Alvarado Fish and Steak House

My meal was wonderful… had steak and service was excellent. Will definitely come back and recommend.

I was staying at the Portola Hotel and didn’t want to drive anywhere, so I walked down Alvarado for dinner. The poke place next door happened to be closed but the specials board outside Alvarado intrigued me. I went in without checking Unilocal which was a poor choice.
A lot of the specials turned out to be lunch specials but I was too lazy to leave and figured I’d find something I liked. I perused the overpriced menu for awhile and decided to order the calamari steak dish that had pasta and veggies.
It could have been done really well but the dish was smothered in a mediocre pasta sauce… to the point that I was scraping off the sauce and fried bits just to get to the calamari. The pasta and veggies on the side were bland. I’m thankful that I had the time to quickly buy the Unilocal coupon so at least I saved a bit on my meal.
Service was fine but the food was just so meh that I wouldn’t come back.

Food was fantastic. Service was terrible. Only two other tables had customers at them when I came in. Waited 25 minutes for the server to take my drink order. Was never told anything about specials, although I did get to hear them when future customers were sat. Ordered off the menu. Both my appetizer and entrée were wrong. Not one to complain so I ate what I was brought rather than saying anything.
All that negative aside, the food I was brought was absolutely delicious.
Currently on about minute 15 of waiting for my check, so despite great food, the service still isn’t great.
Got the check! Everything I ordered was on there exactly as I ordered it, apparently the «chef» doesn’t bother reading their orders.
Food — 3.5 stars (minus one for rare steak that was ordered well done)
Service — 2 (I’m being generous)
Overall — 3 because Unilocal won’t let me put 2.5

Just had lunch at the Alvarado FIsh and Steakhouse with a friend. Was planning a different place, saw this, love fish, had to try it. The Crab cake was nearly all crab, lightly seasoned, firm with a nice sauce. Big enough for two to share. Delicious.
Then had the Sole over salad. Fresh, succulent, seasoned properly, nice size filet. The salad was fresh and generous. A delightful experience!
Staff was friendly, warm, informative and engaging. We will definitely return and have already begun telling our friends.

Party of 5:
My family visited this establishment as one of the stops on our tour of Monterey. The ambience is lovely, the restaurant is cozy and the staff is very accommodating. The food was not overly seasoned and this was appreciated by most of us. The portions are generous although the prices may be considered high if you do not have a Groupon. We would recommend this restaurant to anyone living or traveling to this area.

Empty which should be a sign, poor service, and a horrible ribeye. If this is the same owner as Monterey Fish House, I’m blown away because they are complete opposites. I wouldn’t eat here again.

The worst experience ever. We were a party of 8 and only 5 received what they ordered. I had the steak I ordered however it was the worst ribeye I ever had. When he brought me my steak he asked if I wanted another beer. I was completely done eating before the beer was brought.
The waiters were frustrated as well as the other 4 tables who were suffering like we were. They comped so much of our orders plus for some of the other parties I wonder how they stay in business. I went there once before 5 years ago and now I remember why I said I would never go back. I have told everyone I know and all the guests that stay at my hotel.

Wow !! Mother day 2016 –They open early just for us a party is 22 including small kids, The food was incredible! I had huge bowl of ciopinno with homemade pasta with spicy sauce, my dad said best steak with peppercorn sauce his ever had, brother added lobster to his steak grilled over wood his best his ever had had, appetizers calamari was home made ravioli, they customized dish to our preference and the service was absolutely outstanding we had 3 people waiting on us at all time. I highly recommend Large selection of fresh seafood!! Try it you will love it. I guarantee !! See you soon John!!! thank you to you and your staff

The best treatment and amazing service! John spoiled us rotten and make us special dishes.

Food was absolutely delicious! Very very friendly staff and quick service. Would definitely come back!

Service was great. Highly recommend the ciopino with pasta. I can’t remember what they call it. Portions were generous; plenty of fresh seafood in it. For the price, it’s worth it.

Came in on a slow and rainy night with some friends from out of town. It was a bit of a $hi% show. The waiter was friendly, but seemed confused about the order of business and had difficulty giving us the run on the specials. After drinks came to the table a staff member dropped a glass next to our table in the middle of a melt down it seemed… we got apologized to frequently by our waiter, but the mess wasn’t really dealt with for a few minutes. Food came and wasn’t anything to write home about, high prices, ok portions, not much flavor.
Overall, the entire party felt pretty disappointed about the choice, given our experience. While this may not reflect a ‘normal’ night, I would be hard pressed to give this place another shot knowing there are better options not far in any direction.

What do you do when the wife buys a Groupon coupon and you don’t use it in time?
The wife knows that we go to Pacific Grove-​Carmel half a dozen times a year, and purchased a $ 30 Groupon coupon for $ 13 for this joint in Monterey. Now this part of Monterey is not located within walking distance of any hotel in Pacific Grove, let alone Carmel. So we never got around to using it, until after it expired.
You want to park on the street –good luck finding a spot, otherwise pony up $ 1.50 an hour at various garage parking lots.
Line out the door –turns out to be the next door Hawaiian poke place. Our coupon is for the empty restaurant next door.
We come on in, to a decent looking restaurant, with green walls, and black tiled floor, with waiters dressed all in black –looks like something out of the Matrix movie series! Well we didn’t come here for the décor! Big marlin fish hanging over the bar, with a story behind it.
Smiling John, the proprietor, comes on over and takes our order. I ask him for his recommendation, and he says the $ 14 hamburgers, but the wife is in a mood for a crab sandwich, and also orders the Thai beef salad. Now you know who wears the pants in the house!
John asks how spicy we want it, and I say medium. John also asks whether we have time, and I says we got all the time in the world. Turned we need all that time. Took a good 30 minutes for our orders to come, despite we being the only customers in the restaurant!
The $ 10 beef salad came first, and was split into two plates, with a very generous portion of tender beef covering a lettuce salad, with tomatoes, olives, and drenched in a very spicy vinegarette dressing. So spicy that my wife, who likes kimchee, the spicy Korean cabbage appetizer, could not finish it, eating the beef but leaving the lettuce. Good for me, bad for her. Next time order the dressing on the side.
The $ 15 crab sandwich comes a little later, and comes with fries. Decent fries, thick, but not with a whole lot of taste. The toasted crab sandwich is OK, but neither the wife nor I can taste the crab –too much filling, and too little crab. Wife doesn’t finish her sandwich, and gives me the lettuce, onions and pickle to spice up my sandwich.
The wife wears the pants in the house, but I’m writing the review in my shorts and Finn Comfort sandals, so 3 stars instead of 2 stars, and next time I will order the $ 14 «John’s hamburger»!
Time to leave and the wife can’t find our expired Groupon coupon in her purse –turns out she left it in the hotel six blocks away. Walked back Sunday for lunch, and the place is closed. So we got to come to remember to come back here again, like it or not, during our next stay in this part of Monterey. And with the slow service expect to pay for 2 hours parking. It could be a while!

Best place for a date night or a casual dinner. Excellent service and food with a nice wine selection. Adam was our server and was vary detailed and proficient and had great recommendations with great wine and meal selections. We definitely will be back.
Thanks Frank Moody

Almost laughable bad décor with hideous wall colors. The place needs a complete remodel, but if budget won’t allow, how about just some nicer lighting and painting the walls a color more reasonable? The place smelled a bit like there was a dead fish in there. Just a little sprucing up will go a long way to make this a more pleasant place to dine.
But of course, the most important factor in judging a restaurant was the food, and that I found that to be very good. So if you are taking advantage of the Unilocal deal, this place may have some good food for you at an affordable price.

Come here only if you’re feeling lucky, or if you want a big disappointment. Groupon used.
Red Flags:
1. I made my way to the front counter to inform the waiter I had a reservation at 7, but for some reason he assumed I came in to use the restroom.
2. Server takes 20 minutes just to bring us water.
3. Servers are selective on which customers to be nice to.
4. ONE HOUR later, soup comes out. Some people said the clam chowder was good, so I was looking forward to it, only to find myself disappointed again. It was literally a cup of warm paste (I call it paste bc I don’t even know what the heck I ate). Two spoons in and I was done.
5. Entrees come out (yay, NOT!) only to find out they messed up the order.
6. Mussels pasta: canned tomato sauce splashed on top of cold spaghetti. The mussels? Tiny and dry.
7. Steak: thin and overcooked.
I think a lot of people would agree that they use canned foods, and many of their foods are simply reheated and served to us. Save yourself the disappointment please.

Great service and great location right on Alvarado street — we sat on the outside patio and it was very nice.
The food though? Tasted like reheated frozen dishes with too much salt and sauce to try and cover it up. We came in on a groupon and I’m glad we did as you really aren’t getting your monies worth in my opinion in regards to quality or portions.
Step it up on the food front and this could be an awesome place! I’m afraid they don’t because of their location they probably get plenty of tourist walkins.

The service was just good. Our waiter didn’t seem to want to be at work tonight. The food is a little overpriced. A Cesar salad was $ 9, and a plate of what they call «clan chowder bowl» was $ 10. I was disappointed that there was no actual bread bowl. My fiancé got the fish and chips which were $ 19. He liked them and tasted fresh out of fryer. We came along the restaurant thru groupon and even though I didn’t order a drink we still paid the difference of $ 14 after the $ 30 groupon.
If you are looking for a pleasant dinner place no matter the price this is a very good spot.

HIGHLIGHT: The sand dabs were out of this world! Three lightly breaded, perfectly crispy, pan-​seared filets covered in a bright, citrusy piccata sauce. From the fresh, flakey white fish to the saltiness of the capers that balanced out the sauce, I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with tonight’s plate.
PROS: The service is always great and food is spot on. We’ve never ordered anything we didn’t like. Other favorites of ours are the filet mignon with prawns, wild mushroom and sausage pasta, and the lobster tail entrée special (when they offer it).
CONS: The only drawback (for me) is that they don’t have a full bar. The place is small, but I would love it if they offered a few mixed cocktails. At this point, they only offer beer, wine, and a few premixed cocktails from a can.
My husband and I have driven down from San Jose to come to Alvarado a handful of times over the last year and they’ve never disappointed us. We’ll continue to come back again and again!

I bought out a groupon to check this place out. The groupon deal was 2 appetizers (salad, clam chowder or soup of the day), an entrée and a dessert also included was 2 free drinks or one alcoholic beverage all for $ 35 bucks. Not a bad deal.
The server greeted us promptly. The groupon offer instructed us to call to make reservations but when we got there I do not think it was necessary. We were sat quickly then we mentioned we had reservations. They gave us complimentary bread which I always welcome! yay. free carbs!
I ordered the soup of the day which was curry chicken soup. It was surprisingly very flavorful, a lot herbs and spices with a good amount of shredded chicken with diced up carrots and celery bits.
My friend opted for the clam chowder, which of course I tried a bit of. It was the bitter side had a few bacon bits with a lot of potatoes and croutons. The soup was not too creamy but not watery either.
I ordered the NY steak and wanted it medium rare. But what I got was medium well not too pink for me A bit on the bland side for me. It came with seasoned steamed veggies like broccoli, carrots and cucumber. My friend ordered the chicken marasala in which i thought was the better dish. It was a bit crispy and tender.
For dessert we had the carrot cake! It was moist and delicious! Definitely not from out of the box!