DISAPPOINTED,,,,, We've been going to Phil's for over 30…read moreyears, first at the original location in Moss Landing and more recently at the new location in Castroville. We've always been pleased, but not this past Sunday. We met friends for dinner, and we were both disappointed. I found the Prawn Fettucini Alfredo to be under-cooked. The prawns were fine, but the pasta wasn't fully cooked, and it had the taste and feel of uncooked flour. My side salad had far too much dressing and the mixed greens were very wilted. My companion ordered the Shrimp Skewer Salad. It was swimming in dressing and like my small salad it was made up primarily of wilted greens. We also thought that, given the poor quality of the meal, $22 for her salad and $32 for my pasta were definitely on the high side, especially at a place where you order your food at a counter and then dine in what amounts to "school lunch rom" ambience.

Cute new spic-and-span location in Castroville! Cafe and adjacent fish market. Got some…read morespectactular swordfish... best we've ever had. Also scored some big scallops and a bucket of their signature Cioppino to take home. What a feast! By the way, swordfish does extraordinarily well when reverse seared: 250 degree convection oven until 120 degrees internally, then crank up the broiler until 145 degrees internally. Ambrosia. Works for any thick cut: salmon, marlin, yellowtail, ahi... Dust it first with Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic for an extra treat.

The restaurants exterior isn't the nicest. The exterior colors are bright and tacky. However,…read moreyou'll be glad you stopped once you try their food. We ordered one chicken enchilada plate and 2 chilaquiles plates. One chilaquiles plate was with green sauce and another with red sauce. All our entrees tasted very authentic and homemade. Neither of the rice or beans tasted canned or pre-made. The food had great flavor! We also ordered their agua fresca of the day which was pineapple. It was the cherry on top to a satisfying visit. It tasted very fresh without added sugar. Just natural fruit flavors. I highly recommend checking out this place if you're passing through Soledad.

We just got in from Downtown LA to visit my boyfriends family. They ordered all his favorite foods…read morefrom town as usual, however I of course was craving my usual aguachiles. I also ordered cóctel de camarón as an extra add on. I decided to try El Pariente. I'm super picky about my aguachiles so I was thinking they would just satisfy my craving. However, they were literally so amazing. Super enchilosos like I love them! The girl was super nice and obviously the cooks are awesome. I absolutely am going to stop by on my way back to LA to take an order back with me! The outside is so cute, lots of parking and the inside of the restaurant was so cute and authentic looking. They have a great selection of bottled Mexican beer. I had a modelo while I waited and it was super cold. All in all I give this place 5 stars for ambiance, food, cold bottled beer and very nice friendly staff. Next time we're in town longer I'll definitely go have a sit down dinner. Muchísimas gracias por mis aguachiles perfectos y deliciosos!

YES, YES, AND YES! Sea Harvest hooked us! I'm so pleased with what we found here! I have been…read morelooking for local caught fish, and this is fresh fish at a reasonable price. My daughter treated my mom and me for our birthday week, and my goodness--the combo fish tacos were fantastic and meaty! YUM, yum, yum! With tables out over the water, we could see otters playing while we enjoyed our meal. Save a little on the bill since it's walk-up and order and the busboys were super friendly and helpful with clearing tables, refreshing condiments, etc.

First time here and Unfortunately, our experience wasn't great. Before we ordered, the cashier let…read moreus know the food would take about 30 minutes, which was understandable. However, after placing our order, we ended up waiting over an hour. An employee eventually came over and asked how long we had been waiting. When we told her it had been an hour, she apologized and explained there had been an issue with the order printer. She offered us the choice of a refund or having our food made. We decided to wait, but it still took another 15 minutes before our food was ready. What was most disappointing wasn't just the delay--it was the lack of communication. I noticed there didn't seem to be good communication between the kitchen and the staff taking orders. I wish someone had come to let us know about the issue much earlier instead of leaving us waiting without any updates. A simple update would have made a big difference. To make matters worse, the fish plate I ordered looked nothing like the photos. It was supposed to come with vegetables, rice, or salad, but I substituted the sides for fries. The portion was very small, with only a little fish and a small amount of fries, especially for a $28 plate. Considering the long wait and that the delay was caused by their mistake, I feel they could have done something to make it right, such as offering a larger portion or another gesture of goodwill. Overall, the lack of communication, the long wait, and the disappointing portion size made this a frustrating experience. Great location in Moss Landing with beautiful views, but the experience dint match the setting.

This is one place you really want to visit Food is excellent…read more They always make you feel like you're part of the family and welcome when you arrive Professional cuisine service at the highest level Thank you for the wonderful experience you always give myself and my family, can't wait to come back Eliezer.

Today was not impressed. COLD No flavor hash browns. Stale sourdough toast. COLD Small piece of…read moreham. Not the whole slice like before. $18. Three eggs over easy. Drank some of my coffee until I got to a rim mark that showed the cup was not washed properly. Grossed me out. What happened windmill? You used to impress. Service was fast. Just don't like when I'm trying to order and the waitress tries to rush and guess order for me.

Excellent Grilled Fish tacos and the best Fish Chips in Central Coast…read more. Very nice service . A nice family place as well Our go to place . Great wine not expensive for indulgence .

Ugh. Another 5 star review. I have been putting off coming to this place to avoid another abysmal…read moredisappointment. I was pleasantly surprised at the fish and chips I ordered, beautifully flavored batter and wonderful crunch. Fresh juicy fish and batter covered French fries. Superb. The cocktail sauce is clearly made in house and it is an explosion of flavor. Well done, Catch 25. Also, the workers were attentive and caring.

The ambiance and service here is amazing! All of employees are super kind and friendly. Upon…read moresitting, we were given a basket of bread and butter. The bread wasn't toasted so I was skeptical but it was actually very tasty because the outside had toasted sesame seeds on it. We ordered the fish and chips as well as their cioppino. The fish and chips were good! It wasn't the best I've ever had just cause I usually prefer cod but I think they used a different fish. The cioppino though was so delicious. It was extremely flavorful, the broth was not overally seasoned, it was perfect. There was lots of seafood too - such as clams, octopus, squid, mussels, shrimp and fish! I loved dipping the bread in it too.

Go before they open to get in line or make reservations. They are super efficient and service was…read moregreat. It's not a big place, and yet they still have a great ratio of staff to customers. We got there 30 minutes early and got in line about 20 minutes before 5 PM on a Saturday in July. When they opened we were the second party and there were about 30 people after us. Some had reservations and some were walk-ins like us. Once we sat down we got bread and butter and they took our order. Clam chowder was not thick how we like it. My husband was craving the curry snapper. My son had the holiday pasta. I had a special artichoke seafood pasta. We were all happy with our choices.

A fabulous experience from the host booth, to the servers and finally, the delicious food…read more Our waiter was super helpful answering all of our questions. Calamari starter as well as the clams on the half shell were perfect. Baskets of sourdough rolls were also very popular. We never felt rushed. A great dinner for our party of six!

This was by far the biggest disappointment of our trip. Did I buy into the hype of getting in line…read moreearly and waiting it out for a table? Yep! Did I laugh out loud when I heard their out going phone message, yes, yes I did! We were two doors down staying at the Sand Pebbles Inn. On a Friday night we arrived about 5:30 p.m. No line. We brought a bottle of wine and sat near the fire pit and talked to a few folks while waiting for our table. They said come back at 7:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Predictably we powered though our one bottle of chardonnay. I took a stroll back to the hotel to grab another. By the time I got back my wife had already been seated. It was about 6:15 p.m. So much for the high demand and long wait. She got sat towards the back at a little two top table nowhere near the front with the ocean view. Meh. Okay let's do this. We put in an order of the Clams Casino to start, clam chowder, and we were going to split the large order of Cioppino. This is no knock on the restaurant but we were seated next to a couple that really liked each other. I mean a lot. Luckily my wife had her back to them. I tried not to watch but they were going at it pretty hard for being in a well lit crowded restaurant. Good for them? Ahh, to be 30 again. Sourdough bread was really sour. I don't think I've ever thought twice about bread being served at a restaurant until now. Clams Casino comes out and it's not looking so good. We know what this dish is and supposed to be. This was a bad version to say the least. There was little to no breadcrumbs. Just some clams on the half shell swimming in butter and garlic with a slice of bacon on top. A poor excuse for this dish. Only $27.50! I suggest they try Brophy Brothers Garlic Baked Clams. About a million times better and about $10.00 less. Then came the clam chowder. I've had clam chowder high and low and this was some of the worse I've ever had. First off it's kinda translucent and appears to be thickened with cornstarch or maybe xanthan gum. All I can tell you is it's gooey, not creamy, short on clams, and tastes of over powering black pepper. We also discovered an unexpected ingredient, spinach. This confused both of us to no end. So at this point my wife says she's had enough of this and tells the waitress to cancel the Cioppino, and bring us the check. She says back, it's too late for that. My wife isn't taking no for an answer and stands her ground. Where am I this whole time? I'm hiding behind my glass of wine wishing we were some where else. They brought the check without incident and we left. What a train wreck that was.

3 of us ended up here on a Tuesday at lunchtime because Taqueria Pacheco was closed for no apparent…read morereason. There was one guy eating by himself and one worker. She was very friendly, but not very communicative. We asked for a menu and were told to look at the wall where there were some photos and lists of dishes, but no prices. We were just trying to get some burritos to take on the highway, so we each ordered what we wanted. Then she went in the back, washed her hands, and made the burritos. The burritos were good and the salsa provided was decent. The inside of the place is dingy and uninviting and not even pleasant for just waiting for takeout food. Having just one person working made it slow even though we were the only customers.

Food is always served hot off the stove and prepared as soon as you order. If they're busy you may…read morehave to wait for your food. But it's worth the short wait. Maybe ten minutes. Drinks are either bottles or cans. Soda, beer, water, juice, you choose. They have karaoke in the evenings on the weekends which usually draws a fun crowd. The kitchen is open for orders too. They have plenty of tables and chairs as the restaurant is huge. The employees are always pleasant and ready to prepare your food. They take phone orders if you're short for time. I suggest you call twenty/thirty minutes ahead of picking up your order. They also have a restaurant with same name and menu in Soledad.