Café Fina — Restaurant in Monterey

My boyfriend and I came here to celebrate our anniversary over the weekend. We were looking for a special place to dine, we had a hard time choosing from so many options in the area until we saw the reviews of this place and decided to give it a shot!

Needless to say we did not regret our decision! We had fantastic food and service and will be back next time we are in town!

I booked a reservation earlier in the day, you can walk in and wait but definitely worth it to book online.

Service is such an important part of a dining experience. Even though they were very busy on a Saturday night, the owner of the restaurant made sure to personally greet and seat us.

Then our server Roxanne came to the table. She was probably one of the best waitresses we’ve ever had. Despite the number of tables she was waiting, she was present, personable and still made us feel special.

I was having a hard day and she saw I was a little tense and overwhelmed trying to pick something from the menu. She made some lighthearted jokes, smiled and gave me a hug. She instantly cheered me up and made me feel warm and welcomed.

The people at the tables seated on either side of us recommended we try the heirloom tomato caprese appetizer. Order them while they are still on the menu!!! They are seasonal and I’m sure won’t last long.

They were very large, juicy, ripe and flavorful homegrown tomatoes from the restaurant owner’s garden!!! We could’ve ordered three orders and left happy.

Roxanne recommended the catch of the day (the locally caught sole) and the pesto and prawn pasta, I really wanted both but went for the fish.

It was a big portion, very well cooked and for a mild fish it had lots of flavor from the sauce! For those that don’t like fishy tasting fish this one is for you!

My boyfriend ordered their famous clam chowder in a bread bowl and gave it a pretty high rating. I don’t like clam chowder and even I really liked it.

To top it all off, we had incredible desserts. Roxanne brought over a platter with all the options to choose from. I had a little too much bourbon, got excited and impulsively poked the mousse while I was asking her about it 🤦🏼‍♀️ the desserts on that platter are indeed real no need to touch them 😂 she was a very good sport about it! I could go on and on about our experience here.

Thank you for our memorable meal. We can’t wait to come back!

Ah and here’s a picture of our empty table because I forgot to take a picture of the food, we...

My dad wanted to eat here after seeing it on TV somewhere (most likely on Rachael Ray's $40 a day). I made a reservation through Yelp, and stated that it was for a birthday. I also messaged the business through Yelp to request outdoor seating because of our dog.

There's not much seating outside, so I'm glad I messaged the business. The waitress was super enthusiastic about the food and gave us some recommendations.

We ordered the roasted Gilroy garlic, fried calamari, chicken parmesan with penne pasta, caesar salad, chicken alfredo, prawn scampi, and clams over linguini. They were all delicious! I recommend the roasted Gilroy garlic, and they will bring out more bread if needed. I highly recommend the chicken parmesan. It's a huge piece of chicken, fried perfectly, with a delicious marinara sauce.

And for the dog, we ordered grilled chicken from the doggie menu. Of course he loved it! He was shaking because he wanted to devour all of it. He's a shih tzu, and the portions were more than enough for him.

We ordered 3 desserts, which were the tiramisu, cannoli, and this lemon mousse. It was a great to end a good meal! Our favorite was the lemon mousse which was so refreshing and bright.

As I stated earlier, I mentioned in my reservation that it was for a birthday. I'm assuming this restaurant doesn't do anything for birthdays because nothing came out with a candle.. If you are planning a celebratory dinner here, call ahead to make sure what they offer.

I would like to dine here again, just for the parmesan...

Pre-COVID review.

Where to start? Came here during the busiest time of the year for Monterey. Monterey car week. Located on the middle of the Warf in Monterey this place brings amazing eats and atmosphere. This place has been here for many years ( over 25 )with the same owners. That right away tells me something here is definitely done right.

Greeted immediately. Noticed there was an upstairs and downstairs. If you want a more personal experience get upstairs.

I ordered the shrimp & crab ravioli with a light pesto cream sauce. In house made pasta. Filled with tons of crab and shrimp. Beautiful display. And the taste? SO good. The pesto cream sauce is light and not overbearing. Usually it's to rich but this ones just right.

I also tried a little bit of the halibut with champagne sauce. Extremely tasty and well done.

We also had fried zucchini ( can't ever go wrong with that ) and garlic herb butter with bread.

Everything I tried was nothing to complain about. Service was outstanding. The view was excellent. Food was good. Everything was clean and well taken care of.

Will I return? Without question. Next time I'll bring the whole family.

Food: above average.

Staff: no issues. Very attentive and experienced.

Decor: for the location it fits it well. It's part of the experience.

Bathrooms: N/A...