Old Monterey Cafe

Delicious food but obviously a long wait on a holiday

Great place to have breakfast. Good service and good food. I had the crab benedicts, which were delicious.

3 stars due to cold draft due to insane employee opened entire front of restaurant morning dyring winter. Everyone bundled in coats. Location is cramped with barely room to eat. Food is why I gave it 3 stars. Not bad but the coffee was Luke warm at best and poor quality. Wait staff kept topping it off without asking with worse colder coffee. We wanted to like this place. Big menu, friendly staff but hello get a grip. Really stupid idea to open 1/2 the front of the restaurant on a winter morning.

Great food and service, worth the 30min wait time

Old Monterey Cafe has been here for years and we breakfast here on a regular basis. “Down Home” food, best breakfast in town.

great breakfast every time....

The seating and waiting area are tight like New York City venues, but the food, prices, and services are top notch. I got chocolate chip pancakes, my girl got the cilantro scramble, and my little one got strawberry pancakes. It was a fabulous meal with great service. Hopefully, they'll be able to remodel one day and make for a more efficient exit and entrance for patrons.

Great Thanksgiving Day breakfast. Interesting atmosphere, homestyle cooking made for a wonderful meal. Staff was friendly and sincere. I thought that we were going to wait for some time, but in spite of the fact the restaurant appears small, we were seated quickly.

Sorry to say but totally average. Quick service but Omelette was void of taste.... Nor sure how that is possible, but lightly cooked hash browns did not cut it either. So bummed

The food was down-home. The employees and owners are the nicest people you will meet. I loved my experience for breakfast.

Staff is great. Food is pretty standard diner, but definitely good, a staple. It's small and can get pretty crowded.

Delicious breakfast! Quick service and friendly staff. The eggs benedict's are so yummy! That hollandaise sauce is super flavorful!

Great fresh food, friendly locals and worth the short wait in line. Try the eggs Benedict with avacado, such a great dish with fresh hollandaise.

Awesome place feels like a family gathering great food!!

This place is buzzing in the morning. It is quite busy but you will be very looked after. I had the eggs Benedict and it was amazing. The menu range is so extensive here with so many options for each dish. We were sitted in only about 10 mins and everyone was so nice. Their hot chocolate is pretty good too !

Wonderful place, but small, so be prepared to stand in line and wait a bit for brunch on the weekends. Worth it, though, as the food is very good. For Monterey, the price is quite reasonable. Staff is friendly and the atmosphere is fun.

Excellent food for breakfast in town, worth the wait. Go before 8:30 am because a line will form.

Great breakfast! Had the New Yorker omelette with the smoked salmon.Got there at 930 AM on a Saturday during the Big Sur marathon weekend. Had a short 10 minute wait before getting seated.Get the fresh salsa!

Small place, but worth the wait. Very fast, accommodating and speedy service. They work hard to turn tables over fast, so don’t plan to hang out for a long time. The food was awesome and above average for a typical diner style restaurant.

Fast friendly service, and an excellent brrakfast, in the most beautiful city!

Great breakfast place, must try their fantastic hotcakes with toppings. great omelettes. Ordered their Hot chocolate and it was surprisingly creamy. quick service, very very interesting decors with various classic movie posters.

A very popular place with both locals and tourists. Frequently requires a wait, as the restaurant is compact. They have excellent service and quality food.

Great place and awesome food!

Great food and excellent service. Highly recommended.

Cozy breakfast. Hot chocolate is amazing for the kids... Whipped cream and sprinkles

Wonderful, charming place! Our plates were huge and everything was delicious + very friendly waiters.

The food is so delightful. I would definitely go back again!

The food is good They gave good service

Huge servings! Had a bit of wait (we were there for breakfast on a Sunday though) but not too bad, maybe 10 or 15 minutes. Food was good and the staff were lovely.

I absolutely LOVED this place. The food was delicious. And not only was it delicious butt it was beautifully plated as well. This and then the extremely helpful and considerate staff (my waitress was Mari) really made my dining experience here great. Will definitely be going back and having another amazing meal. This has easily become the best place I’ve eaten at since I’ve come to Monterey.

Was a small and cozy. Place food was good. And service was great

Small, cozy restaurant tucked within downtown Monterey with a great selection of breakfast and lunch dishes. I had Joe's Special scramble, which comes with hash brown and toast, and also ordered a fruit bowl. I love that their servings are large and that my food was cooked well. I would definitely come back for more.

Excellent menu overall. I would have liked my scrambled eggs a bit fluffier though

We have tried lots of different meals but the Oscar goes to Californian Poached Eggs.

Eggs were a 3. French toast was a 3. Bacon was a 1, surprisingly. Hash browns were a 2.5. I won't return.With so many 4 and 5 star reviews, I was expecting a 3.5 - 4. In my experience, many restaurant reviews in and around the Monterey area are inflated. This particular location might still be riding its "Best of Monterey, 2001 - 2005" awards as its claim to fame. I hope they fix their issues.

The food and service here are amazing (c'mon, calamari and eggs!) but you will wait for a table to become available. If you are lucky, you will only wait a bit. The wait is worth it, though, even if you have to wait and wait and wait and wait...

Travel here from Colorado. Never miss a chance to eat @ OMC. Outstanding food / outstanding service !!!

A trip to Old Monterey Cafe for breakfast is on my must do list every time I head into town. Great service in a classic cafe setting, serving up incredible food. I never find myself deviating from the Huevos Rancheros and coffee, but I always sample from the plates of those at my table (I ask first...usually :)). Do yourself a favor and come here!!

This is a great little place. Busy sometimes but fast and really good food. Really friendly long-time staff. We will definitely be back for breakfast many times

Good coffee, potatoes with the eggs benny were nice. Good atmosphere overall

Best Breakfast in Monterey, hands down. Down to earth service. 🙂

Sometimes you are not sure what the food is going to be like, then you go in and see how busy they are. And the service is fantastic your treated like you been there before. The breakfast was perfect.

Good food and decent wait. Nice little spot in downtown.

Yes, the food is very good. This a review on portion size. We had the Joe's Scrambler and the Cilantro Scrambler. The portion on the plate is over 10 inch long by about seven inches wide. I ate all of mine. I was stuffed. My wife only ate maybe a third of hers. Next time, we we will order one item and a side of fruit, which will be plenty, and we will be very happy.Day Two:We arrived at 6:48am and ordered, coffee, the fruit bowl and Huevos Rancheros. At 6.52am one-half of the seats were filled. Our food arrived at 6:54am. We left at 7:20am. There was plenty of food for two older adults. Fresh very good food if not excellent.

Very disappointing.The poached eggs with the croissant were pretty good but the hash brown was distasteful. The coffee was served in a tiny mug and was not as requested.But the highlight of the breakfast was the blueberry pancakes. I tried many pancakes in different places before but I never tried something uneatable as those ones. The blue berry's were distasteful and the pancake itself was just like rubber. Although we weren't charged for the pancakes the restaurant is way overpriced for quality of the food it serves.

Incredibly good. Six stars if possible

We drive all the way from San Jose to go to this place. Wonderful warm staff, fast service and great food with very very reasonable pricing. Thank you! 🌺

Excellent Corned Beef Hash and Eggs.

Everything is good here. But I don't go for pho. The five spiced & lemongrass chicken or beef are AMAZING. super price friendly too!

Pretty good food alittle tight fit but well worth the food.