Beach Resort Monterey: Dining at the Cafe Beach Restaurant

CAFÉ BEACH IS THE PEARL OF THE BEACH RESORT MONTEREY OYSTER.
Mar 30, 2006
By Alex Gilrane

Sea of Cheers: The only thing rivaling the view at Café Beach are the entrees.— Mark C. Anderson

Here is a Peninsula treasure that may be more familiar to out-of-towners than to locals.

Café Beach is located in the Beach Resort Monterey. Apparently, visitors have been enjoying the creativity and expertise of Chef Jose Velasquez and his staff for ages (he’s been at he restaurant for 14 years and been executive chef for more than eight), but we hadn’t discovered his place until last week.

Even though we traveled all of three miles from New Monterey to enjoy a meal there, it felt like a getaway, and reminded me why people save up all year to visit our hometown.

While unspectacular from the outside, the Beach Resort (which locals might know as the Best Western at the Seaside/Del Rey Oaks exit), is a nicely appointed property with a unique advantage: It sits “directly on the beach,” a fact its management is proud of.

Entering the lobby to find a few guests lounging before a fireplace in front of a wall of windows, I was, to tell the truth, pleasantly surprised by the loveliness of the view as well as the level of luxe. We wandered a bit in search of the restaurant, passing wooden artifacts, apparently Oceanic in origin, scattered attractively throughout. As we made our way up to the fourth floor, Penelope and I realized that it had been a little while since we were excited about the prospect of a restaurant meal.

It had been a weekend workday, and I’d looked forward to being waited on when it was over. As soon as we sat down at a window table, I felt a vacation-quality relaxation settling over me.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the window tables at Café Beach offer some of the nicest views available in the county. From the Seaside-side of our bay, Monterey delivers its most Mediterranean look. The mast-grove of the harbor, the twinkly town just beyond, and the darkening hills (Hey, there’s our house)—the view made me feel lucky. Sets of waves could be seen rolling in endlessly and crashing below.

The room itself is simple and handsome. It is longish and relatively narrow, and tables are arranged on three levels, so everyone in the house has full access to the wall of sea, city and sky.

The food at a place like this does not have to be good. Guests will come for the convenience, others for the windows. So here’s the secret treasure part: The food at Monterey Beach resort is superb.

In a beachy mood, Penelope and I each got a glass of white wine to start—hers a Pinot Grigio ($6.50) and mine a Sauvignon Blanc ($7.50). Then we did a smart thing—we ordered an appetizer off of the specials menu. I don’t know what I expected this ahi tuna tartar ($12.95) to be. Here’s what it was: Ingenious. Exciting. Magical. Life-affirming.

I’ll describe it from the plate up: a crispy fried wonton, topped with a small pile of tiny, jewel-like, diced, perfect ahi, topped with a small pile of mixed tiny-diced mango, cucumber and avocado, topped with a dab of wasabi and a few slices of picked ginger. And here’s the thing: sure, that’s a great idea, and maybe you think you could just steal the recipe and make it at home, but that brilliant recipe is only part of it. The ingredients have to be perfect, and the execution impeccable. I don’t think you can get ahi that good, or avocado at that perfect ripe-yet-firmness, or dice it to the exact right size. Chef Velasquez, or whoever was running the kitchen that night, nailed it. We were speechless.

After an appetizer that good, a couple of diners must be content to cruise through the rest of the meal without having their minds blown out of their heads; appetizers can be startlingly creative, salads and entrees, less so. The best one can hope for is perfection. And that’s what we got.

First we split a “Monterey” organic green salad with glazed walnuts, apples and optional gorgonzola ($8.45). Then I had the plantain-pistachio-crusted halibut, which was simple, elegant, perfect. Halibut, cooked impeccably, is moister and whiter that anything, and this was it. Penelope, all about the specials menu, got the Mahi Mahi Mexicali ($17.95), which came with avocado lime salsa. It did not make her moan, as the app did, but she was clearly satisfied.

I am told by a colleague that the Café Beach rocks at lunch, too, and a glance at the menu makes me eager to find out for myself. It’s not far from the office. What a racket. I feel sorry for everyone who doesn’t live here

BEST-KEPT SECRET| GO Magazine 2006
He said: Café Beach inside the Best Western Beach Resort, Monterey. Most people don't even realize a restaurant exists here, especially one with such stunning ocean views. The service is exceptional -- and the lounge provides live music.