Monarch is a special occasion dinner destination, be it a wedding anniversary, 40th birthday celebration or being made an equity partner in a brokerage firm, since a meal for two can easily set one back the cost of a car payment. However, YOLO as the kids say, and assuming you have something to celebrate (or your car is already paid off), Monarch can be an exceptional experience.After we made use of the $10 valet parking, we entered The National and were greeted with a complimentary chilled glass of bubbly, which we gladly accepted and sipped during the elevator ride up to the 49th floor. Window seats can be reserved online only, and it’s a $125 per person deposit that will be applied to your dinner. We didn’t do this, but luckily were rewarded with a great corner window table for two where we could gaze at the Omni, Reunion Tower and the Bank of America building while we drank our cocktails: a Southern Belle and a Diamond Noir.The Southern Belle consisted of Old Forester bourbon, black tea, stone fruit, lemon, maple and mint, and the Diamond Noir was born of Makers 46, barrel aged Demerara, citrus and clarified cabernet. Both were refreshing, and the Diamond Noir was beautiful to boot and led to a short dissertation about specific gravity and viscosity of fluids from the server who was definitely up on his physics. As we sipped these drinks looking down on our city, we made menu decisions.But wait — before we could even crack open the menu, our server brought us their version of chips and salsa: a scrumptious little charcuterie setup consisting of rustic bread, olives, salumi and whipped honey ricotta. A welcome surprise, and as a bonus the olives were already pitted. Now that’s service.
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Summer greens & tomatoes: heirloom and fried green, cucumber, basil, sheep's milk feta, $18
Hank Vaughn
The wood oven-roasted oyster mushrooms were highly recommended by both our server and most of social media, so we gave in to peer pressure. They were indeed extremely good, even for one in our party who doesn’t normally care for mushrooms. They are prepared with Calabrian pepper jus and Parmesan aioli, and are basically an umami feast that comes in an attractive little tureen.
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Fire roasted lamb chops: eggpland caponata, thumbelina carrots, rosemary lamb sauce, $58
Hank Vaughn
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Toffee cake pudding: coconut shortbread, bourbon toffee glaze, passion fruit and coconut ice cream, $14
Hank Vaughn
Monarch; 1401 Elm St, 49th Floor (The National); 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, & Sunday; 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. Friday & Saturday