My favorite breakfast, world-wide, is served at the Old Monterey Cafe. This tiny restaurant is smack in the middle of downtown on Alvarado St. It's open for breakfast and lunch, and weekend mornings will have a line out the door and down the sidewalk by 7am. Get there early...the food is worth it! The first time I went to this restaurant was in '96 or '97...since then, the staff hasn't rotated that much because there are still familiar faces every time I go back. My favorite dish the Monte Cristo sandwich (which is difficult to find in the first place) with a great cup of hot chocolate, piled high with whipped cream. Though I never order anything else, I try to steal a bite from everyone else's plate and I have yet to find something untasty at the cafe. The staff are quick and friendly, but space is tight, so don't be surprised to start a conversation with the neighboring table.

We went to this restaurant for breakfast. We took pancakes with chocolate chips. This was good. We were not impressed with the restaurant that is little. There is a lot of noise. The service was average too. We wont probably go again. We prefer Rosies where you can have a very good breakfast for a little more money.

After reading the reviews on this cafe I was expecting something pretty special. Unfortunately what I received was definitely average but not as to-die-for as I was led to believe.
We arrived at 0915 on a Friday morning for a late breakfast. There were several people in line for a table and by the time a table became available for us we had been waiting for half an hour.
Our waitress came across as rushed and rude. The restaurant was very busy but I did feel as though she was trying to get us out of there in a hurry. I hadn't even gotten half way through my meal when the check was slapped onto the table.
The menu choices in this cafe are truly amazing. There are so many things to choose from, with a seemingly endless amount of options! I took a look at what other diners were ordering and the servings were absolutely enormous. I also noticed that the food being served appeared quite oily so I opted for an omelette. I didn't observe many healthy eating options on the menu!
The tables all had small bowls of salsa on them which seemed to be home-made. Tasted great and had a real bite.
This cafe also appears to be a favorite of locals as many of the diners appeared to know each other.
This experience was perfectly fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way to rate it as particularly good or bad. Next time I'm in Monterey I may return, but if there's a line up then perhaps it'll be worthwhile trying elsewhere.

Came here for lunch to try this famous, popular spot. Ordered the Monte Cristo and salad. The salad was mostly iceberg with lots of brown edges and the blue cheese dressing was quite thin and barely sufficient to dress the top; had to ask for more. The sandwich was generously portioned, but tasted of oil that was old. Decided not to come back for breakfast since I was disappointed, but ended up coming back when the other place I wanted to try wasn't open yet. Ordered the French Toast combo, and a cranberry juice. They selected a large juice for me (I should have specified small, but wasn't asked) and that showed up as a $3.50 item on my bill. The french toast was tough and hard to eat with a fork, and the batter barely coated the bread. So, I think if you come here, be sure to order what everyone else is ordering; I must have hit the wrong targets. But the service could not have been more friendly and courteous. Everyone seems to enjoy working here and bringing people the food they seem to love. It's a nice homey place; just ask for what ever is most popular. They have a website offering a free bottle of water if you print the coupon, but they did not honor it at the restaurant.