We had such a wonderful experience last night. The food was very good, especially the squid eggplant Parmesan, as well as the octopus appetizer. My sister had the shrimp scampi and enjoyed that very much as well. The service was really outstanding we commented multiple...times on how attentive yet not over bearing they were. I would highly recommend going back and will definitely make a reservation in advance next year when we return. If you are lucky enough to get a table near the window, it helps with the atmosphere but anywhere is greatMore

We loved this restaurant. I personally can’t eat seafood but I wasn’t made to feel bad for not ordering seafood. But we had the most fabulous meal, in the most perfect surroundings and an excellent attentive waiter. He recommended a local wine which was superb....I would love to visit this restaurant againMore

Excellent food. Clam chowder was the star. Big portions so bear that in mind. Ask for a window table. Excellent ambiance, inside the restaurant was a lot smarter than the brash entrance and Fisherman’s Wharf. Quite ‘Good Fellas-ish’. Really good meal and excellent service. Highly...recommend.More

myself and my husband had dinner here while staying in Monterey for 2 nights, we booked well in advance while back in the UK and when we went it was very busy so glad we'd booked! We were given a warm welcome on arrival and...shown to our booth table right by the window so had a lovely view. our waiter came over and introduced himself and took our drinks order. Our drinks did take quite a while to arrive but i concluded that was because they were so busy. we ordered starters and i had their clam chowder, it was amazing! so tasty!! we both had mains and mine was one of their fish specials. again, all tasted amazing. We didnt order dessert but they brought us a slice of cheesecake free of charge as we were there to celebrate our honeymoon and my husband's birthday, i was also given a rose. Lovely end to the meal! one touch we really liked was the owner / manager came round to check diners were happy and check was all ok. we chatted to him for a bit and he appreciated that we'd come to visit their restaurant all the way from England. another reason we came to this place was their policy on children in the restaurant. i know their policy doesn't go down well with all but when we go out for dinner we want to enjoy it without the disruption of very young children so i said they had our full support with their policy A great place to eat, great food and service, we'd return again if ever in Monterey.More

The Old Fisher Grotto." 2023, WOW!!! Most beautiful experience ever! Thank you Arlene manager & precious "Pablo" our server. You made our anniversary the best one we have ever had in our 30 years together! You treated us like royalty even though you never met...us. Pablo, you by far are rated high scale in our books at #1! You were so attentive to not just our needs but, every table! You made sure all tables were cleaned, water glasses were filled, and everyone was happy! What surprised us is when you arrived at our table with a beautiful plate of "Grilled artichokes drizzled in sweet balsamic vinaigrette, tasty fried calamari with a side of aoli & cocktail sauce, sourdough bread with mouth watering shrimp bruschetta. Not to mention a beautiful flower right in the middle of the plate. We were not expecting that! Pablo you truly are a "Gem💎"! What brought me to tears was when you also brought us a month watering tasty dessert, I mean a delicious cheesecake with a candle on top for our anniversary. My goodness our taste buds were dancing furiously! You didn't have to do this either, but you did. We are so gracious to Fishermen's Gratto for their kindness and love. The food overall by far was the best on this wharf!!! Especially the clam chowder which was a "10" there is no other clam chowder out there this tasty. Not even in Santa Cruz where I was raised. Throughout the years of our exploring restaurants we have tried at least 5 restaurants on the wharf and 'Old Fishermen's Grotto" has always been number one!!! The fish and calamari were most excellent, it had so much flavor, with a nice outer crisp, the internal body was moist and delicious. We haven't stopped talking about Old Fishermen's Grotto to our friends. Many of them had to visit for themselves and totally agreed that it is by far the best restaurant in Monterey. Please do yourself a favor and bring your family to this restaurant, they won't regret it! We will be back! Thank you Pablo! Thanks to "Old Fishermen's Grotto" for your beautiful smiles, gorgeous hospitality, and delicious food!💛More

Loved it ! Great dinner and fabulous service from Cristian. We were seated upstairs with a view of the bay & the sea lions trying to entertain everyone. We will be back.

Wandering past we stopped here for lunch, then ended up returning twice more for dinner. Delicious fresh seafood, great atmosphere, service and overlooking the water and all the activity that goes along - paddlers, sea lions, pelicans.

Well decorated restaurant on the very touristy Monterey pier. Food is good, Sand Dabs excellent and fresh. They have a regular every night menu and an up-charge special seafood menu where they add at least $20 an entree. My only objection is when they overcharge...for dinner entree’s. It is not necessary to charge $50 for a fish entree and even more for steaks. The service is decent with a friendly waiter. It is a bit gross to display menu items fully cooked on a table on the pier as you enter the restaurant. When ordinary Americans are suffering the ravages of inflation, I feel restaurants should make sure they have a few entree’s at reasonable prices! I told this to the owner he was not apologetic and defended his exorbitant prices. The bottom line is the owner can charge whatever he wants and as customers you are free to find a similar less expensive restaurant.More

The wharf experience is not our cup-of-tea, but we were hungry and decided to drop in because the restaurant clearly advertised "no children or strollers". Ah - wonderful. It's clear this place has been around forever. Yay for a full bar with bartenders who know...what they are doing. Yay for the sound dampening materials which allow for conversation. Yay for the window seats where our out-of-town guests could ogle the sea lions. Yay to the servers who are attentive and professional. As to the food; it's good Italian comfort food. Nothing exceptional, but generous portions with solid sauces and good ingredients. Our favorite appetizers were the fried calamari (delicate breading and properly fried), the grilled artichoke ($14 - large artichokes halved, and grilled). I had the Linguini Isabella with bay shrimp, chopped clams and scallops in a garlic and cream sauce over a bed of linguini. It was good, but not $34 good (yes seafood is expensive, and they didn't skimp, but still). On our second visit (to bring our guests) I had Seafood Puttanesca consisting of penne pasta with salmon, shrimp, scallops, tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies and fresh herbs. The amount of seafood was great, but again I'm not sure it was $39 great). We are glad we went, but this wasn't a cheap meal.More

We loved our food and cocktails here. The clam bake was so so good, best chowder I’ve ever had…. and I’ve tried a lot in my travels on the east and west coast. The seafood salad was excellent also.

Great place. I love that they have older, experienced waiters. They know what you want before you do. Clam chowder - one of the best I’ve had. I got the seafood pasta - clams, lobster, pasta, about $50 and more than I could eat. Wife...had Sea Bass which she loved. Sat upstairs by the window and watched the seals play in the bay. Fun, enjoyable experience. We walked around, other restaurants were nearly empty. They definitely have the good reputation.More

Old school wharf restaurant - Perfect experience! Our waiter was great (Pablo) and we were seated by the window with a view of the water and the sea lions. Clam chowder was classic and delicious, grilled and marinated local artichoke was outstanding and my husband...thoroughly enjoyed his fish special entree as I savored the prawn cocktail. Big band music in the background plus a red rose upon leaving - felt special and pampered.More