Garlic City Cafe: Getting Your Garlic Fix in Gilroy

When I was at Garlic World in Gilroy off Highway 101, I asked them where I should go for lunch to get my garlic fix. I was told that the Garlic City Cafe in Gilroy was where it was at for all things garlic. I drove the ten minutes into town and sat down to a meal of what I hoped would be a garlic overload. I can easily say that it was undoubtedly a garlic overload, but I was impressed with what I ate here. Read on for all the information.

Details

Cost: $10 to $15
Location: 7459 Monterey Rd, Gilroy, CA 95020
This information is from my visits in 2016 and 2018
If you really want to experience Gilroy, go to the garlic festival

Getting There

Garlic City Cafe is located right in the heart of downtown Gilroy. You can’t miss it as you drive down Monterey St, and there is street parking available all around the restaurant.

The Cafe

The cafe is pretty small, with a dozen tables inside and four outside. It was a lovely day, so I opted to sit outside.

When I got the menu, I asked the waitress what the most garlicky thing was and just ordered that. It ended up being the garlic burger and the garlic soup. When in Gilroy you have to go big, right?? About 15 minutes later, my food arrived, and here is what I thought.

Garlic Burger – The meat has garlic ground into it and around six cloves sitting on top. This is not what you want to order if you don’t like garlic, but you should already know that. I enjoyed it as the meat was cooked well, and it fit my craving for Gilroy garlic. I thought the roasted garlic on top would be overpowering, but it added a nice flavor.

Garlic soup – This soup was creamy with a strong garlic flavor that added to the taste instead of overpowering it. I honestly didn’t think I would like it, but I was impressed.

Overall I found this place to be a lot better than I anticipated it being. I figured it would be gimmicky, but the food was actually above average. I enjoyed both the burger and soup. If you are looking to get your garlic fix in Gilroy, then I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Garlic City Cafe. Let me know if you have a different suggestion in the comments.