I chose Montecito for my dinner meeting because I had never been there before, and the ambience for a meeting to impress a client also with fabulous food seemed promising. But rather than sit down to an enjoyable and hearty meal, I was left embarrassed in front of my client.
Having never been to Montecito before, I had high hopes - there wasn't a lot of variety on the menu, but I thought that at least the food we did order would be superior, as having owners like Ivan Reitman and Jonathan Waxman, I'm sure they wouldn't have it any other way.
My client ordered the $22 Cavatelli pasta, I ordered the $15 Margarita Pizza, and we shared the $15 Kale salad.
But the only half-decent part of the meal was the Kale salad - which was plentiful enough.
The Cavatelli pasta was such a tiny serving, that it could barely pass as an appetizer, and the pork ragu in it was so bad (practically raw), that my client didn't eat that part of the meal. She left hungry.
My pizza was OK, but I too walked away disappointed and that evening, ended up with an upset stomach (not sure if it was from the Kale salad's dressing or the pizza itself).
Our bill totalled $63.23 (my friend also had a virgin caesar), and I left the waitress a 15 per cent tip because although the food was very disappointing, her service was fine.
I emailed Montecito to point out my issues, but never received an email back.
It's one of those "I'll never return to this place" restaurants.