OUR DINING EXPERIENCE: ESTEBAN RESTAURANT

 OUR DINING EXPERIENCE: ESTEBAN RESTAURANT

The Estéban Restaurant, famous for its Mediterranean and Spanish cuisine, is located in the historic Casa Munras Garden Hotel and Spa in Monterey, Ca. Their address is: 700, Munras Ave. More details about this restaurant can be found in their website. 

We enjoyed our dinner there recently, seated in the heated outdoor patio. Actually, while making the reservation we had specifically asked for outdoor seating having found out that they had a heated patio. 

To start with we ordered the Red Sangria preferring this to the White Sangria. As the name suggests, this is a drink with a base of red wine with a taste of apples, orange and lemon. It tasted out of the world! 

The Local Fried Peppers sounded interesting so we had this. They came cooked in Manchego Cheese with Maldon Sea Salt and Garlic Aioli. The aioli, ( a kind of sauce/dip) traditionally made with garlic, is a must in much of Mediterranean cuisine. The peppers were spicy without being difficult to eat and we enjoyed them with the accompanying aioli. 

Next we opted for the Coca La Mancha Flatbread which had artichoke, piquillo peppers, manchego and olives. This is the authentic Spanish flatbread and the whole dish was very filling and tasted delicious.

We enjoyed our dinner thoroughly. I must say the service too was impeccable.  

I find it interesting to meet Chefs wherever we dine. They have challenging jobs and often have their signature dishes that have made them famous. It was a pleasure to meet with the Executive Chef, Mario Garcia, who has 14 years experience in this field. He has a warm and friendly personality. He mentioned his aim was to use as much of local produce as possible in his offerings. 

As we were leaving Chef suggested we have his dessert - Chocolate Pot de Creme! This came topped with fresh strawberries. It was a fitting end to a great dinner.