Montien restaurant

Restaurant? Restau-want

 by Franchesca Kiesling

New Englanders, you may know that when spring is springing, warm and cold interchange without any rhyme or reason and the logic of the weather is like a small child’s imagination. When it is 50˚ F out and sunny, one (like me) may become giddy and rejoice at the puddles of the dying snow, but when the next day is nearly freezing rain and colder than what a wool pea coat can protect you from, you need warm options and fast. Montien, a quaint Thai restaurant in the heart of the theatre district across the street from the Cutler Majestic Theatre, is the perfect option on these more than horrific nights and even perfect for a nice spring day as well.

When walking in off the street a passerby may be offput by the smell of gerbils walking in, but do not let the original smell deter you! Montien has several different options for original Thai cuisine and range very well to please the picky Americans all the way up to the traditional Thai cuisine eaters and even includes a rather extensive list of sushi available. An adventurous tongue will have a lot of fun at this restaurant. As the waiter comes around to take drink orders, an iced tea is definitely the drink of the night. A rich and slightly neon orange Thai iced tea comes out sparking conversation immediately about what vegetables have to be used to make it and the variation in different people’s palates when it comes to taste. The waiters and waitresses give enough time in between arrival and drinks for guests to discuss what they want from the packed menu and are very kind to the people who just do not know what they want.

With a big group, the food came out as it was ready, which was very reasonable for a seventeen-person dinner, but broke up the table’s unity quite a bit. Appetizers ranged from $7-$13 and very gorgeously plated, but rather small for sharing. The seaweed salad was served creatively within a martini glass and was in a massive mountain with delicate orange fish eggs lining the top and carrot shavings hanging down off of the sides and contrasting with the sea greens. Unfortunately though, once the few bites of seaweed were consumed, getting you to the top of the martini glass, the rest was just plain lettuce. It was a perfect dish for two, but any more than that would want their own serving. Those of you who depend on appetizers as basically the whole meal, plan on getting two or so in order to fill up.

As the entrées came out as they were ready, the tables eyes looked a little too big for their stomachs. There was plenty for sharing and the entrees were better at rounding out other dishes than just by themselves. The sushi was very artistically plated using different vegetables as garnishes and the peels as flowers atop a tightly rolled roll. There were very many options that were rather unusual combinations like the Idaho Roll (sweet potato tempura), but several typical ones like the California Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll. As sushi is filling, it still needs another item to offset it a little bit. The Spicy Basil Fried Rice was perfect for that. Although this and several other entrees were not as well plated as the sushi was at all, the flavor made up for it. A warm spice coated the inside of your mouth with a light burn that tingled throughout your taste buds and warmed your stomach compared to the cold of the sushi. The rice had so much added to it that it was fun for your tongue to feel so many different textures within the dish. One thing Montien should consider changing about the style was the fact that the shrimp still had the tails on within this mixed dish. This slowed down the consumer tenfold and made them get their fingers messy, which may not be a bad thing within the Thai culture, but when you are about to see a show across the street, it is not pleasant to have shrimpy fingers.

            Montien was an intimate space for customers, and although a little cramped for a large group, the space worked for the function. If you are passing by looking for a place that is cheaper than fancy and close to the theatre before the show pop in and try one of the many pad thai, curry, or sushi dishes, and you will certainly not regret it.