Chart House

Reviews

• BB

  Bill

  3 days ago
  5.0
  Ten stars if I could give them! We had dinner for two at the Chart House in Monterey over the weekend while attending the MotoAmerica motorcycle races at Laguna Seca, and the entire experience was exceptional. We had a 7:00 reservation, were greeted immediately, and were seated right on time. A staff member quickly brought us water and took our cocktail orders. Our server then walked us through the menu, answered our questions, and gave us some excellent recommendations. From the cocktails to the salad and entrées, everything was absolutely amazing. I can honestly say this was the best restaurant meal I have had in nearly a year and a half. The quality of food at many restaurants seems to have declined lately, but that was definitely not the case here. Every single part of our meal tasted incredible, including the garnishes and sides. The steak was cooked perfectly, the salmon had the most incredible crust, and the Caesar salad was served in a Parmesan cheese bowl that was so good I ate the entire bowl! I come to Monterey almost every year for the motorcycle races and usually make a point of eating at the Chart House. This year not only did not disappoint, it exceeded my expectations tenfold. A huge thank you to the entire staff, and especially the chefs. You are doing an amazing job. This was an outstanding meal from beginning to end, and I cannot recommend the Monterey Chart House highly enough.
• HL

  Hailey Lewis

  Jul 7, 2026
  5.0
  We had a wonderful dinner and a great experience from start to finish. The food was delicious, and the service was exceptional. Jenny went above and beyond to make the birthday we were celebrating feel extra special, and we truly appreciated the thoughtful attention. She made our night memorable, and we’ll definitely be back. Highly recommend!
• CD

  chris d

  Jul 6, 2026
  1.0
  I rarely leave negative reviews, but after dining at the Chart House in Monterey on Sunday, I felt compelled to share our experience. When we arrived, I asked our waiter about the calamari. He recommended it and said it was one of their popular appetizers. Unfortunately, it ended up being one of the worst calamari dishes I've ever had. The plate was filled with fried batter crumbs, soggy strips of vegetables, and a few fried carrot pieces, with very little actual calamari. What calamari was there was extremely chewy—so much so that my daughter actually choked on a piece. It also wasn't properly coated. It looked like everything had simply been dumped into one large bowl of batter, causing all the pieces to stick together before being thrown into the fryer. I've worked in the seafood industry for over 20 years, and this was honestly some of the worst calamari I've ever been served. The prime rib sandwich was equally disappointing. It resembled thin-sliced deli roast beef rather than freshly carved prime rib. The bread tasted stale even after being toasted, the onions were burnt, and the fries were golden brown but soggy, almost as if they had been refried. The fish tacos were another letdown. My wife only managed to eat one. The fish appeared to be a low-quality, sustainable white fish that looked and tasted like tilapia. For a restaurant sitting on the Pacific Ocean, I expected fresh local seafood—not something that tasted frozen and generic. The seasoning was little more than paprika and coarse black pepper, while the salsa consisted of chopped tomatoes and onions with almost no flavor. The cabbage garnish also tasted old and wilted. The avocado toast initially looked promising, but even that was disappointing because the thin multigrain bread tasted stale before it was toasted. What surprised me just as much as the food was the service. Throughout our meal, no one stopped by to ask how everything was or whether we were enjoying our food. I understand restaurants can be short-staffed, and our waiter was also tending the bar, but checking on guests is a basic part of dining service. When he finally returned, it wasn't to ask about our meal—it was to hand us the bill and tell us about the rewards program. I then had to track him down at the bar just to pay. The building itself is beautiful, but it can use an update. It is trying hard to be a fancy restaurant, but it is dated. The waterfront location is hard to beat. Unfortunately, the food simply doesn't match the setting. From the seafood to the meat, nearly everything we ordered was below expectations. In my opinion, this restaurant survives largely because of its location and the steady stream of tourists. There are much better places to eat in Monterey. I left extremely disappointed and will be sharing my experience on other review platforms as well.
• LC

  Lisa Chen

  Jul 5, 2026
  5.0
  Love this place! Everything we ordered was delicious, including the Kimchi Calamari, Coconut Crunchy Shrimp, Steak & Lobster, Swordfish, and Lava Cake. The steak was perfectly cooked, and the lava cake was the perfect way to end the meal. The food, service, and atmosphere made for a wonderful dining experience for my family. We'll definitely be back, and next time we'll be sure to request a window seat!
• SR

  Simon Roads

  Jun 30, 2026
  2.0
  Celebrating a 50th birthday we were very impressed the name of the birthday girl was on the menu, oysters were very good. That said. Chefs special Black Miso Cod, had zero flavor and was burnt on the bottom, it certainly had not been marinated in miso, mirin and sake for any period of time, the side sauce served with it was so oily you couldn’t use it and the accompanying vegetables had no flavor, appeared to be frozen then boiled. Overall as a chefs special it fell very short although our server told us it was amazing when ordered only to be told when we told her it wasn’t good, “ yea, no one orders it”. My prime rib while til the chef only like serve medium rare was medium at best. We had to wait a min10-15 mins for drinks, the bread we requested never arrived. When we told the server about the issue with the cod, nothing, we weren’t looking for a free meal but a visit from the manager would have been nice. This is a tourist high volume restaurant, temper your expectations when something like a miso cod is on the menu, ( have had it many times at Nobu and other places ) it won’t come close. Shame because it ruined the celebration, that and the poor service.

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