We had dinner there this week; a first time experience. It was recommended by a neighbor, and it was excellent. The tapas are excellent for sharing, and the tapas were each tasty and well presented. We had excellent service and the restaurant was quiet enough inside for 4 of us to have a wonderful discussion/dialogue without shouting or having difficulty hearing. Highly recommended, and we will be back again. read more

3 stars for the overall overpriced food. The Paellas (Del Mar) gets 4 stars. Although delicious and plated generously it was overpriced. 5 stars for the ambiance and the service. As my partner and I walked into the restaurant, the servers began to dim the lights setting a romantic tone. The inside decor feels homey. The servers are enthusiastic and lively. Offers great suggestions from the menu and turned on the tv to the playoffs upon our request. We ordered the Paellas first before studying the menu. The paellas take about 45 minutes to cook, so we highly suggest you place that order first. We ordered the Del Mar Paellas. The presentation was gorgeous and filled with large clams and mussels. It tastes so fresh and packed with bold flavors. Would definitely order this again. The farmers market salad of the day was heirlooms tomato salad with burrata cheese. I usually love heirlooms tomato salad but this one wasn't to my liking. The greens were soggy and drenched in balsamic dressing. The burrata cheese melted over the salad which added more moisture to the salad aiding in the overall sogginess of the salad. Ordered off the specials, Wagyu steak which was expensive and sadly not delivered. The server hyped up the dish informing the meat to melt in your mouth when it was the opposite. For the price and the execution, it was not worth it. Had Wagyu before and it indeed is a grade-A meat that truly melts in your mouth. This dish however did not live up to its reputation. Overpriced and not worth the taste. Although the plate was beautifully plated and appeared to satisfy the tastebud, it did the opposite. For a restaurant of this caliber, the soggy salad and the not-really Wagyu were a total letdown. read more

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Wow. What can I say... I come to town and eat in many places for business dinners. Stopped for happy hour/lunch. Incredible meal, I had the prawns and little gem wedge. A margarita. Best meal I'd had in weeks. The ambiance is lovely in the patio. They had a live musician playing . Wish I took photos of the food to share, but instead savored the experience. This will be my new go too. read more

We made reservations for 6pm and we're seated right away on a Monday night. Nice place to enjoy drinks and dinner. We ordered their house red wine - fruity like a sangria. Pork empanadas were delicious. The crust was light and flaky like a croissant. Four of us shared squid ink rice paella, fish, mussels, clams, scallops, shrimps, squids and caviar (salmon eggs). We finished dinner with blueberry crumble with vanilla ice cream. read more

Esteban Restaurant - Squid ink seafood paella - Spanish Near Me - Monterey, California

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Dining at dusk on the beautiful outdoor patio, warm incandescent lights strung across the dining area and Spanish music In the background set the mood. Take your date here. I was with a bunch of guys but still enjoyed the company in this setting. Excellent paella. We ordered two different kinds and both were delicious. The paella Del Mar was amazing. The octopus appetizer was tender and grilled with so much flavor. This place really takes you to back to Spain but with better paella. read more

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Though I've had two pretty good meals here, I do regret not making the time to try one of the paellas. Come on. Spanish style restaurant inside the Casa Munras Inn, it would seem a natural to dive in. Alas, time was not on our side. So, try not to show up at such a time when that extra 45 minutes for prep (not unusual nor outrageous at all) just seems to be El Puente too far. That said, it was very easy to get cosy and fed. Starting with some local wines, like from the Scheid Vinyards, a Grenache Blanc and/or a Hahn Chardonnay were both winners. The first night started with an heirloom tomato and burrata salad draped in (I think) a gentle but vibrant pesto. Fantastic. This was followed by another shareable in the form of a flatbread topped with goat cheese, artichoke and zucchini. Yum. Completed this meal with the Cured Meats and Cheeses that were a hearty but not heavy treat. Did I say completed? I misspoke. The real completion was the Chocolate Pot de Crème (chocolate, caramel, candy cap streusel). Sweet and seductive. The other dinner enjoyed here included the seemingly simple but righteous Pollo a la Parrilla. A chili rubbed half chicken, mojo verde, patatas frias, harvest veggies, milk aioli. Plenty good and and shareable. Started with the Pork Belly, one of their signature dishes. (Llano Seco Rancho Pork Belly) All in all very good. One note, though. If you're looking for the kitchen to whip something up last minute at night, say a bowl of fruit, you will be disappointed. They were unable or unwilling to make that request via phone materialize. I understand and respect that there are shortages and new limits in our world, and respect that. In fact, if it's 10pm in Paso Robles and you're looking for much of anything, you will likely be out of luck. read more

The ambiance was nice with both indoor and outdoor dining available. My waitress was very good. She was attentive, friendly, and always smiling. I ordered the seafood paella. Not so good. The rice in half the pan was burnt stuck to the pan. There wasn't much rice to begin with. Detected no saffron, a major part of paella. The large shrimps were good, but the clams and mussels had dime sized meat. There was no fish. I like the hotel that the restaurant is in, so I'll give the restaurant another chance the next time I am town. read more

Outstanding food and service. We got there at 6:00 for the tapas happy hour. There are additional tapas you can order during the 4:30-6:30 happy hour but if you are there later than that you can still order tapas off the dinner menu. I would recommend giving yourself the bigger selection and getting there by 6:00. Be sure to sit on the patio if possible. Our waitress and the asst waiters were excellent. They worked as a team, never left us needing anything, were friendly, and were attentive without being over bearing. The tapas were to die for. These went far beyond the typical queso fundido con hongos. They had a lot of sophistication for small dishes. If you can't jet to Spain for dinner, don't worry, Estebans has you covered. Olé! read more

Esteban Restaurant - Gambas tapa - Spanish Near Me - Monterey, California

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Best Spanish meal we've had in a very long time! Paella was authentic with the coveted socarrat. We loved everything including the cocktails! We sat outside near the fireplace and enjoyed the lemon tree in bloom, so pretty. Service was wonderful too. We'll be back soon! read more

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Omg paella! This is the first place where I discovered paella. It's the most amazing dish ever. We were staying in Monterey (pre-pandemic days) and was looking for a place to grab dinner. Did a yelp search and found this place and saw the good looking paella photos. It was super close to where we were staying and we only had to walk a few mins down Alvarado Street from our hotel (FYI - Estaben Restaurant is located in Casa Munras Hotel, so you can just book a stay here and eat here)! When we arrived, we got seated right away. Asked for patio seating and they seated us next to the fire, so we were warm the entire time. The staff was super friendly and always made sure we were ok. If I remember correctly, the chef even came out and said "hi" and to make sure we're enjoying the food, which was super kind of him. Service was excellent too! We ended up ordering the paella negra for dinner. Another FYI, it does take a while for the paella to cook (maybe 30mins ish), so we ordered some fries and drinks while we waited by the fire. I wish I ordered more tapas and wish I tried their empanadas, but maybe next time. As for the paella, it was definitely an experience and very flavorful. The squid ink was very interesting. The duck meat, seafood, rice and everything mixed very well together and worth the wait! One of the best meal I have had in my life :) I'm waiting for pandemic life to be over, so I can book a stay here and return to Esteban for another amazing meal. I have been craving their paella and would like to try more of their tapas! If you're visiting Monterey, you have to visit Esteban for some delicious paella and tapas! read more

Esteban Restaurant - Spanish Near Me - Monterey, California

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Estéban's is the new hot dining experience in the Carmel/Monterey area! What a hidden gem that is getting a lot of talk within the foodie communities. Do not wait, Estéban's is the real deal! It's a must experience in the Monterey Bay Area 5 star service! 5 star food! 5 star ambiance! Must highlight the tapas menu Chef Ben Hillian has created. Strategic ingredients and sauces that are perfectly delicate and complex that fit with each taste. We were extremely happy with our experience and although there might be a wait (it's becoming very popular with the locals and visitors), we enjoyed every dish. read more

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Love coming to Esteban for happy hour tapas (4:30-6pm). We had a light dinner and split a bunch of tapas on the patio. The asparagus was a favorite with tarragon and macron almonds. read more

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We were optimistic - bur this was a less than pleasant dining experience. They quickly got us our drinks (we just ordered Arnold Palmers) - but they tasted off, like there was something in the water. We ordered the croquetas and jamon which was good. We waited an hour for our paella (del mar) which would have been fine but we saw multiple tables who ordered after us get the same paella first. The paella was very mediocre - the shrimp was mushy and watery and the rice was way over salted. The service was pretty awful. We had to flag down our waitress and I don't think we would have gotten any service past our initial seatings we had to ask the busboy for things (he was great) TLDR - not worth the wait or the money. read more

Probably better to make a reservation but didn't have to wait too long on a weekday evening for a walk in spot. There was even an option for inside seating, which is what we wanted. Not sure if they were overall short staffed since it seemed like people were just calling over whichever server was available for various things. I will say that other than at the beginning of the meal we didn't see our server until about 15 minutes after we were done with our meal. We ordered the garbanzo y chorizo, croquetas de jamon, cochinillo, and the del mar paella. Of the tapas I recommend the croquetas and the cochinillo (pork belly). The garbanzo was a more forgettable dish, not too much flavor. Will recommend that if you order a paella dish to immediately order it and then order some tapas to hold you over. The paella dish was great, crispy bottom rice and tasty seafood. Will say that the clams were still sandy and sometimes eating the rice I was chomping on sand. The shrimp was a bit chewy, but the mussels were fine. Think we ended up having about 1/3 of the paella leftover, for two people, if that helps with a sense of how large the dishes are. read more

Can't miss. Great food, attentive and friendly staff, nice outdoor patio, good parking and a reasonable price. We especially enjoyed the salad, Tapas, and the desserts. read more

Decided to try this place as we were staying at Casa Munras for a few nights. We ordered the Pimentos de Padron (grilled peppers), Gambia's Al Plancha (shrimp), Verduras a la Brasa (grilled veggies) and the bread pudding for dessert. The food and service were both excellent! The ambiance outside was very romantic. Would definitely go back. Highly recommend for high quality Spanish style tapas. read more

My friend and I stayed in Monterey for 4 days, this restaurant was the BEST out of all the places we ate, between service and food, such a great blend of flavors. I had made a 7:00 dinner reservation through OpenTable seating outside. Not knowing when booking so far in advance that Monterey was going to be windy and cold while we were there, we couldn't change the reservation to be seated inside instead. Salome C was our server, tried hard to accommodate us with 2 heaters. We started off with 2 Large Boss Anna's while perusing the menu. Dishes ordered that my friend an I shared: Casa Munras Pork Empanadas, Coca La Mancha, Romaine Salad and the Llano Seco Rancho Pork Belly. It was a perfect amount of dishes for the 2 of us. The food came hot and fresh with a beautiful presentation and most of all tasting fantastic! Except for the weather (which was out of your control), thank you for the wonderful dining experience. Atmosphere: quaint (located in Casa Munras Hotel). Service: excellent. Food: excellent read more

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Excellent service, food and drinks. Really nice ambiance with a fireplace located at one end. There were six of us dining. We tried most of the tapas items, two mains and two desserts. This was easily one of the best meals I've had in a while. The service was attentive without being over-bearing. However, the food is the real star here. Everything was perfectly cooked, prepared and presented. The Flan and Basque cheesecake are both must-haves for dessert. My new favorite in Monterey! read more

Amazing tapas and wonderful service. My family came here to celebrate my sister's birthday and we had a wonderful time. Every single dish was delicious, presentation was amazing, and had a very unique flair to the Spanish tapa cuisine. The serving was huge, not your typical tapas small serving. Flavors were bursting from the first bite. Lizadel was our server. She was very friendly, warm, and helpful in giving us recommendations. I will definitely come back and bring my son soon. read more

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The food did not live up to the hype . It was super disappointing . I had the seared tuna. Completely over cooked : super small portion . And then for dessert they served a pouched pear with a scoop of vanilla. I needed a jack hammer to cut through the pear. It was so hard my knife could barely get through it . The servers were very nice and d did a good job . Food gets a thumbs down . read more

Ohhhh yeahhhh. That is good stuff! Had a great meal while on a trip with my co-pilot. We shared several dishes to get a good feel for the food. We had potatoes bravas, pulpo frito (octopus) and seafood paella. Every dish was outstanding, the service was great, and we had a nice chat with a regular, Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense, who my copilot happened to have flown a couple years earlier. Great restaurant- will return! read more

My daughter and I decided to eat dinner here this evening, and it was one of the best meals we have had in a while. These were definitely the best tapas we have had outside of Spain. I got a glass of the house red and she got a glass of the red sangria. We shared all the food: The Pinxtos sampler: Pan y aceite, aceitunas, & almendras Verduras a la Brassa Patatas Bravas Empanadas Crema Catalana (dessert) Everything was fantastic! We sat in the back room next to the fireplace, which provided a quiet place to talk about our day together. The service was very good, everyone was very friendly and accommodating. I would come back here in a heartbeat the next time I visit Monterey. read more

Esteban Restaurant - Verduras a la Brassa (grilled vegetables), patatas bravas, empanadas - Spanish Near Me - Monterey, California

Made reservations weeks in advance.waited more then an half to be seated.1 hr later they finally served us water.We went for the Thanksgiving 3 course meal after an hr they finally placed our order an come back 15 minutes later to let us know they ran out of the main course we had chosen. read more

Beautiful dining space and delicious food. Endangered/ toddler friendly! You may also park at the inn if you dine there and donot stay with the inn. read more

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Great experience! Stayed at the Casa Munras hotel so stopped by on our first night for a bite to eat. They were short staffed but our waiter was very attentive and gave great suggestions on what to eat. Put in the order for the paella Del Mar as soon as we sat since it can take up to 45 minutes to prepare. Order a couple drinks, the grilled octopus and cheese plate. Probably a bit much for 2 people but everything was delicious. Paella was the best dish and would come back just for more. read more

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Had a reservation for a fairly early dinner at 5:30 after a day of exploring Monterey. A nice quiet restaurant within a hotel and spa. We started off with the patatas bravas which had a very good savory and slightly spicy sauce. Potato cubes were crispy and hot. Next were the bacon wrapped medjool dates. I'd personally pass on these because I wasn't a huge fan of the grilled date texture. Too mushy for my liking. The bacon was quite good though. Pork empanadas were delicious. The pastry was puffy but soft and the filling paired nicely with the salsa. I'd also pass on the saffron arancini, but maybe because I realized I'm not a huge fan of the saffron flavor. The dish itself wasn't anything spectacular overall. Crispy pulpo was incredible. Had a nice charred flavor and did not have any of the sliminess that badly cooked octopus has. Lamb chops were immaculate too! I was quite surprised since this place is more known for seafood (since we are in Monterey). The yogurt sauce with the pickled peppers and onions paired so well with the richness of the meat. The tangy sides cut right through the gamy flavor of lamb. It was also super juicy and tender. Highly recommend this one. Fish of the day was flaky and moist. They do protein very well here. No complaints. Last was the seafood special paella. This was recommended by the waiter and not officially on the menu. Compared to the regular seafood paella, this one has king crab, halibut, and squid ink rice. It was about double the price of the regular and a bit bigger, but I don't think it was worth the "upgrade". It was good, but didn't blow my mind like the other dishes. The crab also wasn't the best and had a sort of mushy texture. Definitely stick with the regular ones on the menu. Overall, I'd give the experience 4.5/5. Service was excellent and food was a splurge, but we left with our stomachs satisfied for sure. read more

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Our family of 3 + grandparents enjoyed an excellent meal at Esteban last weekend, located inside the Casa Munras hotel in downtown Monterey. We were easily able to walk the short block from our hotel Abrego, even grandpa with his bad knee. After we were seated, our party was surprised, amused, and only slightly confused by the digital tablet menus -- between the kids menu, happy hour menu, drink menus, and more there were so many pages -- they even have a full page of canine cuisine for our 4-legged friends! We chose: From the small-bites menu we tried the Aceitunas (spanish olives, excellent but spicy), Pan y Aceite (grilled bread, crowd-pleaser), Almendras (marcona almonds, coulda skipped). From the tapas menu, we shared the Gambas al Plancha (flash fried prawns in flavorful sauce), Jamon Serrano Y Manchego (sliced serrano ham and manchego cheese with cornichons, brown mustard, and quince paste), and the ceasar salad. From the specials menu we enjoyed the glazed brussel sprouts with pork-belly. They also have a kids menu, we went with the hot dog and fries, both were great, hot-dog bun was declared "perfect" by a 4th grader who usually discards them. I would have continued ordering more food, but our party was getting full. Desserts were only okay - the flan was a little over-cooked to my liking, and even though the 3-types-of-chocolate cookies were baked to order, they were more exciting in the description than in the eating. The decaf drip coffee was quite weak, with a mouthful of grains at the bottom of my mug. The outside patio area had several propane heaters and a nice fire pit, but it was still too January-cold out for all but a handful of brave diners, and we were happy to be indoors. Inside, the relatively small dining room and bar was fairly noisy, with several raucous parties enjoying themselves, and sound echoing, but it quieted down later. The decor was simple and familiar Spanish revival style with lots of dark wood. Service was exceptional and always present, with people taking care of everything. All in all still a 5-star experience, we look forward to the next opportunity to return -- the menu had many temptations we haven't tried yet. read more

We had a beautiful day trip to Monterey today and was capped off by a great experience in this resto. Super nice servers especially Richard! There is street parking; we parked right in front of the hotel. The resto is in the hotel. Outdoor dining is nice. Best to wear a shawl or layer up. Everything we ordered was great but the empanada was something different- it's like a buttery croissant! read more

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My family and I got Thanksgiving dinner here because it was one of the few places open in Monterey on Thanksgiving that permitted dogs. We loved that we were also provided a small dog menu! They had a nice, brightly lit outdoor patio--my only complaint was that the singular heater they provided for a 6-person round table was not nearly warm enough. Overall, the dishes we ordered had inconsistencies as some were amazing and others were a complete miss as the paella we waited 45 minutes for was far too salty. The service from our waiter Salome, however, was incredible as he kindly took the paella off our bill and offered to substitute the dish with a ribeye for the price of the short rib. In terms of the dishes I ordered for myself: Wagyu Bone Marrow (3.5/5): I enjoyed the flavors of this dish as the foraged wild mushrooms, shallots, and thyme were a nice touch. The presentation was also incredible. However, the bone marrow seems to have been recombined with another meat which just doesn't seem to justify the $14 price tag. I also felt that the bread was over grilled as there were basically black char marks. Grilled Lamb Chop (4.5/5): Probably the best dish I had here! The lamb chops were so tender and had an excellent marinade dashed on them. The citrus cream sauce made for a nice dip for the lamb and the vegetables in it were nicely sautéed. My only critique was that the vegetables were kind of hard to enjoy because they were coated in the sauce. read more

Esteban Restaurant - Wagyu Bone Marrow - Spanish Near Me - Monterey, California

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Wonderful ambience, great service, and excellent tapas dishes. Highly recommend! We had the croquettes, Brussels sprouts, farmers market salad, empanada with braised pork (!!!), and pulpo (octopus- hubby ate, not me). Nothing disappointed. read more

Coastal Tapas Dining in Monterey and Carmel can be challenging with as many tourist traps as there are actual excellent authentic restaurants Esteban states it's menu focuses on Americanized tapas, but I'd say they undersell how creative and delicious their creations are While there are clear influences from popular Spanish tapas menus (paella, patata bravas), there are just as many California touches from the Mexican empanadas to the local bacon wrapped figs The end result was a refreshing menu that featured dishes that exceeded expectations and brings a much different cuisine type to this area overflowing with (many mediocre) American seafood restaurants Fig Montadito $16 ~ Chevre cheese, Jamon Serrano, honey & truffle, grilled Ad Astra bread / Casa Munras Pork Empanada $14 ~ feta cheese, tomatillo sauce / Wagyu Bone Marrow $14 ~ foraged wild mushrooms, shallots, thyme, Ad Astra grilled bread / Saffron Arancini $13 ~ brava sauce, aioli / Casa Munras Medjool Date $12 ~ bacon, blue cheese / Rose Sangria $11 / Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (supposedly made to order and perfectly crispy and moist but not warm which is odd) Esteban Restaurant (Monterey, CA) read more

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We were a party of 15 & management did nothing to accommodate us. We sat at 3 different tables. Each table ordered separate from the others. The servers put all the meals together and then divided the check by 3 (tables) $170 /table! Some of the dishes were cold-we all had words with the manager (who still did nothing to make us feel better) Poor business ethics & a terrible way to treat your customers. My group won't be back to this establishment. read more

Love the happy hour at the restaurant's patio. From the left of the hotel lobby, a foot path leading to the iron gate of the patio. We ordered the Brussel sprouts and garlic prawns. Both are of good portion size. Washed them down with sangria, delicious. Latino jazz is playing in the background and jasmine scant is in the air. This is living. read more

Esteban Restaurant - Brussel sprouts and the garlic prawns. - Spanish Near Me - Monterey, California

Coca Flatbread - very good Crispy Brselas - very good Iberico Pork - okay Empanadas - very good Short rib Paella - was under seasoned so had to add some salt and then it was very good read more

My Husband and I go to Big Sur and Carmel frequently and we are always looking for new places to try that don't serve typical touristy cuisine. We have a handful of joints and we are now adding Esteban to this list. We honestly took a chance on this place. I don't know why I thought Monterey was so far from Carmel because it isn't. It took us about 8 minutes to get there from downtown Carmel. We were a bit worried because Estéban is located in a hotel (cute Spanish style) which usually is a red flag for us but we were pleasantly surprised with the tapas they offered. As expected with Spanish tapas as we thought the portions here would be tiny so we ordered a lot. This was kind of a mistake because the portions were bigger and we were not able to finish it all. But it was still nice getting to try so many dishes. We enjoyed the Papas Bravas, the Pork Empanadas, Casa Lyonnaise salad, the Bacon wrapped Dates, and the Waygu Bone marrow which was prepared in a way we weren't used to. Paella Del Mar was yum and the seafood was cooked perfectly. It was all so full of flavor. The only thing we didn't love was the Pulpo which was a bit on the chewy side but I guess this is the risk you take when ordering octopus. All the staff was friendly and accommodating. Great service actually. My husband did have to send a drink back to the bar because it was too sweet for him but the bartender was very cool for taking it off the bill and replacing it with a few glasses of wine. I'd have to say the only meh part of the meal was the restaurant itself. It still very much had that you're in a hotel restaurant sort of feel (we sat close to the bar and entrance) so if it's warm enough outside I suggest you eat Al fresco to get a cozier environment to enjoy your meal. But we will definitely be coming back again. read more

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Double dated w the in-laws on 7.1.23 . Funny thing is hubby had always wanted to try this place and I always said NO, but finally I gave in . We ordered the Paella while we waited for our table because it takes 45mins . The Octopus was awesome perfectly seasoned and cooked and not rubbery. We ordered 4 dishes and all were great ! The server was awesome (Hispanic woman her name started with Lis... or Lid.. sorry I'm bad w names ) would definitely dine here again. read more

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It was a bad experience. For the price tag of the food itself, that was not worth it. Big price tag small plates. Let's start off with the Tapas. The only problems with the tapas was that the bone marrow had too much toppings on it that it actually covered up that buttery meaty taste Marrow has when it's freshly cooked. If you're paying for a Wagyu Tapa, don't dump a shit ton of seasoning and toppings on it that clash together to make a barely bone marrow tasting dish. It's Wagyu, treat it better. You only get four pieces of the crispy pork belly which around 1.5 inch in size and the thickness was barely there. Maybe less than half an inch or even smaller so you can barely call that a tapa. Call it a rip off. Don't even get me started with the Paella. It's a Spanish restaurant that served a barely good looking Paella that was under seasoned. We had to ask the server (bless you for handling my non English speaking uncles requests) for salt and pepper for how bland it was. You're making a Paella, at least do it right. It didn't taste like anything we had before because it was that bland. The chicken was a hit or miss to be over cooked or perfectly cooked but it was also lacking seasoning. The only real flavor in that Paella was the damn sausage they put in. The water was the turning point of this experience. When it was served, the glasses smelled like it was freshly wiped with Clorox and the water itself tasted like there was sulfur and/or chlorine in it. Coming here with my boyfriends family, they also noticed it as well hence why they ordered a bottle of San Pellegrino. read more

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Highly recommend this restaurant! A great atmosphere, walking distance to most things downtown Monterey. The paella was delicious and the wait staff were very attentive. read more

Esteban lived up to its advertisements during my visit. It's unfortunate that Yelp doesn't separate ratings for food, service, and ambiance. Food: 5 stars. I ordered a mixture of things. The Wagyu bone marrow is to die for and especially generous for the price. The Empanadas lived up to its hype. The Seasonal Harvest salad was perfection. The saffron arancini was a bit pedestrian but the chipotle aioli that it was served with was amazing. I had a wine flight with my meal. It was very well balanced but was a bit disappointed with the Garnacha from Spain (Xiloca) was a little disappointing until it opened up. Service: 4 stars There servers were all very attentive. However my main server when I asked about the spice on the empanadas and I understand he was concern about cost basically told me there was nothing special and I can get it from anywhere. I asked about the brand and he shrugged it off that it did not matter. Uhmm... ok... it would have been nice to know because I really liked the spice. Brand do matter. I did notice that the main server when providing the specials of the night forgot to mention the special paella for me... My other disappointment was that I was placed outside which I didn't request and yes... it's kind of odd to be eating my oneself...but I'm a foodie and I'm on a self retreat which I didn't share and felt I didn't need to. It got kind of cold and the heaters were not that helpful and then the sea mist came in. Luckily it was toward the end of my meal. Ambiance: 4 Hard to tell since I sat outside but it was inviting. I really had hope I could have sat inside and experience the historical architecture of the place but nonetheless it was nice until it got dark. Overall - a solid 4 and I would go back the next time I'm in Monterey again. read more

Had a great meal at this restaurant! They quoted me a one hour wait for a party of 1 on a Monday night - so i knew the place had to be good! The place was busy and the waitstaff were not super quick or as attentive and the food took awhile to be brought out. I appreciated them bringing me some complimentary olives and almonds to fill the time. I ordered the Cochinillo and the meat was EXTREMELY tender, it melted in my mouth. The sauce and corn paired perfectly with the meat. Would 100% recommend this dish!! read more

Esteban Restaurant - Cochinillo - Spanish Near Me - Monterey, California