A Visit to Monterey’s Coastal Kitchen
![Seared ahi with sunchoke puree, apple sabayon and diced apples -- at Coastal Kitchen.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Coastal-Kitchen-ahi.jpg)
When Chef Michael Rotondo left San Francisco during the pandemic, it was surely Monterey’s gain.
The former executive chef of Parallel 27 in the San Francisco Ritz-Carlton, former executive chef of Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, and the U.S. Bocuse D’Or “Most Promising Chef” of 2008, moved south to open Coastal Kitchen in February 2022.
That new fine-dining restaurant at the Monterey Plaza Hotel is right next to its long-time casual restaurant, Schooners.
Unlike the latter, though, there is no outdoor dining space. The white cloth-draped tables inside Coastal Kitchen’s warm-wood dining room are spaced out amply, though.
![The dining room.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Coastal-Kitchen-dining-room.jpg)
This is a tasting menu-only restaurant. In fact, it’s thought to be the sole tasting menu-only restaurant in Monterey. At $145 per person (with an additional $95 for wine pairings), it delivers a lot for the buck.
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