The Whole Enchilada

Drove over 3 hours to come and eat and we were told no we had to come back at a later time. They flat out told us they are refusing to seat people even though there were tables available. Called and asked to speak with a manager and was told there was not one there and they didn’t k NJ ow when he (louis) would even be in! We love eating here but are really pissed off to be told we can’t eat here today!

Yikes. Bland, overpriced food, mediocre service, and ugly décor. Some of the worst food I’ve had at a restaurant. Chips, salsa, rice, beans, tomatoes – all mediocre at best. Nearly everything seemed like it came prepackaged. Certainly not fresh and well-​made. The only things they didn’t screw up were the lettuce, cheese (kinda hard to screw up), and guacamole (which was not good, but passable).
I had the veggie burrito – it was lukewarm and came stuffed with cold, marinated artichokes from a jar. Yuck. I could see artichokes potentially working in a veggie burrito, but not the way they did it. The flavor combination was terrible. I had to take all the artichokes out of the burrito just to make it edible.
If they’re going to screw up pretty much everything else, they could have at least made the thing hot. The whole plate (burrito, rice) felt like it had been sitting under a lamp for a couple hours. I could have probably asked them to reheat it, but their service was not the greatest and the food was so bad anyway that I didn’t even bother. I actually ended up taking most of the food home to salvage it with the higher quality ingredients I had at home (including salt, which the food lacked).
The food here does a disservice to Mexican cuisine. Maybe they should stick to seafood. After all, they are right there by the water.
Pretty much a «tourist trap».

I have never had to wait long for service or food, even with a group of 12 folks. I read in another review they had to wait. Well, this place is Well worth the wait!
The staff here are friendly and seem happy, the owner is a kick, a great ol guy. I Love this place. My family has been coming here for tens of years.
Love it. A++

I ordered the homemade tamale, it was ok. The salsa there has no flavor, well no spice whatsoever. Maybe it’s because I’m from SoCal but nothing there (including the margaritas) tasted authentic enough to be called Mexican food. I also tried the seafood enchiladas. The service and chips were really good.

The food was very excellent. We had a ricotta ravioli special with jumbo shrimp as well as the seafood flautas. The things that were bad were the service. The server’s assistant was cheerful and lovely. However, our server was quite rude and distant. This restaurant is almost like a coastal take on traditional Mexican food. They venture out with flavors to create interesting taste profiles! We will be coming back, but hopefully have a better server next time.

Over the years, this once inviting place has turned into a tourist trap. When the four of us arrived, we were right behind an elderly couple who had mobility issues. They were told it would be 30 minutes. However, because we were four, we were seated right away. There were plenty of open tables, and the couple would have need the extra room. That was hard to swallow. Even though the service and ambiance was very good, the food was only good, and way overpriced. But then, $ 16.50 for a Margarita? And an average one? It would take two glasses of wine to make one glass somewhere else, but prices were on the high end. Greed has taken over in this once sweet local destination. I cannot in good conscience, go back there.

We have dined here many times over the last 10 years and yesterday was the first time that it was the worst. The 20 oz. Margareta is now served in a plastic mug whioch doest not stay cold. They now use paper straws which break down and there was no Tequila taste in the drink. The chips and salsa were as good as always but the dinner was a smaller amount then usual. We will try them again and hope that things are better. The visit was a dissapointment!

I have been going to this restaurant for over 9 years. Loved the food and Margaritas. Went there tonight and the Margaritas were weak. I had the Castroville Tostada, something I’ve had many times before. It was much smaller. The salsa on it had no flavor and was nothing more than a lot of old cut up tomatoes. There was hardly anything under the tomatoes. The beans were dry and the Artichoke still had the Choke attached to the heart.

Food is good but overpriced. The fried artichokes are delicious, Ray’s platter was very good as well. Margaritas are good and fresh, don’t taste like made from a mix. The service was terrible at the beginning: we asked for water and nobody brought it until we had to ask for it a second time. They want to charge you for the second basket of chips… Unbelievable!!!
Too expensive for what it is! Tourist trap no doubt.

Wonderful restaurant… We come every time we’re in Monterey… the owner is fantastic, he visits each table and is always very charming AND the food is wonderful!

Had a Wonderful late Lunch it was satisfying and met some new friends behind the bar love meeting new people along the way a must visit.

Nice ambience and good service earned the two stars. The food, worse than «meh». Huevos Rancheros that were merely so-​so; high priced Chili Verde that was not only tough but as close to tasteless as I’ve ever experienced.
a tourist trap

Stopped in for dinner on Friday night when I was in town and it was not bad at all. I had the scallop tacos and a Cesar to start and both were good. The fried artichoke appetizer was good and my wife and dad’s soups were great. They had the Clam Chowder and a Chicken Chipotle style cream soup. My dad said his seafood enchiladas were a bit dry same with my mom’s Carnitas but nothing that kept them from enjoying the food at the end of the day. The owner stopped by the table to thank us for coming by and he could not have been a nicer person, our server was also very polite and attentive.

Tourist trap. 1 hour wait to get entrees. Drink orders taken 20+ minutes after seating.
Burrito was 90% meat.
Wanted salsa for this flavorless muck, told they charge for it – on top of tourist prices — for MEXICAN food.
Guest was handed a box: do it yourself, you stinking customer!
You’re a fool to eat here.

Hey Whole Enchilada, just so you know… in Philadelphia they would never, ever put teriyaki sauce on a cheesesteak, so please when offering a kind of cool menu item that is a «Philly cheesesteak burrito» don’t drench the hell out if with some weird teriyaki sauce…
Your hostess is not a team player, when she was walking around someone at our table asked for water and she said «I don’t do that, I’ll get a buster». Rude!

Almost got 4 stars. I had the grilled prawns over lobster ravioli topped with a white wine cream sauce — that was worth 5 stars. The seafood flautas were very tasty and worth 4 stars. My wife had a tamale worth 3.5 stars. So far, they would have a solid 4 stars, but I was disappointed in one aspect of the service.
I asked for a margarita and was told I had a choice of flavors. I chose one flavor and my wife chose another. When the bill arrived hers cost $ 3 more than mine. The server explained why, but he should have told us that flavor was extra when we ordered, not after we questioned it on the bill. The price was not adjusted, so it came off the tip and is costing this review 1 star.

Before you go to this restaurant here is a few things to think about.
–The good–
–alright fried artichokes
–nice indoor and outdoor seating areas
–nice sink in bathroom
— The bad–
–Terrible service
–over priced food
–watery clam chowder that was old
–long waits for bathroom because it’s a joint establishment
Don’t waste your time at this hell hole, keep on driving there are much better opinions down the road!

Wow, this place is sooo good! We ate here while staying at the nearby Capitan’s Inn at Moss landing. We almost didn’t go here, but friends of ours in Santa Cruz told us that we had to go. They said that they drive down to Moss landing just to eat at the Whole Enchilada. These guys are real foodies too. So glad we decided to take their advice. Everything was delicious. Our margaritas were heavenly too. Can’t wait to go back!

Wow! This place is great! My fiancé and I learned about this place as we were traveling on a weekend get away from a friend. They are family friendly, have a full bar, and also have great outdoor seating.
The food, service, and experience was over all top notch! The owner even walked around and asked how everything was going, how we heard about his place, and he thanked us for coming to his place.
If your looking for great food, and a nice comphy expierance, check this place out, you will be glad you did!!!

Stopped in here for lunch on the way back to the Bay Area from Monterey — mistake!
The good:
The place itself is nice looking — they have outdoor courtyard seating and interesting décor. Touristy but not super tacky.
The location is nice — near the water, convenient to the highway and parking is easy.
The hostess was friendly, as were the servers.
The iced tea was ok.
The bad:
The food was terrible — I got food poisoning from a carnitas burrito w/​mole sauce. The mole sauce tasted sweet, almost like bad BBQ sauce — I think it had fermented or something. I scraped it off mostly and tried to just eat the carnitas (which wasn’t very good, either) as we were in a hurry. I should have eaten a granola bar instead!
Bottom line: find somewhere else to eat, unless you enjoy being sick all night and the next day.