The Fish Hopper

Name: The Fish Hopper
Address: 700 Cannery Row, Monterey, California 93940
Phone: (831) 372-8543
Web site: FishHopper.com
Date & Time visited: Sunday, September 30, 2007 2:30 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: clam chowder (Jen and I each had a cup), crab salad sandwich (Jen), child-size fish and chips (me)

The clam chowder was really excellent, and in fact the restaurant has a counter outside offering sample cups, and that's what drew us in. Jen's crab salad sandwich was huge, and she could only finish about half of it. I helped her out a little bit, but I was already less that completely starving which is why I'd ordered the kid-size fish & chips. The fish was pretty standard breaded fish filet and the chips (fries) were decent. Nothing special, really, but good.

Service: Good. The server had no problem with my request to order the child-size meal. Drink refills were a little slow in coming.

Would we go back: Probably, when we're in Monterey.

Domenico's

Name: Domenico's
Address: 50 Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey, California 93940
Phone: (831) 372-3655
Web site: www.restauranteur.com/domenicos
Date & Time visited: Saturday, April 9, 2005, 9:00 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Caesar salad, Crab-stuffed Salmon [me], Filet Mignon [Jen], Creme Brulee.

Service: Fair. At least twenty minutes passed between placing our order and the server arriving with the table-side Caesar salad makings. After that, though, the rest of the meal went smoothly. However, a large and boisterous party next to us made the first half of our meal less than pleasant. After they left, the innate atmosphere of the restaurant became more apparent.

The crab-stuffed salmon was excellent, and Jennifer tells me her steak was among the best she'd had. The Caesar salad was, as noted, prepared tableside in the traditional manner. The vanilla Creme Brulee dessert was also very good.

Would we go back: Yes. This was a birthday dinner for Jennifer and despite the problems described above, we quite enjoyed our visit.