STATARI SANTO

I had the most incredible experience at Osteria Da Carlo and cannot believe any of the negative reviews. This restaurant was the highlight of my visit to Menton, and the sole reason I considered staying longer. The service was top tier, and the dishes were the best I’ve had in the French Riviera. The staff make you feel right at home, are extremely hospitable, and the food is genuinely flavoursome. Pricing wise it is not an outlier to what you would expect. I’m looking forward to being back to try other items on the menu.

The food was acceptable overall, however, the small portion of sea bass was significantly overpriced (€40) for something that tasted quite average. There were three staff members during our visit. Two of them were polite and patient, but one staff member stood out for the wrong reasons. We experienced terrible treatment when paying. We were first told the card machine was not working and that we needed to pay cash. After we said we had no cash, the machine was suddenly available. Our card payment failed several times for no reason (and the machine was taken back to the kitchen area each time after failure), and only went through after we selected a higher tip amount. I am not saying this was a scam, but the process felt unclear, uncomfortable, and highly questionable. As tourists, we used Google Translate to understand the French text on the card machine, especially the tip options. That same staff member then rudely questioned why we were using Google Translate. This was unnecessary and made us feel pressured. I would not return and definitely not recommend to anyone.

Love this place. Had the seafood pasta and grilled seafood platter. Seafood was fresh and the view was great! Octopus and tuna in grilled platter were my favorite. 8pm before the sunset was empty .

One of the most unpleasant service we’ve had in France. Food looked nothing like the pictures here - no lobster on the lobster linguine. The waiter pretty much said no to all of our requests. The waitress had a poker face like she didn’t want to be there. Over priced for the food they serve. They asked if we wanted sweet potatoes or vegetables with our main dish, and later found out it was a separate dish with a separate charge.

This place is right next to the Escaliers. Like RIGHT next to it. So it’s both cool and annoying. Good for people watching but nonstop “photo shoots” going on in front of the restaurant. That said, the views of the water are beautiful. The service? Meh - not bad by any means but not particularly good either. The food? Very tasty, though serving sizes seemed skimpy. Overall it was a good experience and I would return.

Hidden Gem in Menton, this restaurant was the only one that didn’t have queue at 8pm, so we sat there. The second we came we were covered with attention and great hospitality. We ordered fish carpaccio and fish of the day - words can’t describe how fresh everything was. Chef/Owner Carlo is always walking around and happily speaks to customers, he gets fresh delivery daily and you can just tell how much love he put in this restaurant. Such an Italian approach, super rare in France. We got so lucky with Akim and Laurentiu being so friendly and attentive and human as our waiters. Chatting and learning more about Menton and the restaurant. This restaurant changed the whole perception of Menton, this is truly high quality restaurant, it might not be fanciest looking but the food is incredible and that’s what matters at the restaurant! Also little thing that impressed us was open kitchen. The limoncello at the end…we never had such great limoncello not sugary sweet. Everything was perfect! Definitely recommend and we will come again to try Oysters. p.s. Chianti Classico was 10/10!

We had dinner here on Christmas Day. First off, the waiter was coughing the entire time without a mask on - taking orders, talking to customers, going in/out of the kitchen, and serving food - in a small, closed, 16-seat restaurant in peak flu winter season, I'm afraid I find this unprofessional and unhygenic. The food's over-priced compared to the other restaurants we went to on the same seafront (~€125 for 4 small plates of pasta and a bottle of still water), small-portioned, taste was okay; half of the menu was not available tonight. We'd have loved to chat over dinner as usual but in the circumstances we had to leave right after dinner to have some fresh air outside, what a pity.

Recommend to have reservations, otherwise you are assigned to sit inside which was stink because its near the kitchen. We walk-in at 1900 and sit next to their storage and their staffs kept walking back and forth. They could’ve let us sit at the corner but they said they have reservations, which we dont see anyone in an hour after we finished our meal. The tuna felt like coming from the frozen fridge, hard to chew; also the linguini, very tough and under cooked. The waiter even took the wine bottle above my head without excusing. And he even vaped inside while serving. Otherwise it would have been a pleasant dining sitting at the waterfront.