Massaro & Santos, Monterey

I have been an ownwer in the restaurant industry for over 20 years and Massaro & Santos is one of the finest family owned restaurants in Monterey , The food was spot on and the host Ollie and servers Susan and Robert were very outgoing and professionable. I would highly recommend this eating establishment JOHNNNY V CRATER LAKE VODKA

Great food friendly attentive service and a great view of the main wharf. Well worth a trip to this restaurant!!

We ordered the rack of lamb and the scallops, and afterward felt that these were the worst meals that we'd had in years. The lamb was overcooked; we'd asked for medium rare and got medium well, and worse, the quality of the meat was mediocre, with an odd taste, and the crust -- a breaded concoction -- was tasteless. The scallops had a burnt flavor on the outside and were undercooked inside, and the pasta was served in an extremely heavy cream sauce. The latter overwhelmed the other ingredients and made the dish impossible to finish. Lastly, the bread was certainly not of artisan quality, and the dipping sauce, with a coarsely grated parmesan cheese, was bland. This experience was a serious setback to an otherwise enjoyable trip to Pacific Grove.

My sister brought me to Monterey during my CA visit from CT and I'll definitely return as often as possible. One of the nicest finds was Massaro and Santos Restaurant at the Coast Guard pier, right on the Bay. We went there for dinner as it was a short distance from our hotel and was suggested to us by our concierge. Delightful surroundings, beautiful view of bay, pleasant and attentive waitstaff and the food was appealingly presented, properly prepared and delicious. The bill was the perfect ending to a lovely experience. Totally affordable. All in all, a happy memory we hope to repeat often.

We went to this restaurant on the recommendation of the Baywood Winery (tasting room across from Monterey Plaza Hotel). It was excellent. We had a very bad experience at Sardine Factory (living on their hype - food was awful). Anyway, we asked about the corkage fee and they said it was $10. When we arrived with our Baywood Sav. Blanc, they said, no corkage fee for Baywood wines b/c they are our friends. It is a place where the locals go to eat and it has a fab view. Upstairs at the Coast Guard Pier. ESL, Charleston, SC

Not so many tourists know about this place on the Coast Guard pier, which may be why it retains a quiet, charming atmosphere. (So why am I letting out the secret, I wonder?) The views are lovely; the decor is very pleasing; the staff is competent and knowledgeable; the food is delicious. If you like seafood, this is an excellent restaurant choice.

Nearly inedible. We stopped at the appetizers. The Scallop & Abalone cake (called something like Scalone) was a rubbery mess. The artichoke heart was mushy and over seasoned with an over powering vinegar taste. They use cheap ingredients and it shows in the ham-fisted approach to their food right down to the cheap bread and balsamic/olive oil/paresean cheese dip. The service was curt and reminescent of minimum wage banquet hall servers. Take a close look at their menu, there is nothing on it that is fresh. They are on the Monterey Bay and are trying to serve frozen calamari, shrimp, and crab in the majority of their dishes. There is nothing on their menu one couldn't find on any average Italian seafood menu in a place like Omaha. So don't bother paying Monterey prices. It's a trap. Blech.

Food was nice, but service was outlandishly rude. The waiter came to ask for drinks and when we wanted to start with some water, disappeared for 10 minutes. We had to ask the manager to come take our order. Since we had already had dinner, we wanted something light and ordered an appetizer and dessert. The waiter then exclaimed that they were only serving dinner and moved around our complimentary bread as if we were not supposed to have it! When the waiter brought out the food, he slapped it down on the table with utter disdain. The restaurant is not that big, but he seemed to find plenty of places to hide. Again, we had to find the manager to request our check when we were ready to leave.

Service is great, the view is wonderful. We found Massaro & Santos by trying to find a place to park the RV. Plenty of room for an RV and dingy to park. We had a wonderful day in Monterey and two meals at Nassaro & Santos. Mr Santos is a great host.

I have written this restaurant twice on their internet site about service I recieved at a dinner with my wife and I on May 25, 2006. I wrote them a detailed list of things that was wrong with the service, dinner and prices. They failed to even acknowledge my letters. Once seated, we saw our waiter three times that night, once to get drinks, once to order and once to bring us our tab. I got one refill of my drink the whole dinner thanks to the bus boy. My wife's drink never did get refilled. We tried several times to get the waiter to come to us but he was ignoring us for his larger party. With the four visible workers in the restaurant, there was lack of attention to other tables. My Wife's meal was incorrectly made. When we finally got our tab things were incorrectly priced. We were overcharged, but my wife not wanting to argue, had us pay and leave.