Maligne

We drove up from San Diego to visit Monterey for a long-awaited road trip. I combed through dozens of restaurants in the area and landed on Maligne because of their menu, reviews, and reputation. Our experience fell nothing short of our expectations. The food was absolutely incredible, the service was delightful, and the ambience was casual yet elegant. We started with the focaccia and hamachi crudo. The focaccia was perfectly seasoned with salt and herbs, had a deliciously toasted crust, and was paired with olive oil for dipping. The hamachi was delicate, served with fresh plums and refreshing shiso. For our entrées, we shared the lamb chops and gnocchi. The lamb basically slid off the bone, the cabbage was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was delicious. The ragu with the gnocchi was so warm and comforting, and it was truly the best gnocchi I’ve ever had, so pillowy and decadent. To end our meal, we had the banana pudding which was creamy and nostalgic. Our server, Sergio, was attentive, kind, charming, and funny. He made our experience incredibly personal and memorable, and we certainly look forward to visiting again one day and seeing him, along with the chef at Maligne. I highly recommend dining here as this is an experience you will never forget.

Overall it was very good. Service was a wonderful young lady that did a great job. But she was alone and had the whole dining room. Pecan pie was over- cooked, dry. Rockfish was delicious. Bread was warm fresh and amazing.

This place is amazing. Hands down one of the best restaurants in the area if not the best. I have come here several times and I always leave happy. Fresh ingredients and care and attention to detail. Staff is always great. It is always hard for me to decide what I want when I come here because everything is so delicious! Come here you won’t regret it.

Not sure how to describe this place. I'm gonna go with casual-fancy. The staff opens the door for you up on entry and exit. The place looks amazing. I dunno very warm, homey, and fancy, simultaneously. The kitchen is open and the food tasted fresh and clean.

Grilled scallop starter was delicious. Two refreshing meat-fruit salad combos: melon & prosciutto with basil and Serrano ham & figs with almonds. Both quite good. Friend local calamari was good, although the dipping sauce was underwhelming. Mains were both delicious, but difficult to eat. The Grilled Branzino was delicious, but putting a cold salad on top ruined the crispy skin and made it hard to eat. Moules were nice to eat but we waited over 10 minutes for the French fries, which was not ideal.

Delicious food. Great elegant but low key vibe. Food was amazing and incredible. I loved the open kitchen concept!

Beautiful restaurant, nicely decorated and great location. Parking can be challenging. I found the menu to be limited and over priced. The dishes we ordered, lacked quantity and flavor. For appetizers we orders a grilled scallop. I should’ve paid more attention during the English class that when it is missing an S it is singular. Well for $22 we got a single scallop. We also ordered the Padron peppers which were excellent. The service was slow so finally when the main dish was served, my wife had ordered a grilled mackerel and I had chosen the Blue fun tuna. The Ahi was seared but the center was cold, meaning it was not seared enough to warm the center. The mackerel was grilled on one side and the other side was completely raw. It was also fishy and tasted more like a sardine than a mackerel. The wines selection was limited. Best part was the desert and French fries.

Interesting place to eat. There are some twists on dishes here that I have not seen before. The saucing and seasoning was good. There is lots happening over charcoal, so if you like smokey this is a good place, ask for a table away from the kitchen if you prefer less smokey. The crudo was really tasty. The service was just ok, and inconsistent. For example, some tables were offered flat or sparkling water, others just given flat, and the waiter's engagement with different tables varied quite a bit. I was looking forward to the ricotta cake (picture included) and it was ok, the whole dish was a bit too sweet for me and could have used something to cut through the sweetness.