I had tried many of the "highly recommend" burrito and Mexican places in the area and have been…read moredisappointed each time. Finally, I found an actually good burrito at El Pollo Rey!!! I ordered one of their burritos and was very pleased with it. Excellent carne asada. Great flavor and loaded with good stuff.

In a very Mexican part of town in Seaside near Monterey. I don't live in this area but I knew, as…read morewhen I was driving looking for this storefront, most of the surrounding businesses were all Hispanic based. I kinda had a feeling I was gonna like the digs here. They grill here. Over this massive open charcoal/wood grill. 2 cooks back there, engulfed in a waft of smoke and fire. They must have put a fresh batch of meat on that grill as that grill top was covered every square inch. They only grill 2 meats: chicken on the bone and carne asada. They also grill whole red onions and serrano peppers to go with those char grilled meats. 1/2 Chicken Combo ($15/4*) Upon receiving, it almost looks burnt. But upon tasting no bitter burnt notes just extremely well manufactured char. The chicken is marinated in something. Probably a seasoning salt and maybe a touch of lime. Nothing is spicy or peppery just a salty, charred chicken flavor. I liked it but I think I like El Pollo Locos version a tad more. As that is more slowly rendered where the skin gets crisp and there's more of a buttery nuance in El Pollo Locos version. I hate saying I'm siding with a big corporate but chicken-wise they've got the edge. Now where this place beats any chain are in the sides and details. First the freshly charred onions and serranos that go with most meat orders are damn perfect. Soft and easy to break apart, inherent flavors intensified from the grilling and the char-y notes that you can control cuz you can add as much of the burnt layer or as little. And the rice, beans and salsas here are real Mexican cooking, nothing fast and ready made. Fresh from scratch with ethnic soul. Carne Asada Combo ($27/5*) This is a full pound of freshly grilled Carne Asada (thin and marinaded meat), no rice or beans just warm corn tortillas, salsas, pickled onions and those charred onions and peppers. Upon receiving I felt like a kid who got his first gift from Santa. First they gave me the warm tortilla holder and all the condiments. I could have made a meal with those alone. Then the biggest pile of freshly grilled steak I've ever seen get served to me at one time. The aroma was intoxicating and was superseded by getting a taste. A little heavy handed on the seasoning but damn did that grilled meat flavor hit you like a bat. Slightly smoky with charred hits and THE most juicy and tender carne asada I've ever had. Usually the preparation can yield tough and overcooked meat but not here, there is some wizardry involved. I was putting whole pieces of meat in a rustic cowboy taco and you could still bite through the taco effortlessly. That's some serious mojo they are messin' with. I actually found a combo for the perfect steak taco here. Warm tortilla base; cut up and throw some charred peppers and onions; throw enough carne asada on there to your heart's intent; a few dabs of their tomato salsa with the charred flecks; then finally a generous sprinkling of their pickled red onions to gild the lily. THE BEST carne asada taco I've ever had. And I've had hundreds if not thousands. Trust. We just finished a substantial hike and was on route to a camping weekend. Had enough leftovers that we didn't have to cook on the first night, just heated things in foil over camp fire. They conveniently catered and we relished and feasted. A fiver relationship if I ever heard of one.

Cute little mom pop shop that wasn't too far from our hotel. Decided to grab lunch here right…read morebefore checking in. Super easy to find. They have a pretty simple breakfast lunch, and dinner menu. Offering California style and Mexican food. We were greeted right away as soon as we sat down. And had our drink order taken right away. Hubby got water and I got Horchata drink it was so yummy. Hubby ordered the chicken tostada with rice and a salad and it got the Hawaiian torta with al pastor Meat served with fries. Food came out really fast, it was nice and hot, and the portions were a great size They have indoor and outdoor patio seating, and pet friendly.

This is our 3rd year having our kid at CSUMB. Every time we are always looking for a good place to…read moreeat. On this trip we wanted Mexican food, a quick search on yelp we landed on tacos California. Unfortunately if you try to view the menu or website from yelp you get redirected to a spam website so we were going in blind expecting Mexican food. Get there to find the standard Mexican plates and also burgers, seafood, steaks and pasta dishes. They make their fettuccine sauce fresh in house so my daughter got that. I tried the garlic shrimp and it was way better than expected. The place is small and parking can be tricky but it was easy enough to find and inside was clean and server was friendly. We ordered everything to go but were given fresh chips and guacamole while we waited. Guacamole was fantastic Ultimately came for Mexican but ended up with different seafood and pasta dishes and was pleasantly surprised. Food was good and worth trying especially if you're looking for variety and can't decide

I came here on a rainy weekend to grab food before Monterey Bay Aquarium. There's a small parking…read morelot, parking felt a little tight but was still able to find parking. I ordered my food via the kiosk/apps. The food came out quickly like how I would expect with any McDonalds. There's plenty of booth seating/table for the kids. It felt like a pretty spacious interior too. I did have to ask for a couple items on the side which took them awhile so a little slower on that part. Overall, it was a pleasant experience and it satisfied my trip for a fast food meal with McDonalds.

A little disappointed at the customer service in the front window and the way my drink looks. You…read morewould think they would do their best at making it look like the picture.. I guess not. Part of me is wondering if switching from small to a medium at the SPEAKER is what cause it to look like this. Either way I didn't change the order at the window I caught it at the speaker after she asked if my order looked ok. I even apologized to the order taker since I noticed the twenty cent difference, to lighten the mood. Definitely felt lack of customer service from Star (the order taker). The gal at the second window had a great smile. Very positive energy. Need customer service like her, but definitely still disappointed at the way I received my drink.

I ordered chili, baked potato and single Dave sandwich. Food was great taste. I just had the same…read moreorder at the airport recently in Seattle and it was as good as the airport hood. Excellent location and the ambience is Spanish music. Very sunny place. Flooded with light. If it entertaining, you can sit here and look around. The place was clean. Restrooms were clean even though outdated. The young people working very very polite and they took their time to ask me the question twice when I did not understand them. Even my wife now is liking Wendy's, and she is new to USA.

I get it's late, but the guy who took my order tonight was crazy out of line. "Everything" I…read moreordered they happened to be out of but we still got the item? I asked for a frosty, didn't have the toppings which is fine so I switched it, then I ask for a Dr Pepper and they don't have that... but he added it anyways and we ended up with it. Then I ask for a chocolate frosty instead and get a sigh, but he adds it after saying they're just out of that too! Then I ask to add another drink and ANOTHER BIG DRAMATIC SIGH and "we don't have that" okay... so say that. He literally sighed into the intercom multiple times instead of explaining anything, so rude and condescending.

Sur Burger is a very good place to eat if you want hamburgers! There french fries are amazing and…read morethere hamburgers are also amazing! The service is also excellent but i would not recommend bringing in any outside food. The Ambiance is also great it really feels like your in Monterey especially when you are looking out the window! When i went to sur burger it was a very good experience, I don't know what the one star reviews are talking about! But if you are planning to go to sur burger I would not recommend ordering any but there burgers the chicken strips ate not as good.

This place was REALLY good. If you're looking for a great burger, look no further. Seriously, this…read moreis probably the best burger I've had in a long time.Three of us ordered the Sur Bacon Burger, which is basically their regular cheeseburger with bacon added. The patty was a solid size, not too thick and not too thin. It was the perfect thickness, giving you a great balance of meat, cheese, and toppings in every bite. Everything is made fresh to order, and you can tell. The lettuce was crisp, the tomatoes were fresh, the grilled onions were perfect, and the whole thing was put together so well. It wasn't messy, just a quality burger from the first bite to the last.My son got The Works, and if you saw his burger, you'd understand why he cleaned his plate. The food came out fresh, hot, and looked amazing. They really take the time to make everything look picture-worthy. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, the wait wasn't long at all, and they have self-serve fountain drinks, which is always a plus. The menu is simple and easy to order from. They have salads, chicken burgers, hamburgers, and you can customize your burger however you like. Their burgers are cooked medium-well by default, but I asked for mine well-done and they got it exactly right. The customer service was cool.They weren't over the top trying to impress you, but they definitely weren't underperforming either. Everyone was chill, friendly, and got the job done. The portions are generous. I only finished half my burger and took the rest home. I reheated it later and it was still just as delicious. Overall Rating: 8.7/ 10. This place has officially earned a spot on my list of go-to burger spots. I'll definitely be back!

This was our first time eating here. We ordered and the food came out quickly and it was so hot…read more Everything tasted fresh and very well done. The portions were very big so we had to take it in a to go box because we were so full. I would eat here again when I am in this town.

The outside of the restaurant looked very small and it's tucked away on the corner of the street,…read morebut the inside was beautifully decorated, clean, and very well kept. We were able to get a table right away without a reservation, and our food came out really quickly! The service was amazing. Everyone was friendly, attentive, and made the experience really enjoyable. I ordered the fish and chips, and while the dish was good overall, I personally wasn't a huge fan of the fries. Other than that, I had a great experience and would definitely come back to try something else!

Loved this place that was recommended via a friend of a friend. I had the shrimp fajita taco (2)…read morewhich were delicious. Fresh corn tortillas, great seasoning, well cooked shrimp. And their salsa is delicious. Next time I'll be trying their molé! Casual dining with a comfortable atmosphere. Order at counter, they'll bring it to your table.

Where do I begin... First off, I'm highly disappointed and feel betrayed by the high reviews of…read morethis restaurant. I felt safe to eat here thinking it was more on the authentic side of Mexican food, but I have to remind myself to look at the reviews closely before deciding on eating at a place. I had ordered 1 Gordita, 1 Burrito Gordo (Asada), and 1 Huarache. The Gordita had probably to be one of the worst Gorditas I ate in my entire life. The tortilla was very hard and dry, practically snapping off when I took a piece off. The next was the meat... very, very dry and quite bland. I don't know how this restaurant cooks their meat, but I'm assuming they overcooked it by the lack of moisture. The cheese inside was also disappointing, not much flavor to it nor had a fresh taste to it. I tried saving the dryness of the Gordita by adding salsa to it, that didn't help at all. The green salsa wasn't spicy (or at least had a kick to it) and didn't really taste like tomatillos, so I tried adding the red salsa to see if it was any different, not really. If you closed your eyes, you wouldn't really tell the difference between the two. Now moving onto our next dish, the burrito. I'll keep this one short. Asada was bland, dryer than a dessert, and even with the salsa and sour cream on it, couldn't save my mouth from the dryness I experienced. So if you read this review of mine, thank you, and I totally understand how hard it is to make Mexican food in this area considering a lot of the ingredients needed aren't easy to come by or the cuts of meat, so if you ever feel like eating Mexican remind yourself what can you eat here that you know I'll taste good. Kat signing out :3

It's pretty good. My German friend liked the single charburger more than the In-N-Out cheeseburger,…read morewhich I'd have to agree with. The meat tastes a bit better at The Habit. I really like their range of selections on the menu, as well as the fact that they offer two lemonades and two teas in addition to their soda fountain. The condiment selection is also pretty freakin thorough. The manager here was a nice guy who chatted with us a bit and gave some advice on meal choices. The Santa Barbara char I ordered was pretty heavy and huge. I was slightly turned off by the buttery sourdough bread--it just made the thing feel a little greasier than necessary. It was really filling, I almost felt sick after putting the whole thing down (which I probably shouldn't have done). All-in-all, this "The Habit" location is pretty good. It's clean and tidy, they get food out quickly, and they even have a drive-thru. Maybe only eat 1/2 the Santa Barbara char if you order it.

Almost always a lengthy wait time here, but the food is great. The service is standard.read more

This was great! We came hungry an hour before they closed and they sat and served us right away…read more The seafood pho is generous with the meats and the broth is yum yum yum. We also got the calamari and it was super fresh. You can tell it's homemade too bc the same rings were in the pho. Would easily come back!

For the price especially, pretty decent Vietnamese food. The specialty drinks are a little pricey…read moreand wouldn't recommend the tamarind, it was over the top. The jasmine green milk tea was also not a favorite. But rice plates were great. Heard the noodle broth was a bit too oily for a friend.

Visiting from LA, I honestly didn't expect to find great birria tacos, but Mission 19 Taqueria…read moreproved me wrong. The birria tacos looked amazing in the photos, so I decided to give them a try. My kids loved them and immediately asked for more. What really stood out to me was the tortilla, it had a nice crunch that made the tacos even better. The Salsa Roja was absolutely fire and paired perfectly with the tacos. I would definitely eat here again. My only suggestion would be to have lemons, onions, and cilantro available near the sauce station. That said, if you ask, they'll gladly give you more. The prices are a little on the high side, but I'm assuming that's because of the location. Personally, I don't mind paying extra for quality birria tacos. If you're looking for good birria tacos, I highly recommend giving this place a try.

The inside of the building is not very clean. Where they have a stand of salsas and pico, is very…read moredirty as well. I was not greeted when walking in, and had to take my own order on a self check kiosk. The food came out hot, and the chips were seasoned with a good flavor. The prices are high for the items. $30+ dollars without a drink for one person.