September 18, 2008
Portola Cafe And Restaurant
The wife thought we're already spending too much time looking at fish, but it was getting into the afternoon and there were still a few things I wanted to see. So decided that we'd just eat in the Aquarium instead of going out to Cannery Row, which mostly looked like expensive tourist-traps anyway.
The restaurant was split into a self-service cafe and a sit-down restaurant. Although lunch service had ended by the time we got there so we could sit wherever we wanted. There were stations offering pizzas, grill items, or pre-made salads and sandwiches. Holy crap was it expensive but the quality was surprisingly good, with organic burger patty and fancy cheeses on the pizza. The space looks out right into Monterey Bay and they made sure to make the windows nice and big to bring in the light and show off the view. Or there were also benches and tables outside, but we stayed inside to get out of the wind. Not the most memorable meal in the world, but I was glad I still had the chance to check out the otters and jellyfishes before the wife finally dragged me outta there.
Portola Cafe And Restaurant
The Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row
Monterey, California 93940