In an intimate garden courtyard space within the tiny L’Auberge hotel, award-winning chef Justin Cogley and pastry chef Yulanda Santos serve innovative and artful dishes for a whimsical nightly tasting menu focused on seasonal coastal cuisine. Expect eight to ten courses that range from a single turnip baked in salted dough and served with nori in a hollowed-out ciabatta bun, to a Monterey Bay abalone finished with caviar and fine strands of hand-foraged seaweed and potato. Wine pairings will complement your Michelin-starred meal (and more than double the price of your ticket if you opt for the “Reserve Tasting”). Reservations required.

In a city sated with French and Italian eating options, Cultura is a breath of fresh, worm-salted air. Founded by Sarah Kabat-Marcy and John Cox (of Sierra Mar/Post Ranch), the Oaxacan-inspired restaurant offers a seasonal menu of fresh, artistic dishes that range from street tacos to mole to a great huevos rancheros at brunch. The full bar features a hand-picked library of mezcals, many of which are sourced directly from small producers in Oaxaca, along with traditional chapulines (grasshoppers), local orange slices, and sal de gusano (worm salt). Don’t miss the toasted peanuts with garlic and chile arbol while sipping an excellent cocktail.

This tiny sushi spot in Carmel took its chances by opening during a pandemic. Luckily, Toro’s ethos of only serving extremely fresh fish and simple, high-caliber ingredients has ensured return customers. It is a traditional menu, with a few appetizers, salads, and simple rolls. Nigiri is the star, and the omakase is a great way to try 16 pieces of the chef’s choice. The sommelier has curated the sake list, offers flights and interesting sake-based cocktails like the Tokyo Smoke (Junmai sake, Japanese Bermutto vermouth, shiso, and mesquite smoke).

Edwin’s takes the place of Affina, a longtime Mediterranean restaurant from chef Dexter Salazar. During the pandemic, Salazar was on the brink of retirement, with plans to sell the restaurant, when his brothers and nephew stepped in. Now they’ve reopened as Edwin’s, a tribute to the family’s Filipino roots, and Salazar’s father, Edwin. Expect excellent Shanghai lumpia, Balinese chicken, and more Filipino flavors sprinkled throughout, with an extensive wine list on hand as well.

Stumbling upon Stationaery, hidden within the quaint San Carlos Square, is like discovering a secret note written just for you. Except it is no secret, as everyone now knows about the delicious food to be found here. The tiny 34-seat space has outdoor seating too, which helps accommodate the long wait for the popular brunch featuring items like the potato pancake with salmon, miso, creme fraiche, and soft boiled egg (get decadent and add caviar) or a lobster roll on an Ad Astra brioche bun. Dinner includes some of the same delicious brunch items, with the addition of comforting things like spaghetti Amatriciana and butterscotch budino. Online ordering and takeout are available for those who don’t feel like waiting. 

A pioneer in Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch and Restaurant Partner program, family-owned Passionfish has served sustainable seafood for nearly two decades. The seasonal menu offers small plates and entrees that are balanced, thoughtful, and fresh. Dishes such as smoked trout ceviche and Dungeness crab salad are offered alongside a considerable 400-item list of local and imported wines offered at close to retail prices.

Don’t be fooled by the inconspicuous location and worn-in appearance of this family-run Italian restaurant. The minimal decor and straightforward use of simple, fresh ingredients are intentional, and resemble the classic osterias of chef Emanuele Bartolini’s hometown of Florence. Menu highlights include tender grilled octopus, crispy fried chicken, hand-made gnocchi, and compulsively eatable chili-infused fried cauliflower. The extensive wine list features small producers and highlights female winemakers, as well as organic and biodynamic wineries. The bubbling fountain and soft twinkle lights set a romantic mood on the front and back patios, which is suitable for their outdoor-only dining and takeout service.

Poppy Hall serves a menu of classic comfort food. Lunch brings dishes like the Hippy Hand Grenade, a half avocado with a veggie-packed salad topped with sprouts and carrot ginger dressing. Dine in the bright, cozy dining room or grab a seat on the outdoor sidewalk patio with twinkly lights and room to relax.

Liliana Rodas de Araujo grew up making and selling empanadas in Paraguay, and after a long career in the pastry arts, she has opened Cafe Guaraní during her retirement, hoping to introduce the Monterey Peninsula to traditional Paraguayan foods. This cute cafe, full of cheerful folk art and a welcoming atmosphere, serves a wide selection of empanadas. There are typical versions, like chicken and ham-and-cheese, but also specials, like a recent pulled pork variety. They all come with the magnificent house chimichurri sauce, which alone is worth the trip. Sandwiches are served on homemade brioche along with mandioca fries, and the pastry case is full of fancy-looking cakes, guava-filled croissants, and dulce de leche alfajores. Everything tastes great with any of the yerba mate drinks.

El Cantaro defies any resistance customers might have toward the idea of vegan Mexican food by offering fresh, traditional flavors that nobody can deny. And it happens to be non-GMO, mostly organic and completely devoid of animal products. The menu is astoundingly large, broken into appetizers, soups, salads, traditional plates, combination plates, enchiladas, tacos, burritos, and tostadas. Those looking to try something new might opt for the kipes (fried bulgur and potato croquettes) or the empanaditas made with red beet flour. There are also traditional dishes like mole, pozole, and enmoladas, all made with Chickin’ instead of chicken. If you still can’t decide, just ask the cashier: She won’t miss a beat in telling you to order the crispy potato tacos.

Aside from a handful of dive bars, hotel bars, and Fisherman’s Wharf restaurants, the cocktail scene in Monterey isn’t necessarily buzz-worthy. But now there is Pearl Hour, an eye-catching turquoise storefront on Lighthouse Avenue, aptly named by proprietress Katie Blandin (of Good Food Award-winning Golden Bear Bitters) after Steinbeck’s poignant quote: “It is the hour of pearl — the interval between day and night when time stops and examines itself...” Here, Blandin mixes inventive concoctions like the “Pearlescent” with mezcal, gin, bergamot liqueur, dry vermouth, and yarrow. During daylight hours, the bar transforms into a Euro-inspired coffeehouse.

The Old Town District of Monterey is chock-full of history and lore, and one of the richest places to absorb some of it is in the rehabilitated Cooper-Molera Adobe and the surrounding grounds. The project to revitalize this property was no small feat, and one of the principal players was Ben Spungin, formerly of Post Ranch Inn and now culinary director of Alta Bakery & Cafe, which is housed in this historic corner on Munras Avenue. The tucked away garden courtyard is a lovely spot to sip a pine and huckleberry latte or rosemary vanilla mimosa, while nibbling on one of Alta’s daily doughnuts like lemon verbena or miso glazed.

This local craft brewery and restaurant has pivoted well to accommodate its legions of fans with even more outdoor sidewalk seating to supplement its original 50-seat beer garden out back. The menu offers varied but straightforward options of the pizza, burger, and big salad variety, with a few twists like a spicy Korean fried chicken sandwich and a bacon Loco Moco. Fan favorite IPA’s, kettle sours, and sessionable lagers are served all day with 3 to 6 p.m. happy hour all week long, plus bottles and cans to go. (Alvarado Street also took over its own Carmel Plaza spinoff, the former Yeast of Eden, where it now serves a smaller, seasonal California-leaning menu, plus a handful of the sought-after Yeast of Eden mixed fermentation brews.)

The often ignored strip-mall town of Seaside, in North Monterey County, is having a food and drink revival, and Other Brother Beer Co. is one of the main attractions. This breezy craft beer spot, founded by two brothers who helm a California olive oil company with the same name, offers a diverse variety of fresh brews (not just IPAs) for local pickup and delivery. They also manage an outdoor parklet called “Heermann’s Landing” — the perfect spot to enjoy the remarkable onsite baked goods of chef Ron Mendoza’s Ad Astra Bread Co.

First and foremost, the Meatery is a butcher shop. Chef-owner Kevin Hincks opened the shop in 2019, bringing a strict whole-animal, small-batch, sustainable philosophy to an unassuming Seaside strip mall. Local chef Todd Fisher has since taken the helm. The Meatery is also an excellent place to get sandwiches like the customer favorite bahn mi or Italian po’boy. Quintessential deli case items, like mac salad and a bacon-loaded potato salad, are at the ready, along with fermented hot sauce by the bottle.

With all of the buzzy new food businesses opening up shop in Seaside recently, it would be remiss to not mention some of the diverse spots that have been serving locals this whole time. One such restaurant is Noodle Bar, an aptly named skinny hall with sparse seating and affordable Vietnamese-leaning takeout: flavorful pho, as well as soupless rice vermicelli bowls topped with cilantro, mint, house dressing, and chopped peanuts. Vegetarians have a full menu page of options to choose from.