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| - The hype is well deserved. This really was as close to a perfect dining experience as I've had in awhile. Sure its pricey, but I knew that going in and the experience was completely worth it. I actually took my Mom here for dinner on a brutally hot summer evening. She originally wanted to go somewhere else fancy but after reading up on this place on Yelp and seeing the Check Please AZ segment, I steered her in this direction. Boy am I glad that I did.
This place is set in an otherwise nondescript part of Downtown Scottsdale near the southwest corner of Goldwater and Indian School. When you drive up to the premises, you see a long but narrow building and the hostess waiting right at the front door. I got a little confused about where to go as they no longer have the dining room in the kitchen area, but rather on the north side of the building. The setup of the interior is just as other Yelpers have described. Beautiful, quaint, intimate. There's a beautiful courtyard in back with dining tables as well but it was far too hot to dine outside tonight. No worries though, we had a great view of the outside from our table. The biggest surprise to me was actually how casual the dress was. The men I saw were all in polos and khakis while the women were in casual summer dresses. Not nearly as dressy as I expected.
The menu here changes weekly and there are very few choices you get to make. Its a four course menu with an amuse bouche (basically a light snack) to start, then an appetizer, then you choose between one of three entrees, and then a dessert. The amuse bouche tonight was a grilled zucchini soup with goat cheese and a crostini. Fantastic start to the meal as the soup was cold, light, and the crostini was incredibly flavorful despite its relatively small size. Dipping it in the soup was the best part. The appetizer was a romaine salad with a smoked tomato dressing and various shaved veggies including carrots, radish and beets, topped off with some feta. You definitely pick up the smoky flavor of the dressing, but the feta smooths it out and the salad portion was actually very generous.
Then came the main course. I chose the ribeye with beef jus, corn puree, and baby spinach. My Mom went with the crab cakes with eggplant and tomato. Not to brag, but my dish was the best. The ribeye meat was so tender I could've cut it with a spoon. The puree and jus were a perfect topping to a steak that literally tasted like butter in my mouth. I had some of my Mom's crab cake too and it was very good, though even she agreed my ribeye dish was superior. In addition to the main course, there was an add-on we chose to share. It was a Vietnamese-style shrimp with green papaya. We each had two pieces. The spicyness of it caught us both by surprise, but not so spicy that it took away from the flavor or the enjoyment. Finally for dessert we each got a Coconut Tres Leches cake with blackberries and a lime chocolate sauce. Super moist cake and the sauce was excellent. The coconut might've been a little watery, but otherwise a great way to cap off an epic meal.
For drinks we did the wine pairing with the dinner. We got a white wine for our first two courses, and a red for the last two. I especially loved the Pinot Noir that we got with the main entree. Smooth, rich, and paired perfectly with the ribeye. In addition, I checked in on Yelp and that allowed my Mom to get a free glass of house wine to help her cap things off.
Alright, the price. Like I said, not cheap. We're talking special occasion only. Total for two four course meals (plus wine pairings), plus the shrimp add-on, tax, and tip was about $250. My Mom was nice enough to split the bill with me on this go-round. And in all fairness, we went all out. If you come here and just get the four course dinner, water, and no add-ons, you'll probably pay closer to $70/person. That said, the add-on dish and wine pairings were totally worth it in my opinion. Made the experience that much better.
The staff is extremely friendly, accommodating, and professional and were very knowledgable about every product we were served right down to the vintage of the wines. Here's another fun fact about this place. They have the nicest restroom I've ever seen. Seriously. Ever. Its immaculate and exquisitely decorated. Nicer than any restroom at anyone's house I've been to. My Mom even said as much.
It would be hard to compare this place to Binkley's because its apples vs oranges. But the quality of the food, first class service, and quasi-casual feel of Cafe Monarch is certainly comparable with Binkley's. It's mainly just a difference in style and presentation. But as I write this, Cafe Monarch is by far the best restaurant experience I've had in Scottsdale to date.
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