Clam chowder bread bowl and Italian seafood @ Louie Linguini, Monterey (California, USA)

Going back to our California trip, after a fabulous morning with our friends and a short visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we were hungry for some Monterey-style chowder for lunch. I usually do my research and have a list of food places to eat at whenever we travel, but this particular day was not planned until the night before (due to us getting into Monterey much later than expected and having to postpone our meeting with our friends until the next morning), so I had nothing planned for lunch. Before our friends left us for their camping trip, they advised us to look out for pots of chowder outside restaurants offering free samples so that we could try-before-we-buy. We didn't walk very far from the Aquarium on Cannery Row before encountering a girl serving up samples of hot chowder from Louie Linguini's. We've learnt to make quick decisions whenever we go out with our two kids, as we no longer have the luxury of 'shopping around'. When hubby and I agreed that we liked the chowder, we took a quick look at the menu next to the girl to confirm the availability of variety that were not too expensive, and we promptly entered the restaurant. Louie Linguini had a large dining area, with some outdoor tables, and the harbour views were lovely. The service was great, the menu offered a wide range of dishes, and serving sizes were generous. It was a bit of a novelty eating clam chowder from a bread bowl, but it wasn't our first experience, and while Louie Linguini's clam chowder was tasty, we had a better one the next day (you'll just have to wait for the review for that one). Overall it is a family-friendly restaurant conveniently close to the Aquarium, serving tasty seafood and a good version of clam chowder in a bread bowl.

View of a small part of the restaurant towards the entryway and bar - it looks like there is another dining room over yonder:

Some crusty bread with whipped butter:

Fish & Fries (US$8.95), from the special kids' menu - the 6-year-old loved it:

Hubby ordered the Scampi Linguini (US$20.95), expecting langoustines, but was a bit disappointed when served jumbo shrimps instead. Apparently "scampi" in the US refers to the style of preparation:

Clam Chowder Bread Bowl (US$12.95) - lots of delicious sourdough bread to soak up the yummy chowder:

I needed a caffeine hit by mid-afternoon (still severely sleep-deprived and a little bit jet-lagged), and the cappuccino was so pretty:

I'm glad that Louie Linguini turned out to be not a bad choice.

[Prices above do not include additional taxes and tips.]

Louie Linguini's
Steinbeck Plaza
660 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA 93940
United States
+1 831-648-8500