Rockfish Harbor Grill — Restaurant in Monterey

We visited Monterey and of course the wharf in June 2023 for an overnight stay. We had lunch at the Rockfish on a weekday. I normally do not give out five star reviews for restaurants all that often. But in my opinion, my first and probably last visit left an extremely good impression of this restaurant. We were seated with a wonderful ocean view, with the sailboats and ships anchored in the bay. As we had our lunch, we were even treated to a visit by a trio of seals who swam around just outside the window where we were seated in the restaurant. Our server was excellent. All employees dressed the part of a fine restaurant as was the experience. They managed to walk a fine line between fine dining and a nice eatery on the wharf. We were not by any means dressed other than casual. So you can put yourself at ease. It's a nice dining experience without having to be fancy. We both had the Seafood Trio.I will make it clear that this meal was not an inexpensive option. But we chose to have a really nice lunch on the water. When our meals first came out, I wondered if we didn't make a mistake as it didn't look all that big. But the looks were deceiving and I was quite full after only eaten just what was on my plate. When it came out, the dinner preparation looked the part of a fine culinary dish. I even took a picture because it looked the part. It also tasted the part. The food was excellent. And although it didn't look it at first. There was ample sea food to satisfy. I will say that this lunch was not cheap by no means. It was over $100 for just us two for dinner and beverages, including a decent tip. But it was relatively reasonable considering the dining experience and the area it was in. Yes there are cheaper options. But there are probably a lot more expensive options as well. We could have also had a much less expensive lunch in the Rockfish. We chose to order what we did. I just feel that the lunch we had wasn't overly expensive for what we experienced as a whole package. As such, I recommend Rockfish Harbor Grill. I may never be back. But if I do ever get back that way, I will more than likely revisit this nice seafood restaurant on the end...

The Big Fish Grill isn't the best seafood restaurant, but here's where it shines along with a couple suggestions where it can be improved:

The restaurant sits at one end of the wharf; if you are looking for a nice view of the water and the boats along the harbor, you won't be disappointed. This evening my better half enjoyed the seals, otters and seal lions easily visible and going about their business.

The service was super, I asked our waiter not to rush our food; he did a great job giving us time to enjoy our appetizers and then the entrees. On that note: the mozzarella and tomato salad was swimming in their vinaigrette...that personally was too much, and the lettuce was soggy. However, the chowder is good. I wasn't a fan of the bruschetta, thinking it too salty, but others seemed to like it just fine.

We had a nice whole streamed crab for $34 and a wild salmon for $28. The salmon was grilled beautifully and don't laugh, the sauteed vegetables were great and had good crunch...zucchini, green beans, onion, carrot. Both entrees included garlic mashed potatoes. The potatoes were smooth and not overpowering.

They have a decent wine list, most selections are available by the glass or bottle. They have a dessert tray that we passed on simply because we were stuffed. All said I'd return, but would appreciate them being a little less zealous with the...

Service was ok, it was disappointing that the server didn't offer water. The highlight of the experience was undoubtedly the picturesque view. Unfortunately, the steep bill of $350 for a party of seven did not align with the quality of the dining experience.

Regrettably, the food fell short of expectations. The French fries were not freshly made but instead seemed to be sourced from the freezer. The special of the day, featuring Lobster, Shrimp, and Salmon, lacked flavor and was disappointingly bland. The lobster, in particular, seemed to be of a lower quality and not fresh, which was unexpected given the $65 price tag.

The Grilled Chicken Alfredo was another letdown. The dish was overcooked, lacked flavor, and featured mushy chicken. Even the burger was overly salty, suffered from a dry and overcooked patty without favor. After we were done with our food, no one collected our plates after several request to do so. We could tell they are understaffed. Only thing good was the desert which we could tell did not come from there kitchen and after the desert request took a long time to get to our table.

Considering the overall experience, I would caution against visiting this establishment if you value a high-quality dining experience. If you respect yourself, do...