Chef Steven Patlan’s attention to detail—and the lineup of specials—add to Estéban’s appeal.

For most chefs, baking is a painstaking task best left to others. A great loaf of bread, after all, doesn’t allow much room to play with ingredients.

But Steven Patlan sees things differently. He has been nursing sourdough starter for four years.

“I love baking,” he says. “With cooking, you are enhancing an ingredient. With baking, you are creating something from nothing.”

The new chef at Estéban Restaurant in Monterey uses the starter to prepare pizza dough for his Mediterranean-influenced pies, as well as classic pepperoni. He has a notion to add hamburger buns to his repertoire.

When it comes to cooking, Patlan and his team have a habit creating something that wasn’t there, but should be. One of his first additions to the Estéban lineup was a small raw bar featuring ceviche from rockfish caught in Monterey Bay and oysters from the waters of Tomales and Humboldt bays. Dressed with mango, agave, yuzu and Fresno chili, the ceviche has a fresh, tropical lilt and grassy sweetness that gives layered depth to the mild-mannered fish.

House-made hot sauce and a seasonal mignonette—on this occasion Persian cucumber—come with the oysters. The mignonette is distinctly fresher, brighter and more gentle on the shellfish than the traditional sauce, while the sizzling hot sauce causes the wispy brine of kumamoto oysters to scurry across the palate.

It’s an example of what Patlan and his team bring to the kitchen—intriguing flavors used deftly to coax more from seafood that can stand on its own. The first time Estéban offered the Sunday special $1 oysters, they were sold out before 7pm. The next weekend, the chef doubled his order, to 240. Again, they were gone before 7pm.

Even the smallest details matter to Patlan. Microgreens are delivered to the kitchen still growing in a planter. The kitchen team snips them off as needed.

“There’s more flavor,” Patlan explains. “When I use any garnish, it’s not just thrown on. It’s part of the dish.”

A tumble of greens on a lavash slab of salmon is affirmation of this. As the delicate flesh nuzzles the palate, the senses begin to slumber. The brisk, peppery zing of greens startles them back to reality, ready for the next bite. It’s not all so meditative, however. Nearby tables can likely hear the snap and crackle as you cut through the salmon skin—a nice contrast against the delicate fish.

“If we’re serving any fish, it’s going to be a crispy skin,” Patlan says.

Estéban is a favorite for its tapas, paellas and Spanish influences, and the chef has no intention of changing that. “Spain is so diverse,” he points out. “There is a lot to play with.”

Yet like any chef with a trove of recipes and experience, there is an urge to tweak. However, Patlan recognizes that he is stepping into a kitchen with a following—and one situated in a hotel, at that. The restaurant’s setting means there must be a burger and a few other staples.

“There’s a lot I’d like to do, but I understand,” he says. “I can do a special—that one dish I want on the menu.”

Patlan is a seasoned chef. He has worked at notable kitchens, such as Sardine Factory, Ventana Big Sur and The Inn at Spanish Bay. His menu as its opening chef made Pacific Grove’s Wild Fish a destination. So instead of change, he hopes to add to the menu—a new paella to join the existing trio, for example, as well as bringing local calamari to the tapas lineup. Coming soon is a weekly empanada special, with shrimp and sofrito joining the menu fixture, pork, at $5 each.

It’s part of a new schedule of specials that offer value. Tuesdays encourage date night outings, with paella, salad and churros for two, along with a couple of sangrias for $79. Wednesdays are set aside for a burger deal: $18 for a wagyu, chuck and short rib patty, fries and a drink.

“I can make duck fat fries if someone asks,” the chef notes.

So Patlan can bake, he knows seafood and enjoys Spanish flavors. One simple item, however, is unlikely to appear on the Estéban menu.

“I cannot make a flour tortilla,” he admits. “I can make naan, pita, I can make lavash. I can’t make a flour tortilla, and that’s all I want to do.” 

Estéban Restaurant 700 Munras Ave. (inside Casa Munras), Monterey. 375-0176, hotelcasamunras.com.