Restaurant ambiance was nice but I requested a window table well in advance when making the reservation and was on time, but was given a booth instead. However, a couple that walked in just before us without a reservation was given a window table. Food quality was acceptable but underwhelming in taste/creativity for the price. We did appreciate the wine pairing. I found dessert to be the highlight - their take on "Toast and Jam" with buttered toast ice cream was delicious. read more

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My husband Mark and I came here on 6/24/22 for our 40th anniversary. Everyone from the hostess, to the servers, to the sommelier was so attentive, kind and knowledgeable. The food and wine pairing was amazing! We would definitely recommend doing the pairing if you can. If we had to pick a favorite (which is very difficult to do) the black cod dish was our favorite, as well as the beet puree. I have included some photos of the food (see description on menu attached). Chef Rotondo you are amazing! They even give you binoculars so you can look out at the ocean. We saw dolphins and otters - amazing! The night before there were whales. We cannot thank you enough for making our 40th anniversary truly memorable! We will definitely be back! Meredith and Mark read more

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The quality of the food and service is a 8-9 out of 10. However, it is significantly overpriced. The dining room was 15%-20% occupied on a Thursday night. If the dinner was priced at $105 to $110, then they could double or triple their traffic. $145 is just too much. read more

The food is to die for!! The atmosphere ideal for a quite and romantic dinner!! Totally worth it

Amazing view and classy restaurant. We sat right next to a window. They give you binoculars so you can look out into the Bay for otters or whatever else might be out there. Service and food were both excellent. We were given fresh fruit and pastries. Also, two pieces of bacon, two sausages, and two hash brown patties. All wonderful. We didn't finish our first course or all of the extras because we were trying to save our appetites for the second course. Our second course came and one of us had huevos rancheros and I had the short rib hash. By that time, we were so full. We asked to take everything we didn't finish home. Our server, who was very good otherwise, took everything away, saying he'd pack it to go for us. The only thing he packed were our first course, the smoked salmon flatbread. Everything else had been tossed! Of course we didn't notice we only received our first course to go until we got home. Such a disappointment, especially for the amount of money we paid. read more

One of the best meals I've ever had. It was a special occasion, we added the wine pairing, so the evening is pricey, but absolutely worth it. First off, the staff - everyone was attentive and not intrusive. Each item and wine were thoughtfully described and suggestions on the order of tasting and what we might look out for with the pairing was perfect. Food - I've been to many tasting type meals and this one by far was the best. Each dish was superb and beautifully presented. Each wine was paired perfectly with each course, adding to the experience and not taking anything away from the food. Ambiance- this is a beautiful setting and each seat has a view of the bay and binoculars for a closer look. The diners are spaced far enough apart to make one feel like you're dining alone, but not so staid that you do not notice everyone enjoying their evening. Very well done. read more

So glad we chose this restaurant for our anniversary. The tasting menu was beyond this world. The tuna, cod, and braised beef were so tender they melted in my mouth. The sauces were flavorful and exquisite. I do not drink, but my husband said the wine pairings were spot on. Every dish was presented beautifully and I savored every bite. The cherry on top was the direct view of the Pacific Ocean. The only issue we had was finding the restaurant. There were no signs. Turns out that it is inside a hotel. Check in at the Schooners Restaurant on the bottom floor and you're good to go. read more

Coastal Kitchen Monterey - Appetizer. Soooo good! - Seafood Near Me - Monterey, California

Pros: Beautiful view, great wine pairing & sommelier. Cons: Food was underwhelming especially for what should be a dialed in 5 course tasting menu. The presentation & portions were good but the cookery, flavor & freshness miss the mark. Service was friendly but not very comfortable or knowledgeable, which is surprising since there's only 5 dishes on the menu. Overall you're paying Michelin star prices for an experience that's only worth half the price. read more

I really enjoyed the food here! I didn't get a chance to take pictures of everything (because I would eat it too fast) but every course we had was interesting, pretty, & flavorful! We had multiple servers helping us through the evening and they were all super friendly and personable. Also beautiful view of the water! I surprisingly ended up feeling pretty full towards the end, couldn't even finish the dessert haha. Very good dining experience all around :) read more

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We were there to celebrate a birthday. We originally booked for schooners, but it was very busy and they were not able to find us a table with a view. The waiter introduced us to the new Coastal kitchen ( same entrance but different area) so we decided to give it a try. It was a last minute walk in but they were able to find us a table with a view. We did a five course tasting menu and also the wine pairing. As a vegetarian, they were able to modify the menu a little bit to accommodate my needs. It was the best meal I've had in two years from the pandemic quarantine. I loved the appetizer ( with white asparagus) and cauliflower entree. I think they were extremely good at roasting their dishes including the root vegetables and meats. The bun and soup was the third dish. You can tell that they made the bun, which was good, but the soup was a little bit plain but still tasty. The ravioli was not that good, but the final dish, the roasted mushroom and the dessert were both really good. read more

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Amazing restaurant at Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa. Incredible tasting menu and really nice vibe with views over the ocean. Really great service. read more

Can I get an AMEN!!?!? Literally this restaurant deserves a standing ovation! We did their tasting menu and it was probably the most delicious one we had. Definitely worth the $$$$, we even think this was better than Chez TJ! Every dish was so flavorful and on point! Our favorite was the sunchoke for our amuse bouche and it was so delicious! Literally all their courses was so amazing! The scallop dish! Miso cod! Tortellini! The braised short rib!!! My husband asked me which one was my favorite and I replied "sorry I'm busy at this moment" as I was licking the plate...just kidding I wasn't licking the plate...it was the bowl. We're definitely coming back because they said they change their menu quite frequently. So I'm super excited what chef magic mike (Michael) can do next! Also the staff was super friendly and attentive! The whole staff was very warm and kind. Our server name was Paige I believe and I forgot her assistants name but they were both fantastic. AND the view! AMAZING! We even saw sea otters and sea lions swimming! What a treat! read more

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We had dined numerous times at Parallel 37 at the Ritz in San Francisco (pre-covid) - it was so good. We made reservations at different hot or highly rated restaurants which we always canceled and dined again at Parallel 37. When we looked to celebrate my BDay in Monterey, we were psyched when we saw former Parallel 37, Executive Chef Michael Rotundo had established his own restaurant in Monterey! The 5 course set menu was Outstanding - an explosion of flavor and textures we hadn't experienced prior. We also LOVED the wine pairing ($95) as Sommelier Conrad Reddick's selections opened our senses to new and wonderful flavors which superbly complimented each course. Service was real solid but an area that could be improved as unexpectedly an empty plate may remain in front of you for a few minutes or a water glass remained empty. We will be back and excited for Michael's next creations!! Bravo! read more

Coastal Kitchen Monterey - FANTASTIC!! - Seafood Near Me - Monterey, California

This is THE spot to go to if you enjoy fine dining. Everything is paired with excellence, from the wine to the finishing on each dish! I am still frothing at the mouth. If you're in Monterey, you NEED to come to this spot. read more

Coastal Kitchen Monterey - Seafood Near Me - Monterey, California

I hate giving 1 stars and really thought about giving it 2 stars just because the view really is amazing, but It's a 1 star. Terrible food from start to finish. The dinner was over 600, which would have been totally fine if the food was even decent...but I'm being honest here, it was not. First dish had an oyster that stoped both my husband in our tracks: room temperature and something just not right. Oysters should either be hot, or ice cold...nothing in between. We should have left then, but we didn't. Our mistake as we received course after course of nearly inedible food...but the weird thing is that NONE of our servers (and we had a series of them) ever asked us how food was. Obviously they must know it was subpar as I've never been to a restaurant, let alone a "fine dining" full tasting menu restaurant and not a single server over the course of 5+ courses did anyone ever ask us how things were going. Finally after a truly inedible steak course (I'm not exaggerating here.) We called our waitress over and just told her about our experience. Thoughtfully, she apologized immensely and offered to comp our meal. We declined as it's not all the service workers fault that the chef is bad, and that's a lot of money for a team to lose out on. She then offered to give us a free bottle of wine which we accepted....but then she disappeared for 20+ min and a new server brought us our check and closed us out. We finally left as it just got weird. Honestly, we're not upset about not getting free wine as we really didn't need more wine after having the wine pairing with dinner, so if she committed to something she ultimately couldn't deliver, than that's totally understandable as we came to this restaurant expecting to pay what we did....but don't just ghost us. That's weird behavior. All in all, it was such a bad experience from inedible food to bizarre behaving service. read more

Wow... what a fabulous place and we'll worth the cost. Beautiful setting and we got seated by a window, just like we'd requested. The food was innovative and just sublime... the equivalent (although it stands well on its's own) of a high end meal in Vegas. Service, from top to bottom, was also outstanding. We will definitely return. read more

To be clear, we LOVED this experience and definitely recommend. My reason for 4/5 is we were never shown a menu, and, at our table for 10, the descriptions of what was coming out to us on the plating was sometimes not easy to hear or very thorough. Also, all of the wine pairing was fun and the sommelier was amazing. She even was very helpful when we didn't understand what was on our plates food wise. Having said that, I wish that they had used local wines. They were very proud of the fact that their food was all locally sourced, but unfortunately, every wine pairing was European. Just would've been a neater experience for our... (Probably most expensive ever)... Very expensive meal if the food and wine had been locally sourced. Lastly, our table for 10 had tastings from one bottle of wine or less each time so at $95 per person to add the wine pairing, this seemed exorbitant knowing the retail value on most of the wines. However, at the end of the day the food was excellent, the view is spectacular, and everybody we encountered was very friendly. read more

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My wife, our toddler and I just moved to the area and went there to celebrate our first date night without our child since we moved. When we set up our reservation we were not notified it was tasting menu only that night. While that was a surprise when we showed up for our reservation, we decided to give it a try and were excited. The food was great and we ordered the wine pairing to go along with it. We took our time and spent about an hour and half there enjoying ourselves, the food, and the views. Unfortunately we were out of commission the next two days as we got really bad food poisoning. read more

Coastal Kitchen was a dream find. The food was perfection and the service wonderful. We enjoyed chatting with our server, learning about the local items served and the extensive wine list. It was nice but not too fancy. You left full and satisfied. Can't wait to visit again. read more

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but we ordered Salmon and The Lobster Tails along with appetizers and sides, we even asked the waitress questions about the Lobster tails and only happened to receive the Salmon. Would've loved a lemon with the Salmon as well but just so happened to not be checked on for 25 minutes. Never received the Lobster tails and after being checked on after 25min we let the waitress know that the Lobster never came out and she seemed somewhat apologetic but never offered anything in accommodations, didn't offer to have it to go, just a quick apology that didn't seem all that real. We expected to speak to the manager as anyone would in this scenario but he seemed to never get word of it or something because he was casually picking up candles in the whole process. Pretty unfortunate as we planned this dinner before we drove 7 hours to stay out here. We also were never even offered dessert. The Salmon was pretty good though, for what that's worth. read more

I have probably eaten out more than 5,000 times in my life and I can easily say that this is one of the top 3 experiences. Everything about this place is first class. whether it is food, decor or service. We had the tasting menu with wine. Every single dish - from the amuse bouche to the dessert - was beautiful, creative and absolutely delicious. This talented chef combines ingredients that one would not think go together - such as morel mushrooms and shrimp - and turns it into a masterpiece. The sommelier knows exactly which wines to pair and arrives at the table with each course in a way that is unobtrusive and seamless. Although I live quite far away, I would make a special trip to Monterey just for Coastal Kitchen. I can not say enough good things about this restaurant. read more

Service is outstanding. Conrad was our waiter and is spot on! Best food and wine pairing I have ever had. The chef pulls in all types of flavors. Highly suggest you go! read more