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El Monasterio Italian Restaurant |
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Cobián 500, Torreón Free valet parking, off sight so the return is a bit slow Pasta made in house Midrange prices Our first visit tab with a generous tip was $900 pesos for 2 people (about $70 dollars) Our second visit was $1550 pesos for 5 people. (about $120 dollars) |
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As soon as Nery and I were seated, the bilingual manager came to greet us. Surprise, we already knew him from Oriental Grill. We noticed a couple of other Oriental Grill guys. Yes, same ownership. El Monasterio opened only four months ago, and already they are doing a brisk business. The service was prompt, and the food was mostly good. |
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This is a large building with spacious seating inside and outside |
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This heavy leatherette book contains the menu.
Josue (ho-sway) was our friendly, knowledgably waiter. He knows the menu and was willing to express his opinions about the food. I like that, so he got a good tip. |
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This seafood pizza was delicious beyond words. |
Nery and I are ready to dig into the pizza, chicken and a good bowl of pasta.
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Chicken breasts parmesan with cheese. potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli. A bit bland. |
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On my second visit, Chico, Brenda, Andréa and Alex joined me for four pizzas. The seafood pizza was excellent, but the other three were a big disappointment -- not very good.
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This an excellent seafood soup. In my opinion, this soup and the seafood pizza are the best things on the menu. |
For dessert, Josue recommended this Italian ice cream. Excellent |
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Our third visit was a 21st birthday for Chico. Brenda's brother Fili joined us for another pizza pig-out. I was very disappointed with the seafood soup and the seafood pizza -- not nearly as good as on previous visits. The service was unacceptably slow in an almost empty room. For desert. we again enjoyed the Italian ice cream -- after a long wait. |
The total tab with tip was $1,172 pesos or about $90 dollars. Too much for the quality of the food and the service. I think this will be our last visit here. Since our first visit 5 months ago, the quality of the food and the service have deteriorated. Business seems to be way off. I don't think they will make it. Too bad. It's such a pretty place, but ambiance goes only so far.
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A New Beginning. 10 months ago I left the restaurant vowing never to return for reasons given above. A week ago, the manager at Oriental Grill (a sister restaurant) invited Nery and me to return. He assured us that the problems that had driven me away had been fixed. So Nery and I went back. WOW! Both the food and the service were excellent.. The manger gave us a list of his favorite dishes. |
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We tried six of them. Lasagna Fetuccini Cuoco Sorrentinos di Salmone Carpaccio de Res Cheese and Bread Fondue Cheesecake with Berries.
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Fetuccini Cuoco |
Carpaccio de Res |
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The total cost with tip was $1200 pesos or about $100 dollars – pricy but delicious. We’ll certainly be back
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Two weeks later, I returned with my three English students for a pizza party in celebration of Misa’s graduation from medical school. |
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As starters, the manager sent a couple of freebees – little skillets of two new items about to be added to the menu. Mushrooms in a spicy tomato sauce and shrimp sautéed with garlic and herbs. very good. Next came four cannellonis stuffed with ricotta cheese. The guys had never had them before and they loved them. me too. |
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Next came three pizzas – carnivoriS (Italian sausage), mariscos (seafood) and a four-cheese pizza. The total tab with tip was $1250 pesos or abour $100 dollars.
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Two weeks later, the pasta called Nery and me back for more. |
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We began with a salad of greens with slices of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with hernbs. Olive oil dressing. For pasta we had cannolis - one filled with cheese, the other with We also did a repeat of two things we really liked from before -- Carpaccio de Res and the little skillet of shrimp. meat. Damn good! |
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The tab with tip was $720 pesos or about $60 dollars. |
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