Peter B’s — Restaurant in Monterey

I went there during happy hours. The food and beer were pretty good along with the prices. The biggest setback for this restaurant/brewery is and if it continues to be the same, will be their customer service.

The theme of the customer service was inattentive and no self-awareness. I walked to the host and I asked if I could get a table outside. She didn't acknowledge or say anything and just walked outside. A few minutes later, she said, "Oh, I wanted you to follow me." I followed her outside and she said, "There are no tables." I pointed to the three other tables that were opened outside. She didn't respond, but just walked there. Based on the previous experience, I assumed and followed her.

I sat around with no water or drinks service for a while. Then, this guy came out. He seemed frazzled. Not frazzled as in they were busy, but frazzled as in he might have been high or wasn't sure how to do his job. Which is fine--most of us have been there. He took our drinks and gave the wrong instructions about happy hour. We questioned him and he said he was wrong.

We got our food before we got our drinks (beer)--which is fine, but not normal based on my experience. When we finished our food, another waiter just walked up and grabbed our dishes without asking if it was fine to grab them. That same waiter came back around and grabbed my glass cup. Something must've clicked, because as he walked away with my glass cup, he asked, "Can I take this for you?" This guy was definitely wierd.

There was one instance where he took a tray of water up the steps where no one existed nor was that an area where the restaurant operated. Then, he comically looked around, confused, and walked back down the stairs to where the customers were. It's possible he was high or briefly blacked out.

The whole time (about 30 minutes), our main waiter never came back to attend our table. We wanted more drinks (we had only had one drink at this point). Several other tables had to flag him down. This was odd, because I watched him walking around a lot. Not walking around as though he was working, but that he was just walking around aimlessly. We finally flagged him down and grabbed more drinks. We decided not to order more food because the customer service was unbearable and very comedic. Also, it was very sad to watch these guys be so bad.

The second waiter (maybe a busboy) continued to walk around awkwardly and awkwardly interacted with the tables. It was entertaining, but very sad to watch and deal with.

I recommend customer service and social awareness training for the staff. The food was good, but the wait staff was so bad (the multiple individuals we interacted with), that we knew it wasn't a rare occurrence--it seem to be a culture of work or a culture of hiring the lowest paid and least experienced people.

I'm really rooting for these guys. The food was good and the restaurant is good for Monterey, but this was heavily overshadowed by the cringiness of the wait staff. I'm also rooting for the wait staff. If they can overcome their social awkwardness and situational awareness, it will help them beyond this job. At the end of the day, this...

10.5.2023. Update: same meal as last time. All else, curds, fish tacos were great however, the "cook" was not into making a good burger. My medium ordered burger came well done and "pressed/smashed" against the grill hence, no moisture left in the patty. Who teaches "smash & kill" to their kitchen staff? The bun was nothing but stale, part of it was hard. The previous visit, they overcooked the burger but didn't get the moisture pressed out of the meat. The food is inconsistent. During this visit we were limited on time. I let the server know of the food issues, but not until after we paid out. They probably would have remedied..... ....better to get it right the first time. It' a $23 burger that is not worth the risk. Maybe they have a better "chef" on the weekend and a short order cook during the week.

NOTE: The following review was earlier in 2023. We ordered cheese curds, a portola burger (upgraded to garlic fries), and fish tacos. I ordered my burger medium rare to preserve some flavor, burger came out medium well. To my surprise, the burger meat was still flavor-filled and moist. The bun to burger ratio is good because the bun is super soft, about 1/2" top and bottom, holds up and compliments the beef. Cheese curds.... ...they were so good (added ranch dressing) we ate 1/2 the plate before the photo. Huge serving and nicely breaded! The fish tacos were large and had a good amount of grilled fish topped with cabbage and a side of Mango sauce. They were good and may have benefitted with a bit of spice and salt. Lastly, I enjoyed the beer flight. A choice of 5 four ounce...

Located just outside of the Portola Hotel and Spa, and offered both indoor and outdoor dining. Loved the relaxed atmosphere and live music. Our waitress was incredibly nice, but maybe a little too comfortable. She was at our table for longer conversations than we had energy for and if we hadn’t been traveling all day, we might have felt differently about it. She even stayed to watch us try a dish then lingered for more conversation. She later placed a hand on my daughter’s back, which we recognize is a way of communication for some people, but it made my daughter uncomfortable.

The restaurant had an extensive list of beers so I ordered a flight of catrina, no maiden, sakura and spice lab 4. Of the 4, I liked Sakura the most and spice lab the least.

We ordered their Kobe sliders, clam chowder, California club and shrimp ceviche. The Kobe sliders weren’t spectacular, but they tasted good. Juicy and seasoned. The clam chowder looked and tasted like prepackaged soup. I guess I expected better given the area we were in. The California club was the winning dish. The bread was lightly toasted, but still soft and ingredients tasted fresh. The shrimp ceviche was”wow” and not in a good way. Overall, the dish needed seasoning and heat. The sliced radish tasted as though it was pickled in dish water. One bite and whole dish was ruined.

We paid $115.87 with tip which was incredibly reasonable, but don’t think we would make a...