOKED AS IF IT WAS Pros: NONE, NONE, NONE Cons: NEED LESSON ON COOKIN, WAITSTAFF TRAING, SERVING WINE CORRECT more

This place is bad news!! I was with a group that had reservations. We waited well over an hour and still were not seated. Other parties waited longer. The hostess was rude. Avoid this place!! more

I love this place. The food is good and the waiters are attentive. The oak grilled artichoke and calamari are phenomenal. I've had their clam chowder and would reccomend it. I've also had their crab raviolis---one of my favorite dishes. Pros: Great Food, Great Service, Large portions Cons: Too small, Parking, Expensive more

Decor-bland, old, depressing. Clam Chowder-Horrid, I have had better from a can. Ravioli-Greasy! Other-I tried bites from other plates and all the food was bland and greasy. Note-We should have known the food would be bad because you could see dishwashing equipment in the same window that the ""cooks"" were working. 4 guys-$300...and the worst restaurant ever for that kind of money. Cons: Food, Decor, Food more

the best red wine garlic marinated steak. Great cold artichoke appitizer. Delisious slads. Nothing bad to say about this restraunt. Suggestion get a bigger place. Pros: big portions, great prices, easy to find Cons: not that great servic, crowded all the time more

The food was incredible. The place was packed, so we just sat at the bar. The staff was friendly, although I did get squished by a very rude customer. more