Melville Tavern

I had the Salmon with fingerling potatoes, broccoli, and tarragon butter sauce. My Boyfriend had the Green Chile Cheeseburger with roasted green chiles, melted Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, with pickled red onions, lettuce, and tomato. With a side of fries lighted seasoned with sea salt. I have to say this is by far the best salmon dish I’ve ever eaten! I had a bite of my Boyfriend’s burger and it wasn’t too spicy but was full of flavor. Both burger and fries weren’t greasy at all! We didn’t try the beer or wine but I’m sure they’re great too! This is my new favorite restaurant in Monterey! I would have to say the best place to eat in Monterey County! Don’t bother going anywhere else! This is a hidden gem that is new to the area but is sure to soon have lines out the door! The service was great, the restaurant was clean with a comfortable ambiance. Great location just minutes away from the beach! What more could you ask for!

Really wanted to like this place. Service was slow… food was overcooked and bland. There are too many good places around to waste your time or money here.

Had the pulled pork sandwich, it was delicious, had a good spice in the BBQ sauce. I’ll be back.

Had a grate meal good service green chilis burger , my friend has the pork shank and loved it !!

I cannot say enough about this new spot! Their Salmon is to die for! My husband who has never liked Salmon absolutely loved it. We were up at our home in pebble beach for a 2 night stay and we ate there both nights! The owner, Collin is friendly and very attentive.

Cool ambiance, fun and happy staff. The owner was very friendly and talkative and helpful. The bartender Jesse was adorable and bubbly but no-​nonsense. Very good wine and beer selection. Agree to turn the all star game on for us serious plus. Food was excellent: the pork and polenta, wedge salad and rigatoni were all awesome. Very flavorful and well prepared. The pork shoulder LOOKED amazing though we didn’t eat it. Busy on Valentine’s Day but was so nice to be able to just walk in and eat at the bar. Kind of a hidden gem off the Main Streets of downtown Monterey but makes up for its slight lack of curb appeal with what’s inside.

awesome place. I had the green chile burger. I cant wait to have it again. The staff was friendly and attentive. The owner Colin was a sweet as could be.

I really like the ambiance of the restaurant and their menu. They have a great choice of beers and wines and everything is very reasonably priced. The food was good (although cold) and all of the staff are very friendly. I think that the breakdown here is the service. Our very sweet waitress was underage and could not describe any of the wines or beers. It was also very evident that she was having a hard time multi-​tasking. Our sandwich was room temperature and our sweet potato fries were bizarrely both scalding hot and ice cold (one half of them had obviously just come out of the fryer while the other half were soggy and cold). The manager/​owner seems like a good guy who is trying to keep an eye on things and the bartender is great. We will definitely be back and hopefully they will work out a few of the kinks as they go along.

Went here for lunch and it was awesome! The waitress was friendly, food awesome and attentive service. I also loved that when she refilled our water she brought a big carafe of water so that we could refill our own glasses. I truly appreciated this extra water… super nice!!!

You want great food and real beer? This is where it is at in Monterey. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and love the feel. Super place to come with some buddies. I had the duck burger and Goose Island Sofie, definitely doing that again!

Everything was phenomenal! Awesome addition to the Peninsula. The Tavern Burger was AMAZING (add avocado and bacon!)
Service and food both excellent.

Had a fun New Year Day dinner here last night. The food was great! We shared a wedge salad and I had the duck sandwich and my husband had the pork shank. The polenta was so amazing! I’m still trying to figure out what the secret ingredient was! The wine and beer choices are also great along with the prices! We will definitely be back! Great new spot!

Statistics, odds and freaky occurances being what they are, I can almost guarantee that a tray of beverages will not be spilled onto you at Melville Tavern… Because it’s already happened… To me. You’re welcome!
Our poor sweet server was knocked into, spilling drinks on my head. Sure it sucked, but the staff and owner were gracious, professional and maybe a little too generous for a newly opened establishment.
Luckily, I had finished my meal before «the incident». My ravioli was unique and hearty but the blue cheese wedge was the standout in my book. Instead of a ridiculous geometric shape that dares bacon and blue cheese crumbles to fall off the lettuce cliff, they created a cute iceberg bowl that contains all of the salad goodness.
I’ll be back to use my gift certificate as soon as the PTSD subsides. I kid, kid.

The food here was excellent! If an establishment can wow me with something like a quesadilla, then that says a lot! Mushroom, goat cheese, and spinach what a great combo. It was also executed well, nice and crispy, and melted all the way through. Duck sandwich was perfect! Just the right balance of rich, sweet, and salty. It literally pained me to have to share it! Molé tacos were also perfect. All the ingredients were well put together, and thought out from a perspective of harmonious flavor profiling. I will definitely return. And you should too!!!

I love the vibe, the food, the drinks, and the service! I had the chicken street tacos for an appetizer and the Melville burger with sweet potato fries. First off, the food came out quick and HOT! The tacos were so flavorful and dressed perfectly. I didn’t realize the burger is a double patty, it was good, but I couldn’t finish it! The sweet potato fries are great and I love the dipping sauce. The décor is very tasteful with nice artwork. I could spend some time here drinking socially or bringing a good book to read with a good beer or glass of wine.

Had dinner last night with my husband here. We had the mushroom quesadilla, green chile burger, tavern burger. Quesadilla was delicious. Never had one with mushrooms. My burger and fries were also excellent, but one small issue was that it was very spicy. I had asked our waitress whether it was spicy and she remarked that it was roasted chiles so probably not. Her logic made sense but unfortunately assumptions are for fools (includes me). I like spicy on certain foods. And this level of spiciness was the kind where I wasn’t going to taste the burger. It was an easy fix though. I just scraped off 95% of the green chiles. Wasteful, I know. But I would have ordered a different item had I known. Service was good but water refill was in the slow. I killed my water due to the remaining chiles and didn’t get more until we asked for the check.
My husband had the beer of the week which was only $ 3. They didn’t have a cocktail meu or I would have tried something. Looked like beer and wine and soda only. Prices were good. Affordable side for the area.
Another thing that contributed to one star loss was their bathroom situation. It is a shared bathroom with the building. That’s ok with me. However, it requires a key which is probably good for keeping it clean, but I imagine drunkness and bathroom keys could lead to problems. Plus, the germaphobe in me doesn’t wanna have to touch gross bathroom keys at a food establishment.

Great, casual, and friendly atmosphere. Centrally located in the downtown Monterey area. Open layout including the kitchen. Friendly service that appeals to all ages and groups, though a mild hip vibe percolates beneath. On Sunday night, we had a great experience.
And the food! I had a goat cheese and mushroom quesadilla; my wife, the veggie ravioli; and my son, the duck sandwich. Every single plate was of a quality of freshness and taste that one would expect at higher prices to be sure. I hope they don’t catch on and raise their prices. Love this place and will be back.

We really enjoyed the restaurant. The ambiance is really awesome and social, you can tell the locals are excited about having a new place to meet. We came in and noticed the nautical theme with all the dark woods and tables spaced out, painting of Moby Dick on the bar… you can see right into the kitchen over the bar; very cool.
The staff was friendly and we noticed that they do a $ 3 beer on tap special, which is awesome. We ordered the chicken tacos as an appetizer and I’m saying this well aware of all the taquerias in the area… these were the best tacos I’ve had in town. No cheese or salad, just spicy meet, avocado, julienned radish, cilantro, and spicy salsa on the side. You get 3 for $ 6, so it’s a better deal too, most places start at $ 2.25 for a decent street taco.
The owner came to our table and chatted, I think he’s super passionate about what he has and you can tell in the execution. We got a couple of tavern burgers and didn’t realize that they were double-​patty and forces and to be reckoned with… I barely finished mine. The fries were really good, we tried both sweet potato and regular.
While they have a short menu, it looks like they only do things if they can do them well. Total tab with adult beverage came to $ 43. Worth it, in our opinion. I recommend this place and I’ll be back soon — looks like a great place just to grab a beer and catch up with friends and get to meet some new folks.

I do not usually Unilocal but I just had to for the Melville tavern. It’s all new and upgraded, very cool interior and exterior too! But the best part is the food and drinks! And The staff (hostesses, bartenders, servers and of course the ever present owner! They are all very nice and accommodating. I loved everything, I dined with a party if 6 and everyone was pleased. We ordered seconds of the chili, and quesadilla.
The décor is clean and spacious, artsy with painted murals, chalk boards and cool mod chandelier lighting, and huge windows in front and side! Love it!

Amazing! I really enjoy this place. The food, the service, and the ambiance. This place has great food and a wonderful staff. So far I’ve tried the pork and polenta appetizer and the salmon and pork shank main dishes. Everything was on point in my book and this place just opened last week. Looking forward to trying other items on the menu. Oh and the prices were very reasonable which makes it all the better.