The famed Whaling Station Restaurant is Monterey County's finest Prime steak house, it has earned an international reputation for superb quality, service and presentation.

We serve the finest selection of dry aged, USDA Prime beef, the freshest seafood and locally produced vegetables. The restaurant offers daily specials created by Chef Pisto and his award-winning staff.

The restaurant includes a full bar, an award winning wine list and a California Mediterranean ambiance that is comfortable yet sophisticated.

Media & Review Excerpts:

"Best Steak Award"
Voted by the Readers of the Monterey County Weekly, 2002-2005 and Readers' Choice Awards, Adventures in Dining Magazine

"BEST STEAK HOUSE 2009"
John Pisto’s Whaling Station
These are the menus that make airhead orderers look smart: Simply aim for a red meat, don’t push past medium rare, and ask for insight on a wine list worthy of such excellent ribs, rib-eye, steaks and Wellingtons. (Meanwhile, check out the jaw-dropping, mouth-moistening Good Old Days deals on red meat while you’re there, with entrees like beef Wellington, or boneless ribs with Caesar, soup and artichoke for $20, or the popular at-the-bar-only deals on a prodigious steak sandwich or French dip.)
2009 Best of Monterey County,
Monterey County Weekly

"It's Saturday night, and you crave a steak. You grab your coat and head for Monterey's old standby, the Whaling Station. Once there, you walk in the door, look around, and feel your mouth drop open. Instead of the old fashioned, dimly lit seafood establishment to which you've become accustomed over the years, you suddenly find yourself in an airy, contemporary, urban restaurant alive with energy and conversation. Fear not: you have arrived at the new Whaling Station, and you're about to enjoy an extraordinary dining experience."
Adventures in Dining Restaurants in Review

"2008 Best of Monterey County,
Best Place For Steak"
You probably think society has turned its back on traditional steak houses, what with the trends toward lighter eating, more health-conscious diners and newer, fancier types of cuisines popping up. Think again. The strongest segment of the industry over the past decade is steakhouses, baby, and John Pisto, curator at large of Monterey’s Whaling Station, knows all about that. He delivers the big goods with juicy 100-percent USDA Prime Midwestern corn-fed beef, aged 28 days, cooked the way you want it; live Maine lobster; oysters Rockefeller; creamed spinach; martinis and big red wines. Veteran, well-seasoned waiters and a warm, clubby atmosphere keep The Station the first stop for chops.
2008 Best of Monterey County,
Monterey County Weekly

"2007 Best of Monterey County,
Best Steak House"
John Pisto knows how to give diners what they want. On Fisherman’s Wharf, he gives them delicious fresh seafood and all the accoutrements. At the Whaling Station, people want big, juicy steaks, lobster, shrimp, potatoes, iceberg lettuce with bleu cheese (the bleu cheese dressing here is so complex a recipe it takes two days to make), martinis and red wine. This is a steakhouse, no bones about it, unless you’re talking about the bone-in rib steak with bearnaise.
The Whaling Station has the look and feel of a classic steakhouse, just the way Chef Pisto knows it
should be. Monterey County Weekly

"A destination for the Prime beef connoisseur, John Pisto's Whaling Station is the only one of its kind on the Peninsula. In fact, diners would be hard pressed to find another quite like it in the state. Even the most highly regarded steak houses in the country mix Prime and Choice on their menus, since only one percent of the beef in the United States is graded USDA Prime. The Whaling Station offers exclusively Prime -- and lots of it. Pisto spent two years researching suppliers before selecting a Nebraska ranch from which he purchases the world's finest corn-fed beef, properly aged. He prepares it using his own special spice mix."
Mary Ellen Haag, Guest Life Monterey Bay,
Culture & Cuisine

From Our Customers

"We were both hanging out for a steak and were really pleased with what we got at Whaling Station. The steak was cooked to perfection, great choices in cuts, and the garlic mash and fresh green beans that accompanied it were just perfect." New Zealand

"If you want a great prime streak in the Monterey area, this is the place to go. On a recent visit, I had the bone in rib-eye and my wife had a filet. Both were cooked to perfection and "melt in your mouth" tender. Sides and salad were very good as well and a nice wine list.. Excellent service from start to finish. This is an outstanding choice for steak lovers." Houston, Texas