sardine factory

superb evening at the sardine factory. we landed in monterey in the early evening and decided on seafood. for our appetizer, we shared the steinbeck; spinach crab ravioli, escargot and scallops. i had the broiled wild salmon and crabmeat risotto with a terragon bleu beuree sauce. my groom had the scampi sambuca with angel hair pasta and shallots, tomatoes. chives and terragon in a white wine sauce. the food was excellent. we were seated in the beautiful garden room and enjoyed great music and a bottle of jouillian cabernet sauvignon from the carmel valley. superb pretty much sums up the evening!

the decore is very outdated at the sardine factory. but that is the only negative thing about this place. food is amazing and they make a great martini!

classy ! great ambience ! nice piano bar and fantastic service ! place to be if you are in monterey !

excellent choice for a celebratory meal!. we have dined twice in the conservatory room and once in the captain's room, celebrating an anniversary and birthday. our most recent meal was may 8 for my birthday, we dined in the conservatory room, we had a group 5 for dinner. they now offer a fixe prixe meal until 6:30 which is 3 courses for $20/pp which is an excellent value. the lobster risotto was really good, we brought in a bottle of king estate pinot gris to go with dinner. service was a bit lacking but there were large prom groups there. :)

amazing salmon dish!!! great service and the sardine after dinner drinks were fabulous. the back room is a glass ceiling room with wonderful ambience. highly recommend this place.

i have been coming here for a long time and it still is one of the better places for seafood in a place where you would think every seafood restaurant would be a 4+.  sadly, that is not the case.

at any rate, the sardine factory is great place for a group or for a couple looking for a romantic spot to dine.  it is not a place for people coming in off the beach, wearing t-shirts and sandals smelling like sun tan lotion or worse - like you may find on the "wharf."  this is one of the few spots, in montery, that still maintains that classy feeling when you enter.

everything i have tried as been excellent and i have never left disappointed. and, like any other good seafood place, it is pricey.  (this is not red lobster or joe's crab shack - both of which i avoid.)   but, the sardine factory does have a fixed-price menu option for those on a budget; and, you still get some pretty good seafood.  there is also an "early" diner special and check out their website for some other discount offers, too.

a 4.0 means nice atmosphere, good service, very good food.  a "will come back" vote.

celebratory occasion! truly one of the finest restaurants in town. our waiter sanjeeh was the most professional waiter we ever encountered. he has been there for over 30 years. will definitely be back again!

sardine factory. the food here is very good with a unique atmosphere, clearly an institution in monterey. the service is fabulous.
prices are in line with chart house and whaling station, and if you are looking for a relaxing dinner with good food and service, this is a good choice.

the abalone soup was delicious. our server don was polite and knowledgable about sustainable seafood and other ethical food choices. my entree featured perfectly prepared pacific sea dabs with golden and red beets, spinach, and carrots on a bed of risotto. my spouse and daughter also enjoyed their choices of oysters rockefeller, swordfish, and cllam chowder. the wine choices are astonishing and, if you have room for dessert, all are amazing. my husband thought he had lost a favorite hat in a shop or at the aquariium. as we were walking sans his hat to our car parked in the restsurant's lot, don ran out with the hat which he had retrieved from under the table where it had fallen! all in all.we had a lovely experience. we chose to dine in the conservatory, a quiet and elegant large round room with greenery and statuary, though the other room choices also offer delights, from comfortable leather chairs and fireplace in the den/library to piano bar seating to another formal room with fireplace. the sardine factory: highly recommended for those special, memorable occasions!

food was good and well presented. average plate was pricey at $40 range considering the exterior of the building looks like long john silver's and ininterior is a bit tired.

excellent! like a step back in time where you are thanked for your patronage. thank you to the staff for an experience most divine .

my family was looking for somewhere to eat, so we tried sf. dad ordered hot apetizer sampler. shrimp was perfect! crab cakes were good, and they contained a lot of crab. the calamari was gross! dad said it was like chewing bebes. my kids pasta was plain and flavorless. my mom's abalone bisque was good, but not as good as they advertised it to be. we finished our meal with the lava cake. that was the highlight of my dinner. the service was terrific, even though we were wearing sweats and t-shirts. the music was pretty bad, but you might like it if you were older. all in all, i'd give the food an okay, and the service a great!

the prawns were a nanosecond from being undercooked; which is to say...they were perfect. perfect! all the desserts looked amazing. the lava cake was a solid choice.

wonderful and delicious. ate here on a wednesday evening in october during our 25th anniversary trip. caught the early-bird special for $30 for a three course meal - great deal! between the two of us we had the following: abalone bisque - very good; ceasar salad - good; salmon and filet mignon - excellent (best ever); sand dabs - unexpectedly excellent; ice cream sundae - very good; creme brulee - excellent. we ate in the captain's room - very nice room for an intimate dinner. service was top notch. overall it was fantastic - one of our best dinner experiences ever (not that we eat out a lot though). and felt we got a very good deal with the special.

best seafood in monterey!. they serve wild, not farmed, abalone and their wild salmon is mouthwatering. always have sand dabs, scallops, and now on friday they're starting a lobster night special. beautiful dining rooms and if you're looking for a casual night out, their lounge has live music, great drinks and its own menu. oh, and their wine list is enormous and fabulous