Isabellas On the Wharf

The food (fish and chips) and drinks (margaritas) were very good and we had a beautiful view. We definitely would come back. The only reason we gave it 2 stars was because when we came in, there was a sign that said it would only be $ 9.95 each. When we got our bill it was $ 14.95. We asked our waiter and he said was $ 14.95. When left the sign was gone. We were NOT happy.

The location is nice and view was great, but the rib-​eye was the worst steak I have ever had. Over priced, but I had a great time with my family.

This is the first time I’ve ate at Isabella’s. We were seated upstairs and had a fantastic view! The waitress was very friendly and attentive.
My husband and I shared a clam chowder in a bread bowl (because we just can’t go to the bay and not eat clam chowder). The chowder was a bit different tasting that what we usually eat. I liked it but he thought it was a bit too garlic-​y.
For dinner we had the fish and chips. The fries are just a bit bigger than shoestring fries but they were really good. The fish was ok, nothing too special.
But then, THEN we ordered some cheesecake and coffee. I don’t think I’ve ever had a piece of cheesecake that was so good. It was just delicious!
I almost choked when I got the bill and saw that the cheesecake was $ 10 a slice but it was totally worth it.
I’ll be back for another slice next time I’m in the area!

The drinks were on special… happy hour. The service was pretty good (the server did spill a bit of oil and vinegar on one girls jacket by accident, however). My meal — fish and chips — was great. The cod was grilled, not fried, like I’d requested.
There are plenty of negative reviews that seem credible. I came in a large group so perhaps we were given special priority. It was a very enjoyable dinner mostly for the company.

Ironic as it is, I have a seafood allergy. Should I have been dining on the wharf? Maybe not, bit I live on the wild side. Anyways, when approaching I asked the gentleman at the door (who happened to be the owner) if they cooked their seafood items separately and explained my allergy. Not only did he inform his staff, my party and I were treated like royalty. They went as far as boiling the pots before preparing my food and using fresh oil to cook with. They sat us at a beautiful window table overlooking the water, and brought us roses. The food was magnificent, and I had no reactions. Amazing.
Nothing but the best.

This place was horrible. The tacky arrow flipping idiot outside the front door should have been adequate enough to scare us off, but the person I was with insisted. Sigh.
The interior of this place is disgusting. Torn, faded, casino carpet; tacky decorations that make it look like an old lady’s dungeon. Not to mention it’s location — right next to the place where the fishing boats dock. The smell of rotting fish and subsequent seal poop was overwhelming. We decided to sit outside. Mistake. No service at all for fifteen minutes. No water. Nothing. We finally ordered…
We ordered the clam chowder bread bowl and crab cakes. Both were mediocre and way overpriced. $ 12 for two miniature crab cakes — seriously? Then we had to wait for the check. We waited a full twenty minutes before going inside to find someone.
Our experience here was awful. This place is a tourist trap with poor service, dingy interiors and mediocre food. I don’t care if their chef won some award this year. He must have invented it and given it to himself.
Avoid at all costs.

To be perfectly honest, destiny (AKA a random thunderstorm) brought me to Isabella’s. One minute the sky was a typical NorCal gray; the next I was soaking wet with no helpful awning in sight. And then, out of the rainy fog, Isabella’s… And a cheery hostess wearing a red rain jacket and sunglasses.
Here’s the thing about Isabella’s: the entrees are not the main attraction. This seems silly, of course, but when you’re enjoy complimentary focaccia bread dipped in an olive oil blend at an upstairs table pressed against a giant window overlooking the bay… You’ll see why.
For what it’s worth, my entrée was a pretty tasty Pear, Gorgonzola, and Walnut Salad. I could’ve used more vinaigrette dressing, more Gorgonzola, and less superfluous helpings of spinach, but that’s probably more a testament to my unhealthy preferences than the salad’s deliciousness.
Seriously, it was a good salad, but I wouldn’t go back for it. I’d go back for that view. Make sure you ask for an upstairs table — and a window seat if any are available!

My husband and I and his two brothers visited this restaurant on 9÷1÷2013 and it was one of worst restaurant experiences we have ever had.
Besides a long wait (which was not a problem since we were not in a huge rush and had a great seat on the patio), the food was mediocre at best. Our real problem however came when we found a hair in my brother dish of coleslaw. Understanding that things like this sometimes happen, we politely asked for another dish of coleslaw. The waiter was very apologetic and quickly went to get another dish. My brother than proceeded to eat the entire new dish of coleslaw until he found at the bottom of the dish ANOTHER hair. And this one wasn’t hair from the head. It was disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
You would think the staff would have been proactive about appeasing us somehow; however that was not the case. So when the waiter brought the check we politely asked to remove the $ 12 meal since it had not 1, but two different plates of hair. The waiter left to speak with the manager and when he came back said the manager REFUSED to comp our meal, despite having been served hair TWICE (and we are also talking about a $ 12 burger, not a $ 30 steak).
It was only then that I got really frustrated and asked to speak with the manager. We had to wait another 10 minutes before the waiter said the manager was too busy to speak with us. Too busy to address a concern like being served hair in your food twice?! The waiter then said the manager was going to comp the meal because they didn’t feel like dealing with us.
If you are a worker or owner who reads these Unilocal reviews, I recommend looking up which manager was on duty Sunday afternoon on 9÷1÷2013. I think that manager needs some training on how to treat customers.
I would never come back here.

This place really pissed me off.
We were walking the pier and decided to stop and take advantage of the nice views and free dessert they were offering. Plus it was kid friendly. The greeter was so nice, we thought for sure the restaurant would follow suit. It doesn’t. And everything is a sales pitch on this damn wharf.
We sat on the patio and waited over 20 minutes for water. WATER. When it came, it tasted like bathroom tap. Yuck.
The bread was hard and tasteless. We should have left then.
We ordered a Ahi appetizer, clam chowder bread bowl, a seafood platter and chicken strips and fries for our little girl.
The food took FOREVER. You would expect the food to be amazing for how long it took. It fell short. Plus the kids chicken strips took an extra 10 – 15 mins to come out after the rest of the food. Seriously?
The ahi was tough. They are on the right track with the appetizer but haven’t hit the mark yet. I’m sure we could have found much better ahi tuna elsewhere. And it was only tolerable with the soy sauce for dipping.
The clam chowder was one of the best I’ve had, I’ll give them that. It was creamy and flavorful. The bread bowl was so crispy and perfect.
The seafood platter with crab, shrimp and scallops? I got two shrimp, two scallops and half a crab. The scallops tasted so fishy, they were almost inedible. The shrimp were rubbery. And the crab was just ok. The vegetables were really the only redeeming factor of this platter and the mashed potatoes tasted like instant mashed potatoes with a fancy design.
Our waiter disappeared again after our food came and we had to hunt down the greeter and have her find him so we could get our check.
We got our dessert to go. And the chocolate cake WAS good for breakfast the next morning. But when isn’t chocolate cake good for breakfast? Just sayin.
We were so monumentally disappointed in our dinner at Isabella’s and in their customer service and waitstaff. Save your money and go elsewhere. It’s NOT worth it.

On a recent trip Me and the special lady friend decided to go back here as we enjoyed the place in years past. However this time it was different.
Sociology lesson time:
I do not want this to come off sounding racist. So pay attention. The area around Monterey is dominated by agriculture which means there is a large supply of «Migrant» labor which in turn will depress the local labor force and be a tempting target for unscrupulous employers to leverage hiring decisions based upon wage vs societal /​legal status. In short there were only 3 white people working there clearly in positions of power or prominence. The bartender, the hostess, and the clam chowder sample slinger out front. I am not saying «how dare they not hire white people» What I am saying is that they are clearly abusing their staff and making racially motivated hiring decisions.
Now onto the food,
The fried artichokes were not bad at all, however at the price paid I do think they could have brought out several dipping sauces. Sure the curried honey mustard was neat and I am totally stealing that for a dinner party. BUT dont put S&B curry powder into the cheapest bulk honey mustard dressing that your supplier carries, and bring out some marinara sauce, or some ranch AT LEAST ASK. So I asked for some marinara sauce. What they brought out was closer to arrabiata sauce, what is the difference you ask, bell peppers, big deal you say? Well I dont digest them and usually will end up seeing them again at 3 in the morning if you catch my drift.
SO they dont serve marinara sauce they serve arrabiata as the red sauce on pasta even though in the menu it is called marinara.
I had the caprese ravioli, the portion was small it wasnt bad, it wasnt great. I wouldnt believe you if you told me that they make the pasta fresh, it has to be frozen and bought in bulk, I do believe that they make the sauce there. So thats an upside…
So special lady friend ordered some fish, I cant honestly remember which, that said it came with bay prawns/​shrimp. FULL STOP!
Now if you love sushi you might know about spotted prawns but what you might only know if you lived in the monterey/​santa cruz area is that that is where most of the commercial fishing for them takes place. In fact in the area It is not uncommon to see them listed as bay prawns or monterey bay prawns.
RE-​ENGAGING REVIEW! The dish was some sad, old, «fishy» smelling/​tasting and most likely frozen fish covered in a rather tasty sauce and rubbery tiny tasteless rock shrimp.
If they were to ask me for a new slogan it would be:
«Come to Isabella’s on the wharf, pay our rent, get an appetizer as it is the only thing we do well, ignore our racist employment practices and we serve clam chowder too.»
no that is too long their slogan should be…
«Go to fisherman’s grotto they dont suck.», or maybe not BUT THAT IS MY ADVICE.

We were in Monterey & decided to be touristy & have seafood on the wharf for dinner. We decided to eat at Isabella’s after trying a sample of the clam chowder & the lady also offering a free appetizer. We ordered the calamari which was really good.
We had a very nice experience at Isabella’s. There isn’t anything I can complain about; we both enjoyed our food (I had the Prawns & Pasta dish, I can’t remember the exact name) & our server was both super friendly & attentive. It was a nice welcome back to the Monterey area.

TOURIST TRAP!!!
What a weird experience we had here. They were promoting their $ 15 three course early bird menu to us outside which is why we were baited in. Three of us ordered from the early bird menu (or so we thought). When my friend got his bill he got charged full price of the dish which was $ 24, while the other two people got charged $ 15. When asking the waiter why he was charged full price, he said «well you didn’t say». Ummmmm hello, if you gave the other two people on the table the early bird menu price why did you charge one person full price??? I thought common sense would’ve kicked in but i guess not lol! The waiter probably did this to get better tip for himself since tip was already included, since we were in a party of 6.
Besides this, the food was just okay. I got the Sandab with risotto. The risotto was chewy and flavorless. The sandab sauce was good, but unfortunately the fish itself didn’t absorb this flavor but had to be swished around in it to have any taste. Tried the calamari too and it was REALLY CHEWY and flavorless.
I would not recommend here for anyone to eat, BLAHHHHHHHH.

The atmosphere in this place leaves a lot to be desired.
The HUGE portrait of the creepy woman dressed in pink seriously needs to go, I don’t need her watching me eat.
The service was strange. A lot of just coming to the table and staring. Had the server never seen girls before? Not sure… but get it together dude.
Food tasted ok, but soon after got food poisoning. Throwing up at the aquarium has to be one of the worst ways to spend a Saturday ever.

There are plenty of options to choose from when you’re in Monterey and when you’re on the wharf. The wharf itself is lined up and down with shops and restaurants. Isabella’s is a good choice when you’re debating on what place to visit and their food is pretty good with decent portion sizes.
I was in Monterey as part of a multi-​day Educator’s Technology conference and the boss decided to take us out somewhere on the wharf for dinner. We weren’t too familiar with the places available to us so we just made our way to the wharf and started walking. It was a weeknight so the crowd was non-​existant and the restaurants themselves had employees sitting out the front entrance attempting to entice the very few people on the wharf that walked by. As we walked by Isabella’s, it seemed very cozy and inviting and with the lady standing outside welcoming people in, we decided to give it a shot. Because it was a weeknight, we were immediately seated and got placed by the window outlooking the wharf in which we just walked in from, it seemed as if we got put on display for people to see that they DO actually have customers haha.
Our waitress greeted us immediately and tended to our drinks. The menu is quite expansive offering many different items mainly focusing on Italian dishes. After flipping through the pages, I decided to go with the Roma Chicken Picatta (See Picture). When I received the dish, I can honestly say it tasted A LOT better than it looked. Perhaps it was the lighting in the restaurant or the way things were cooked, but it didn’t seem all that appealing. Like I mentioned before, it tasted a lot better than it looked and I’m thankful for that. The chicken was very tender and juicy and very flavorful (it must have been the butter). The spinach risotto was nothing special, but made for a decent accompaniment to the chicken, but nevertheless, the chicken was the main feature.
Our portions were plentiful so dessert was not an option; however, I’m looking forward to trying their offerings as well as the other items on the menu. If you’re on the wharf and need a recommendation, you can never go wrong choosing Italian and Isabella’s delivers. Buon Appetito!

Fantastic view with comfy seating; OK food with good service.
The lady manning the front, waving the passerbys in and offering pedestrians clam chowder samples was a sweetheart. She got us in. The host was super nice and very patient. Our server was nice and patient too. The only «complain“t with our server was his change of tone and attitude after we were done with our meal and presented our Free Calamari coupon. The now-​super flustered server was not so friendly and told us that we should have told him earlier because the free calamari was different from the calamari we had ordered.
The calamari was good.
The cioppino is really good too.
The truffle fries is not so good. If there was truffle in it, I couldn’t tell, or there was not enough.
The grilled white fish is good.
Monterey Wharf is cool: You won’t find a shortage of restaurants that will serve clam chowder. By the time you’ve reached the end of the wharf, you would be full and not need a full meal.

We were walking with our Bugaboo stroller (not small) and our daughter in it when we decided to eat here. The hostess/​greeter lady outside for some reason wanted to seat us in a very awkward corner with a whole hall of other diners, it was very squished so I asked to be seated outside which made more sense (and we were out of the way). If you have a stroller, ask to be seated outside if you can… the inside is VERY small.
My dinner– Pasta Isabella suggested by our very nice server. While the lobster, shrimp and scallops were cooked at a 5 star, they were overly salted… so 2 – 3 stars. For $ 40 pasta dish I was expecting it to be spectacular. It’s too bad it was so over salted because it was cooked beautifully. The pasta was al dente and the sauce was tasty although a bit heavy on the cream too. It was very, very rich. And extremely salty.
My hubby’s dinner was a pasta with Bolognese sauce. It was okay, not that great. A bit on the sweet side and there was no pancetta or pork or to be found, just a regular ol’ beef sauce, with a bit too many tomatoes for a Bolognese.
Be careful not to get shit on by seagulls. Just sayin.

With very few exceptions, tourist trap restaurants on any wharf should be avoided like the plague but we were lured in by the (very strange) woman out front wearing a graduation gown (?) holding a sign that said «Window tables available» and being assured that Isabellas on the Wharf was rated 4 – 5 stars for food and atmosphere. We were seated on the upstairs deck patio with an awesome view of … a boat dock and the pier the whale watching boats depart and return from. Our waiter was very nice and bought our drink orders fairly quickly. We were also brought bread and the obligatory olive oil & balsamic vinegar dipping sauce –something never served outside of this country. The pseudo-​foccacio was unwarmed and stale and the plate of dipping sauce was loaded more with garlic bits than oil or vinegar. Not a good beginning. I was getting that sinking feeling in my stomach …
I decided to go «healthy» and ordered the California Waldorf chicken salad. The menu said it contained diced chicken, apples, candied walnuts, grapes, and Gorgonzola crumbles. I asked for the balsamic vinaigrette on the side instead of the honey Dijon dressing and that was no problem. What I got was a plate of unchilled greens, diced chicken, grapes, apples, and honeydew & cantaloupe slivers, with no Gorgonzola crumbles or candied walnuts in sight. I did ask the waiter to bring me some crumbles and he did without any apologies whatsoever.
Husband had the salmon basil pasta served over linguini. He said it was pretty good but extremely hot temperature-​wise (guess that made up for the cold bread). His only complaint was that the pasta he was served was fettuccine, not linguini, but it was house-​made. He also ordered a glass of Chianti that tasted like red wine vinegar but the pour was very generous for $ 7.
The restaurant is supposed to be owned by local celebrity Chef Tene Shake but if this is representative of what he feels good about putting his name on, I’d be worried. Not a place we’ll be going back to anytime soon.

Summary:
— Service — friendly but a little off [we loved our server but he was somewhat slow and awkward in a funny way]
— Food — meh, somewhat disappointing
— Price — average for the wharf [in other words $$]
— Ambiance —
the view is spectacular [we were seated second floor facing the incoming boats after their fishing/​whale watching trips]
*******
For those of you visiting the Wharf, locals will tell you that you don’t even need to enter a restaurant to be [somewhat] full. Each restaurant has a person out front that will do their very best [in a charming friendly way or some funny awkward way — those who know this place will know who I’m referring to] to get you to step into and dine at their respective restaurants.
So what do I mean about getting full before dining? Easy. Samples of clam chowder will be *persuasively* passed to you to showcase their chef’s unique style of making this lovely dish. Yes, they are all different and a few small samples later, I wasn’t sure if I still wanted to have a large meal at all. Cute part was my friend getting several servings with his infamous, «Hmm, I’m not quite sure. Let me try that again.»
I ended up walking right to the very end and skipped all except two samples. I noticed that all the restaurants showcased virtually the same dishes on their display table. So I secretly hoped for something unique or different that would entice me to dine at a particular restaurant. Of course, I did not immediately notice anything different at the Isabellas stand. It was yet another friendly lady with a great smile and offering samples and making small talk… until my eyes locked in on a very NICE looking seafood paella [served in an authentic paella pan] on display.
Fate decided. Fate gave a sign. We *are* eating at Isabellas.
*******
«Can we get a table with a great view of the ocean?» My friend asks the hostess.
«I’m sorry sir, we *only* have tables with a great view of the ocean available.»
[LOL, nice]
*******
Seated on the second floor facing the boats returning from fishing or whale watching, I must admit the view was splendid. We ordered to share the deep fried calamari [free house appetizer], breaded salmon, red snapper with shrimp risotto, and the seafood paella [which is the only item not listed in the menu and goes for ~$ 46].
1. Calamari Appetizer — melted butter *overkill*. This is literally deep fried calamari that is soggy because of the melted butter that covers it like it was gravy. I don’t know but even on heart attack feeding days, I would skip this dish.
2. Breaded Salmon —
prepared very well. Salmon cooked well over a bed of mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.
3. Red Snapper with Shrimp Risotto —
I would say that I enjoyed it at the start until my butter meter screamed overkill again, lol. Snapper was seasoned well. Risotto was flavorful. I just struggled to finish the dish because of the amount of butter.
4. Seafood Paella —
this was a disappointment. Although served in an authentic paella pan, I wish they *cooked* the paella in that pan. With two paella fanatics in the party, we both could tell that the seafood must have been cooked separately with the rice and introduced into the dish only when being served. This prevents the flavors from properly entering the rice. Not to mention, this was the *wettest* [almost soupy] paella I’d ever had.
*******
Funny thing is I’d come back again. I may have found the food to be somewhat disappointing but that was easily overlooked by cheap good wine and a great view.

Being on the wharf, we know that a lot of these restaurants are overpriced but Isabellas had a nice view. (see how my priorities change when I’m outside SF?)
The place is dated but inviting. We sat next to the stand alone fireplace in the middle of the dining room. Immediately, our orders were taken, water was poured and warm focaccia bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip was served. It was delicious and we kept asking for more and they happily obliged!
My steamed mussels were huge! I prefer smaller sized ones because they are sweeter, but the broth was stellar: you can really taste the creaminess from the butter balanced with lots of garlic, chopped chives and white wine sauce. The cherry tomatoes provided a nice acidity to it.
Their fish n chips is a good choice as well and comes with a side of coleslaw. The whole cod was fried to perfection, however the fries needed work. Some would be crispy and some not.
Service was great: prompt, friendly and attentive. Restos at the wharf are in stiff competition with each other (especially during winter time) so its really nice when you end up in a place like this when you are catered to like the queen that you are. Thanks to Lucio!

I settled on this place out of all the places on the wharf due to the fact I was with my brother who had to look like a man and actually pay for his own meal as well as his little girlfriends. The place looked nice on the outside but not nice enough to break a 16 year old’s bank.
The place much to our dismay looked a lot better then it was. Sure, it had a nice white table cloth, and sure we had a waiter in a suit who popped a cork on a bottle of water however when the «classy ass water» tastes like it came from a tide pool you loose all faith in whats to come next.
We ordered two burgers, a bread bowl of clam chowder and a calamari sandwich. The food came with fries and a side of what they called coleslaw. The burgers were fine, you cant really screw a burger up, my calamari sandwich was so plain that I added ranch to every bite for flavor. My sisters clam chowder was good but yet again nothing special and that coleslaw was just gross!
I was bummed that this place was so dull. The bill was $ 50+ and we walked away extremely unsatisfied. Perhaps if I ordered a $ 30.00 menu item I would have been more pleased?
Basically, there are more places on the wharf to eat. Skip on this one or you might end up like my brother after this meal;single