Monaco Restaurant
Audio By Carbonatix
The French Riviera-inspired restaurant Monaco is now open in the Lake Carolyn area of Las Colinas, not far from the mustang sculptures.
Owner David Lamberti wanted to open a restaurant that would bring French-Italian cuisine to his hometown. He found the location during the pandemic within a growing community in the vibrant area near Toyota Music Factory. If the Lamberti name sounds familiar, you may know it from Lamberti’s Ristorante & Wine Bar, also in Irving.
The burrata and prosciutto board.
Monaco Restaurant
His newest restaurant hired Matthew Perry as executive chef and beverage director. He’s previously worked at PM Lounge at The Joule Hotel and helped with the bar programs at Victor Tango and Parliament. Monaco is his first opportunity to lead a kitchen.
The menu is pan-European, with dishes from Italy, France and some Mediterranean flavors as well. Monaco’s dinner menu has four sections: antipasto, intermezzo, principales and contorno. Starters include smoked tartare, crudo, a simple Margherita pizza, crispy chicken liver and a burrata and prosciutto board ($22).
From the intermezzo, the wedge salad ($16) pairs iceberg lettuce with pancetta, blue cheese, tomato, egg and red onion.
Wedge salad.
Monaco Restaurant
For mains, a five-hour braised Rosewood wagyu Moroccan beef cheek ($29) is served with a quinoa and prune salad with mint, preserved lemon and macadamia nuts. There’s a three-meat house Bolognese ($23) and shrimp Laissez-faire with a pineapple repollo (a type of slaw) and banana chips ($34).
A simple pizza with house mozzarella and sweet basil.
Monaco Restaurant
Monaco’s sommelier, Frank Horak, curates a wine menu that includes bottles from across Europe, as well as selections from New Zealand, Argentina and California. Bottle prices range from $42 to $500.
Once you fill up on French Riviera cuisine, you can stroll around Lake Carolyn or check out some of the surrounding nightlife.
Monaco is open every day for lunch and dinner, and also serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Its brunch menu includes items such as pancakes, breakfast hash, an “AMBurger” and mussels Americana.
The owners have lofty goals to expand their new restaurant by adding a bodega next door and a cocktail lounge behind the restaurant.
Monaco, 5238 N. O’Connor Blvd., No. 134, Las Colinas, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. Monday – Thursday; 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Friday – Saturday; 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday.
