Just had Easter Brunch and it was surprisingly better than the last time I came. Service is still average with waiters over-worked and somewhat casual in their attitude. If you stick to basics like the Salmon or the Lamb with no sauces, you'll do ok. Still very much a hangout for the older crowd (over 60's) and the wine list is over-priced. Good place to take your grand-parents and not great for kids. read more

I went to Fandango Resturant during the month of May, 2011. Parking was right behind the restaurant. The front desk person, which must have been the owner b/c he was dressed in cackles and a blazer and was pretty unfriendly towards us, he also placed us at a table where it seemed like he could keep an eye on me and my girlfriend. It took a while for our wIter to serve us and get our entries but when it came it was delicious. The sandabs were great and he filet mignon was about he best I've ever tasted. Food wise it's a 4 star but service it's a 3!! Overall great experience though read more

Fandango used to be my favorite restaurant in Monterey. I used to make the 2+ hour drive just for the calamari alone. However, last weekend my visit left me highly disappointed. First, our table for two was in the very small room near the front of the restaurant (I believe one of the original bedrooms). A large table with our two chairs was crammed in the corner, surrounded my three other tables of the same size, it was so tight that my friend had to get out of her seat and leave the room to allow me to get out of my seat to go to the restroom. Second, the calamari steak. I haven't been in several years, and on the drive down to Monterey, all I could think about was that delicious, melt in your mouth, perfectly cooked calamari steak. Boy was I disappointed. The calamari was WAY overcooked. The server never should have brought it to our table - the edges of the breading were clearly burnt, the remainder was dark brown - just seconds from being burnt, it was tough and chewy. We ate a few bites and left it sitting on our table (something that NEVER used to happen). Which brings me to the service... When I informed the server, he seemed shocked, and then proceeded to question me, implying I didn't know how calamari steak should be cooked, or how it should taste. He never introduced himself, and we had to ask to hear the specials. During our nearly 2-hour dining experience, he only checked on us a couple of times. At one point, we were the only people left in our little room, and had to practically flag him down for coffee. His only saving grace was the wine he recommended - it was fantastic and exactly what I was looking for. The remainder of the meal was so-so. The sole was cooked perfectly, and was extremely fresh. The potato was undercooked and didn't have a single spice on it. I had the paella, which was very disappointing. It was too liquidy, one of the mussels tasted spoiled, and the dish just lacked the flavor and consistency of a good paella. Dessert, however, was fantastic! Hate to say it, but I won't be heading back to Fandango anytime soon. read more

I love this place. The food is excellent. The portions are generous. You won't leave disappointed. Most likely you will leave with a sense of bliss. The Braised beef and lamb shank were our entrees and they were incredible. I can't wait to go back. This is what most fine restaurants aspire to be but miss the mark with skimpy portions and too much energy spent on the look of the plate. Go at lunch time for great value. read more

I will not be back here. The place does not look like it has been dusted in years! The food was bland. The only thing I enjoyed was the french onion soup. Then the checks came and the credit card machine was not working. The people I went with ended up having their check ran multiple times and I am assuming that has something to do with the malfunctioning credit card machine. Then I felt ill the rest of the day, maybe some of that dust fell into my food. Ugh! Stay away! read more

A little overrated. Great Paella, can't say the same for other dishes. Service is two stars.

On a recommendation from my brother, we had our post Big Sur 1/2 marathon dinner here. Service was great. Food was wonderful. My steak was a perfect medium rare. A friend had the calamari steak, oh my! So tasty! Some of us ordered the sundaes, they came with the different toppings in small dishes so you can add what you want and how much you want. It was perfect ending to a wonderful day! read more

I went with a large group of women and we all got something different. I heard NO complaints! (a miracle!) For lunch I ordered Sand Dabs which were really cooked perfectly. My salad was really tasty. The service was prompt and friendly. I will come back. Down the street is the most beautiful walk ever, down Lovers Point. Combine the two and you've got a great afternoon. read more

Just okay. I've eaten here several times before. Seems to have lost their flair. Was disappointed last might. Had the filet mignon and it wasn't the best. Kinda bland and lacked flavor. Doused with a sauce I wasn't crazy about. My wife had the halibut special and was dry. Again, just an okay and because of price, I'll likely not be back. Heard there were many other places in the area which were worth trying. read more

Fandango is a Pacific Grove land mark, it has so much to offer. We love southern France and the cuisine; touches of North Africa resonate with our experience. First the good- excellent scallops, very nice waiter and bar tender, charming interior design reminiscent of le compagne. Sadly the negatives were too much to overlook. Entry to the restaurant was distinctly unfriendly. At least 3, maybe 4, employees walked by without making eye contact. After a short wait the owner appeared... he was polite but not welcoming. We waited 20 minutes for a table (the bar tender was charming)... our glasses of house cabernet and pinot grigio that we had while we waited were NOT complimentary. Table service was pretty slow. The wine list is long but not useful to any but true connoisseurs... we drink enough wine to recognize regions and varietals but could not make informed choices from their list... too many choices and too few that we can recognize. We ended up with a serviceable California wine that we could have bought at Safeway for a quarter of their price. I chose the house special salad (a good caprese) and house special scallops on pappardelle (excellent). I failed to ask the waiter and he failed to mention that the scallops were $38. I may or may not have order the scallops had I known the price. I should have asked....he should have disclosed. I hope that this was just not their best night. I forgive all except the lack of warmth upon arrival. The ultimate question is... would we take friends to this restaurant.... For now, the answer is "no". read more

Planned on having a good time but was disappointed in the service and food. We were seated in a small cramped side room. Only accept this seating if you are on a date and want to be in close proximity with other couples. If you want to have fun, ask for the back room. Waiter was a snob, gave slow service and seemed disinterested in us. Food was adequate at higher than usual prices. read more

We were put in the rear dining room which isn't as nice as the front rooms. The room at the rear had a very large party of drunk men. We asked to sit in the front and were told it was full with parties, which it wasn't. We didn't look polished enough for the front room? Anyway we should have walked out. The food was mediocre. The sand dabs would have been good had they not been smothered in at least a tablespoon of chopped garlic. The flowers were beautiful. Maitre d' is a snob and food is fair. read more

Despite having made a reservation for two, I and my husband were led to a corner table near the entrance (we arrived at 5.30pm. The restaurant has 2 floors. The restaurant was more than half empty at the time. We were also given another choice which was even worse, near the kitchen, also tiny table. While lots of other tables were open and we had our reservation). The food was okay, we ordered the recommended main courses, however the food was brought out within literally 10 minutes - I don't know if this means they cooked really fast, or it was pre-cooked. My husband ordered beef shank so to be honest I doubt it this could be cooked under 10 minutes. Our waiter was not exactly rude, but I have had better experiences at mom and pop restaurants where the host is much more friendly. IMHO, the price tag is high and the service and the food is average. read more

We went there for the Christmas Eve dinner. It was a set menu. The service was good but it took forever to start with the appetizers. We got both surf and turf unfortunately our steaks got mixed up, I endet up getting my husbands rare steak and he got my medium well. By the time he realized it, it was to late. We got overcharged on wine. We had 3 glasses and got charged 12$ per glass even though the wine menu had prices per glass between 5-6$. The whole bottle of that wine cost 16$ in the store. Additionally both of our stomachs were upset once we got home. TERRIBLE and not worth the money!! read more

My wife and I had a great dinner at Fandango last night. We love the atmosphere, the staff, and the food is always great. Our dinner last night, cocktails great, wine great, escargot great, entree great, dessert you guessed it, great. However, when listening to the server tell us the daily specials and mention the Dover Sole, I tuned everything else out, I was sold. (Didn't quite hear the price as it was very loud at our table next to the kitchen.) But after reviewing my itemized bill I was shocked at the price of the Sole, OMG, $78 I've NEVER paid that much for an entree and we've eaten all over the world. Oops, my bad!!! Make sure to listen carefully to the specials and their prices. read more

We came here to celebrate my husband's birthday. He had never been, I had been once several years ago. We were sat in the "celebration room", which was such a fun touch. The service was impeccable and the food was delicious. They have a great menu that has very good variety. We really enjoyed the ambiance, service, and food. Great dinner!! read more

We came to visit Monterey and I kinda craving for paella and found this place at Yelp. We came there around 6:30 pm, the place is cute and warm. We were seated on the second floor closed to the bar. The seating was not that comfortable - the chair...however, we got our drinks pretty quick and ordered our food. My husband had french onion soup and calf liver and onion. He liked the dishes, though he did not finish them. The portion was not too big though. I ordered paella, as per one of the yelper commented "the best paella" ever. Well, I guess not for me:( The paella was served in a skillet, a little bit too watery, it has shrimp, sausage, chicken, peas, scallop, mussels and some white strip something (not squid, don't know what's that). I could not finish it. I still love B44 paella the best. But like my husband said...it's a nice change.... read more

We went to Fandango this past Saturday to celebrate our anniversary. Upon arriving, we waited at the host desk while several employees whisked by without saying much. The host (older Italian gentleman -maybe owner??) stood there looking at the desk without acknowledging us for a moment or two - rather surprising. He took us to the bar to wait since we were about 15 minutes early for our reservation. I asked for a wine menu at the bar but they didn't have one - he just said they had Merlot, Chard, and Cab. I ordered two "premium glasses of merlot" (BV) - hardly premium, but not bad either. We were seated in a small room off of the main dining room - it held 3 small tables - which was rather nice and quiet for us. We had the following for food: Heirloom Mozzarella Caprese - 3.5 stars Breaded Calamari - 4.5 stars (we really enjoyed this one and would get again!) Oso Bucco - 4 stars Grand Marnier Souffle - 4.5 stars Bottle of Heller Merlot - 3.5 stars All in all, the food was very good, but not spectacular - it's about what we expected. Don't get me wrong, it was very good! However, the service was slightly subpar. Our waiter had such a heavy accent, and English was his second language, that it was terribly hard to understand him - especially as he told us the specials quickly in the beginning. I had to repeat them to Samantha after he left! He was helpful shen we needed something and prompt; however, he was not terribly knowledgable, nor did he really chat with us at all to give us that special bond. For a nicer restaurant, I would have expected our waiter to chat with us about the wine, give us suggestions based on what we usually enjoyed, asked why we were in town, if we were celebrating, etc. Would I go here again? I might - if we went again it wouldn't be for an all out dinner, but more of maybe appetizers and a couple drinks, or mayber for dessert and drinks... Bill ended up at $165 before tip - with a $52 bottle of wine and $23 worth of wine at the bar. So, I guess dinner alone would have been in the $90 range - for 2 apps, 2 entree's, and dessert - not bad! read more

I had the filet with peppercorn sauce. Pretty good; sauce was not too tangy. Had the merengue ice cream, which was really good. Great wine list, with many older wines. Owner told us he has a 2200 sq ft wine cellar, and it shows! Great setting and service. read more

Dinned at Fandango with a large group which was accommodated well in an upstairs room. The staff was attentive and did a good job considering the group size. My meal was pretty average. Shrimp scampi, 5 shrimp, pasta and four baby carrots swimming in butter for $30. I was able to make the exact same dish for my family of five for less than this the next week. I definitely was disappointed based upon what I paid for this meal . I won't be going back. read more

Loved Fandango! Casual elegance while still cozy and welcoming, great altmosphere, and just the right sound level. Not too quiet where it felt "stuffy" and definitely not too loud. Food was phenomenal! For my main dish I had the Couscous Algerois (couscous, lamb, veggies, barrisa and N African spices), the lamb was awesome and the entire dish had a very nice flavor. Near the end I added some of the Cajun spice (it accompanied my meal in a tube) and that added a nice spicey flavor to it - but the dish was good with or without. For dessert I had the coffee ice cream profiterole - very tasty. Accompanying our meal we had a nice bottle of a local Cab (Carmel Valley I believe) which was very nice. Fabulous menu and great wine selection. Can't wait to go back! (Attire - I would say business casual but there were some on the dressier side, one could fit in either way, but nothing less than business casual.) read more

I wish you could give this place no stars! My husband and I went there when we were looking at places to host our rehearsal dinner. We looked at reviews online and asked around town (we are not from the area) and everything seemed like it would be a good place We walked in and we were not welcomed. When we were finally able to establish that the host was alive we were able to be seated in a small dinning room that had two large parties seated there already. We waited several minutes before we had to ask for menus. My husband ordered wine and the waiter left before I could ask for anything to drink. When he brought the wine he again left before I could get a peep out. Finally I was able to flag down a waiter to ask for some water, oh and a new glass because the glasses the had on the table for water were dirty. We ordered the escargot, the paella fandango, and a duck dish that I see is no longer on the menu. The escargot were OK, not the best I've ever had and not the worst either. The paella was horrible. It was served sloshing around in so much excess water that you could call it a soup! The seafood tasted like it had been thawed and refrozen and then microwaved. It was disgusting. Not to be out done as the worst dish though was my husband's duck dinner. I didn't' realize that you could make duck into jerky, but somehow they were able to take a bird that is laden with fat and dry it out so bad that it could take weeks to get through one bite. I guess because we were glutton for punishment we ordered the souffle, which was nice, but not nice enough to make up for the horrible service and food. I must also mention that during the whole dinner I had to ask to have my water refilled and for new silverware. Oh, and we went through several sets of silverware because when they would bring a new set out they too would be dirty. I don't mean water spots dirty I mean giant chunks of the previous dinner's dinner dirty. How they couldn't see the food still attached to the spoon was beyond me! I would like to think that maybe we had such bad service because we were sitting next to two large groups, but from the conversations that were overheard from their tables they too seemed to be having the same service. This place was horrible and I hope they go out of business to make room for a restaurant that actually cares about its customers. read more

On a grad student budget we wanted something nice for our anniversary, but under $200. We found it. I was a little worried because of the reviews that were less than flattering about the service, but we experienced stellar service from the moment we entered until the moment we left. I did notice we were the youngest people in the restaurant on a Sunday evening. We both ordered salmon dishes, so flavor was superb. The Grand Marnier souffle was very nice, but you will not faint over it. I'm not sure why it gets so many recommendations for a romantic date. We loved it, but I would say it is much better suited for a dinner with friends and family. read more

Stopped in for a romantic dinner with my boyfriend. They sat us in front of the fireplace. Our server Michael was very professional, attentive and knowledgeable. The food was excellent. Would definitely stop in again when back in town. read more

We have been partonizing Fandango for 25 years. I remember when the owner had black hair. Food is always supurb. Service is always outstanding. It's nice to go to a restaurant that pays a living wage to adult servers. We always go the Fandango as least once on every trip to Monterey. Next time will not be an exception! read more

Charming interior, very pleasant and helpful staff. Had the Sand Dabs entree, very tasty with a nicely prepared side of veggies. Good wine list, has a very fine St Francis Merlot. Great fresh bread too. Seemed a little on the pricey side but its probably just the local going rate. read more

A couple of weeks ago my family celebrated a very special birthday at Fandango. Eight of us sat in a cozy and warm private room that felt so sweet and private. The attention that we received from restaurant staff was profoundly appropriate and helpful. Appetizers included the assorted tapas and liver pate. Each person ordered their own meal. All the plates were beautiful and the standouts were simply prepared sand dabs (perfect) and rack of lamb. All meals were enjoyed. Our family loves local Heller Estate wines: organic and perfect. Thank you Fandango for your continued culinary tradition and hospitality. We look forward to returning to this happy and yummy restaurant every time we visit the Monterey Peninsula. read more

Consistently excellent! Been coming here for lunch for many years. Love all of the Niçoise salads, salmon especially good. On a richer note the tortellini maison is fabulous! read more

Fandango's is a warm, inviting place to take your friends and family - the food is wonderful, the staff is excellent, as a local I would recommend it to anyone. read more

Gluten free, and with celiac they were so accommodating! !!! Thank you so much Renee (manager).... great food with no worries...

This place is a hidden jewel, we were down here staying at a bed n breakfast close by and decided to get a good meal and stumbled upon this place. Wow was i impressed with everything that they did. Right when you walk in you are greeted by Miguel who is amazingly sharp, he helped us to the perfect table while being the perfect GM. Their food is amazing, the presentation is perfection and the ambiance is great. Try to get a window table upstairs around sunset, you'll love it. We will be back for sure, and the prices are perfect and if anything they're underpriced for the level of service that is appointed to each guest of the restaurant. Thanks, read more

What a terrific time I had with my family at this local french restaurant. The service was amazing. Host Miguel was so sweet and friendly and our server was happy and knowledgeable about the menu and the restaurant itself. We had the rack of lamb, paella and shrimp scampi. All were delicious. We look forward to coming back soon and trying the grand marnier souffle. :) read more

Went there for Sunday brunch. The restaurant Bldg is great with wonderful ambiance from French influence. Views from the second floor we were told and divided up in several smaller rooms to keep the overall noise down. There is one large section of tables adjacent to the kitchen with a fire place. We were in the front smaller room. Wish they had room for out door seating since it was a warm day in July. Very professional knowledgable well trained friendly staff. Our waiter did not serve my salad until my soup was finished. Hate when places just bring everything out at once instead of spacing out the courses. Had the French onion soup great and we both had salads with either tuna or salmon on them which were large and tasty. Wish we had dinner there, but it was our last day and had to head out. Next time. We will be back. read more

They push the surf and turf but don't know how to cook it. Lobster rubbery and one of the two little steaks way over done. I didn't even try with my second and then when I said to just let the host know. He brought back a steak that was medium as if I was wrong about my opinion . Olives were the best. Won't be back!! read more

My wife and I went there about a month ago, and were disappointed with the food and the Manager! We ordered the Paella and found it very salty. We know our food, and we know what's good and what's not. We hate to complain, but we had to mention to the manager about how salty it was. The Manager's response? " This has been our recipe for 30yrs. We have been making it the same every night" Really? No apologies? A customer politely brings up something and you automatically get defensive in support of your recipe? He never removed the Paella from our bill, and my wife had to order something different. We spent over $400 ( we ordered a bottle of Opus One) for bad Paella and bad service. If you want salty Paella, go there! But we will never return and will bring our $$ somewhere else. read more

Wow! This was a huge surprise. The front end of the restaurant was cozy & romantic, the latter portion was large and more well suited for groups. We had an amazing night here, as it was recommended to us by a local we met when in Pebble Beach. It came highly regarded and we were very fortunate to get a table. Great service too! read more

This has always been one of my long time favorite restaurants. Wonderful food, great atmosphere. I am completely disappoints I just experienced the worst $95 wild abalone ever!!! I may have well just ordered chicken fried steak at a diner. Absolutely disgusting. And for the price!??? My goodness! I am so sad. read more

Had lunch here on Friday. We have had very many wonderful dinners at Fandangos. The fried San dabs and red snapper were soaked in butter and over cooked. French fries were cold and the few veggies were bitter. Very disappointed. The sides of salad, heirloom tomatoes and soup were very good. However not so with the main entrees. read more

We can't say enough good things about our recent experience at Fandango. We called for reservations in the afternoon for 6:00, 14 people (!), knowing odds were not in our favor. The kind person at Fandango called us back to say they could fit us all in. We arrived with our crew ranging in age from 11 to 91 and were shown to a private room down a few stairs. The room had tons of charm and made our parents' anniversary even more special. Service was excellent, food was superb, atmosphere was stellar. We will look forward to coming back when we are in the neighborhood. Perfect special occasion venue. read more

Pedestrian food for San Francisco prices. Every dish seemed to come with broccoli and scalloped potatoes. For $35-45 per entre, I expect better choices, better effort and some variety. The table was wedged into a corner in a room which would have been better arranged with a little fore thought. read more