Great food, I really like the tri-tip and pastrami tri-tip and it comes with a nice size salad for a good price

The one star is for the organic lettuce. This is an absurd operation... as I sit here at the restaurant writing this review I have been waiting for our check for 30 minutes. Oh I could ask for the bill, but it's more fun to watch the two workers on deck make and eat their salads... they are both literally sitting at a table right now eating lunch while I sit here with my sister with dirty plates in front of us and empty iced tea glasses. I'm dying to see what the damage is on the check... the salad bar is a fraction of what the Bay Park used to offer. The produce is fresh, it's good, but there is nothing amazing. And it's half of the size.... The other half is filled with 6 bread rolls and two tins of dried out focaccia. Most salad bar lovers lean vegetarian so I was confused by the HAM and lentil soup, but that could just be me. For a sweet bit of fun, they put out some apples and oranges... really? I'm not a big dessert eater but I think this lacks something to be desired as well. Now if you'll excuse me I'll go ask for that check! #WTH Update: $16 for one trip to the Salad Bar. read more

See all

Friendly Staff, Amazing Ribs, Award Winning Salad Bar, Amazing Ribs, The Burger Is Perfect, Fresh Inhouse Cheese Cake was Rockin, oh and Amazing Ribs. read more

Urban Kitchen Catering & Events - Love This Place! - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

The Urban Kitchen is located in the Red Lion Inn in Monterey. parking is ample as its on a hotel property. This salad bar is pretty amazing. It strives for organic choices and everything is fresh and appealing. There's enough choices n this salad bar to make a customer happy. I loved that they served a vegan soup when I was there. You can add on drinks and an entree if you want and the set up is really nice. They have canned alcoholic drinks which were a little pricey but so cute! The gentleman that was there when we went was a co owner and he was very nice. They didn't take our dirty plates away often, but that wasn't a deal breaker for us. We loved the food and will be back. Bathrooms are part of the hotel - they were clean. The ambience is quiet and dark with dark wood and an old soul, but it was cozy and we were happy campers. Thank you for having a salad bar!!!! read more

See all

We were looking for a place to have dinner and after reading reviews we decided on Urban Kitchen. We both enjoyed our meals. My other half had the fish tacos and the organic salad bar. They tacos came out beautifully plated and were delicious. I wanted something light, so I had rice, beans and tortillas. All were equally as tasty. The owners are wonderful too! If you are in the area definitely give Urban Kitchen a try! read more

Urban Kitchen Catering & Events - Side of rice and beans. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Soooo GOOD! The barbecue was delicious (meat falling off the ribs!), tasty sides and the organic salad bar was perfect! And the service was EXCELLENT!!! Very pleasant and attentive! Highly recommend the Urban Kitchen! We will be back for sure! read more

I got the salad bar to-go, and they gave me a large box and a cup for some soup. The salad bar had good options, and the clam chowder was delicious. Really glad we got a chance to pick up some work lunch here, and I will definitely look for a chance to return. read more

No sneeze guard! Yuck! Same old nasty salad bar with new signage. However, it has seating for 40.

If your expecting the former Crazy Horse Salad bar, forget it. Not even remotely close to what it was so dont even park and go in. If you do go like I did, because you hoped and prayed they had tasty salad bar, just forget about it and order off the menu. BBQ was decent. The restaurant inside just felt off though. Weird vibes. Can't explain it. Won't be back, there's better BBQ in the area that doesn't have the strange vibes . I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. read more

The salad bar alone is worth the visit. Then the bbq came out and we were floored with how good it was. We had the ribs and tri tip, can't go wrong with either. The service is amazing and very helpful. Highly recommend read more

Urban Kitchen Catering & Events - a plate of meat and sides - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Ok so went to the Plaza Diaz that is in Urban Kitchen NOW the customer Service was Great until a Waiter that got upset because I asked for a towel to wipe the table he immediately started going off...I proceeded to say what I had to say "the table is stickey" any the waitress was cool the Bartender was cool. .... Now the Food... my daughter order the Steak Quisadia came to the Motel and she open the Box had small Amout of Steak and a WHOLE BUNCH OF Onions no Flour Tortilla just Steak and Onions...let's talk about the Fish Tacos..Dont get them...fish was OVER COOKED...u gave it a 3 stars because of the waitress and the Bartender read more

Not surprised to see this place closing for good, and good riddance. I guess the $8 cheese cake the host lady smilingly gave me and that showed up on my tab, which I paid, was not enough to keep them going. I wonder how many times she tried that. I said it looked good but did not order it. Seemed like she was giving it to me several minutes later. That was the last time I went there. I sure did enjoy the prior place. Hope some decent new operators make a go of it. That lady seemed pathetic the way she was hanging around and seeming to flirt. read more

Sadly, this restaurant doesn't seem ready for business or even equipped to succeed. During dinner tonight, the staff floundered with every task they faced. Entering orders, packing up to go orders, restocking the salad bar, answering customer questions--absolutely everything they did seemed to be the very first time they'd done it. We were very confused as were each of the diners who entered after us and tried to navigate the new quick serve system. New business and shaking out the process I understand, but these folks, all five of them, seemed completely clueless about the restaurant business. The salad bar is a nice attempt to pay homage to their predecessor the Crazy Horse. But even that was barely acceptable and had none of the kitschy charm of the old days (no jello ring, no sliced meats, no tuna salad or cottage cheese, no warm potatoes or rolls, etc). And why are the soup bowls 25 feet from the soup pot? We heard the microwave go off so many times during dinner that I can't believe that any food was actually cooked, just rewarmed to order. Anyway. It seems this restaurant won't replace Crazy Horse as a community favorite. We can't recommend it. read more

I am highly disappointed with Urban Kitchen. I made reservations for my staff of 12 for a holiday luncheon on December 21st. I spoke to the restaurant two times to confirm. Imagine my surprise when we showed up, and the restaurant was CLOSED!! I didn't receive a phone call before or a phone call after with an apology. The manager of the Red Lion Hotel (right next door to Urban Kitchen) arrived at the restaurant to have lunch and saw all of us standing there. He called one of the restaurant owners and was told they weren't opening. I am shocked by the level of unprofessionalism. Thankfully, I called Alvarado Street Brewery in Monterey and told them Urban Kitchen had stood us up, and they told us they would be happy to accommodate us. Thumbs down for Urban Kitchen. read more

We came in for lunch after searching for organic restaurants. We have food allergies and found that the owner, chef and staff were very interested in our safety and enjoyment of the meal. I ordered the burger with bacon jam and could not hold back the "OMG" with the first bite. This grassfed burger was The Best burger I have had, anywhere including at home. My husband has the tri tip bbq and with custom secret sauce and he was equally impressed. The Cole slaw is awesome, with apple slices and prepared so fresh and crisp. We each had the garlic fries. My hips told me to stop eating them halfway through but my taste buds said "hell no". They have only been open for sit down service and I think the earlier reviews caught them at the beginning. I hope they all give a chance again. We will definitely return. Service and food are really great. read more

Aw. I'm sad to see that this place has received so many negative reviews. My coworkers and I were at an event earlier in the day and I just happened to Google buffets in Monterey and this was the first place that popped up. We couldn't be happier that we agreed to try Urban Kitchen! Despite the dismal reviews of their salad bar, it was actually perfect!! We surprisingly met the friendly and fun owners, ate delicious Mexican food and I made trips to the salad bar until I felt like I was about to pop! This will be my new place to eat when in Monterey read more

This place is a disappointment. My friends and I used to go there all the time before it was bought by the new owners. Now, plates are often dirty. vegetables are not always fresh. Recently, my kids and I dined here, and noticed a worker dangling her socks over the salad bar and asking whether or not she should wear the socks for a birthday party that she is going to. She had the socks on her feet first, then took them off. A few minutes later, the chef brought in more vegetables and was cleaning around the containers. He picked things up things from the floor with his hands, and used the same hands to organize vegetables. Finally, the owner was using the same broom to broom chairs and dirty floors. I wish we had a nice salad bar in our area that we could actually rely on. read more

The atmosphere is not super appealing and the salad bar needs to add more variety but that said the food on the menu is very delicious I have tried multiple things and have been satisfied every time. Also the waitress is super friendly and very attentive. It's a Great place to eat, comfortable, reasonable pricing and family friendly. read more

The food was next level! Absolutely delicious and every single item in the salad bar was so fresh and crisp! The homemade dressings were a perfect complement. The turkey and pozole soup had such depth of flavor and the perfect heat. The bbq was succulent and the Baja fish tacos crisp and perfectly balanced. We will be hitting the salad bar once a week at least! The big plus was how nice the staff was. They took excellent care of us! read more

See all

This place is amazing!!! Fron the large organic salad bar with homemade soups to the mouthwatering bbq... they've got it all. If you love salads, then this is the place for you. All fresh veggies and fruit and homemade dressings! We will definitely be back!! read more

Old fashioned restaurant. The place is dark. They don't turn the lights on. When we entered the restaurant, the door was open but there were no customers inside so we thought it was closed. We ordered 2 salmon dishes (the catch of the day). I took a bite of my salmon dish and it smelled bad. I didn't see the waitress for a while and I kept on eating just the vegetables since we were in a rush. I brought the issue to the waitress and instead of offering another option, she kept arguing and stating that the second salmon dish was ok and they were both from the same cut. She took the bad salmon dish away. In the end, she removed the salmon from the bill and she said "you ate for free" which we thought was very unprofessional and disrespectful. No wonder they don't have any customers in there! The tri tip dish was served on a plastic tray with paper on the tray and the meat and potato salad on top of the paper so the paper got wet and mixed with the food! We had to ask for another clean plate to move the food. read more

This is 5 stars for the weekend brisket! Very tasty & tender. Everything brisket should be

Have been getting a lot of emails about this business, so we thought we would give it a try. It's not a full service restaurant, you order at the front, then food is brought out. It was very busy at 6:00 on a Saturday night. Most people seemed to be enjoying the salad bar option. They have an identity crises, several different themes/menus of food. They do Mexican food, Salad bar with a protein add on, pop up was Barbecue. Staff was very nice & walked us through the many choices. The bar choices are bottled/canned beer, cocktails or wine, and charged separately because liquor license is through hotel. We decided on barbecue, found a place to sit & waited for food. After we sat for about 15 minutes a staff member asked if we needed anything, we said our food. He went back to check on our order. After about 25 minutes we received our food in takeout containers. No silverware, no napkins. We asked for that next. We were brought a fork each. Asked for knives & napkins. It's barbecue, you need napkins!! Food was good, but not great & cold. They seem to be trying to make this work, but it doesn't seem that they have much experience in restaurant business. Need to decide are we a takeout place or a sit down restaurant? Might have been better to try salad bar option since that was the more popular choice & you got real plates & silverware with that. Much improvement needed in the food prep ( needs to be hot), service & presentation areas. read more

We got Marv's BBQ for takeout. It was FANTASTIC!!!! The restaurant looks very nice and the employees were friendly. We look forward to going back for takeout or to dine-in. read more

I went for lunch and had the fish and chips and the tomato Gorgonzola soup. Both were excellent. The fish and chips were made with fresh rock cod and used a light batter. They were delicious. The best I've had on the peninsula in awhile. The tomato soup with Gorgonzola was delicious. The Gorgonzola really adds a nice touch. I got chocolate cake for dessert, but to go so I haven't tried it yet. It looks delicious. They also make a chocolate hazelnut cheesecake, but that was sold out. I will be coming back to try the artichoke enchiladas and that cheesecake. The salad bar looks good too. read more

The salad bar was almost non existent. The main reason we went. I had the jumbo burrito. I ordered, no rice, no sour cream and no Avacado crema, to lower the fat. Im not sure if there was chicken in it. The beans were crunchy and it had no flavor whatsoever. Definitely, we wont be back. read more