Restaurant Review- Montrio's Bistro, Monterey, CA

Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of the meal because we were in the middle of our 10 year high school reunion. My friend set this entire thing up and she found Montrio Bistro, which has a wonderful reputation and serves fine cuisine. I had been there before, as one of my workplaces had our annual holiday party there back in 1998. Great food and wonderful service.

We were able to sit upstairs in a private room, use the microphone, and had bartenders at the whims of many of my fellow classmates, who wanted to have a couple of drinks. I did not drink that night as I was not feeling too well.

We started off with appetizers on every table, now that I actually did get a picture of:


Our appetizer was Crispy Calamari with Chile-Citrus-Basil Aioli and Tomato Basil Bruschetta with Roasted Garlic and Mozzarella. I did not have the Bruschetta as I was afraid it would upset my stomach even more, but the Calamari was lovely and light. There was just a subtle hint of that Chile-Citrus-Basil Aioli, which was a nice compliment to the Calamari.

After introduction speeches (one of which I had to give, and did okay on, thankfully!), we were served our salad, which was Field Greens with a Mustard Vinaigrette. I did NOT like the Vinaigrette at all, but the greens were delicious.

In between the salad and entree, we each went around and basically told the others what we had been up to in the past 10 years. We heard everything from people who have been married for years (like myself) with children to people who just got married, to people who just had babies to people who went on to receive their Master degrees, and even many who have served more than one tour in Iraq (one of our guys served a total of five tours in Iraq!). It was wonderful to catch up and get to talk with everyone.

We had our choice between a Grilled Certified Angus Prime New York Steak with Roasted Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Sauteed Mushrooms with a Red Wine reduction OR Grilled Wild Salmon with a Confit Potato, Artichokes and Pancetta in a Green Peppercorn Cream. I opted for the Wild Salmon has I had been craving it. It was delicious, moist and heavenly! I wasn't able to finish all of my meal, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. I had no idea what a "confit potato" was, but apparently it's a twice-baked potato from what I was told. It was delicious, and I normally hate artichokes, but in the green peppercorn sauce with the pancetta, it was delicious. The pancetta was a bit too salty for my tastes, though, which is what any kind of bacon is (too salty).

Our dessert was a Flourless Chocolate Cake with Port Swirl Ice Cream and it was extremely rich. I couldn't get through but maybe 1/4 of the cake, which was small to begin with. It was like a decadent gourmet brownie. I loved the ice cream too, and the plate was garnished with a swirl of raspberry sauce, which complimented the cake very well.

The servers were wonderful and good about refilling our glasses with water. The only complaint most of us had was there was no A/C in there and it was quite warm up in there. But it truly was a wonderful experience that none of us will forget. I am looking forward to my 11th year reunion in Vegas next year! (WOOHOO!) I am REALLY looking forward to my 20th year reunion now though!

If you are ever in Monterey, California and would like to enjoy a good meal, stop in at Montrio Bistro on 414 Calle Principal in downtown Monterey.

Montrio's website
and you can call in for reservations at (831) 648-8880