“I’m a lot older than you think!” Cristophe Hamane says. “Seventy five!” (Photo: Mark C. Anderson)
Dec. 20, 2025—This might sting a little bit. But hopefully it helps.
Because it’s true: You’re special, just like everyone else.
That’s applicable here because Christophe Hamade makes each patron that comes to his singular spot feel like the center of the universe, and sneaks a little baklava or coconut-chocolate macaroon extra in your bundle of Mediterranean food to lock in the sentiment.
You wouldn’t anticipate that kind of love given the signage guarding the seemingly patched together “restaurant,” which looks and feels like a house with a deck tacked on, because it is precisely that.
Don’t touch the plants. Don’t even consider asking about a restroom. Don‘t be a douche*. (*Implied.)
But while the whole structure might be a patched-together situation, and the warnings are proactive, the food is thoroughly cohesive and the love is real.
Part of the charm of Paprika includes the messaging that matches (and completes) vintage aesthetic. The outward-facing info also includes menus and pep talks. (Photos: Mark C. Anderson)
Hamade, basically a one man show, emerges behind the sliding residential-style window, brimming with eagerness to cook for you, and the old-school theme from the signs carries: This is a no-frills joint. Let’s eat.
The shotgun patio is camoflauged from the street, and provides homey dining space consistent with the feel of Hamade’s handmade situation. (Photo: MCA)
Hamade was never going for Michelin recognition, but Paprika just so happens to be one of 17 Monterey area restaurants highlighted in the guide, and the only one with a single $ sign on its $ to $$$$ pricing scale.
That he’s into this hustle is apparent enough in its own, but when I ask him why an individual would do something for, say, 30+ years—since 1994!—his answer still surprises me.
“I love it!” he says. “I cannot wait to wake up tomorrow and come back here again.”
The gyro combo plate offers a lot for $22ish. (Photo: Mark C. Anderson)
I opt for a gyros combo plate ($21.95) to explore the palate wheel of hummus, pillowy pita, Basmati rice, greek salad, beef and lamb protein, and feel like it would be malpractice not to add on a tub of olives, a pair of falafel balls, some Hamade-recommended pistachio baklava and a cup of Turkish coffee.
As Hamade hands over the green olives, he notes he’s been working on a batch of his own briny Kalamatas.
He shares a handful.
While they’re super salty savory bombs that I can’t eat more that a couple of, I’m suddenly and spontaneously basking in his specific sort of sunshine.
Paprika’s baklava—and particularly the pistachio chocolate—can bang with any in the greater Monterey Bay Area, and is a Found Treasure unto itself. (Photo: Mark C. Anderson)
The other items—the overly sweet and squooshy falafel excluded—all satisfy, and come attentively arranged.
My order checks in at $44 and is enough to fill up three eaters. Plus the strong and botanical Turkish coffee slingshots me into the afternoon.
My straight-shooting pops joins in on lunch, and tries the first baklava of his life.
“I don’t know what this hell this is,” he says. “But it’s daym good.”
He promptly ate four—loving hard on their flaky, honeyed, indulgent-but-airy existence.
Well before the food arrives, Paprika provides a lot to take in. Here Hamane is quickly making sure this customer leaves with more than he paid for, aka bonus baklava. (Photo: Mark C. Anderson)
Other elements that await on future visits include chicken bathed in the house garlic sauce, lamb and beef kafta seasoned with parsley and spices, zingy tabbouleh, tender dolmas, flaky spanakopita, silky baba ghanouj and labneh.
Then there are other baklava plays like walnut, cashew and coffee walnut, with vegan alternatives too.
I must testify some overdue deliverance here. Two area flavor-forward queens with Middle Eastern/North African/Syrian/Armenian heritage have long told me this place—and Cristophe, who they refer to first name only, and remains inseparable from the spot—is as special as he makes them feel.
I was healthily skeptical, thinking How good can that little funky spot be. And…I was awakenened.
So even as I was late to the game, I got to Hamade 20 minutes before he opened, but he was ready to figure out whatever he could get me on my timeline.
The vegetarian dishes he could do real quick, the meats would take a little more of a wait.
I was happy to hold out for the fuller experience, which is as much about relationships and enthusiasm as it is the quality of the gyro.
One of those superfans is my colleague Kera Abraham. When I asked her why Paprika clicks, her smile provides a contagious glow.
“He’s the most affordable restaurant on the Michelin local list, and he’s cooking it all himself, and that says a lot,” she observes. “What maybe says more is he has some sort of steel-trap memory where he remembers people at a level that I cannot fathom…I don’t have that gift.”
In other words, he makes Abraham feel like she’s as magical as the rest of us.
Which is the biggest reason this is a special place, unlike everybody else.
More at paprikacafe-monterey.com.
Mark C. Anderson serves as EMB’s managing editor, appears on KRML’s “Friday Found Treasures” on 94.7 FM, and has earned Best Magazine Column honors twice from the S.F. Press Club. Hit him up at [email protected].
Dining and Cooking