Reviews for Estéban Restaurant, Local's Favorite, Open for Indoor & Pat in Monterey, CA

My wife and I had a reservation to celebrate my birthday, but unfortunately upon our arrival no table was available and there... were no seats or room to wait. The bar was crowded so we ended up having a drink standing up on one corner of the bar. Not theideal experience if you ask me. At some point we were called to take our table but once again it was not ready since it neededto be cleaned up. Amateurish mistakes. Once finally seated, we were pleased with the attention to details in all aspects of theservice from our waiter. Food plating and presentation actually matters to us, and honestly it was beyond our expectations. Andyes, I do without reservations highly recommend the octopus dish. On the not-so-good side, the Cataplana for $49.00 which is atwist on a classic Portuguese seafood stew, leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t recommend it. The flan was delicious. Overallit was a good experience, not great, thanks to our waiter and whoever cooked the octopus. Read more

MacKenzie provided really great service and the food was so darn good. Splurge on the espresso rubbed ribeye for sure! The sole... melted in our mouth. Nice bottle of Spanish red. Cozy feeling outdoor setting at night. Read more

A four star review upgraded to five thanks to our incredible server… The setting is lovely (the patio), the servers are great... natured (not in any hurry - please tell them if you are!) and the food is pretty good (the wagyu beef steak is tasty and quitereasonably priced). Read more

We love this restaurant. Has fantastic food and impeccable service. We ate outside by the fire pit and the ambiance was... superb. Great crispy pulpa with the crispness and freshness of the sea. Drinks were on point and crisp with suttle undertones offlavor. Also had a tomatoes and bread compote that was a perfect starter to try . Don't forget to look for Estaban , theresident cat. Forgot to take his picture. But we will be back this weekend to see him. Great place and coming back latertonight. We stayed at the Cass Munras which is attached. You need to do both Read more

Absolutely delicious! We stayed in the hotel and ate here because of reviews. We were not disappointed! We enjoyed our... empanadas, cheese and meat board and chicken and chorizo paella! Just delicious! Prices are high but portions are very big! Myhusband and I had lots of leftovers. Excellent selection of wines as well, enjoy! Read more

If you have never had paella before this is the place to fix that. Everything on the menu we tried was delicious. I recommend... the Ad Astra bread to start and some vegetable appetizers. Enjoy some drinks, like sangria, while you and your friends wait forthe main dish. Each paella takes around 45 minutes but feeds 2-3 adults. The staff is attentive and helpful, and theirrecommendations were wonderful. They have tapas, and a large selection of wines and other local drinks, just ask for adescription of whatever sounds tasty. Lastly, don't forget to save room and make time for dessert. The bread pudding andcookies are baked to order and take 15 minutes so plan ahead for a wonderful and filling night out! Read more

Very spacious and nice outdoor patio seating. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. Empanada- one of the best things... we tried. Like the sauce that came with it a lot. 4/5 Mushroom Flatbread- Another good item on the menus. The mushrooms andgoat cheese worked well together. 4/5 Paella Del Mar- Not my favorite thing. The clams and muscles were good but didn’t lovethe paella overall. 3/5 Saffron Arancini- these may have been my favorite things I tried in the menu. 4/5 Read more

Great food. Very delicious. We had the crispy pulpo and the El Rancho Paella. The food was really good. The octopus was... expertly seared and seemed really fresh. Included with the appetizer was very tasty chorizo bits and fried yuka. The Paella wasdone very well and we both enjoyed it together. The Boss Anna margarita was the bomb! The Sangria was very smooth and fruity. Read more