Food, Service, Location. A+ 1st off I first heard of this place from Rachel Ray on Food Network so I wanted to try it for that reason. I expected the prices to be sky high. They weren't. The prices are comparable to any "sit-down" chain restaurant. On top of that the food and proportions were fantastic. I'm from Sacramento and hadn't been to Monterey in ten years so I'd been waiting for when I could get back to Monterey to eat here. FOOD. Great! I could tell it was fresh. It was not salty at all. I could actually taste the food for what is should taste without a bunch of salt. I ordered the ham and tomato benedict with spinach. The spinach and tomatoes were fresh and flavorful. The ham. It was smoky and salty so it was all the salt I needed for the dish. In fact it came piled with 4 or 5 slices of ham. So much so that I removed some but I'm not complaining. The eggs perfectly poached and rich. The hollandaise sauce was decadent. SERVICE. We were greeted and seated promptly. No wait. The servers were nice. I always just have water while eating out. They brought me a carafe of water. My husband ordered coffee. We got a carafe. I liked that simply because it cut down on the number of interruptions while we're eating and conversing. However the staff were present and gave nods and smiles as they walked by just in case we needed them. It was a weekday morning so I can't necessarily speak on the weekend experience. I can imagine it could get a bit crazy. LOCATION. Literally right across the street from Monterey Bay Aquarium. Just right off Cannery Row so you're not really bothered by too much foot traffic. Judging by the location you'd think this would be either an expensive hoitytoity place or a kitschy, mediocre overpriced gimmick restaurant. It's neither. Has a hometown feel with great food and good prices for the area. First Awakenings was our last "touristy" destination before we hit the road. Perfect fuel for us to sustain the 3.5hr drive back home.

If anyone from First Awakenings ever reads this, THANK YOU ❤

Visited: Tues 28 Feb 2017 9am