Fish & Chips Cafe

Reviews

• Lydia H.

  star star star star star 12 July 2026

  Very fresh crispy fish and chips! Our order came out quick and the employees were super nice. Plenty of seating both inside and out. Great place for a quick bite to eat while out at Old Fisherman's Wharf.

• Christopher C.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 12 July 2026

  The "Fish and Chips Cafe", next to Abalonetti's on the wharf (Probably owned by them as well - looks like they share the kitchen), used to be my go-to spot when visiting Monterey. No more.
  
  I went there last weekend with my  son and my 85 year-old mother. I ordered my son's usual - buffalo calamari. The girl looked at the register and said, "We don't do that anymore." I asked her why, and she told me it wasn't "on the cash register." Guess there was no button to push. I asked her to try a little harder - this is the only spot in town with buffalo calamari, and it's (usually) BOMB, and we've been eating buffalo calamari here for years. She went in the back & spoke with someone, then came back and told me OK. I also ordered regular calamari for my mom, and garlic fries. It took a while for her to take the order - this was WAY too confusing for her. When she finally got the order in the system, I paid, grabbed some cocktail sauce and malt vinegar, and sat at one of the outside tables to wait.  The food came pretty quickly, but as soon as I looked at it I knew there was a problem. Instead of a basket of fried squid rings and tenticles, there was a basket of...idk, couda been shrimp. Or cheese balls. There was no form, just fried balls of batter. We bit into some and sure enough, there was calamari in there. After you peeled off gobs and gobs of batter. The buffalo calamari was a little better - you could (sort of) make out the rings of calamari.
  
  My mom suggested that possibly they took an order of fried calamari that was cold, re-dipped it and refried it, and served it too us. Since she's been a patron of the Fish and Chips Cafe (and Abalonetti's) for over 40 years, she decided to go and complain. Good for you mom!
  
  The chef came out, looked at our calamari, and said, "It's supposed to look like that." He went on to say that there was no fresh calamari available, and everyone was using frozen. I explained that it wasn't the squid, it was the mountain of batter it was dredged in. He said "sorry" and walked away. No offer to redo or to comp.
  
  My son finished his buffalo calamari (also over-battered and over cooked) and garlic fries, and we left our uneaten crappy calamari on the table. Even the seagulls wouldn't touch it.
  
  I took a picture - if I knew how to post it, I would!  Fish and Chips Cafe, how DARE you serve that basket of crap to my mother!  Shame on you!

• Kira S.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 10 July 2026

  Dont come here for the clam chowder. It tastes like its cooked with sink water. Very watery and just off tasting. A huge bummer when that's one of the main things we look forward to when coming to the wharf.
  The calamari and fries are good though.
  The soda machine was out of ice and the outdoor seating is very cramped and uncomfortable. We wont be coming back.

• Edgar Z.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 7 July 2026

  After enjoying a whale watching tour, this spot seemed quick & convenient. It was..but the food was sub par. Especially because when I think of eating on a pier, I think of fresh seafood. Not the case here. Pricey & small portions that tasted & looked like they came from a frozen box. In fact ive had better food that did come out of a frozen box. We didnt bother on finishing what little we got
  The clam chowder was really the only thing they had that was ok. it was served in a bread bowl, but they barely took any of the bread out, so there wasnt much chowder in it.
  Had I known, I would not have spent my money here. I know my review is negative, but mainly to help others from suffering the same experience we had. Your options are even more expensive restaurants with a view of Monterey or just wait to get out of the overpriced pier.

• Cari C.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 2 July 2026

  I was very very disappointed with this place. I came there this past Saturday after my son's Soccer game with 2 young hungry boys who were ready to order and eat after a long game. The girl at the counter ignored us for about 20 minutes while she and the other employees gossiped and giggled behind the counter. None of them greeted us nor took our order. 2 other customers were appalled and actually left because we were all being ignored.
  I finally had to raise my voice twice and said "EXCUSE me""?? The young girl by the name of Jessica finally came over and said yes? never once said hello or asked for our order. I then told her my boys were hungry and ready to order. She took our order and then shortly brought out 2 order but did not bring the 3rd which was a simple corn dog and fries.. She said it would take a couple of minutes. We waited and waited and watched her gossiping and flirting with the cook ignoring the customers and she had forgotten about our corn dog and fries.  So I went up to the counter and said excuse me, where is our 3rd order and she says, "Oh yeah" umm I don't know. I said it has to be ready by now go check! So the cook she was flirting with puts it up on the counter and says, "here it is"
  
  It had been sitting there for  a long time waiting to be picked up.
  I was so annoyed after more than 30 minutes of waiting and I asked for the  Manager, her response was "She's not here". I asked for the Managers name and she said, "Why, she's not here"...
  
  I finally took her name and had to write about my experience there and will make a phone call today. It's too bad that all these tourists and home town clients are receiving bad service like this in such a beautiful place.
  Oh yes, and the food was not worth the wait nor the money. We had the Fish & chips, Corn dog and fries, and Chicken tenders with fries. I give the service here a Zero!!