My husband and I's favorite place we ate at during our last Monterey trip. We wish we lived nearby to support by going weekly - so stop by for us and enjoy! The staff were incredibly kind and made it feel like we were eating at a friend's house. It was so welcoming and cozy. The food was also delicious - my first time trying dolmades and I haven't found a place that does it like they do since. Perfectly compact and delicious. Their raspberry tea was also just sooooo good. I was happy to take it to go and drink on my walk along the beach. Highly recommend. This is a perfect brunch spot - or a little dessert spot for some delicious baklava- it was so good that it was consumed in seconds. Also wanted to compliment their pristine restroom, which isn't a shock because their restaurant is also pristine. Thanks international cafe - can't wait for my next trip to Monterey!! read more

See all

We are so glad we found this place during a late lunch ! Service was friendly and food was out quick. I felt that the ingredients used were fresh and good quality! Don't skip out if you need a quick and good lunch ! read more

International Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

My second visit to Int'l Cafe but this time to actually "eat". Had the gyro plate. VERY good food, reasonable price and friendly owner. Their items are limited but worth it. Tried their baklava. It was DELISH. Had to order another to-go. Definitely looking forward to the next visit. Suggestion: you have to try their dolmas. read more

International Cafe - Hummus - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

Hidden gem! Stopped in for lunch, food comes out quickly and portions are generous for the area, flavor of the combo shawarma was amazing and even though I eat a lot I almost couldn't finish it. Turkish coffee was also nice and strong. No complaints, was a great stop while I was downtown running errands. read more

International Cafe - Combo shawarma plate - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California

3.5 stars Ambience: Definitely looks like they took over an old Subway. Food: The $16 Gyro combo was affordable, delicious, but perhaps a little light. I tacked on two different types of baklava that I've never tried before. Definitely loved the 'Turkish Baklava' over the Greek or Middle Eastern. No fillo dough. Plus two small sodas clearly meant for Greece, an Orangina knock off and a green apple soda. $14 for the privilege. I wouldn't say the gyro combo stood apart from the many others I've tried but it was at least as good. read more

International Cafe - Gyro Conbo with beef+lamb - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California

I had a great experience at International Cafe--one of the very few halal dining options in Monterey, especially in the evening. The location is super convenient, just a short distance from Old Fisherman's Wharf, making it a solid choice for dinner after 7:30 PM when halal options are limited. The restaurant is family-owned and operated, and you can really feel that in the warm, welcoming atmosphere. The place was clean, vibrant, and had a nice energy to it. We ordered the combo shawarma plate and the falafel shawarma plate--both were freshly made and full of flavor. Everything tasted great. I also tried the lamb and beef gyro, and while it had that distinct lamb aroma (which I personally don't prefer), that's completely on me--not a fault of the restaurant at all. We wrapped up the meal with Turkish coffee, and it was fantastic--rich, authentic, and the perfect ending. Overall, a great halal spot in Monterey with fresh food, a welcoming vibe, and excellent coffee. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area! read more

International Cafe - Turkish Coffee - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

Gloria the owner was such a breath of fresh air in the world today! Her restaurant feels like a cozy welcoming home. The gyro sandwiches were so delicious. I highly recommend the hummus/babaganoush 10/10!!! Turkish coffee was a unique experience. We also enjoyed a fun game of mancala! If you're looking for a place that values community, delicious food, and supporting Palestine this is your place! read more

International Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California

Eating here makes you feel like you're at your grandma's house. The food is clearly cooked with love and perfected with decades of experience. We got a little of everything... The lemon chicken soup was a hit with my kid who doesn't like lemons, the gyro meat is properly thick with no fatty pieces, and the Turkish coffee and baklava for desert was the icing on our cake. We will for sure be back. read more

The food is good and the price is right. My family of vegetarians enjoyed the falafel and hummus wraps. Very tasty and the service was quick. read more

Our server was amazing and provided great recommendations for us. Hummus was good, pizza was ok. The dessert was amazing. Ambiance was quiet. Would recommend read more

International Cafe - 10" pepperoni hot honey pizza - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

Summary: a delightful catering experience with generous portions of flavorful food and wonderful communication and service. We wanted to cater a large family dinner (~15 guests) at the vacation rental we were staying at for a family wedding. I contacted Gloria at International Cafe via phone and was able to get immediate feedback that: 1) yes, they could cater our dinner event about a week later, 2) yes, they could accommodate our Mediterranean menu requests, and 3) no, we were not crazy for thinking we could do this all in the budget we had in mind (a restaurant in Carmel was incredulous when we gave them our ideal budget). Gloria was prompt and thorough emailing me the menu options that fit our vision, and it was super easy to communicate via email to refine and and finalize the menu. Gloria gave us helpful feedback to round out the menu and was very flexible when we asked for something beyond the menu options provided. When we picked up the food trays for our event, there was a minor hiccup where one tray did not get picked up. Gloria immediately reached out and had her delivery guy bring the missing tray to our vacation rental. She went above and beyond to remedy the situation quickly, and it was so appreciated. The food was beautifully arranged, and the portions were so generous that we were able to enjoy leftovers for lunch the following day as well. The crowd favorites were the soft and fluffy falafels, smoky and smooth baba ghanouj, and tender gyros. We were absolutely satisfied with our experience catering from International Cafe and would not hesitate to cater again for any event in the area. I wish every catering experience was this easy, delightful, and delicious! read more

International Cafe - Catering order for 15 (falafel, gyros, chicken, mezze, rice, lavash, and roasted veggies) - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

Friendly service, fresh food. Nice to stop in for a quick bite between browsing at the local shops

Delicious food, awesome Turkish coffee, and best of all, amazing customer service!!! Gloria has such a bright and helpful personality and was amazing with recommendations. We had the "Shutdown Special" which was 2 gyros and a Greek salad. The gyros were so good - the pita was lightly pressed so it was warm, soft yet toasty; the beef/lamb was moist, and had the perfect amount of tzatziki sauce and red onions to top off. The Greek salad was fresh and delicious as well! We also had the Turkish coffee and mint yogurt drink, so good!!! To top it off, the Turkish pistachio baklava and pistachio ricotta cheesecake were AMAZING!!! Definitely saved this spot for next time we're in Monterey. Thank you for the wonderful time Gloria!!! read more

See all

Having met the owner Gloria at her International Market also located on Lighthouse Ave I was eager to try their new restaurant and I stopped by to order my favorite Gyro with beef and lamb as a Wrap. The atmosphere here is friendly and inviting. My order was taken quickly by a personable young man and I ordered it to go. My food was prepared promptly and as specified and I opted to sit and try a few bites, but it was so tasty I ate the whole Gyro while sitting there. Gloria arrived while I was there and we engaged in a lively discussion about the community and her business. This cafe is warm and inviting and has a nice family oriented atmosphere located next to a lovely park on the corner where customers can opt to go eat outside. I am looking forward to trying some other items on the menu. There are homemade bakery items such as Baklava and yummy looking cakes in the front display. I'll post some pictures next time I visit. If you are looking for a nice variety of international foods with a Mediterranean flavor this is an excellent location featuring unique items such as Turkish coffee, dolmas and plates with chicken Shawarma, and other interesting offerings. I cannot wait to sample many other items Gloria and her husband have to offer. Come try this newer establishment to taste a variety of international fare with very reasonable prices; you will find that you will be treated like family. read more

The gyros were good overall. The temperature of the meat was a not hot, just warm. Flavor was great. Service was fine, not great. Ambiance is okay. read more

Went here for lunch and a pleasant experience. This location has been open for a week through soft openings. The folks serving food and waiting on customers are very nice, and took the time to explain every menu item. They have WiFi if you want to sit and work on projects and they have ample space. They serve Turkish coffee. They have Arab, Turkish & Asian fare. The bathrooms are very clean, but no high chairs for the kids. As for the food itself, I had the lamb/beef gyro (spicy style). It was very good. It came with cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and sauce. It was really good. My friend had a falafel and it was delightful. I will definitely be back to try other menu items. read more

See all

We actually walked by this place on the way to another. When we found the target place was take out only, we back tracked here. Thank God we did. The food was awesome. I had the Gyro wrap and helped my wife with her veggie platter. I used to work in Dearborn, Michigan with dozens of outstanding middle eastern establishments nearby. The food here would stand up to any of them. Highly recommended. The service is not quick, but it's worth the wait. read more

We stopped in at the International Market and tried to order gyro, and that's how we found out about the café a few blocks down! The owner offered to call in our orders ahead while we walked down to the café--so nice of her! The gyros were waiting, and they were delicious. The tzatziki sauce is excellent, and the pita was so soft and fluffy. Support this family business! Your tummy and your taste buds will thank you. read more

We ordered the combo plate through the website, which indicated that rice was included. When we picked up the order, there was no rice. We asked the person behind the counter and were told that rice is not included, despite what the website stated. The chicken, beef, and hummus were average at best, though the presentation was nice. We also ordered the Greek baklava. While the flavor was good, there was very little filling. This was our first and last visit. read more

Got a falafel and fries: the fries were good. Fresh hot and crispy with a little seasoning that was a nice addition. The falafel was probably the worst I've ever had unfortunately. The balls were dry and tasted double fried. There were pickles and a bitter tasting green sauce and just a smattering if lettuce.. The bread wasn't very fresh. Probably not coming back. The ladies up front were very sweet, but service was slow. Restaurant was very warm, but the dining area was nice. read more

I had placed an order ahead of time and when I got there, they had not even started on it... I was patient though as it was my first time and I was so excited to try it. All of their food and desserts looked yummy. Now onto the food... I got their veggie platter and it was not good. The falafels were so plain and flavorless. They were soaked in oil and tasted like it. The pita tasted store-bought. The hummus had a strong smokey taste to it, not my favorite. The dolmas and tabouleh were fine... I ended up throwing most of it away. Service was the only good thing but I wouldn't recommend this spot. Food: 5/10 Service: 8/10 read more

5 stars for great food, great customer service, family oriented environment ! recommend eating their shawarma, drinking their coffee and spending time whenever your in the area ! read more

Really good food and friendly service. Gyro was tasty as well as the Shawrma. Great selection of baklava too read more

This review is for weekend take out. Pics included to evidence food and sadly things are fresh but absolutely do not taste good. Anyways not sure if take out is the cause of how terrible things were but regardless I'm never coming back. First, I'm very sorry to give this a 1/5 because the service is friendly and fast but the food is by far the most terrible I've ever had on the peninsula and close to the worst thing I ever put in my mouth. Zero flavor, over cooked, and just tastes wrong. I really want to be honest because the 5 star votes on here led me to believe this place was amazing but i feel completely misled. First I was actually tempted to throw out everything and get a mcds after this...and know that I never waste food and am not a huge mcds fan. Secondly, what I was eating... Avgolemono - 0/5 absolutely inedible sour mess. Chicken is way over cooked and tastes like they dumped a vat of cheap lemon juice in the broth. Broth is sour, flavorless and dull. Beef schwarma - 1/5 super dry, super over cooked, super gristly and barely any real flavor. Hummus - 2/5 flavorless, and swimming in way too much oil that is also flavorless. I have a jar of tahini in the back of my fridge that is jam packed with toasted sesame flavor and they obviously did not use that. Baba ganoush - 3/5 okay, smokey and standard. Nothing to write home about Tabbouhle - 3.5/5 normal and fresh Pita - 3.5/5 decent but obviously store bought Dolma - 4/5 decent enough but not outstanding Beans -4/5 sadly the best thing from today but it's literally like canned pork and beans without the pork fat and huge beans instead The above sounds unkind but again it takes a genuine lack of passion and talent to make fresh ingredients taste this bad and bland. And if I made this in my own kitchen I would be horrified and ashamed to serve it to anyone. So a recap that the food wasn't just terrible, it wasn't cheap, it wasn't worth the time struggling with difficult parking and is definitely not worth the 5 star rating. On this I'm not sure how they'll survive in Monterey with real restaurants around them. But I decided to post this review to be fair and to reflect the ugly truth: you should eat elsewhere. It's not doing places that are legitimately good, like epsilon, dametras restaurant, and petras any justice to be nice to places like this as their own ratings are lower than International Cafe. On this please rate for **food** people because you cannot eat customer service. read more

See all

Such lovely people running this cafe. they've always been really helpful and sweet. We usually get the Turkish Delights but we tried the Baklava this time and it did not disappoint! Every time you take a bite it's like the flavor explodes in your mouth. Succulent! They used to be at the market but now they're down the street where Subway used to be fyi! read more

International Cafe - Baklava! - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

The food was fantastic! Great drinks! Wonderful service!!! So happy we decided to eat here. We definitely recommend!!!!!

Clean atmosphere, delicious food, and wonderful people. My favorite thing to order is the gyro and avogolemono soup!

The shawarma needed more flavor. The ambiance and pricing seemed okay. Employees were very nice to customers.

I ordered the Falafel Plate and it was well prepared and delicious. It came with a salad and the Pita Bread was warm as well. It's an excellent combo for the price. I will be back here again in the future. The service was fast and the cafe has a warm ambiance. Highly recommended. read more

See all

Clean, fast, friendly, delicious food at a reasonable price. I stopped by for a beef & lamb gyro and a baklava. It was delicious! There are different types of baklava, one that has the syrup poured over if you're a fan of sweeter desserts and a less sweet version. Ask them to differentiate... I forgot which was which.. The only thing I'd do differently at my next visit is ask for more cucumbers and tomatoes in my gyro. Maybe a side of yogurt to drown my gyro in - its just sooooo refreshing and balances out the savory meat. Highly recommend! read more

Amazing food and service. I've had meals all over the Middle East, and this dinner took me back there. Can't wait to go back. read more

International Cafe - Iftar menu - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

Probably my new favorite place at the moment. This has a variety of middle eastern, Greek, and Russian fare. They have by far the best gyro plate and gyro meat I've had in the area. Everything is made in house and is very fresh. The lamb and beef gyro meat was the tastiest I've had and would recommend either the sandwich or the plate version. They also sell different flavors of Turkish delight, which is hard to get fresh. It kind of has a chipotle style order system where you can order from the menu and they can make the plate right there and you order right at the cash register. They have their own parking lot as well so parking is easy. The two times I've been here. The staff were very nice and helpful. The same owners own international café grocery store that is about two or three blocks further down lighthouse. That location also sells food, but this is just a bigger space with an expanded menu. Pita is fresh, dolmas were excellent and i'm excited to try their vegetarian options like the falafel. read more

Food does not taste good in my opinion. Only coffee was good. Shawarma was not flavorful and hummus and baba ganoush was very sub par.

Delicious food, plenty of parking space, friendly staff, nice clean and cozy atmosphere and a great location. A nice addition to the Monterey area. read more

See all

As former locals, we eat here every time we visit the Monterey Peninsula, and it NEVER disappoints! Varied menu, lots of Mediterranean choices but also salads, burgers, seafood, and meats. Truly a family small business with warm and efficient service, a real pleasant ambience, good prices. The food comes fast, you can linger long as you like, and free & easy parking in a charming downtown area of PG. Gawd I wish we had this place here in Walnut Creek! read more

The food was very very good and was at a good price. The service was excellent employees were very friendly and very helpful in explaining the international cuisine. The cafe was very clean and comfortable. Larry Underwood read more

Beautiful place beautiful people absolutely lovely. I can't recommend it enough. The food was incredible as well.

We came here for lunch because I love Mediterranean food and they had a 4.5 star rating on yelp. I have no idea how they got that rating because our food was very bland, "cold" drinks were served warm (the "display" refrigerator they came out of was turned off for some reason and the staff said they didn't have any in another fridge), meat was very bland, not hot at all but dry and tough, spanakopita was not crispy or warm or flavorful same with the falafel. There was no smell or sound of food cooking in the "kitchen" so I think this was all cooked well in advance and maybe microwaved to order? Though our food didn't even seem hot enough to have been microwaved. I wasn't going to leave a review but then the following happened. A family was next to us eating their meal and their kid started having an allergic reaction or something. Pretty soon the kid was outside struggling to breathe and gagging. Mom said they would probably have to go to the emergency room. When they came back in the father asked if any of their food had any sesame seeds in it. The staff member said flatly "no". I was sitting next to them thinking about it and realize that nearly every dish we ordered had tahini in it. I told them that and they couldn't believe that the staff didn't know tahini was made from sesame seeds. Pros: clean bathroom, parking lot, pickles were pretty good. read more

from the moment we walked in, everything was wonderful. friendly employees, wonderful food, great atmosphere. we had the veggie plate, falafel plate, and chicken shawarma plate. everything was fresh and delicious. we tried the apricot soda as well, on the sweet side but good taste. for dessert we had profiterole chocolate cake and raspberry chocolate cake. both so rich and tasty! we spoke with the owner for a while about food and how it connects people. don't miss this spot! we will be back next time we are in town. read more

Insanely good, insanely fresh l. They serve a huge amount of food and have other amazing products. Check out their grocery store as well down the street. read more

International Cafe - $20 combo plate comes with three huge pitas - Cafes Near Me - Monterey, California