Rocky's Cafe is off to a smooth start in a difficult Seaside location.

Maritza Contreras serves as her father’s spokesperson.

It’s an unofficial position, mind you. But someone has to fill the role. Otherwise, how could Juan Contreras show off his new restaurant in Seaside?

Rocky’s Cafe is—her words—“a classic American diner with a little twist.” That means omelettes, pancakes and benedicts for breakfast, but also chilaquiles and huevos rancheros, with lunch staples such as burgers, Caesar salad and steak sandwiches, with options like shrimp tacos and chorizo-spiked mussels. “Not truly Mexican,” she adds of the menu tweaks. “Chicano-style.”

Chef Juan Contreras might convey the same message. Before lunch rush ebbs, however, he must rush across the Peninsula to his day job. In addition to owning a breakfast and lunch spot, he’s a chef at The Tap Room in Pebble Beach.

“He’s been working two jobs forever,” Maritza observes. “He’s running around all the time.”

Tapping into that experience elevates Rocky’s well above the typical American diner, because Juan Contreras makes his statement on the plate. While there is a “spicy burger” on the menu, chef Contreras manages to sneak a subtle flicker of heat into other patties—a faint trace that gives dimension to the bittersweet char from the grill. The fried chicken brings delicate, tender white meat under a crisp veneer that distances itself from the heartier Southern style, yet still pairs neatly with the wispy malt sweetness of waffles.

There’s an evident pride in the cooking. Just about everything is made from scratch.

Chef Contreras and his “compadre” Tranquilino Cruz handle chores in the kitchen. Although Contreras has worked in area restaurant kitchens for 30 years, he and Cruz had never teamed up. This is, however, a first restaurant venture and the chef wanted someone he could lean on.

“Dad told him ‘you’re someone I can trust,’” Maritza Contreras recalls.

The faith and level of support implied by the word is also an important feature of Rocky’s, especially as a new restaurant seeking to gain a following. Maritza is the owner’s daughter. Another server is Alain Contreras, her brother. And their mother Maria can often be found in the back, washing dishes and utensils.

But this is not a full time job. Alain also works in Pebble Beach. Maria works elsewhere, too. And Maritza is completing a master’s degree in social work at CSU Monterey Bay—while holding another position.

“We definitely got our work ethic from him,” Maritza says of her father, adding that chef Contreras has talked about opening a restaurant for several years. When the small space along Del Monte Boulevard became available, he decided it was “now or never.”

The location presents a few challenges, but the family knew what they were up against. Rocky’s fills the space once occupied by an old school diner, Del Monte Grill & Cafe—one of those places where breakfast is served all day. It’s cast of regulars included the Contreras family.

“We had always worried about parking,” Maritza admits. There is no lot, so guests must park along busy Del Monte Boulevard or find a gap on one of the side streets. “We were concerned because people don’t like change,” she adds. “We’ve had people come in and walk out.”

Del Monte Grill moved to a larger facility and now sits on Fremont Street in Monterey, still dishing out familiar fare. Chef Contreras wanted a different pace, with breakfast and lunch menus.

“He loves playing around with everything,” Maritza notes. “Lunch is where his cooking shines.”

Guests can go heavy—there’s a New York strip steak on the lunch menu, as well as baby back ribs or a mound of cheese fries scented with truffle oil. But it also has an attitude, thanks to pepper jack and a dose of Contreras’ “Rocky Sauce.”

Yet he can show a light touch—pear salad or a sand dab sandwich. And lunch may be his forte, but the chef doesn’t back down from breakfast, although the offerings tend toward the basics. On a list of eggs and bacon, French toast, pancakes or omelettes, chicken and waffles or an open faced burger stand out as exotic. 

What separates Rocky’s from the traditional roadside grill is the care given to each dish. When Contreras prepares a shrimp benedict, the hollandaise receives a little something extra.

“There is inspiration from all the places he’s worked,” his daughter reports.

Rocky’s opened in February, a down time for restaurants. This allowed them to quietly pick up the pace. And despite the frustrations of a few Del Monte regulars, the restaurant is duly gaining attention—especially from Seaside’s auto mall.

“We get a lot from the dealerships,” Maritza Contreras says. “We have a lot of regulars. And we are getting trickles of new people.”

Rocky's Cafe is located at 1642 Del Monte Boulevard, Seaside. 747-1414, rockys-cafe.weebly.com.