Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar

Decent but overpriced for what it

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

This place is now called Spotted Duck. (I wonder when TripAdvisor will pick up on this). It was our first time and we were early. I had the halibut special with a Bernardus Sauv blanc. It came sitting on some black rice, topped with lobster pieces, arugula, and some cubed watermelon. There was some kind of green sauce spread on the plate to compliment the dish. It was pretty. The flavors came together very well. I thought it was a great dinner main. My husband had the sautéed rock cod with artichokes, puréed potatoes, and capers with some brown butter sauce. He said his fish was salty but at least it was offset by the bland potatoes and vinegared artichokes. We shared some beignets with salted honey on the side for dessert. The rosemary sugar coating was good enough for me. But my husband enjoyed the salted honey. Our service was great. Our server was congenial, attentive and patient. He was quite informative too. All in all a pleasant meal. Maybe we will try the duck next time.

Spotted Duck has delicious fresh food. The vegetable sides are especially nice. Make a reservation using Open Table to make sure you have a table.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Excellent food. Truly worth it and currently one of my favorite places in Monterey, CA. It has recently changed names from Jenni Kitchen + Wine Bar to The Spotted Duck. Menu still similar enough to before and there seems to have been little to no change in the food. Quality is still really high.

Vegetarian options: Some vegetarian/Vegan options and some of the dishes can be made vegan. Ask your server for details.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My husband said: "good thing we don't live here or we would be spending a lot of money here".The food is amazing. From pictures you expect it to taste a certain way, but it tasted a lot better than it looked. Nice surprise. We got duck, which my toddler devoured, polenta cake and rosemary donuts. DELICIOUS

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Jeninni Kitchen offers a uniquely creative, delicious and perfectly presented meal…from service and amenities to qualities and taste. I had the chicken torchon and it was absolutely first class in every respect. Five stars to Chef Jerry and his crew. Many Thanks. Hans Lehmann

Vegetarian options: Vegetarian options were available.

Just got finished making our kids pasta for dinner because we never got our food from this restaurant.Made a 5:30 reservation here with our family of four (two boys aged 3 and 5). The waiter took our order promptly at 5:35 or so, and we got salads 15 minutes later, which were fine, if a little heavy on dressing. Anyone with small kids knows they don't eat much salad typically so we were waiting... and waiting... and waiting... for our entrees. We noticed with dismay that several tables who were seated after us got their food promptly, but not us. Anyone with small children knows the anxiety of waiting with your kids while they try to remain on their best behavior, telling them to be patient, be patient, the food is coming...? At 6:30, the food still had not shown up. Our waiter mentioned that the kitchen was "a little backed up" but that our food would be "right out". Various people came by to tell us that it would be "right out", but still, nothing. We ordered extra bread because we were all starving. After we'd waited well over an hour, the waiter rushed in with what we thought was our food - only to deliver it to the table behind us, who had been seated 30 minutes after we arrived. At this point, our kids were starving, we'd waited for our food for a ridiculous amount of time, and so we left. We threw two 20s on the table for wine. I have never walked out of a restaurant without paying before but this was truly unacceptable.

The food was amazing. I went with a party of 5 and we ordered half the menu to share family style. The mushroom risotto and the lamb shank were my top favorites. The atmosphere was also nice.The service was not. Our server was like, really sweaty for some reason. He looked disheveled and he spilled a drink on my friends placesetting. No big deal. He said "oops let me get you a new one" a new drink? A new placesetting? I dunno because he did not return with either. Also a woman, who I think is the new owner or manager, was helping place our dishes and it was an awkward angle so I helped her. She didn't warn me that the plates were incredibly hot!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 5

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Gnocchi, Crispy Lamb Shank, Risotto

By far one of the best restaurants in PG. The flavor of the food is exquisite and unmatched. Every item you order will blow you away so make sure to come back and try everything.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Restaurant got sold. However, food is as good as before. My issue is with the attitude of the new owners.They haggle us for $2.50 over some bottled ice tea we didn't like. We were assured by the server that if we didn't like it, we could return it without any issue. We'll, it became an issue and they did not credit the amount. Mind you our bill was over $300. Sounds like a small issue, but it was their approach that left a bad taste. In addition, our server was always in a rush ( no one in the restaurant but us) and by 9:15 was implying that the restaurant was closing and we needed to move along. Again, food was very good, but not sure I want to support business like this. It's a shame.

Had a good meal here. The octopus appetizer and eggplant fries were fantastic. The lamb burger is filling and a good value and comes with eggplant fries. The crispy lamb shank was also cooked very well.

Great food, wine menu, ambiance, service. Would absolutely come back. We didn’t make a reservation although for a Monday it was quite busy. We got the sourdough, cauliflower, fried chicken. Everything was fresh, thoughtfully layered with flavor (even the charred sourdough), and well seasoned.

We had the eggplant fries, they where greasy and limp. The cauliflower appetizer was not bad a bit raw for my liking but my husband thought it was good. I ordered the Caesar salad as my main and it was filled with bitter green and not a Caesar at all. I didn’t eat it, and complained to our server and was still charging. Over all it was an expensive not worth it meal. This was not our first time there. We always give a restaurant several attempts before criticizing a local place. We are not going back again.

Outstanding service from Nick!Amazing food as well. This is not my first time eating here. I always get eggplant fries and the octopus and end with an affogato. I dream of these items when they’re closed or I’m not in town. I’ve had the chicken torchon before and that is also excellent!

The food and service are good, although the people there are still wearing masks! Also, watch out, some restaurants in this area will charge you an extra 3 1/2% if you use your credit card. I always avoid these restaurants if I know in advance. Many people will reduce the Tip by 3 1/2% at restaurants that have this practice. I hate to punish the server for a bad management decision. They don't have Coke, they have some kind of (unknown to me) substitute. Also, they have NO straws so be sure to bring a straw with you. They roll up the sidewalks in Pacific Grove very early. Most restaurants close at 9 PM in P.G.!