A Taste of Monterey - Wine Market & Bistro — Attraction in Monterey

I purchased a Groupon voucher for "Ocean View Reserve Wine Tasting for 2." It is not specified in the Groupon voucher, but this does not include sitting at the table that overlooks the ocean. This voucher is for standing at the bar and tasting the five wines (one chardonnay and four red wines). When we asked to be seated at a table to order a cheese plate, the wine steward told us that our voucher did not include that but he would see what he could do. We were later told that we could sit at an open table where two menus were placed. We went on Monday and many of the tables were empty, yet the waiters were just walking past us as if they did not see us. After about five minutes of watching waiters walk past us, we decided to call on one of them to place an order for the baked brie cheese plate. She seemed kind of annoyed and said, "Yeah, okay. I'll put in the order for you." Then five minutes after her, another waitress appeared and asked us if she could take our order. We told her that we already placed it. It just seemed a bit unorganized as if the people working there did not communicate with each other. After we finished tasting a sample of wine, we had to walk over to the bar for the next wine on the tasting list. We were fine with walking from the bar to the table since being served at the table "was not included in the Groupon order." The wine steward was overall very personable and knowledgeable about the wine. He gave details about the ingredients, locations of the vineyards, and the processes that the California winemakers used for each. I liked that this wine tasting started off light and ended on a darker red wine. The baked brie plate with roasted garlic accompanied the wines magically, but there was not enough bread for the amount of brie that they gave us. When we asked a waiter walking by for more bread, she rolled her eyes at us and then said she would see what she could do. Even though the wine was tasty, the customer service of the other waiters did not match the zeal of the wine steward...

• Brief Overview * Great views, great ambiance, decent wine, flavorful cheeses. Get some great company and this place is fantastic to relax and enjoy sipping on some wine.

• A More Detailed Review * Came here with the fam, four of us, and was seated immediately next to the windows with a great waterview of the Monterey coast! Our server was great in helping us out with the menu because we were some wine tasting noobs.

Oh yeah, if you are simply here for wine tasting, you stand at the bar area. If you are here for the food as well, you get to sit down and enjoy the view, and that's what we did.

We ended up getting three flights of wine, all red. Paired it with some cheese recommendations from the server and was good to go. The wine to me, honestly, since I am not a connoisseur, was all decent to me. The cheese however was great. We got a goat cheese, jack cheese, and this last one called the Buzzed Bee (??). The Buzzed Bee was my favorite. It had a light smokey coating on the outside and it was creamy on the inside. They also paid the cheeses with either some jam, sun-dried tomatoes, and also some crackers. It was fantastic.

We had a great time just sipping on wine relaxing and eating some cheese and enjoying the view. I would definitely come back here if I were ever in Monterey again.

With an order of a flight, you can get $5 off a bottle purchase if that bottle is more than $30.

We also ordered a beer flight which consisted of three local breweries, pretty good!

• Misc Info * •Located within this plaza thing, on the second floor. Use the stairs if you can, you can't miss the entrance •Accepts card •You can either look for street parking, or there are flat rate parking garages for...

So glad that the host at my B&B recommended this place for a nice early dinner. Liked it so much I returned two afternoons later! Great selection of wines that can be ordered by the bottle, by the glass, or a 3-glass tasting flight. Food was tasty, filling, varied, and reasonably priced. As good as the food and wine were, though... the star attraction is honestly the view. Absolutely enormous windows looking out onto the bay. I thought I was coming here to dine alone, but no... my dining companions were the sea otters of Monterey Bay. Watched a mother otter cradling her baby while floating in the kelp as I delighted in a bowl of Asparagus Bisque and a dry Cabernet Sauvignon with peachy notes. The only bad thing about this place is that they close on the early side... I think it was 6pm or a little after. Maybe that will change in the future? But definitely come here for a lunch or an early dinner. PS: Wait staff very friendly and helpful. That matters a...