Cuisine:

• Tapas
• Fast Food and Hamburgers
• Spanish

Estéban Description:
Named for Don Estéban Munras, the last Spanish diplomat to California, Casa Munras is an historic fixture on the Monterey Peninsula. Now a hotel, the 1824 property underwent a facelift courtesy of Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants. Honoring the property's Spanish roots, the hotel's restaurant, Estéban, features tapas---with mixed results. The olive, cucumber and feta plate arrives with disappointing bites speared on skewers. In another dish, fingerling potatoes, arugula and lime are good together, but mixed with far too many hunks of chorizo and not enough of the star ingredient: pan-fried local baby squid. Overall, we advise sticking to the larger plates. Prawns a la plancha blanketed with harissa romesco, almond and mint tingles pleasantly on the tongue, and the crab cake is packed with fresh meat, its brininess tempered by a tangy green tomatillo salsa. Clearly Estéban tries to please everyone, why else would a tapas restaurant offer a burger---albeit organic---and fries on the menu? Desserts do not dazzle, but consider ordering the cheese selection as a dinner accompaniment.


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