There were some stand out items and some that could've been executed better. The two stand outs of our meal was the steak tartare and the cioppino. I loved the depth in both these dishes. The cioppino sauce was well balanced and had a pleasant smokiness to it. Out of all the dishes, this was definitely the best in my opinion. The fish of the day dish was well cooked, but had no seasoning. The fish was moist, but we definitely lacked salt. We had to ask for some on the side. The duck three ways was underwhelming. The duck leg confit was stringy and had no moisture whatsoever. The breast was cooked to a perfect medium rare and was good. The duck egg needed some salt. The side of bread at the beginning of our meal was one of the best I've had, I would buy a loaf if I could. If you're reading this review, the restroom has a door knob, but it doesn't turn - go ahead and push the door open. I thought it was pretty amusing sitting facing the restroom and walking people trying to turn the knob and waiting until a waiter/waitress tells them it's push to open. read more

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This review is very late because I thought I had already submitted it. I just realized I just wrote my notes down but did not write the review. We visited Montrio earlier this year in May on our central coast road trip. It was supposed to be our nice anniversary dinner and it turned out to be the worst experience of our trip. I'll start with the positives: Steamed clams appetizer - The sauce and bread were a perfect match to go along with the clams. Buttery and delicious. Pork Chop with Apple chutney, baked polenta and charred broccolini - This was our main entree and it was pretty good. The pork chop was cooked about med to med-rare which made it very juicy and tender. Broccolini was nicely charred but could have used some acid or additional seasoning. Baked polenta had a nice crust and flavor. Now onto the not so good: Braised short rib sliders - these were Meh. Most of the flavor came from the slaw and pickles. The short rib had no flavor and the brioche buns were toasted but tasted stale. Ahi Poke with rice crackers - The tuna was marinated which masked the freshness or perhaps the lack of freshness. The tuna itself was cut into tiny cubes (much smaller than I have ever seen), served on a small bed of cubed avocado and sweet glaze on top. The rice crackers were a weird touch and to us, felt like it cheapened the dish. Drinks: Miso Harmony - Bourbon cocktail with sherry and red vermouth topped with spiced orange foam. I did not like this drink at all. The bitterness from the vermouth and spice from the orange foam just was not my cup of tea. Perhaps someone who likes these characteristics will enjoy this cocktail. Bees Elbows - Gin cocktail with lemon and honey. This one was nicely balanced and had just the right amount of honey. Definitely a good cocktail. Here's where all of this becomes pointless. For a nicer restaurant, you would typically expect pretty decent service. When we first walked in, this is exactly what we were met with from the hostess to our first server, Daniel. They were very friendly and made us feel very welcome. When we asked about the happy hour menu, Daniel let us know that it is only available in the bar area so he happily moved us to a bar table. Unfortunately, this meant our server changed. Our new server, Bill, was weird right off the bat. His odd sense of humor was dry, too dry for us, and he gave off a super weird vibe. We started talking about the Happy Hour menu and the different times listed. Some deals were available from 4:30-5:00 and other deals were 5:00-6:00. When I asked him about the Happy Hour beer prices, he replied "it doesn't matter if you're not going to order a beer". HUH??? WHAT?? EXCUSE ME? What kind of response is that????? The rest of our meal, we were just weirded out as he kept up with this weird vibe which definitely turned into more rude towards the end of our meal. We finally ask for our check and he goes, prints the check, and drops it off at our table without a single word. Not a single "how was everything?" or other normal gesture a server would make. Finally, the kicker, when he returns with my credit card, again he drops it off and walks away without saying a single thing. Whatever, I go to sign the credit card slip and notice that the amount charged is more than what was due. Our total came out to $96 but Bill had taken the liberty to charge $123.45. WTF!! At that point, I walked up to the hostess and asked to speak to a manager. Manager, Don, comes by and I tell him about our terrible experience with Bill and the fact that he purposely overcharged us. Don was very friendly and apologetic. He fixed our check and even comped our 2 cocktails which was nice of him. He said he would talk to Bill about our experience but honestly, this was enough of an experience for me to never recommend Montrio to anyone I know. There may be good/great reviews by other people and I'm sure they are honest, real experiences. It's unfortunate and unlucky that one bad apple can ruin an experience for someone but that's exactly what happened here. To Manager Don, Server Daniel, and Hostess whose name I didn't get, thank you for your hospitality and friendliness. I'm sure this review won't deter many people from visiting you guys. To Bill, wtf is wrong with you. You are rude and deceitful. You should be ashamed of yourself. By the way, we could hear your conversation with your co-workers bashing your clientele and we could also see you grabbing cocktail garnishes from the bar, sniffing, licking, dropping, and returning that same garnish to the bar for some other poor soul to have added to their drink. NOT COOL! read more

Montrio - Pork Chop with charred broccolini and baked polenta - New American Near Me - Monterey, California

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We heard a lot of good things about Montrio. Therefore, when our niece had her pre-wedding meet and greet there, we were excited and looked forward to attending. Boy, what a disappointment! Took us a long time to find a parking spot since Montrio is located in a prime location of Monterey. When we finally got there, we were told to wait since we were 3 minutes early. After we were allowed in, we were led upstairs to a small space for private parties. We felt like sardines as we squeezed through and found the bar at the side of the room. I ordered a glass of Pinot Noir and noticed how rude and unorganized the bartenders were. My bartender was very rude and unfriendly. He poured half of the Pinot Noir in my glass before the bottle ran out. Instead of opening a new bottle, he slyly took the Cabernet and poured in the rest. I questioned him when he handed me the glass but he insisted that it was all Pinot Noir. Normally, I would contest or call the manager but it was a celebration and I didn't want to make a scene. The cheese plates that they offered were sparse. I'm sorry to say that this was not the experience that we had imagined. read more

Montrio - Packed room - New American Near Me - Monterey, California

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4/1/23 My recent trip to Monterey for a weekend getaway with our 3yr old and 2month old kids was totally a reminder of how acclimatized we people are from the Bay Area to crappy butt service, and the entitlement of waiting staff for tips that were not earned. I never felt so willing to be generous with tips... and thus I was. And don't even get me started on those 5% "SF Mandate" aka "Living Wage Surcharge" aka "Small Business Surcharge" aka GREED charges... never saw one of those should-be-illegal resort fees at any restaurant here. Anyway, forget SF... this place is about You. Our waitress even said straight up to us, "I am here for you. Whatever you want, you tell me." And she kept her promise. As for the food... 1. Talley Chardonnay $15 "'estate' arroyo grande, CA, '19": It was good but sorry I didn't take notes. 2. Brown Butter Old Fashioned $16 "brown butter washed bourbon, house roasted almond syrup": Amazing!!! Truly. You know me--I've tried a lot, and I really look for that complexity of flavor and texture in cocktails, and this really has all the nuances you could want--especially that butter wash! Just the right amount of meatiness and oiliness that really gets your senses... sensuated. 10/10 3. Trio of Oysters on the Half Shell $18 "chef's daily inspiration": Well, firstly, just look at the pics--let me know if that's not the prettiest plate of raw oysters you've ever seen outside of a Michelin-star prix fix menu you've ever seen. And yes, they are as fresh as they look--so much so that they're actually just a little crunchy. The guts are creamy, just a little bitter. Unfortunately, though the garnish is super pretty I don't taste any of it. 8/10 4. Miso Glazed Pork Belly $23 "pickled apple arugula salad, garlic chili oil": This one was an absolute fail. This came early in the meal so after being served this I actually had a really bad feeling the rest was gonna be god awful too... luckily I was wrong. Firstly, they made a mistake and brought us 2 plates. I told the buslady and she took one back--the one that's TWICE as big as the one she left. That's not good. Seriously, check out my pic--this was basically a 1.5" square of roasted pork belly. Pretty ridiculous. Also the plating was awful--half the play was empty and the sauce looked like dirty water running across the plate. But worst of all, it was nearly inedible. The skin was hard and it tasted like this was cooked yesterday and kept under a lamp. Like how can basically a block of fat be dry to the point that it couldn't be chewed? 1/10 5. 'Sterling Farms' White Sturgeon $45 "forbidden black rice and butternut squash, sauteed florentina, ginger-tamari glaze": OH GOD YES. This absolutely made up for that disgusting pork belly. The outer sections of the surgeon were a little on the dry side, but once you got through the surface layers you're treated to a waterfall of juices seeping out the microscopic crevices in the firm, white, yet buttery flesh. Sure, I think if they can cook it just 10% less it would have been perfection, but this was orgasmic as is. 10/10 6. Kid's Orecchietta Pasta $16 "butter & cheese, or pomodoro sauce": Memory is a bit vague but I did remember the pasta (kinda like shells but not?) was al dente but the sauce was too thin. But my 3yr old isn't the world's biggest connoisseur so he gobbled it up. 7. Snake River Farms Wagyu Eye of Ribeye $72 "tripled seared, smashed & duck fat fried yukon golds, charred onion, black garlic emulsion": Perfectly medium rare. The meat was seriously high-quality--no sinew, and totally soft and tender like filet. But I do wish they kept some of the fat. It was too lean to feel like a good ribeye. Also, I will say, my wife bought for me a huge also-Snake-River-Farms wagyu ribeye roast for my bday (but I ended up smoking it for my kid's 1st bday) and that meat was totally different--it was almost foie gras-like in buttery fattiness. This one was absolutely opposite. Also, I could have used 2x as much--portions were pretty small. 7/10 8. Side Smashed & Duck Fat Fried Yukon Golds with Chermoula $16: These are the same as those served with my steak. Shouldn't have ordered this. 8/10 9. White Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding $14: 1 of top 3 best bread puddings I've EVER had. Another was a croissant-based one in SF. But definitely The #1 Prettiest Bread Pudding I've ever seen. Just look at the pics. And it tastes just as glorious as it looks. Soooooo silky inside. Like tasting the solidified air of love. 10/10 10. Spiced Pear Tart $16 "bourbon, spiced pear syrup, walnut liqueur and lemon juice": Tastes like Asian plum actually. One of the best cocktails ever. So rich and complex. Pear almost tasted fermented. Amazing. 10/10 11. Latte $4.50 Bring $300 for 2. Treat yourself to what a great dinner should be, service, food, and all. 5/5 #monterey #italianfood #americanfood #fancyschmancy #sturgeonfish #sturgeonsteak #wagyu read more

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I've been come here since the 90s. Every meal has been great. The quality has not slipped. Great preparation, texture and flavors. Nothing is overpowering. Flavors are balanced and complementary. The service was friendly attentive and fun. I'll be back. read more

Montrio - Perfectly prepared halibut - New American Near Me - Monterey, California

Montrio is our go-to fine dining restaurant in Monterey. It hits the right marks on service, food, ambience, and location. Fabian is an excellent bar manager; ask him to pair a cocktail with your meal and enjoy the ride! We look forward to many more fine dinners on their patio! read more

The food was mediocre, and we waited 30-40 minutes for our entrees. The fries came in a container, topped with a few regular-shaped fries, but when we dumped them out, they were mostly crumbled. Underneath the duck breast, there were large vegetable stems that I would typically discard when cooking at home. Overall, the experience was really disappointing read more

Montrio - Fries - New American Near Me - Monterey, California

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Before we begin, we used to love this place and always made sure to make reservations when we were in Monterey. Everything truly was a 5/5 for us. To start, we noticed some sort of black substance in both our waters. If it were a lemon seed, I'd understand but a black substance?! What could it be?! We didn't think of it much because we were so excited to eat there. Here's what we ordered: - Brown Butter Old Fashioned cocktail (2/5) - Old Sesame cocktail (2.5/5) - Hamachi Crudo (2/5) - Short Ribs with mushroom (2.5/5) - Duck Breast (0/5) - Side of asparagus with red bell pepper (0/5) Short Ribs: Texture was good, but total lack of flavor. Mash potatoes were good, but the whole plate consisted of no mushroom whatsoever. Duck Breast their duck breast dish was what we were most excited about. See our previous review of what we were expecting. Oh my - where do I even start. This duck has the consistency of an over cooked pork. You know the texture of overcooked pork getting stuck in your teeth? Dis be that. I'm going to quote my favorite TV personnel Gordon Ramsey here, "where's the sauce?!" because the sauce was definitely missing. Before we even touched it, we noticed huge slobs of fat right underneath the skin. They didn't even care to render it. The skin was super chewy, like fatty gum. The duck was plated with purple rice (?) mixed with green onions (??), which for some reason was overly sweet. We left it untouched. And then on the side it was, LITERALLY, one bok choy split in half. Mind you, this dish costs $36 for 1/2 of a duck breast, purple rice and a bok choy. Please save yourself some time and go to an Asian market to pick up a $18 whole duck to feed your family - I guarantee you will not have a more disappointing duck there. Side of Asparagus Plain and simple; it was horrible, it was literally plain and simple. 5 stems, no seasoning and shriveled PIECES of bell pepper. This was $16. Can't believe we paid $3.25 for each stem. Everything else was subpar and completely forgettable. In total we paid around $200 for everything. We honestly think they're trying to squeeze as much money out of us before they close their business. The food shouldn't have been this bad. There was no effort in it at all. Thanks for reading. We're only one small review but we're hoping to save ya'll some moola and disappointment. We felt played, and we will not be coming back. read more

Montrio - Duck Brick - New American Near Me - Monterey, California

Party of 5 on a Thursday night. They seated us at a nice quiet table per our request. Upscale ambiance but our server was not knowledgeable and was very unfriendly (not a great combo!). She poured almost 1/4 of a bottle of wine we brought into a single glass, was nearly surly about our requests. My sister asked if she could crumb the table because we had a lot of crumbs from the bread crust and she brushed off the table in front of my sister and left the rest of the table full of crumbs. It was strange, really. The food was OK. Overpriced for nothing special. We had the French onion soup - lots of onions and bread but kind of sweet broth (and not much of the broth, it was more like a pudding stuffed with bread, onions and some cheese) - 2/5; fish sticks which were more like crab cakes in that the fish had been chopped up and mixed with mayo (?) and seasonings before being breaded - it was pretty good but a bit surprising 3/5; house salad which we asked for light dressing and it was almost drowning, can't imagine what normal dressing looks like 2/5; Jidori chicken - decent 3/5; duck confit - duck was good but was almost spoiled by a very runny sweet potato "mash" 3/5; king trumpet scallops which had hardly any flavor and the accompanying corn risotto tasted like plain gooey rice with some corn kernels (1/5). I was really hoping for a good meal but it was not. Between the cold/surly service, mediocre food, and high prices, this isn't on my list to go back. Sadly. read more

We went to Montrio for my birthday with my family. Food and service were both lovely. When we first arrived, the host greeted us and asked if it was a special occasion. My husband mentioned it was my birthday and he wished me a happy birthday. But that was it. No candle on the dessert we ordered. Nothing ‍ The wild mushroom torte was wonderful The crab cakes were full of real crab and not doughy The seared scallops for main was beautiful as well The cioppino was tasty with plenty of seafood The brick chicken was nicely cooked but could use more gnocchi We also noticed other tables received bread and butter but we never did. So overall it was pleasant but a few things made it a more of an average experience read more

The bartender was the star. Down to earth, knew his wine and liquor and was super friendly and helpful. We had the scallops, pork belly and cioppino and all were great - with not too bad of a price tag. The selection of tequila, wine and bourbon was great as well. read more

Loved the chicken under the brick! Seldom see it on a menu. Moist chicken and delicious sauce. read more

Food was super delicious! Never had such juicy pork chop in a non Japanese restaurant and it's double cut! Friend and family loved cioppino, scallops, abalone taco and the catch of the day kid version! Bread was warm and delicious. More than plenty of wine choices. Service team can use more agility but I guess I can wait for my cold draft beer and delicious food/bread. read more

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It's been a while but I was telling my sister she should go as she goes to Carmel a lot. She had already heard of it. When I used to go with my dad and neighbors to the AT&T golf every year that's where we would go because we really enjoyed it! Very nice inside, great atmosphere, good menu and good food. I will definitely be back when I am in the area read more

Short Ribs are a HIT! Food: Drinks are amazing! Each drink was better than the last. 4/6 people in our group ordered the short ribs and it was a crowd pleaser. Crab cakes are also delicious. Service: amazing staff. Bartender was wonderful and made a delicious tepache drink. Location: Close to the conference center and an easy walk from Downtown area. Really nice and clean location with great lighting for a first date. Parking: I recommend ubering. Notables: the dessert ice cream is great and small so grab a few and share. read more

Montrio - Pineapple Cocktail - New American Near Me - Monterey, California

28 miles in the bike saddle, back n forth from 17 mile drive to the hotel, my ass was hollering! "Your stomach may be hungry but we (left n right cheek) are off duty for the remainder of the night, so you better order DoorDash or uber to eat!" With Bae having bookmarked this spot AND it being a half a block walk from the hotel, my brain and stomach convinced my ass to get moving. Fortunately I wasn't too hungry but definitely worked up a thirst. We splitzies the burger and gem salad while she ate most of the bread pudding. Me? I was pounding this yummy take on an old fashion that was so good and smooth my ass melted into the chair and stopped protesting. I'm such a light weight when it comes to Alcohol, one beer with dinner and I'm ready for boo boo dream land. So bae was a bit surprised when I ordered a second then for dessert another. Hell im a half a block away why the hell not! The service was solid the food looked unfortunately better than it tasted. Mind you it was good but not blow your mind great. What was however was that cocktail "Beauregard's Revenge" I assume named after the confederate general who allegedly started the civil war. Our east bay friends who dined with us the night before showed up for take out, so we hung out with them til their to go order showed ( the next day they raved about everything!) but aren't yelpers so that duty falls on me to convey. Beautiful indoors...this restaurant! Too bad we couldn't eat inside to soak in the ambiance as Beauregard's Revenge slowly sucked any soreness out of my limbs. While the food was solid, their stellar reputation for mixology is warranted. Definitely pay them a visit and try one... or two.... or three in my case! read more

Montrio - 3 cocktails in feeling Pretty... pretty... pretty... pretty good! - New American Near Me - Monterey, California

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Montrio was just "ok." We dined here on 12/21/24, at 7:30 PM for four of us and we were celebrating 2 birthday dinners. I wrote this as a note on our reservation hoping they might pull out 2 candles with the 2 desserts we ordered; however, the birthdays were not acknowledged. Food: Crab cakes are flavorless, skip these! The Cioppino and the French onion soup were good, but we wouldn't return just for this. Service: The service was very slow even though there was only one other table dining during our visit. There were several staff members throughout the restaurant; however, they were very delayed to check in with us. Bill for four: $420 before tip for 4 apps, 4 mains, 4 cocktails, 1 corkage, and 2 desserts (not bad). There's better restaurants in Monterey, sadly, we won't be back. read more

A weird experience last night. Hadn't been here in while and decided to try it again. It's a really nice redo of the Pat Kuletto design going back some 20 years. Since reopening the Chef turnover has in my opinion been frequent. Not always for the better. Last night was strange because the restaurant was pretty empty. The main dining room was empty but we decided to sit in there anyway because it's a nice room and we had a guest with us. Server was good. The food was another matter. I had a filet that cost $72. What I expected and what I got was totally different. My filet was about 3/4 " and flat. Tender but not worth the $$. The plate accompaniments weren't good. Mashed potatoes had been sitting around a while. Actually too long. Veggies blah. My wife had short ribs.,everyone knows they are to be braised. Not these it seems. These were dry, very dry. Not enjoyable. Our guest had a mushroom start appetizer- blah. Blah. Cocktails were very good. I liked our server, unfortunately it wasn't enough. I actually told the server when she asked that the Caesar salad was almost inedible. She said, "really"? Not "let me get you something else..." Just an example- sorry I can't recommend Montrio presently. read more

Decided to celebrate a special day with my boyfriend at this restaurant. The ambiance was great, food was amazing, but the waitress was not it. It was our first time here and probably won't return if we're to expect that kind of service. read more

Our server was scattered and disorganized. His first approach at our table was to say hello. We had to ask to order drinks. He handed our drinks to us rather than setting them down. We had to ask for everything more than once. The menu includes a beet salad with goat cheese. Their version of goat cheese is more like a flavorless crème fraiche which didn't jive with the beets at all and in no way resembles the flavor of goat cheese. The nuts and greens were good. The beets were meh. The lobster bisque was good. My husband's pork chop entree comes with sriracha risotto. He requested plain. It arrived with the sriracha version. Ooops. We requested water 4 times. The tap water arrived. The odor of chlorine made it undrinkable. We ordered a bottle of still. Sparking arrived. The whole dining experience was awkward. Ending with our waiter shaking our hands. read more

This was my favorite restaurant pre-pandemic. We were in Monterey recently and now it is a Michelin rated restaurant with Michelin portion sizes (per photos on yelp) and Michelin prices. While I am happy for the restaurant, it is beyond our budget in these inflationary times! If you have the budget give it a try. Their craft cocktails were always amazing and the way they use to serve their mussels, to die for, especially if you asked them to be served over pasta. I give them 4 stars for the memories. read more

I love this restaurant. There service is always excellent. The food was great . Cocktails were delicious. The restaurant was warm and cozy. I would have given it a 5 , but the menu changed a bit :( read more

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If you're in the area and have the chance to dine at this place, DO IT! You won't regret it. Thank you to Jose and Juan for making our dining experience amazing. I dined here with my husband for dinner and had the pleasure of having Jose as our server. He gave us several recommendations on drinks and food options, but in a way that wasn't pushy and I definitely appreciated that. Some of the items he recommended and we ordered were the scallops and the 48 hour bacon. We also ordered the beef carpaccio and mushroom ravioli. Jose also recommended the bread pudding for dessert. We loved everything that was recommended to us! Juan was also very helpful throughout our dinner, assisting us with anything we asked for. We did make reservations and ended up coming to the restaurant a lot earlier than expected, but they were still able to seat us upon arrival. The food was delicious, but the attentive and amazing service we received made our experience so much better. Would definitely come back in the future. read more

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Delicious food and drinks. Some are smaller portions but my husband got the short rib and it was very generous. It wasn't super busy when we went (Sunday 5pm) but there was a storm. read more

My husband and I arrived at 5pm opening time without a reservation. The hostess told us they were fully booked, but lucky for us the bar was available should we choose to sit there or the outside patio. We chose the bar and were super happy with that choice. The bartenders name was Daniel and he was charismatic, efficient and excellent at his job. We ordered 3 entrees to split and the roasted cauliflower was my favorite of the 3. The woodsy flavor of the roast really came through as did the harissa seasoning and the summer squash and sauce was also flavor packed. Second entree --The sea scallops were my husbands favorite and they were tender and buttery and delicious. There were only 3 sea scallops unfortunately but the dish tasted excellent- the corn and fregola was tasty and we ate every morsel. I found the trumpet mushrooms a little chewy but still good. Third entree-- The halibut was a let down. The fish was over cooked and the seasoning just was not there. The succotash however, stole the show of that dish. We ordered 2 desserts to share as well and I thought the bread pudding would be my favorite and it was delicious. The white chocolate shavings in the dulcey creme anglaise around the warmed croquant and beneath the passion fruit ice cream WAS divine, but crème brûlée was even better. The custard had perfect texture and flavor and the caramelized sugar was perfectly torched. The berry compote was a perfect accompaniment as was the chantilly cream. We would return next time we are in Monterey. read more

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Absolutely amazing meal and service. Everything was top notch! Brown butter old fashioned Yum! Incredible beet salad. Pork chop with siracha risotto to die for. Are you a foodie? This is a must visit. Really wanted the butterscotch budino but didn't have room. read more

Montrio - New American Near Me - Monterey, California

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Beautiful restaurant Good service and amazing food I definitely enjoyed the fine dining read more

Montrio - Cioppino - New American Near Me - Monterey, California

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Montrio bistro was closed for awhile during the pandemic and recently reopened as Montrio. We have been coming here for over ten years and we're disappointed the menu has changed since they reopened and it is now under new ownership. The service is still great but the food quality has gone downhill and the price increased quite a bit. It seems like they only kept the short ribs and bread pudding from the old menu. They are trying to go more upscale. Some of the beloved favorites are really missed. We ordered the special halibut and the NY strip (for two). Both entrees were only ok. Even though they kept the bread pudding but it was not what it used to be. Our family of four spent $400 on dinner including two glasses of wine and two desserts. While nothing was bad, nothing was memorable either. It was mediocre and definitely didn't feel like a $400 dinner. We are so sad because we used to look forward to Montrio bistro when we vacation here. We may not be back in the future. read more

Service was excellent. Let's start there. Our server was super upbeat and fun. The crab cakes were OK, but not killer. Definitely not worth the $25. The New York is where it went sour for our table. I ordered it Pittsburgh style, medium rare which is charred. It's not east to do without a very hot grill as you would over cook the meat in the process with lower grill temps. The server assured me they could do it. The steak was promptly served and was not only not charred, it had little color on it. It was also cut in half and laid out showing the inside. Who does this? Anyhow, the server took it back to the kitchen. Not 3 minutes later it was returned kind of charred. It looked like the chef hit it with a torch. Not only was it poorly charred, whatever they did to it over cooked it. It was tough, little flavor, hardly any salt on it, etc. Very poor steak at even a fraction of the $75 price tag. My colleague also ordered one, not charred and was pretty upset with the quality. Neither of us ate more than half of it. I'm not picky either. This was just a really bad steak served on a strange underwhelming mayo based sauce. On a side note, the French fries served with it were hot and fresh. 2 steaks, a cocktail, a glass of wine, and an appetizer with tip $255. Even for Monterey this is high, but if the quality was there I wouldn't care. The location and restaurant atmosphere is pretty perfect. read more

One of our favorite places to visit when we are in town. Outstanding food and service. Parking can be challenging but the public parking garage is close by and a good option when it's not full. Worth the walk, wherever you park!! read more

A great restaurant. We were given excellent service and good assistance selecting of food and wine. Loved the appetizers the most. We sat outside and enjoyed the great weather and watched the sports cars drive by for car week. read more

We absolutely love the Montrio Restaurant as locals. The entire staff is so professional, personable, and always attentive to the customers requests. The food has always been amazing, but we keep coming back because we love the staff at Montrio. If you are a local or a tourist, I highly recommend stopping at Montrio restaurant for an amazing dining experience. read more

Food and service was excellent. We had nick as our server and it was and an amazing experience. Being my family's first visit definitely recommended Montrio. And can't wait to dress up and go again. read more

Steak was beyond expensive for 6oz and 8oz. This used to be an amazing restaurant but no longer. Ambiance is still nice and service is impeccable. read more

Don't take a vegetarian. Don't assume the dish is vegetarian. One entree option and 1 or 2 salads to pick from. Most of the side and appetizers sound vegetarian but are not. Soups cooked in chicken broth per the server. Great for meat eaters. We were so excited to go there for a romantic, quiet anniversary meal but I had no options. Seeing one vegetarian option makes me feel unwanted. Astounds me to still see restaurants not offer any or more than one vegetarian option these days. Disappointed. read more

This is an overlooked spot. We tried it because it was across the street from our hotel and were wonderfully impressed. I don't do fancy restaurants often, but plan to go here every time I stay in Monterey. The staff was very attentive and the food was excellent. I requested a very rare filet minion and it was cooked to perfection, and melted in my mouth. read more

Overall service was great I believe our server was named Carlos, he took great care of us. The food was excellent the chicken was cooked and flavored to perfection. The atmosphere is intimate and a little romantic. We will definitely be back. read more

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So I Yelped "cioppino" and it lead me to Montrio. OMG, best cioppino EVER! Lobster tail, shrimp, mussels, clams, and fish. Served w/sourdough charred in a pizza oven. Aaah sweet mystery of life at last I found you! read more

Montrio - Charred sourdough from a pizza oven, so good! - New American Near Me - Monterey, California

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Pros and Cons of the Newly Reopened Restaurant: Pros: Pretty inside (we were downstairs) Comfortable seating Owner and Servers were nice delicious passionfruit & mint mocktail Cons: 1) They charge for bread and butter. It isn't even Astra bread, just a typical narrow, sourdough loaf. The crust was nice. However, instead of being warm from the oven, which it should be - it was cold. Which made the butter hard to spread. Warm from the oven is a simple thing to do and them not ensuring this is a basic standard from the kitchen, was a disappointment. 2) Ceasar salad was a generous portion but the dressing was oily and lacked flavor. 3) steak tartare - while a very generous size - was minced so finely that it was almost mushy in consistency. It also lacked flavor. 4) Filet mignon - we waited a half hour for both of ours. The waiter tried to say it was coming. and coming. and then used the excuse that the chef liked to give the meat time to rest. Puhleeeese. Both of our filet mignons - while perfectly cooked - were a bit tough and chewy. The owner was insistent on replacing it, and the next filet mignon was buttery tender. But the seasoning seemed to be missing, and the sauce was underwhelming and did nothing to complement the meat. 5) White chocolate bread pudding, and the chocolate cake with raspberry ice cream, were both pleasant but unremarkable. Can't say anything better than that about it. 6) The food runner brought my friend's plate to me instead of paying attention to who ordered what - three different times. That is careless. Needs more training. 7) Presentation was okay. But only that. Surprising at these high prices that it wasn't more sophisticated. 8) We asked for a doggy bag. Rather than handling this in the kitchen and being presented with the filled containers in a nice leak proof bag, they brought us containers to the table to do ourselves, with no bag. Not what a typical high end restaurant does - ever. 9) The meal was very expensive. For the two of us $320 (including a 20% tip but without alcohol and with having our desserts comped because the owner was being nice because she felt badly about my steak). For that price - and we tend to be lavish spenders where excellent quality, very tasty meals are concerned - we expected far better. Montrio will likely pack in the tourists and not care. However, as locals we were disappointed that the Chef wasn't better, and can't recommend them for the above reasons read more

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We came here for dining while visiting Monterey. Didn't know this place had been newly reopened. The interior is fancy and nice. Got the crudo appetizer, the swordfish entree, the chicken entree and the pork pasta dish. Everything tasted good, though somewhat unremarkable. Out of them, i liked the chicken the best. Prices are $$$$. Overall, good experience though I didn't think the food's worth the price. read more

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