Last week, a few of us were treated to a sneak peek inside the soon-to-open Restaurant 1833 located right next door to the Library in the historic Stokes adobe.  Built in 1833 (hence the name) the house was home to Dr. James Stokes, and his wife Josefa Soto de Cano for many years. During the period between 1844-1848, the house was greatly enlarged by Stokes and it quickly became one of Monterey’s “hot spots”, in fact, the site for most of Monterey's social functions and balls. 
Around 1950, the adobe was converted from a private home into a first-class restaurant owned and operated by Gallatin Powers.  The newest owners, Coastal Luxury Management have put many, many months of time and effort into a major upgrade to the Mexican era structure. They have also installed a new outdoor seating area, the interior décor can only be described as gorgeous, and wait until you get a look at the bar – it looks like (and may be) onyx, and it literally glows!  All this, with the promise of cuisine described as “peasant chic”, Restaurant 1833 in the old Stokes adobe has “hot spot” written all over it!