My second visit to Int'l Cafe but this time to actually "eat". Had the gyro plate. VERY good food,…read morereasonable price and friendly owner. Their items are limited but worth it. Tried their baklava. It was DELISH. Had to order another to-go. Definitely looking forward to the next visit. Suggestion: you have to try their dolmas.

I had a great experience at International Cafe--one of the very few halal dining options in…read moreMonterey, especially in the evening. The location is super convenient, just a short distance from Old Fisherman's Wharf, making it a solid choice for dinner after 7:30 PM when halal options are limited. The restaurant is family-owned and operated, and you can really feel that in the warm, welcoming atmosphere. The place was clean, vibrant, and had a nice energy to it. We ordered the combo shawarma plate and the falafel shawarma plate--both were freshly made and full of flavor. Everything tasted great. I also tried the lamb and beef gyro, and while it had that distinct lamb aroma (which I personally don't prefer), that's completely on me--not a fault of the restaurant at all. We wrapped up the meal with Turkish coffee, and it was fantastic--rich, authentic, and the perfect ending. Overall, a great halal spot in Monterey with fresh food, a welcoming vibe, and excellent coffee. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area!

What a sweet place! Beautiful and great oat milk latte…read more Gorgeous courtyard with pond and a turtle greeted us. The concrete bench that wraps around pond is HEATED! Happy buns!! In the room next door the owner was selling CDs and Vinyl for a dollar each, an added bonus. Picked up a few records... ;) Great little surprise stop! Don't miss it.

Waffle was nice and crispy, with lots of fruit. Made fresh to order! The gentleman who made my…read morewaffle I would have guessed was the manager/ owner, obviously seasoned knew peoples names..but Coffee was a let down but I don't think it was this places norm the worker told me if was his second day. So ‍ If I was a local I would go back and try again

Very cool and hip cafe in old town Monterey. I think it is in a historic building as it totally…read morelooks like a Spanish Mission era type of building. Super open and airy, there's a separate room off to the side with some haphazardly laid out tables and seats. The main retail area is pretty busy with people lined up placing orders/waiting for an order, or people fixing up their coffee drinks. Now even though I took my goods to-go I had to go out to their patio to find a restroom. That outdoor area is totally cool, totally out in the open but you're like in a square inside a fort, surrounded by walls, so you can't see any street action. But you're totally open to roam in here from the street. Next time I'm in this area, I'm definitely gonna make time to chill on that patio. Cold Brew ($6.50/5*) Perfect to my taste, smooth and mellow on the roast. Pricey for a small cup but this is a touristy area. Banana Bread Slice ($5.25/4*) Very thick slice. Super soft yet moist in the center but firmer and more well done on the edges. Pretty dark in color, maybe some cocoa powder went in but there were also tiny hits of dark chocolate throughout. Mild natural banana flavor, wished it were stronger but that's me. Blue Corn Cookie ($5/5*) Never had a cookie like this before but I was pretty impressed. Kinda like a cornbread but made into the texture of a good cookie, so it was crisp and buttery on the bottom and moist and chewy in the center. All whilst having a pronounced corn meal flavor and texture. Major props for exposing me to something new that I enjoyed immensely. Went great with sips of black cold brew. Most other things in their pastry case seemed a tad fancier than most other regular coffee shops. I'm just glad I was able to run into and choose a more special cafe to end my beautiful trip out in the central coast.

if there is one thing i ate from monterey bay that i'll be thinking about all the time now, it…read morewould definitely be the salmon croissant from ALTA !!!! i had heard so much about ALTA bakery from online itineraries for monterey bay, and i think this place definitely lives up to the hype! there was a pretty long line out the door, but it moved by really quickly and efficiently with the pastries! the drinks do have a bit of a wait tho, and i personally would not get them again since my bf and i didn't enjoy either the watermelon mint matcha or the cinnamon latte. all you could taste in the watermelon mint matcha was watermelon LOL and the latte didn't taste like anything special. i would skip out on these and just enjoy the pastries. speaking of the pastries, every single one was soooo yummy! my clear favorite is definitely the salmon croissant, which was so perfectly flakey and crispy and buttery with a good amount of cream cheese and smoked salmon inside. i also loved the everything seasoning crust on the croissant that went well with the salmon. 10/10, will be dreaming about it all the time now. i also really enjoyed the raspberry sweet bun, which was so soft and pillowy and had a nice tanginess from the raspberry! the pistachio-rose swirl was also really yummy and reminded me of a cinnamon roll in texture, and it was pretty soft and not too sweet. overall, every pastry was a banger and i would love to try the other ones if i'm ever in town again!

Been here a couple times while roaming the wharf because we love the little outdoor balcony…read moreoverlooking the ocean! Such a calm and beautiful spot to relax for a little. The coffee is delicious. Our latest order was a lavender latte and it's got a great flavor. We haven't tried their pastries yet, but they have some available if you need a snack, as well as Marianne's ice cream. The inside of the cafe is nice too! There's plenty of tables to sit at and they have board games to play. Been here a couple times while roaming the wharf because we love the little outdoor balcony overlooking the ocean! Such a calm and beautiful spot to relax for a little. The coffee is delicious. Our latest order was a lavender latte and it's got a great flavor. We haven't tried their pastries yet, but they have some available if you need a snack, as well as Marianne's ice cream. The inside of the cafe is nice too! There's plenty of tables to sit at and they have board games to play.

I thought the cafe name was super cute. After browsing the menu, I decided to give this place a…read moretry. It's the only place that offers matcha/taiyaki so I thought it was worth a go. I ordered the mango matcha latte, which was a whopping $8.75 ($9.55 after tax). I gulped pressing the "pay" button; part of me wanted to swallow the doubt and see if it was any good. TLDR: it was bad. I'm not sure what the mango is made out of, but it is not smooth like a mango jam or puree. The texture is like blended up unripened mango meat. I will say, matcha taste is there, but the entire drink was just extremely sweet and there was little to no mango taste, besides chewing on the chunks in each sip. It's as if the drink was purposely made extremely sweet to hide the quality of the matcha and fruit. I tried finishing the drink since I paid nearly $10 for it but I couldn't, and had to throw the rest away. However, the worker who made my drink was kind and seems very friendly. The interior is very simple and cute, and there is a nice view of the ocean from the outside seating. I just wouldn't recommend the matcha here. Especially for what I paid for, I am pretty disappointed! :(

Excellent little Paraguayan snack bar!!…read more I saw this spot while scrolling thru Yelp's nearby function and curiosity of their yerba mate and empanadas brought me in. I was still feeling kind of sick but wanted something hot to drink so I ordered a mate latte with oat milk. I also had one of their beef empanadas to take away so I could eat it later. Mate latte was great and definitely would get this drink again. They also have a smoked mate drink and I would definitely come back to try this too! You have to like yerba mate to fully appreciate this drink. The mate latte is kind of a light version of what mate is like. Maybe start with this first to prepare you for traditional mate. If you get traditional mate, be prepared to have your mouth jolted and doing jumping jacks, its definitely stimulating and I love it! Later when I reached my destination, I ate the beef empanada with chimichurri sauce provided and it was delicious! After I polished it off, I had wished I brought a few more to take with me. But, at $9.50 a piece, they aren't cheap, so keep that in mind. They also have other Paraguayan/South American offerings here and I was so tempted to get a mini alfajor as it was eyeing me in the display case that said EAT ME (like Alice in Wonderland), but I did not give into this, but I so wish I did!! I will definitely come back here again and again when visiting Monterey! A true gem and next time, I have to check out their secret back garden too!

K this was not our first pick but we wanted to go to 1st awakening which is half a block away but…read moretheir wait was 2 hrs so we stumbled upon this cafe and we were lucky to. No long wait times. Outdoor seating in the back patio. The empanadas are sooo good. Best ones that I've had. So crispy and filled with vegetables and soy. The soy croquettes were so tender and creamy. We are vegetarian so that's what we got. got. I wanted to go for more seconds.

Danny and Liam were so kind, and made me a delicious iced vanilla latte. Great coffee shop to check…read moreout while in the Monterey area.

What an adorable little place, with cute atmosphere! The…read morestaff was all super friendly from the cashiers to the baristas. The coffee was smooth, I applaud their ability to flawlessly whip a thick foam on non dairy milk and even decorate the top, oh and also their cups are so darn cute! I will definitely be back next time I'm traveling to Monterey.

The food was great, I had never had that good of an eclair. Also the staff were great,extremely…read morenice and welcoming.

Holllyy. The best bakery I've ever had! & I'm that person…read morethat seeks out bakeries everywhere I go! Super cute decor inside & such nice welcoming staff! - get there by 10:30/11 for the best baked goods! - try: fruit tart, almost croissant, kouign-amann & rectangle shaped filled cream puff pastry (forgot name but incredible, in top R of last pic) Cute, homegrown, very nice staff!

Coffee, pastries, books? It was heavenly. The coffee was delicious here, we were on a tight…read moreschedule, or else I would have enjoyed a day in here. Service was quick and friendly, it was busy, seating is limited. I recommend going to the back to enjoy the books first, then grabbing a coffee. Food and drinks are NOT allowed in the back by the books.

We found ourselves with some time to kill in between meetings on a trip to Monterey. This place…read morelooks cute and my husband and I are both readers so we decided it would be a no-brainer to stop by. The bookstore section is kind of small, but it is nicely decorated and organized. There's a large children's section that I appreciated and the plethora of plush puppets was something I had never seen before. They had several items that were gift varieties like candles and stationary and crayons, etc. It's attached to a coffee shop so if you wanted to grab a book pay for it and then grab a coffee, you could actually sit and read for a bit.