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Monte Cristo?


kiminmexico

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There is a new restaurant just east of LaHuerta where the Tuesday and Friday markets are. As I was coming from the Tues market, there was a young man with a chef's hat standing near the legless man who begs there. He just opened, hope to read some reviews.

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Monte Cristo is a new restaurant by the Tuesday market building and it is owned and staffed by former employees of El Ancla. Alejandro is the chef and Adrian and Mariana are the wait staff. It is on the carretera and they have seating inside, on a side patio and outside, in front. The menu is similar to El Ancla but a bit more up scale and also broader. Prices are also similar to El Ancla with entrees around 120 pesos. We are hoping to try them out tonight and if we do we will report back.

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Thanks, La Buena Vida. Nice website. But I'm concerned that they didn't get help to put this info in English as well as in Spanish. Also, details on the menu and prices would have been good to know in Spanish or English.

Well, they're just getting underway. . . . .

Lexy

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From the website: "Atún a la plancha con espárragos; pescado con salsa de pimiento rojo y almendras; pechuga rellena con espinacas y queso al horno, bañada con salsa de champiñón; chamorro de cordero con salsa de menta; y camarones MonteCristo."

An attempted translation for anyone who can't read it: Grilled tuna with asparagus. Fish in a red pepper and almond sauce. Baked chicken breast stuffed with spinach and cheese, bathed in a mushroom sauce. Lamb shank (!) with mint sauce. And a signature "Shrimp MonteCristo", which they don't explain. The photos certainly make the food look professionally prepared by someone with higher-end-ish restaurant experience. Prices not indicated but based on the photos I bet I could make a pretty accurate guess.

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Thanks, Travis. I didn't notice the food descriptions when I looked. Probably many of us could get through this Spanish.

Still--I think they should make the effort of getting their descriptions into English. And to include the price range. They must realize--especially if they worked at El Ancla--that their customer base is likely to be more ex-pat than Mexican, except possibly on weekends.

They've got a new endeavor and high hopes. Go all out. Get to your customer base.

Lexy

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Did El Ancla implode?

Not at all. We had dinner there a week ago and Eric said he was doing very busy and wished Monte Cristo well. Chewy, the cook I recognize from being there before. Two new waiters who were VERY attentive, speak perfect English and knowledgeable about the menu, meat temps and desert suggestions. Great meal as always. By the way I think they make one of the best Margaritas around.

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We had dinner at Monte Cristo tonight. As Twelveoaks say it is now owned by the former chef at The Anchor and his wife Marianna. Angie who ran El Mariachi the beautiful store with decorative iron is now waitressing at Monte Cristo. She has closed the store and needs to unload the inventory there. If you are interested stop and see her at the restaurant. She will take you to the store and give very good discounts she said.

Back to Monte Cristo...the menu is very similar to The Anchor, with more choices. Hamburgers are still 75p. Many choices for dessert including different flambes made table side as well as Caesar Salad. The decor is lovely and has new handmade tables with wood tops & heavy iron bases. Outside tables are the same good quality with HUGE umbrellas. The decor is first class. They will also sell any of the iron decor. They seem to have a close relationship with whoever makes it. All staff were extremely friendly, Adrian who use to be at The Anchor is now there also. They were so sweet and gave us complimentary grilled asparagus and 2 yummy chocolate truffles. My husband enjoyed his Mahi Mahi And I would definitely order my Monk fish again. Both meals were beautifully presented. They have only been opened for a week. We live in West Ajijic and will be going there often if the service and food remain consistent.

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But where are all the folks in this low season coming from to support, at the latest count, 3 new eateries, and where does Eric get good replacements.

After being here a number of years, I've seen enough restaurants come and go to come to the conclusion that most people opening them don't have the capital to make ends meet long enough to establish a loyal customer base which will carry them through the slow times. The attrition is sad, but inevitable.

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After being here a number of years, I've seen enough restaurants come and go to come to the conclusion that most people opening them don't have the capital to make ends meet long enough to establish a loyal customer base which will carry them through the slow times. The attrition is sad, but inevitable.

Yup and I wonder how many of them understand that they have to be able to do this in order to survive.

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Yup and I wonder how many of them understand that they have to be able to do this in order to survive.

I think the principle that applies here is: "Hope springs eternal". "Hope" covers a lot of poorly thought out moves and lost causes. It's what keeps Lonely Hearts columns alive.

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We had a pleasant lunch today at Monte Cristo. We both had Caesar salad with chicken, 75 p. The salad was made at tableside and the chicken added. Anchovies were part of the mix in the bowl, something that's often left out around here. Wine by the glass is 45 p. We were given a carrot cake dessert on the house, all for me as my husband can't eat wheat.

I hope they make it. Our waiter, who is familiar to us from El Ancla, was more cheerful than we've ever seen him

Lexy

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, three of us gave it a try tonight. Sorry to say, it was a "fail" for us. I had dried, old tuna after asking for the mahi mahi which they did not have. My wife had undercooked fish and chips and our friend had a barely edible chowder. We thought about having a bottle of wine with dinner but they wanted to charge us 250 pesos for the same bottle we buy at Costco for less than 50 pesos.

There were flies everywhere, it took forever to get our three very mediocre meals and the place has as much road noise as El Ancla.

Nice folks but that doesn't make up for the rest as far as we're concerned. Won't be back.

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