The people are nice. The owner is a hoot and makes you feel like you've known him forever. The sandwiches are huge, so come hungry or be ready to share. Half a sandwich feeds 2. I had a turkey on wheat, with avocado and pepperjack cheese. Be sure to get there early as the place closes at 5:30pm. 17-mile drive is right down the street. We ate our sandwiches at one of the picnic sites on the drive.

I used to visit Compagno's all the time when I was stationed in Monterey in the '80s, and I was really looking forward to stopping in on a recent trip there, but it's not at all as I remembered. Yes the sandwiches were huge, but they were rather bland -- nothing special. They used to have awesome brownies there, but no longer. And the deli salad selection was rather limited. Maybe we just stopped by on an off-day, but the cashier was rather surly. I was really disappointed, and my daughter thought I was nuts to drag us there. Another pleasant memory spoiled :-(

Yes, you might drive right by Compagno's and not even notice it on the corner, BUT you would miss some VERY delicious and HUGE sandwiches and cakes. The owner, Bennett, is a character and makes you feel like a longtime friend. The sandwiches completely fill one large to-go container to all sides and to the top. There isn't much sit-down room, but we chose to eat there and visit with Bennett. He offered good advice on what to do, and where/when to go. We took the advice and had a fantastic time. My wife was very impressed with all of the sandwiches and dessert. My wife had the roast beef (#5?) and I had the chicken with bacon and guac, etc (#26?). We had a huge slice of Reese's cake and had to eat some (we were pretty full) to make it fit in the to-go container. We were able to keep our leftovers (we could barely eat 1/2 of a sandwich each) in the store's fridge while we took advantage of Bennett's generous advice on going to the MB Aquarium and by the Coast Guard station to see the seals (and later to a restaurant he recommended). Definitely the BEST sandwiches we've ever had and the dessert is in the same category. Any time we are in Monterey we will stop by to visit here and eat again. The address is 2000 Prescott Ave., away from the center of town, up the hill. Absolutely worth every penny.

Well, it's not outright cheap, but given the quantity, it works out to be a great deal. Despite the reviews of the sizes, my husband and I went ahead and ordered 2 half-sandwiches, we still ended up eating leftovers for dinner, which was fine, as well as part of the gigantic slice of moist Snickers cake. I probably wouldn't rate this as the #1 restaurant in Monterey, especially as how it's really a convenience store with a great deli, although there is a small area to eat in there. The people working there tried to give us all these tips about how to get on 17-Mile Drive without paying the ransom. The sandwiches were excellent, and there's plenty of drink choices and accompaniments like chips (as if you would need them) to pick from in the store. There's a lot of armed forces memerabilia in there and in fact when we went a whole bunch of soldiers were there too because there's a Presidio right down the street and they often come here. They were very friendly and we got to talking - some of them were there for the language courses.
My recommendation is to stop there in the morning and pick up a great package for a picnic lunch and then drive out somewhere nice.