Monterey Cafe

Place says it’s open til 2. We had last call for alc at 1 am. Last song at 1:10 before we were physically pushed out of the bar. Never patronizing a business like this again.

I'll start by saying I did have a buzz but I was FAR from "drunk". We went there for my Autistic son because he loves karaoke. I'd been there before and never really enjoyed it, but he wanted to go so we did. The bartender (4/26/2025 brunette) cut me off when there were clearly more intoxicated people there than me. Then she preceded to physically attempt to wrestle my existing drink from my hand. A drink I had already paid for. She claimed "I was bumping into people". First the place is tiny. You can't NOT bump into people. Second, I'm also on the Spectrum and can't stand people in my bubble. So I try to avoid "bumping into people" at all costs. In conclusion, this place is complete crap. The staff is unqualified, the karaoke system is trash, and the pizza is glorified Totinos at best. If you're downtown, pick any place before this one. Even Brorracho is a smarter choice. Be warned.

From Canada. Ordered drinks. Card didn’t work even though it works everywhere else. Asked bouncer (because bartender was busy) where closest ATM was went immediately and were back within 5 minutes, because it was a block away. Bartender (big man) doesn’t let us back in the bar, says we didn’t communicate with him about us leaving. We are smokers and regularly leave buildings for 5 minutes to go for a smoke so never had a bartender just dump our drinks and cry over it “you didn’t communicate with me wahwahwah I don’t want you back here” plus he could’ve asked the bouncer if we left at all (because we literally could’ve been in the bathroom) and the bouncer would’ve said they went to get cash. Which we then explained to the big man and he wouldn’t take apologies and that we told the bouncer… dude is on a power trip for sure, according to the neighbouring bar too that we ended up and according to the other reviews here. So he needs to chill out.

Well, coming from Monterey, I was surprised to see a restaurant in Spokane themed after our little beach town. But, it is was a welcome surprise. Solid food, friendly staff, surf boards. It felt like home. I had the Cobb salad and it was on point. I think pizza and booze is there specialty. That, and their bar. Still, cool, relaxed spot to grab food or drinks in downtown Spokane.

Had a great time here. It’s a comfortable dive with a diverse but welcoming crowd. Great dj and bartender. I will definitely build this into my bar crawl roster.