Monterey Coast Brewing Company

If you want a good burger, this is not the place. 1. the restaurant has a very old, stuffy smell to it. 2. My burger was so charred, that it just tasted super salty. I’ve had frozen burgers that tasted better.

Great little spot for a burger, salad, beer. Friendly efficient staff. Wish we weren’t driving and we could try all the brew!

It’s been a really long time since I’ve given a place one star. The one star is for our server, who was very nice.
Gross things:
The carpet smelled (and looked) like it was in a flood in 1978 and never replaced.
The décor is dated and hideous.
The beers were actually terrible. Like legitimately foul.
We didn’t get food and didn’t plan to, but I probably would have decided against it anyway after sitting in that carpet smell.
I’m sorry Monterey Coast, but you should probably consult with someone to upgrade your… everything.

Wonderful warm service and delicious food & brews. We order the calamari appetizer which is always served hot and crispy. All of the pizzas on the menu are sure to delight your tastebuds. The pasta dishes are phenomenal as well! They usually have lobster or crab in them. I highly recommend trying the artichoke soup. One of the seasonal summer brews is made with cherry and it is the best I have ever had.

I’ve never explored this part of Salinas before and decided to give this place a try. I’m not a huge beer person but the atmosphere was very welcoming. I decided to try a beer and was surprised to find that I really liked it. I ordered a pizza and my friend ordered a burger to go along with the beer. No complaints about the food, but it wasn’t amazing either. It was average. The staff was very friendly and checked up on us a lot to make sure everything was going well. They were very nice and caring.
If you decide to give this place a try, I suggest getting a window seat. The view is very pretty and feels very historical.

Just a few bites from our full review —
«Turned out that Castroville nearby is the Artichoke Capital of the World, so we had to explore it in more detail.»
«Even the medium bodied IPA variety was not over to top — toasted caramel at the nose and, just at the finishing line, some toffee flavors.»
«We did enjoy the environment though, the table with rough grain wood added to the rustic feel as well as the old brick walls with beer label murals painted over with the texture of the brick showing.»

Monterey Coastal Brewing Company is more like an overpriced chain restaurant than your typical idea of a craft brewery. I went for the primary purpose for dinner and not for the beer, so this review is focused on the food, service and at most.
When I browsed the menu and saw very traditional food with a high price, I knew not to expect much. I was correct in assuming the food would not be much to write home about but it was good, especially when everyone in my party was tired and just needed food. In our group, the burger, salmon and artichoke penne pasta were ordered. The burger was solid but the salmon was the best thing ordered, even if it did look a little sad and lonely on the big plate. The pasta was ok; the sauce was pretty watered down.
The food was solid enough for me to give three stars, but if this review was in the service alone it would be 2 stars. The server appeared friendly, but turned out to not be attentive and a bit passive aggressive. He brought the wrong pasta originally, and after 5 minutes we were able to flag him down to tell him. He then accused me of ordering wrong in a passive aggressive way, went to reorder the dish and later came back to say «well my notes were scribbles so I guess it was my fault.» Umm, yes it was! Everyone at the table heard what I ordered and the waiter was the one who heard it incorrectly. On top of that, there was no apology and they didn’t comp the pasta even though everyone else at the table had finished eating my the time my pasta arrived. Safe to say, I have no desire to go back here.

We had the Tri-​Tip sandwich and Burger and both were good. We will be back…

We came to Salinas to enjoy Steinbeck Country and right between Steinbeck House and the National Steinbeck Center we found this gem. Great atmosphere, friendly service and delicious food and drink – it was a fantastic experience.

Their Christmas Belgian was amazing, just what I wanted in a fresh Belgian. Only four stars because it saving one for food, I’ll be back. A great reason to check out the underrated Salinas Old Town.
I bought a Growler filled with IPA. Refills are only 8 bucks on Thursdays!

This place feels old, looks old, even smells like an old building. However old it may strike me, it was clean and the two waiter/​bar staff handled the lunch crowd with ease. The beer was good no matter how much I wish that they had a stout on tap like their wall said they did. The bar area isn’t frilly yet the style of the bar with its rough wood edges, dusty pendant lighting casting itself upon a simple row of taps closely surrounded with growlers and wine offerings speaks of a simplicity that doesn’t need flash to be good. As for the beer specifically, it’s not cut from the same cloth as Peter b’s or Alvarado street brewing in Monterey. It’s a bit more like English Ales in Marina but a with a larger bar and menu. For better or worse, I’m glad it’s here and I hope it remains a bit dusty and rough around the edges. It’s great for what it is and where it is. If you find yourself disappointed, go to the theater next door or the pub just down the street.

Had dinner here before watching a movie at the neighboring Maya Cinemas. The service was very good but the food left much to be desired.
We ordered:
1) Calamari– tasted like the squid was battered with salt, deep fried in brine, and then they dashed a little salt on it for good measure.
2) Wife had the Salmon dish and she also complained that it was too salty.
3) I had the Ravioli and good grief. It was so damn salty. I even got the garlic bread with cheese and at an extra 4 bucks, it looked like a 3 year old that over dosed on sugar cooked it.
I understand that you are a brewery and you want the food to be salty so people can buy more beer because the saltiness induces thirst but tone down on the sodium.
I would have given this place 1 stars but the great staff made it a 2.

The bf and I were staying the night in Salinas so, as usual, we were out hunting for some food and brews. Monterey Coast popped up on Unilocal and off we went. It was a quiet Sunday night on Main Street but there were a couple tables as well as some patrons at the bar.
I ordered the Scottish Red and the bf ordered the … Winter/​Christmas beer? I forget… but something like that. The beers were highly average. Very distinct ‘restaurant/​brewery’ taste. It wasn’t bad but it also wasn’t good. It was nice to just sit down with a beer though.
Highlight though was the BBQ Chicken Pizza that we shared. It was hot and fresh. Even the individual ingredients on the pizza tasted freshly picked and made. We gobbled down the whole pizza like it was nothing. Would eat again.
Our server was super friendly — he was all smiles! :) Average prices. About $ 16 – 18 for a shareable pizza! I probably won’t be back just because I’m never in this area. But if I was, I would come back to see if the quality holds in the other delicious sounding food options!

Always want to like it here but it just never is that great. My mom ordered a cup of soup and they forgot it. When I told the server to be sure not to charge us since she never received it (when she brought out the entrees,) she just said OK. No «oh I’m sorry, would you like it now?» Or even «I’m sorry!» Just, «Oh ok.» My husband feels like the burgers are made in advance and heated in the microwave. Beer is just OK. We will probably come again but only because it’s better than the two places nearby.

Good selections of beers… And tri tip is amazing! A must try. My BF had some type of chicken pasta… It’s still pretty good but not amazing.
Fried artichoke heart is also good but portion is a bit small.
Overall, a good brewery with good food.

I’ve an affinity for craft breweries so I expected to like this place. The business felt tired. The beautiful building seemed sad inside. Maybe it was the absence of people on this Sunday afternoon, the lackluster barmaid, or the limited beer offering. Given that the taps of interest were out, we were forced to select from one of their guest beers. At least they offered a stout we know and like but overall a disappointment because we’d deliberately sought out Monterey Coast Brewing for their own brews. Restrooms were so dirty that we finished our beers and went elsewhere to dine.

I don’t usually leave reviews to places I dine in at but for this place I’ll make an exception. I went to this not really expecting much out of it but to just eat and leave, and as a fellow server myself I understand the struggle between trying to keep every table happy and this establishment in my opinion hit the nail on the head. All of the wait staff treated each table as if it were they own and you can tell they were all eager to help each other out which is rare to find so kudos to them for finding a professional and attentive wait staff.
Now about the food, I ordered the BBQ tri-​tip sandwich and honestly it was simple yet tasty which I love. I’m all about exploring options but this sandwich was nice and lean and well cooked so kudos to the cooks!
All in all would definitely recommend this place and look forward to coming back.

I love the brewery concept, but this place could use a visit from Robert Irvine. My first recommendation to future diners… do not use the restroom before eating. You get a smelly peek into the kitchen and storage areas. If you’re not bothered by the rancid smell of an old mop, and really filthy surfaces, you should be fine. However, if a restaurant is okay letting the public see and smell the filth, I’m left wondering what’s in the kitchen that I can’t see.
My husband and I each got a sandwich. They were okay. I can’t say anything positive about the potato salad, except wth was that!
The servers were friendly, and they serve okay beer that gave me a little buzz… that’s why they are getting two stars.

The food and the service were really good here. I had the marinated artichoke and the (I can’t remember the name) salad with beets. I didn’t realize Salinas was big on artichokes so when the bartender explained the deal to me, I had to at least try one, and I definitely was not disappointed. The artichoke was enormous! I definitely shouldn’t have ordered the salad because even though you don’t eat 90% of an artichoke, it was actually pretty filling.
The best part is the flight– 9 beers as a standard flight? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. The beers were pretty good– I liked the hef, blonde and the cherry best.

Solid food and taps here at MCBC.
We ordered crab cakes, grilled prawns, soup, and some fish risotto. The mister liked his fish and I enjoyed my soup. The crab cakes were interesting, I can’t tell if I enjoyed them or not. The grilled prawns were very tasty.
Being away from home just for one day can make me home sick quickly, even though I’m on vacation. I’m a staycation type of person. Checking out the beer menu, I was so excited to find the hefenwiezen. A German beer I usually get at Iron Press in Costa Mesa. Thank the heavens for a little bit of home comforts 400 miles away!!!
Our server was super nice and sweet. She came by got our order quickly, got food out quickly, and was just very attentive during our visit. I definitely recommend coming to Monterey Coast Brewing if you’re in the area!