Monarch - Hotel ZaZa   5701 Main St MetroRail Line: Museum District Station Houston TX 77005 713.527.1800 Reservations You might also be interested in these:     Fine Dining - Upscale Restaurants    Online Reservations    Outdoor Dining    ZIP 77005   Add Review       MY REVIEW: A good friend has raved about the patio at the ZaZa for months now. We finally made it over, to enjoy a glass of wine. I was expecting a certain price level (which met my expectations) but the service was terrible. We asked for the misting system to be turned on, and nothing. Not even a "it needs service", a water request was ignored. It took an HOUR to get our bill. The patio is beautiful, the service was so terrible I don't want to go back. Very disappointing. NAME: Simple Girl SUBMITTED: 7/9/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/08 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: I have never submitted a review before, but I HAD to review Monarch after my birthday dinner there Saturday night. I could not disagree more with some of the previous reviews. My dining experience was one of the best I have had in every single aspect- food, service, and ambiance. I dine out a lot, and know what makes a good meal- this was it, all around. Our table started with the white bean hummus, which was excellent. We each had different salads- the lump crab Caesar, the spinach salad, and the arugula salad were all excellent. I had the tenderloin medallion/scallop entree and was extremely impressed. Another standout dish was the duck, which my father said was the best he has ever had. The service was impeccable. One of my biggest dining pet peeves is bad timing, and the timing was excellent. The waiter was attentive but not overly intrusive. Meats were cooked to perfection. The wine list was a bit pricey, but nothing outrageous. The food prices are high, but again, the quality is there, and I don't mind paying for it if it is worth it, which this is. The restaurant is beautiful, and while the music did get a little louder as the evening went on, it fit the style of the restaurant. Don't go here if you want an intimate, quiet dinner. Do go if you want an outstanding dining experience from start to finish. NAME: htowngal SUBMITTED: 2/25/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 2/2008 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: We combined dinner with a stay at the hotel. The dinner experience was fine but nothing to warrant a trip back. The staff was generally polite and attentive. If you're a 2-person group, you're going to get one of the "cozy" tables, which are good for conversation but probably not to everyone's taste. I suppose that seats with an outside view (which is one of Houston's best) would provide enough additional value to counter the high-for-the-quality prices, so you may need to be insistent when it comes to seating. The menu is relatively tame, with more interesting items and presentations in the salad/appetizer categories than in the entree list. We had a drink with dinner instead of wine, as the selection seemed a bit limited. We hit the adjoining bar before dinner and afterwards, and it's a nice space. Good for relaxing early, and still pretty raucous as a late-night spot, so I guess they're doing something right with the scenesteers. I should also mention that we also had room service breakfast the next morning, which was excellent in terms of choice, quality, and value. I've seen other reviews that mentioned that the kitchen has to be versitle to handle the responsibilities of serving hotel guests as well as outside patrons, so I think they should be commended for the breakfast. Unfortunately, they won't be considered a serious high-end restaurant until they are a little more creative and consistent in the dinner options. NAME: Dave7 SUBMITTED: 1/16/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: January 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Went there for New Years Night. They had the worst food I have ever had. The food was bland and horrible. They didn't have any substitution for people in our party who were vegetarian. The manager said there was nothing he could do and said it was a "privledge to be at Hotel ZaZa." Can you believe it? That is the most bizarre thing I have every heard from a resturant manager. This place sucked. The new years party also sucked. No organization, no count down, just a throng of people (maybe around 500) squeezed into a spot that could only hold 130 (there was a fire marshall sign that said max capacity of 130). I have to go back to the food one more time, which was really, really bad. Minute portions of really bland food and they charged us $100 per plate for that bland tasting crap!!! For $100 per person I could have gone to any steak resturant and had a beyond fantastic meal. NAME: Bob McJones SUBMITTED: 1/1/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/31/2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: The food was excellent. We went at Christmas and there was a set menu. Veal tenderloin, turkey, grilled shrimp, four different sides....all of which were served family style....so that meant you had two big platters as well as your plates, your water, your wine and your bread. Of course that was impossible to fit on the table for two where we were seated. The restaurant was half empty and I should have asked for a table for four as the food would still have covered the table, but I had already insisted on being moved as we were originally seated in the bar at a mini bar size table, what were they thinking.....at $300 drive out for two, anything but a packed house, and this type of serving style....GIVE ME SOME ROOM. (not even commenting on seating folks right next to us unnecessarily..they complained also.) And the other thing....food temperature. Should have been hotter given this serving style. As I said, great food, besides the above, excellent salad, soup, and a homemade eggnog....very adequate service as well, particularly on a day when no one wanted to be there. Except for the occasion where nothing else is open, like yesterday, I dont think I will go back, as this is the second time I have had seating issues...just too much money for the irritation, no matter how good the food. NAME: faceofdowntown SUBMITTED: 12/26/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/25/07 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: Two other friends and I had our annual Christmas lunch at the Monarch restaurant in the hotel ZaZa. Our entire experience was wonderful! Food, service, ambiance, you name it..... My friends had the potatoe soup as a starter and they said it was very good; not heavy like one might expect. The presentation on all food courses was outstanding. I had the Asian tuna salad and it was delcious. The nice thing was that the portion sizes were just right, leaving room for dessert. We split two desserts: the pear desert with raisin ice cream and the fig and marzapone - two nice complimentary desserts. These were the two that caught my eye and the waiter (not knowing this) recommended these two. Our service, by Brandon (I believe that was his name) was more than perfect. He was the ultimate waiter. Another thing we all liked was that the menu was limited, but with the unusual dishes, you still had to focus, and we had a couple of questions, to which the waiter satisfactorily responded. We will definitely go back. We also loved the overall design of the hotel. All being fans of the old Warwick, we thought the renovation was very well done. NAME: LLITL025 SUBMITTED: 12/19/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Tried brunch. Hostess was very agreeable. Service was extremely slow. No manager in sight. Food was ok. Probably no reason to return. NAME: CHAZ SUBMITTED: 10/23/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: OCTOBER 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Nice ambiance, quiet, but then it was early Saturday afternoon. Hostess was polite but tried to seat us at a mini table for two right next to other patrons when their was plenty of other seating and got huffy when i said no. Did the same to next customers and they said no, come on. Service was adequate with the biggest issue being that the bar is a long walk for the waitress, but drinks were strong and yes, expensive. Food was innovative and maybe a little too cool, but adequate. We had six dishes and if I was picky, I could have found the shrimp over cooked, the ceasar nothing special, the potatoes in the hash under cooked and the short rib frittata too heavy on the egg white, but who is picky. Drive out with 4 drinks was $150, somewhat borderline value for money, so let's say ok, but I wont hurry back. NAME: faceofdowntown SUBMITTED: 9/4/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/1/07 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: As we have all heard, its the next big place to see and be seen. Go there for that reason alone. Had drinks and bar food with a group of friends the other day and was definately under-impressed with what we experienced. The wine we ordered was seriously off temperature, and was never quite cold enough. The bar food, although tasty, was extreemly pricy for what it was ($8 french fries). Service was awful. Our party arrived early, before the rush, so one would expect service to be better when not under presure. It took a long time to get a wine list, then once a wine was chosen it was even longer to get acctually GET the wine. Once the wine was brought to the table, it was far too warm. The wine never seemed to make it cold enough to really enjoy it. The waitress seemed overwhelmed and did not return often enough to service the table. Although the whole group ordered bar food, not everyone had small plates to eat from. The one redeeming factor was the wine was comped without us asking for it to be. I will be back, but my expectations of such an establishment, especially at those prices, is much higher. NAME: Disappointed SUBMITTED: 7/29/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 7/07 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Food was great, Very busy. I would say the food is the reason to go to this place. It is like no other in houston. Simple but yet flavorful Great job zaza NAME: Padinner SUBMITTED: 6/25/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: Once again a supposed trendy spot opens in houston and is average at best. The scene was nice, drinks at the bar were overpriced and bar staff and servers not well informed of their product. Had dinner in Monarch, and was excited because of all the press, however the menu was predictable and not well executed. Here in Houston it will be noticed as being a trendy setting but the food could not stand up to dining in NY, Chicago or the Bay area. Which is what it seemed to be selling, like they were the second coming or something. And for my dollar there is better food in this city anyway. NAME: delouvier SUBMITTED: 6/23/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/07 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Apparently, the bar is the next big thing. Getting a table was not easy, and waiting in the bar was quite a scene. The service was top shelf, but at the prices charged is should be. The food was solid but not spectacular, and there was an error in the order. That error was quickly fixed. At the end of the day, an above-average establishment, but at its price point others in town are better. NAME: hungryman SUBMITTED: 6/19/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: June 16, 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once ©Copyright 1991 - 2008 B4-U-EAT.COM. All rights reserved. Design and database by B4-U-BUY