The best Aquarium in California. After you visit the Aquarium, you can see the many amazing sea life right in the bay.
Deborah G.
Incredible Aquarium! Clean, beautiful, the food was amazing and healthy. Wondering place to visit!
Liam R
Just don’t
rakesh gupta
Overly expensive, at least 1.5x the cost compared to food outside with comparable views, using monopoly inside the aquarium to set up prices.But, clean and has good views
MadPirate
Food was expensive, but not bad. Coffee was horribly overpriced though. Absolutely price gouging. $9 for a "large" latte that probably only had 1 shot of espresso.
Stephanie H.
My experience at the Monterey Bay Aquarium was disappointing, warranting a two-star review. The overcrowding was overwhelming, with too many people making navigation challenging. The cafeteria-style restaurant lacked an organized system, leading to line-cutting issues and difficulty finding a table. Despite the hefty ticket prices, the chaotic and loud atmosphere made it hard for my kids to enjoy, and they were ready to leave after just a couple of hours. Overall, not worth the cost for a frustrating and overwhelming visit.
виктория шарапова
I ask you, how can this be $37?!
Food: 1
Daniel C.
The main cafe inside the Monterey Aquarium consists of maybe three separate food stations (sandwiches and salads, grilled / hot entrees, and dessert), a centralized cashier, and a huge indoor open seating area. There is a coffee bar adjacent to the Cafe for your caffeine fix, otherwise its $9 for Blue Bottle Cold Brew in a can.The price is higher than average given its a museum, and quality was just average:* Cioppino had nice spiciness but the wife commented that mussels were not the freshest after a bite. * Kid's cheeseburger was a bit bland and meat wasn't the juiciest. Good crispy fries.* Monterey grilled fish bowl had way more rice than fish, like 2-3 bowls worth. The rice was cold as well! Breaded, pan-fried black cod were okay but not enough of it. They also have a drink fountain with free water self service. To get a bottle to go, they use aluminum bottles running up $6.50 for a 12-oz. Definitely paying for metal not water at that point.Not the best dining option near the Aquarium, but good if you're in a hurry. The other option is to get stamped for return privileges to the Aquarium and find more options outside Monterey Cannery Road.
Darren R.
Stale grocery store donut for $12.88 with tax! This is same cheap donuts vons sells for $6 a dozen, really almost $13 for this one donut! Be careful and look at prices before.
UKFamilyTraveller1
If you want a convenient place to grab a bite to eat whilst visiting the aquarium, this is fine, but be aware that the pricing is ridiculous. We paid $80 for 2 pizzas, a doughnut and 3 soft drinks. The doughnut alone was $12! The food is ok but nothing special. It’s extremely busy and is tricky to get a table.
The food was pretty good but it definitely wasn’t worth the price. A berry bowl is $9 while a decent entree can range between $15-24ish dollars. Furthermore, if you’re vegetarian, good like finding options you can eat without burning a hole in your pocket. That being said the taste is good, the staff are friendly and helpful, and it’s convenient to just buy lunch or dinner instead of lugging it around with you at the aquarium the entire day. I would recommend.Vegetarian options: not many options
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cici L.
Everything is delicious So many options with plenty of veggie/healthy options, too. Plus good menu for finicky kiddos. Daydreaming about their salads. Nice folks working here and what a view!
Daniel Costa
If you respect yourself and don’t have to come here, don’t. We tried using their kiosk system to order our food and it took over an hour to come out. It wasn’t bad, but listening to a bunch of rude adults mismanage their rambunctious children for an hour was exceedingly awful.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Dina Alfarone
Extraordinarily expensivePoke Bowl was tasty and filling, a lot of avocado.Fish waffles were good, but the balls underneath were very dryPretty decent all in
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Poke
Anthony Silva
Horrible and over priced food. Non-fish items taste like fish.
The best Aquarium in California. After you visit the Aquarium, you can see the many amazing sea life right in the bay.
Incredible Aquarium! Clean, beautiful, the food was amazing and healthy. Wondering place to visit!
Just don’t
Overly expensive, at least 1.5x the cost compared to food outside with comparable views, using monopoly inside the aquarium to set up prices.But, clean and has good views
Food was expensive, but not bad. Coffee was horribly overpriced though. Absolutely price gouging. $9 for a "large" latte that probably only had 1 shot of espresso.
My experience at the Monterey Bay Aquarium was disappointing, warranting a two-star review. The overcrowding was overwhelming, with too many people making navigation challenging. The cafeteria-style restaurant lacked an organized system, leading to line-cutting issues and difficulty finding a table. Despite the hefty ticket prices, the chaotic and loud atmosphere made it hard for my kids to enjoy, and they were ready to leave after just a couple of hours. Overall, not worth the cost for a frustrating and overwhelming visit.
I ask you, how can this be $37?!
Food: 1
The main cafe inside the Monterey Aquarium consists of maybe three separate food stations (sandwiches and salads, grilled / hot entrees, and dessert), a centralized cashier, and a huge indoor open seating area. There is a coffee bar adjacent to the Cafe for your caffeine fix, otherwise its $9 for Blue Bottle Cold Brew in a can.The price is higher than average given its a museum, and quality was just average:* Cioppino had nice spiciness but the wife commented that mussels were not the freshest after a bite. * Kid's cheeseburger was a bit bland and meat wasn't the juiciest. Good crispy fries.* Monterey grilled fish bowl had way more rice than fish, like 2-3 bowls worth. The rice was cold as well! Breaded, pan-fried black cod were okay but not enough of it. They also have a drink fountain with free water self service. To get a bottle to go, they use aluminum bottles running up $6.50 for a 12-oz. Definitely paying for metal not water at that point.Not the best dining option near the Aquarium, but good if you're in a hurry. The other option is to get stamped for return privileges to the Aquarium and find more options outside Monterey Cannery Road.
Stale grocery store donut for $12.88 with tax! This is same cheap donuts vons sells for $6 a dozen, really almost $13 for this one donut! Be careful and look at prices before.
If you want a convenient place to grab a bite to eat whilst visiting the aquarium, this is fine, but be aware that the pricing is ridiculous. We paid $80 for 2 pizzas, a doughnut and 3 soft drinks. The doughnut alone was $12! The food is ok but nothing special. It’s extremely busy and is tricky to get a table.
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was pretty good but it definitely wasn’t worth the price. A berry bowl is $9 while a decent entree can range between $15-24ish dollars. Furthermore, if you’re vegetarian, good like finding options you can eat without burning a hole in your pocket. That being said the taste is good, the staff are friendly and helpful, and it’s convenient to just buy lunch or dinner instead of lugging it around with you at the aquarium the entire day. I would recommend.Vegetarian options: not many options
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything is delicious So many options with plenty of veggie/healthy options, too. Plus good menu for finicky kiddos. Daydreaming about their salads. Nice folks working here and what a view!
If you respect yourself and don’t have to come here, don’t. We tried using their kiosk system to order our food and it took over an hour to come out. It wasn’t bad, but listening to a bunch of rude adults mismanage their rambunctious children for an hour was exceedingly awful.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Extraordinarily expensivePoke Bowl was tasty and filling, a lot of avocado.Fish waffles were good, but the balls underneath were very dryPretty decent all in
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Poke
Horrible and over priced food. Non-fish items taste like fish.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1