Michael's Grill and Taqueria

Stumbled onto this place by searching Google for nearby restaurants. So glad we stopped in. Definitely not a super fancy place - but food was great and staff were very friendly. Would highly recommend. We tried the guacamole, tacos, enchiladas and blackened chicken sandwich. Yum!!

GET HERE AND EAT, STAT! I grew up on the Monterey Peninsula. I've been going to Michael's Taqueria since it first opened and was a tiny little eatery in Country Club Gate shopping center...This is quite possibly the most delicious Mexican food on the Monterey Peninsula. The owners and staff only compliment the deliciousness of the food with their kindness and hospitality. Every dish and every side and every aspect of this restaurant is spectacular. If you are a local or one of the most gracious guests and visitors to our fair area, I highly recommend grabbing some fare from Michael''s. You will never be disappointed. Cash is encouraged, but credit cards are accepted. I ❤️ Michael's... In fact, writing this review has now determined where I will be having lunch today! Photos: Two Shrimp Tacos with sides

Robyn Jimenez

Just go! Amazing food. They serve burritos, too! Service was fantastic. Plenty of free-parking, and restrooms on-site. Food was really fresh, very generous portions. Take cash/debit because they have a fee for credit. No outside seating - plenty of inside seating. They give you chips if you dine-in, too. Really good value with really attentive staff, definitely will go back!!

Reinier’s Reviews

Fantastic flavors at Michael’s Grill & Taqueria! We had a wonderful meal here in Monterey. The complimentary nachos with salsa were absolutely delicious — a perfect start that promised great things to come. My son had the wrap with charbroiled chicken, packed with flavor and perfectly cooked. My daughter enjoyed the shrimp quesadilla, and I had the blackened burrito with charbroiled steak — simply amazing! The food was fresh, flavorful, and clearly made with care. We also noticed a steady stream of people picking up takeout orders, which says a lot about how much locals love this place. A truly delightful experience — we’ll definitely be back!

I Ak

AMAZING and CHEAP place! That was the best restaurant to fall in love with Mexican food! No unnecessary or burned oil, great flavors, not heavy or overcooked, very healthy and lightweight food. We tried fajitas and carne asada plate. BEST salsa I've ever tried! The guy on register was very friendly. Clean place.

龔振勝

I miss the days when they were a little gem tucked away in the corner of the Country Club Gate Center! It was like no one else but I knew about it. But I hope with this location, they get more foot traffic and cheaper rent! I'm so glad after all these decades, they're still in business! Food is great! You can't go wrong!

Lisa M

Haven't been here in years, but still the same delicious food I remember. I ordered the Blackened Shrimp Quesadilla with no guac. Idid not realize it came with mushrooms. I've never had a Quesadilla with mushrooms on it. None the less, y'all it was delicious! It was so flavorful. It came with rice and Frijoles Negro. Mmmm, mmm. My favorite! The service was also great. It was hard to decide, so I appreciate the patience. Lol No wait to sit either, score! Just know there are rules up in here. Lol. I forget to get them all, but I love it. Thought I got photos of my food, but no such luck. Sorry folks. Thank you Michael's for continuing to serve up deliciously good eats. I'm already thinking about next time I come what am I going to order. I HIGHLY recommend coming in and having a meal.

Vince & Mina

Great place, reasonably priced, and generous portions. They have you order and pay before you sit down and they bring your food to you when it is done, food was good.

C Gambrell

GET HERE AND EAT, STAT! I grew up on the Monterey Peninsula. I've been going to Michael's Taqueria since it first opened and was a tiny little eatery in Country Club Gate shopping center...This is quite possibly the most delicious Mexican food on the Monterey Peninsula. The owners and staff only compliment the deliciousness of the food with their kindness and hospitality. Every dish and every side and every aspect of this restaurant is spectacular. If you are a local or one of the most gracious guests and visitors to our fair area, I highly recommend grabbing some fare from Michael''s. You will never be disappointed. Cash is encouraged, but credit cards are accepted. I ❤️ Michael's... In fact, writing this review has now determined where I will be having lunch today! Photos: Two Shrimp Tacos with sides

Joshua Cox

Our favorite spot in Monterey! Super tasty, great portions, awesome staff and solid prices. Highly recommend!

Joyce

Blackened shrimp quesadilla was juicy, full of flavor, came with free chips & salsa, and so reasonably priced for the portion. Arrived at 11:30 on a weekend, and service was kind and speedy!

Joel

I've heard about Michaels and I'm glad I went. A very friendly staff. Fresh food. It was definitely worth the wait. I got the blackened chicken burrito. It comes with red sauce on the outside. I got it on the side. They give me guacamole, sour cream and big thing of chips and salsa. The Blackened Chicken is tender and cooked to perfection. I'm going back and get something else because it was very good

Ari K

Stumbled onto this place by searching Google for nearby restaurants. So glad we stopped in. Definitely not a super fancy place - but food was great and staff were very friendly. Would highly recommend. We tried the guacamole, tacos, enchiladas and blackened chicken sandwich. Yum!!

Joyce Lam

Get the grilled shrimp. It's fantastic! We loved everything we had! Staff was friendly. Place is cozy and clean.

This place is awesome, wonderful food and friendly staff. Prices are low for what you get, flavors are excellent, high quality chargrilled steak and chicken. Complementary handmade chips and salsa for dine-in, very tasty! For those who know, they have Mr Pibb!

We enjoyed a wonderful take out meal from Michael’s last night. The service was very friendly and the food was delicious - and generously portioned. Each dish (we tried a blackened shrimp quesadilla and a chicken burrito) came with black beans and seasoned rice on the side plus guacamole and fresh tortilla chips. We’re already looking forward to eating our leftovers tonight☺️

My family of four had an excellent lunch today at Michael's. Two of us had the house burrito (chicken, shrimp, rice, Pico, etc.), it was excellent. The other two had the Carne Asada Green Burrito, and the chicken tostada plate, which they fully enjoyed. We ate in and were each given our own chips and salsa, which is much appreciated because we don't pay for it normally. The staff is very friendly at made us feel at home. We have been to Monterey/Pacific Grove dozens of times, but this time asked ChatGPT for a high quality, lower cost, locals restaurant: we are very glad we did. We will definitely come back.

We stayed in Pacific Grove for a few days and really enjoyed the food at Michael’s! Everything was fresh and super delicious. The meat eaters in our group said that the meat in the fajita/burrito was super juicy and aromatic and the vegetarian burritos were great as well! They prepared mine dairy free and it was still good without the cheese. The only negative point for me personally was that my hot sauce wasn’t spicy at all, but apart from that it was perfect!

Great food - served quickly. Employees were all friendly. The big combo was very tasty. Blackened chicken was probably my favorite. My partner had the taco salad with shredded beef and she said it was also very good.

Tim Newman

This place is awesome, wonderful food and friendly staff. Prices are low for what you get, flavors are excellent, high quality chargrilled steak and chicken. Complementary handmade chips and salsa for dine-in, very tasty! For those who know, they have Mr Pibb!

Phil Noteware

My family of four had an excellent lunch today at Michael's. Two of us had the house burrito (chicken, shrimp, rice, Pico, etc.), it was excellent. The other two had the Carne Asada Green Burrito, and the chicken tostada plate, which they fully enjoyed. We ate in and were each given our own chips and salsa, which is much appreciated because we don't pay for it normally. The staff is very friendly at made us feel at home. We have been to Monterey/Pacific Grove dozens of times, but this time asked ChatGPT for a high quality, lower cost, locals restaurant: we are very glad we did. We will definitely come back.

Thomas Kurtz

Great food - served quickly. Employees were all friendly. The big combo was very tasty. Blackened chicken was probably my favorite. My partner had the taco salad with shredded beef and she said it was also very good.

Lui

We stayed in Pacific Grove for a few days and really enjoyed the food at Michael’s! Everything was fresh and super delicious. The meat eaters in our group said that the meat in the fajita/burrito was super juicy and aromatic and the vegetarian burritos were great as well! They prepared mine dairy free and it was still good without the cheese. The only negative point for me personally was that my hot sauce wasn’t spicy at all, but apart from that it was perfect!

Melissa Gould

We enjoyed a wonderful take out meal from Michael’s last night. The service was very friendly and the food was delicious - and generously portioned. Each dish (we tried a blackened shrimp quesadilla and a chicken burrito) came with black beans and seasoned rice on the side plus guacamole and fresh tortilla chips. We’re already looking forward to eating our leftovers tonight☺️

Edit: went back with the husband and ate in the restaurant. Really enjoyed the food. These are, thus far, my favorite enchiladas in Monterey. I tried this restaurant for the first time the other day - I ordered take away fajitas. Service was friendly and fast. The food was, overall, good. I do wish the fajitas had a bit more of a kick (the salsa offered overall isn't very spicy) and I disliked the chips. However, this is worth coming back. It's affordable given the area and tastes good. Portions are good, too.

Ms D

Edit: went back with the husband and ate in the restaurant. Really enjoyed the food. These are, thus far, my favorite enchiladas in Monterey. I tried this restaurant for the first time the other day - I ordered take away fajitas. Service was friendly and fast. The food was, overall, good. I do wish the fajitas had a bit more of a kick (the salsa offered overall isn't very spicy) and I disliked the chips. However, this is worth coming back. It's affordable given the area and tastes good. Portions are good, too.

While the service was quick and friendly, the food was extremely mediocre, especially in California with so many Mexican options. I can't understand why it was so crowded. I would categorize this as white Mexican food, no Hispanic clientele as patrons, so... Pretty tasteless and lots of sour cream. Will most likely be the one and only time I go here. Again, friendly service but unmemorable food. Only saving grace was beer in the cooler.

David Diaz

While the service was quick and friendly, the food was extremely mediocre, especially in California with so many Mexican options. I can't understand why it was so crowded. I would categorize this as white Mexican food, no Hispanic clientele as patrons, so... Pretty tasteless and lots of sour cream. Will most likely be the one and only time I go here. Again, friendly service but unmemorable food. Only saving grace was beer in the cooler.

The food was absolutely horrible. I got the carne asada steak plate. It had no flavor at all. The meat was so bland and tough to eat. The meat was cooked to death and completely indigestible. Anyway I was starving when coming here and everything to the chips and salsa was not fresh. The chips tasted stale and had no salt, and the salsa was just ok. You have to drench everything in tomato in order to have some flavor and get through the meal. Very bland food and not good quality.

K K

The food was absolutely horrible. I got the carne asada steak plate. It had no flavor at all. The meat was so bland and tough to eat. The meat was cooked to death and completely indigestible. Anyway I was starving when coming here and everything to the chips and salsa was not fresh. The chips tasted stale and had no salt, and the salsa was just ok. You have to drench everything in tomato in order to have some flavor and get through the meal. Very bland food and not good quality.