Matt B. and I went to Monte's for a late Friday night dinner a couple weeks back, after driving up from L.A. and throwing the children in bed, with free babysitting courtesy of Grandpa. Montecito gets pretty sleepy past 8:00, but Monte's was still happening when we showed up for our 8:45 reservation.
We were initially seated on the patio, which was lovely but way too cold for me, a shivery baby. I had a jacket and there were heat lamps, but I wouldn't have made it through dinner outside. We asked if we could move into the dining room, and the team was quick to accommodate us. The interior was attractive, chic and contemporary. Matt grew up going to Peabody's, the old casual restaurant in the same space, and Monte's is an entirely different kind of restaurant.
The vibe was fun, young for Montecito, with at least a few larger groups, probably on vacation. There actually weren't many couples, and the tables inside seemed skewed toward bigger parties. (There was a whole bar area that was empty while we were there, but that looked pleasant, and had more two-tops.) We got a roomy, comfortable booth and enjoyed a relaxing dinner, more or less closing the place out around 10:15. Service was excellent throughout the night.
There was an appealing cocktail list, and ran our way through most of it, statring with the Agave e Pepe and the Orange Grove Negroni. The Agave e Pepe was a refreshing drink made with blanco tequila, Claridad mezcal, basil eau de vie, lime, and black pepper. The Orange Grove Negroni was a juicy California twist on a negroni, with Citadelle gin, dry curaçao, Campari, Carpano Antica, and orange bitters. For round two, we got the Estadio Nuovo and the Golden Remedy, the first made with reposado Tequila, Aperol, Banane du Brésil, pineapple, lime, and nutmeg, the seond with bourbon, dark rum, ginger, lemon, honey, and Islay Scotch. Both winners. We ordered the City That Never Sleeps with dessert, and this was an ideal nightcap, with cacao-infused rye, Carpano Antica, coffee liqueur, Amaro Nonino, and Angostura and mole bitters.
The food was great, and I appreciated both the farm-sourced produce and the Korean American slant to the menu. We started with the Santa Rosa Island halibut crudo, which came with shiro dashi, tomato water, nori rice chip, and cilantro flower. I would've loved a little more zip and vinegar in that dashi and tomato water, but that is definitely my personal preference. The lemon pepper wings were tender and meaty on the inside, crispy and well seasoned on the outside, flavored with Meyer lemon and black peppercorn.
There was an item on the menu called "Stephanie's uni and peas," which was so made for me that it might've been a product of extremely creepy hyper-targeted marketing. (Uni and peas are two of my favorite things, and my name is even Stephanie.) I ordered this for myself, as Matt likes neither uni nor peas, and it was a very tasty bowl of Koshihikari rice cooked with chicken stock and soy seasoning, finished with Rincon Hills pea flower, pickled wasabi, and the promised uni and peas (lighter on the uni than the peas, but I expected as much). Matt got the wagyu striploin and it was a fantastic steak, cooked an even medium rare and carved into seventeen generous pieces, of which I commandeered two. It came with beef jus and a dense black garlic A1 steak sauce, and we added French fries on the side, which were just right.
Dessert was mostly a round of those cocktails, but we also shared a scoop of orange sorbet with orange slices, tangy and very refreshing. It was a nice way to end an exceedingly nice dinner at Monte's. I hope to come back on another visit to Montecito. read more