Casa Mono

I had stumbled drunk here back in 2018 not realizing it was a Michelin restaurant. Fortunately, it was on our list to come back to have a more proper dinner where our memory would still function. Our friends wanted a taste of a Michelin type of experience, and in lieu of a tasting menu, we opted for a more shareable format. Reservations are fairly easy to come by, so on a Sunday night, the restaurant wasn’t super full at 5 PM. Casa Mono still today maintains 1 Michelin Star.

Ambiance & Service

The restaurant was quite smaller than I last remembered, but it definitely had a dark wood and rustic feel to it. Seating was a bit tight, and the table was quite small. Regardless, the staff made sure to time all the plates out respectively, so that you never felt your table was overburdened with dishes.

The service was very on point. They made sure our glasses were filled with water, and they poured our bottle of wine without interrupting conversations.

Food

We ordered a bottle of Albamar Pepe Luis ($98), which is a Albariño white wine that comes from Rias Baixas wine region of Galicia, Spain.

The wine was clear, had notable mineral tastes, and was quite elegant and balance. It was very complementary to all of our dishes tonight.

They gave us some bread and olives. The bread soaked up the olive oil very well, and the olives were salty with seeds in them.

The Pulpo ($18) came with baby octopus and sat on a lightly dressed salad of fennel and grapefruit. The baby octopus was tender and had a nice char to it.

The Razor Clams a la Plancha ($29) came with 5 razor clams with loads of garlic and olive oil. The razor clams were tender and had a string cheese bouncy texture.

The Pan con Tomate ($10) came with 2 pieces of bread and a spread of tomato chunks. The tomato was fresh, acidity, and uplifting. It certainly wasn’t the best pan with tomato I’ve had, but it was good.

The Bacalao Croquetas ($15) came with 4 pieces of densely packed salted cod and fried to perfection accompanied by orange aioli. I’ve never been a fan of salted cod in general, but this was quite good. My table definitely enjoyed it very much and were quite impressed.

The Scallops ($30) came with 4 sized scallops cooked to perfection in a Serrano Green Curry & Minted Cashews sauce. The sauce definitely had a slight kick to it, and the scallops all had a nice sear.

The Mackerel a la Plancha ($21) came with delicata squash and piquillo escabeche. I did not personally care for this, but someone in my party really enjoyed this. It was fresh, and the skin was crispy.

The Pork Belly ($24) came with Guiso de Garbanzos, Morcilla, and Broccoli Rabe. The broth reminded me a bit of minestrone. The broccoli rabe gave it that bitter flavor, but it was nicely complemented with the heartiness of the garbanzo beans and saltiness of the sausage. The pork belly was tender, but I must admit it did not quite feel it was the main focus of this.

The Duck Egg ($25) came with Mojama and Black Truffles. Mojama is salted cured tuna. I thought the duck egg yolk with all of this was spectacular. I loved the black truffles because they actually had some flavors, and it definitely added good flavors to this along with everything else. My partner, who dislikes truffles, found the truffle aroma to be strong enough such that they passed on it.

The Duck Breast ($29) came with Chanterelles and Spiced Honey. The duck was very tender and soft. As usual when it comes to mushrooms, I just avoid it, but my party loved it.

The Pig Ears ($15) came with Fried Brussel Sprouts and Pickled Raisins. For this price and quantity, I felt this was one of the dishes of the night that was underrated and surprisingly really good. The pig ears were very crispy and crunchy and worked well with the fried brussel sprouts. The sauce that this was dressed in definitely had a pickling flavor to it, and I thought it was all very nice.

The Chocolate con Galleta de Avellana ($12) came with chocolate ganache, creme fraiche helado, shaved Ibizan chocolate, and tahini hazelnut cookie. The chocolate here definitely was not super sweet and was quite balanced. The hazelnut flavors reminded me of nutella.

The Pudin de Pan ($12) came with orange infused bread pudding with caramel helado and Pedro Ximenez berries. This was my favorite of the night. I love bread pudding, and this was no exception. The berries were quite tart and were a great compliment to give the bread pudding some zing.

The Crema Catalana con Buñuelos de Laurel ($12) came with burnt vanilla custard and deep fried bay leaves. My partner enjoyed this much more than French style creme brulee. I thought the fried bay leaves was strange, but that is because I never thought to eat bay leaves.

Final Verdict

I think where Casa Mono really excels at is providing an abundant selection of options and wines at a reasonable price. The total damage for our party of 4 came out to be a little over $100 per person. We were definitely satisfied in terms of being adequately full. I would not necessarily recommend with less than 4 people if your goal is to sample many different dishes. In terms of Michelin, I can see how it was awarded its star, but definitely level your expectations as it won’t be as gourmet or bougie as a Japanese kaiseki or steakhouse outing.

Yelp Jabs

pulpo: some of the worst squid I’ve had at a good restaurant, wasn’t gross just wasn’t good … crème dessert: good crème Brulé but the fried leaves were not it (honestly very weird, tasted like donut on the outside yet you couldn’t eat the leaf) … Maybe we ordered wrong but was a little disappointed.

This Elitist got a few things wrong. Pulpo isn’t squid; it’s octopus. Yes, you can eat the fried leaves. And lastly, yes this Elitist ordered wrong for their expectations. This Elitist’s taste buds probably is more on the “California Roll” spectrum and hasn’t had enough other foods in their experience yet.

when you see open tables the whole time you there and was told only bar seats available.

This is because there are people that have reservations for the tables, and your meal may overlap with their reservation time. Some restaurants may allow you to dine, given you can finish before the party arrives for their reservation.

Revisions

1. Jan 22, 2023 - Updated with loads of pictures and more descriptions.
2. Sep 16, 2018 - Initial revision. Stumbled drunk here with a friend, but I didn’t write much about the experience.