When friends come from out of town I take them to my favorite place the Fishwife-it's a locals place, a bit out of the way and often crowded, but it's worth it. The food is fresh and flavorful. The wait staff is friendly and they also have a full bar so you can have a glass of wine (they feature local Monterey wines) or a margarita while you wait. My favorite dishes are the Tilapia Cancun with spicy green cashew pesto; the Calamari Abalone style, and the Crab Cakes with habanero cream sauce. For dessert they make an amazing key lime pie. It's casual and reasonably priced. If you don't like seafood there's almost no meat dishes on the menu-but they do have vegetarian dishes and a variety of pastas and salads.
Suggestion: make reservations or call ahead if you haven't and ask to get on their wait list
Pros: reasonably priced, friendly, fresh & flavorful
Cons: sometimes crowded
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