Learning curve at Monte Carlo Learning curve at Monte Carlo (May 06, 2005)

Castro eatery/nightclub needs to speed up food service

By Mandy Erickson

I had high expectations for dining at Monte Carlo, which opened in January as a restaurant and nightclub in the old Limelight building. Its owners, the Savinovic family, run the successful Ragusa in Los Altos, and have operated several restaurants in Austria, Germany and their native Croatia.

At Ragusa I found the food generally to be quite good, the decorations tasteful and the service gracious, though too slow. I had hoped that Monte Carlo would offer food of a similar quality, with perhaps better service.

Alas, it offered neither. Once again, meals moved at the pace of a glacier. And the food was disappointing, mostly because the ingredients were of inferior quality. The exceptions were the salads and the desserts, both of which topped the Los Altos restaurant's offerings.

When a group of us paused outside Monte Carlo at lunch on a weekday, a waiter quickly approached to tell us about the specials. He then led us inside the restaurant, whose cavernous dining room speaks to the building's origins as a theater. We sat at a raised booth above the dance floor and took in the ornate decorations: huge swaths of gold and maroon fabric, paisley green-and-red pillows on our booth seat, large white vases adorned with cupids and filled with fake plants.

The music wafting through this vast hall was a selection of songs from decades past: Frank Sinatra tunes, '80s European pop and (a personal favorite) "Mandy" by Barry Manilow.

Our waiter seemed eager to please us, but he was too awkward. When I asked where to find the restroom, his answer left me confused over whether I should head left or right. Another question, whether the pizza would take very long, elicited no response that we could understand.

I ordered the lunch special ($9.95), which that day was beef schnitzel. Specials come with a salad and tiramisu -- my salad was a mix of young lettuce tossed in a well-balanced vinaigrette. A simple salad, it proved ideal for starting off a heavy meal.

A thin cut of grilled beef topped with a sour cream sauce of red bell peppers and mushrooms, the schnitzel made for a satisfying lunch: The meat was a little tough, but otherwise very decent. It arrived searing hot, unlike the accompanying mashed potatoes, which were lukewarm. The baby carrots and broccoli on the side were steamed until just tender.

The schnitzel was by far the best of the three lunches we tried. While the grilled salmon's ($12.95) white wine red bell pepper sauce was delicate and aromatic, the salmon was both fishy-tasting -- past its prime -- and tough from overcooking. It was also coated in too much black pepper. This meal came with the same vegetables and potatoes as the schnitzel.

The combination pizza ($12.95) was a platter-sized circle of dough topped with sausage, bell peppers, red onions and mushrooms. It looked, and tasted, much like pizza from a grocery freezer.

Fortunately, my tiramisu was light and not too sweet, with just enough espresso and chocolate to wake me after a soporific meal.

Throughout this lunch, we waited -- to place orders, to start our meal, to receive a check, to pay the check. We finally left 90 minutes later, only to notice that some Monte Carlo diners were eating outside, an option the waiter failed to give us, though the day was mild and sunny.

When my husband and I returned for dinner, the pace started out slow -- we waited 15 minutes to order drinks and another 15 to receive them -- but the meal sped up as it progressed. The waiter was a friendlier chap, taking the time to chat about the nightclub and the food.

As befits a restaurant with a nightclub, Monte Carlo offers a number of specialty drinks. My Monte Carlo ($6) -- a cocktail of Campari, triple sec, Smirnoff, Midori and fruit juice mix -- was a terrific balance of sweet, a little sour and a tad bitter. But my husband's Manhattan ($6) lacked the sweet vermouth to give it warmth.

We started off with the Monte Carlo cold plate ($12.95), an appetizer that could have been great had its components -- brie, lox and prosciutto -- been of better quality. The French onion soup ($6.95) suffered from a similar problem. This dish needs a spunky cheese to stand up to the strong-flavored beef broth and onions, but Monte Carlo's was lackluster, offering barely more than texture to the palate.

My Caesar salad ($7.95) was the bright spot in the appetizers. With its crisp romaine; crunchy croutons; salty, slightly fishy dressing; and plethora of parmesan cheese, I had no problem finishing the dish.

After a series of disappointments, my Monte Carlo mix grill ($18.95) was a pleasant surprise. A skewer of chicken breast, lamb chop, pork tenderloin and beef medallion, this dish proved that the kitchen staff knows how to grill. Save for the beef, which was charred, all the pieces were moist and tender. The meal comes with thin crisp French fries and the same broccoli and carrots we saw at lunch, though this time they were sauteed in butter and toasted garlic.

Once again, I picked the better meal. My husband's seafood linguine ($16.95) featured fishy squid, overcooked salmon and gamy mussels atop a plate of overly soft pasta in a slightly sweet tomato sauce.

Our meal ended well, however, with the pear tartlet ($6.50), a small circle of puff pastry covered with almond paste and pear slices, then topped with ice cream. Though it clearly had been reheated, its flavors still emanated, and it managed to be neither too sweet nor too heavy.

At 10 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Monte Carlo transforms into a nightclub with a dress code and $10 cover (though you can get in free if your dinner slides past 10 p.m.). Like the tunes we heard at lunch and dinner, the music ranges -- from '70s hits to hip hop and top 40.

Monte Carlo may be a happening place to dance and drink, but unless the service can double its pace and the cooks graduate to quality ingredients, the restaurant will remain a disappointment.
Monte Carlo 228 Castro St. (650) 988-1500 Open daily. Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5:30 to 10 p.m.

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