Motif at The St. Regis Monarch Beach

Average food, terrible service!!! The view is pretty great though.
It took 25 minutes for a continental breakfast and kids pancakes. The cereal was stale and the pancakes tasted strange.
We had to ask for other parts of our order to be brought out after everything else was brought out.
After waiting for 5 – 10 minutes for the bill, I had to go find the server.

We came to the restaurant two weekends ago with my daughter, who turned 13. I brought three of her friends along with my sister for a weekend out with the girls. Needless to say, Motif was a deflating experience. I ordered a cabana by the pool, facials for the girls at the spa, and dinner at Motif. Let’s say Motif made our dining experience the worst experience, and unfortunately overshadowed the days earlier activities. While the St. Regis is a great hotel, they need to work on the wait staff. Our waitress was stressed the entire time, she rolled her eyes when my daughter and her friends ordered their food. These girls were polite, I could understand if you have unruly girls, but they weren’t. We asked for a wine list, never got one; I had to get my own glass of wine 30-​minutes later at the server bar. By now, it’s been an hour since we ordered, and I was fed up. I went to the front, asked the hostess if she could find us a table at one of the other restaurants. Immediately a manager came out (thank you), she took the time to attempt to make the evening better. The waitress came over afterwards, blamed the cook staff, told me she could have gotten my beverages, etc… But that they were overly busy.
Simply, this was my daughters 13^th birthday, and we wanted it to be special. I didn’t pay for the day of activities to finish my evening listening to her complain, watching her roll her eyes, huff and blame everyone else. Ridiculous… I will NEVER go back there again. Nor would I recommend anyone to for that matter. The hotel itself was beautiful, the cabana wait staff was great, the spa meticulous and fun, our rooms beautifully acquainted and clean, Motif «not so much!»… Beware.

I think the hotel is all about the staff and how well they interact with the guests, and that good experience continued throughout our lunch in the Motif restaurant. Our waitress was outstanding! I might have liked seeing the bus person stop by the table in a little bit more often, as they could’ve handled small things that the waitress did not need to deal with. I hated having to flag the bus person down in order to get some attention and our table. However, putting that aside, overall this was a very good experience.
Now, as to the food: I think the fresh warm rolls they served with the delicious goat cheese accompaniment was a fantastic way to start the meal. The only problem with it is that they use these tiny, polite-​sized little crockery dishes to provide the goat cheese spread. They are not big enough, because it is delicious, and one can only be made to feel like a pig for asking for more. We both felt like pigs, LOL. They should sell that stuff or give me the recipe :-) My two favorite rolls were either the one with large pieces of caramelized onion baked into it, or the cheese roll which had a yummy baked cheese topping on it.
The next thing I ordered that was frankly astounding was the Cioppino. It was a very pretty serving, not large in size, but the broth was packed with flavor that was a little bit spicy, but not too much, just right! Mr. Picky made the mistake of ordering an uninspired vegetarian dish — with much regret — so I ended up giving him my roasted Fingerling potatoes which were very tasty he said, off of my Kobe beef plate (beautifully tender but just a hint blue). The only sad thing about my plate was that the delicious, and I mean delicious!, tender asparagus consisted of only two baby pieces. So when I shared with Mr. Picky, that meant I got one and he got one :-). It was so delicious in fact, that I almost considered asking the restaurant to prepare me a side dish consisting solely of asparagus.
When Mr. Picky replied that he did not want a to-​go box for his vegetarian plate because he didn’t like it, the waitress was all over the customer service aspect of that experience. She quickly asked what she could get him; he decided to ask for a second bowl of the soup du jour which was mushroom, When the bill came, neither his order or the soup showed and that was the best way to handle things.
Dessert was nice, we shared even though it was on the small side, but how can you go wrong with a warm chocolate lava cake served with a dollop of vanilla ice-​cream? :-)

Motif is amazing. We were greeted by erin upfront she then escorted us to our table outside where she surrounded with heaters to keep us warm and comfortable. Lisa, erin and along with their colleagues made our night special and one to remember. Lisa was very knowledgable of the menu, she suggested appetizers and dishes that we did order. Everything turned out perfectly. The service of this restaurant needs to be known. Everything was served in a timely manner and just how we wanted it. Kudos to the leadership at this outlet, you have my 2 thumbs up and my mouth watering for more!

We have been coming here for about 10 years. Never, ever have we been seated in a back room though for their extremely high-​priced holiday brunch; Mothers Day 2015 though, we were seated in a back room. They called it a conference room, but it felt more like a cave. Banished from the rest of the restaurant, down a hall, in a small, claustrophobic conference room. It was dead, and quiet, and just wrong. Balloons that said «Congratulations» randomly tied to things. Congratulations for what — getting the absolute worst seat in the house? No freaking way am I sitting back here. I protested from the get-​go, too. The unapologetic hostess turns it around on us, as if they’re doing us a favor. She says, We get busy for Mother’s Day, so this is how we are able to accommodate you. As if we’re walk-​ins or something. We’ve had reservations for MONTHS. Yes, dear, I know you get busy. We’ve been coming here since you were in Kindergarden. Apparently, she said they assigned seats as reservations were called in, then when the regular seats were filled, they started to put people in these back rooms down the hallway, outside of the restaurant (yes, this means you have to walk quite a distance to get your food — then like a second class citizen carry your plate of food out of the restaurant, through the lobby.) Are you kidding me?
Dear clueless Motif management: Fill the proper seats, then tell people you are full. Don’t be greedy and start seating people in closets. Or, if you DO plan to seat people in closets, then at least TELL THEM that is where they will be. This is a very upscale hotel, but Motif as a restaurant sucks. It always has sucked, but this was truly a new low.
The only reason this is a 2-​star and not a 1-​star is because we were moved after my husband complained to a floor manager. So I will close with a cheers to that guy, and then also our fabulous server (after we were moved out to the patio). Thank goodness for a few skilled personnel, otherwise this could have gone down as the worst Mother’s Day Brunch of all time.

this review is for the sunday brunch ONLY.
i honestly cannot believe the sunday brunch here is $ 60, for $ 10 extra you can upgrade to all you can drink champagne, and since orange juice is included, it means all you can drink mimosa.
is it worth an arm and a leg for the brunch? absolutely NOT. granted they have live music, the view of the st. regis garden /​pool is beautiful on a sunny day, but the food was not worth it. everything has been sitting in the chafers for a while, and condensation is forming, all the items that are supposed to be «crispy» turned soggy, and aged, and sad looking. to be honest, nothing was appetizing. even the prime rib was sad and dry. i asked for medium rare and since the prime rib was roasted well done, medium rare was out of the question.
not sure what the hype is about, but didn’t give in to the hype and certainly won’t be returning.

Motif is a nice casual setting at the SRMB
Resort in Dana Point. We were greeted with a smile regardless that we were 1 hr early.
My wife and I both had a glass of nice red wine. Chef sent out a nice amuse prior to our main coarse. It arrived with a tasting of white wine to pair along with it. Prior to ordering Chef Blair visited our table to discuss vegan options for my wife. This was a nice touch seeing my wife struggles with most menus. We both enjoyed our dinner food was tasteful and appealing to all senses. Ambiance was great service was good and the Chef made the evening special by ensuring my wife’s vegan diet was taken care of.

Breakfast was delicious! Also came for the Sunday buffet… Epic! Just book early to get an outside table, so much more energy. Live music is a total bonus and good entertainment while waiting for your belly to get more room for another crêpe :)

Boy oh boy do you gotta read about what happened to my family on Thanksgiving. This was our third year that we made reservations for Thanksgiving. Last year we sat next to the lovely Tori Spelling and her family, everything went smoothly and we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner.
Things did not go so well this year. We had PRE-​PAID reservations, showed up early with my six month, 5 year old and wife. Immediately noticed a very long line and lots of angry looking customers. Waited 20 minutes to be told there was a two hour wait… WITH RESERVATIONS!
Motif ruined our Thanksgiving and we will never get that back. We had McDonalds for dinner because that was the only option! You go to fancy places so stuff like this does not happen and you expect something to be done if it does happen! We were never called and apologized let alone offered any kind of compensation.
Stay away from this place at all costs!

Don’t get me wrong … I totally understand VIP status, but it’s another thing to be rude to anyone who is NOT a VIP at your restaurant. My $ 80 is the same … as his. #dissapointed

I“m usually not one to complain, as my boyfriend is a chef and we know there are «off days», but when you drop $ 400 on a Thanksgiving brunch (buffet) that was virtually inedible I felt it appropriate to write this review… .As well, I will also say I removed my initial review when another chef in Laguna contacted the F&B Director at the St. Regis and assured me they would appreciate an honest comment and make it right, but I never heard a word from anyone, so I assume they really don’t take pride in their work or customer satisfaction… So here is a true review of Motif from myself and my chef/​boyfriend, who formally cheffed at the White House, has owned a very successful catering company in Dallas for over 20 years, yet kept his eyes wide open when I PROMISED him a hotel buffet would be worth 400 bucks… NOT…
To begin with, I called a month ahead of time an informed them I had just moved in next door to the St. Regis, and my boyfriend was coming to visit for the first time, and that he was a chef, and it was also his birthday; I was told the St. Regis was «world famous» for their brunch, and that if I could wait until 12:30 she would reserve me a table in the middle of the patio with the best view overlooking the ocean… sold…
Well, the «ocean view table» ended up being a far right spot next to the serving station and next to a very odd duo of ethnic Christmas music mixed with a fake flute in the background… As well, it was blazing hot, and we were the only table baking, yet no one offered us an umbrella; Now on to the food…
Firrt of all, the turkey was ice cold, and the prime rib was a very poor cut of meat and extremely chewy… The gravy, while flavorful, wasn’t even warm enough to make the turkey taste like anything other than a cold deli sandwich… The mashed potatoes were so dry there was an indention left in the chafing dish once they were put on the plate, and equally as flavorless.
I was mortified, yet my boyfriend was determined to find something salvageable; He fell in love with the Chutneys on the Indian table, yet the chicken was so dry it couldn’t compensate for the great flavor, so that was out… We finally decided if all the food was going to be served cold we would opt for the shrimp/​crab claw station, yet the cocktail sauce was a watery bland version of ketchup, which sealed the deal for us, and we left… The one shining light was our server, Esteban, with whom we tipped handsomely, as it was not his fault our food was inedible, and we could tell he was trying to appease us with cocktails that were equally as disappointing…
MOST importantly, after our terrible experience, and expressing it (unbeknownst to us) to the chef at Sapphire who told us he actually opened this St. Regis and assured us they would want to know our experience and called the F/​B director while we were dining with him, we never heard ONE word from any one from the St. Regis… We will take this experience as many foodies seem to concur… Most hotels, no matter how pricey, do not take pride in their food, and hide behind their ambience and service while delivering incredibly sub par food; Next time we will go to the Ritz, which is always consistent… And also Sapphire, possibly THE best meal we’ve ever had in Orange County, bar none…

Was at the resort for a conference and came here with my boss for lunch. I got the hamburger cooked medium rare, and it was really good. The french fries and the meat was melt in the mouth excellent the view was spectacular. If I had disposable income and was in Dana point, I would come here for lunch every day.

This review is only for breakfast. With Platinum status, they provide a $ 20 credit towards your meal which pays for most if not all of your meal. There are a variety of sweet and savory options and even some healthier menu items as well.
We tried the three egg omelette, breakfast burrito, and a egg white dish with spinach and a tomato sauce. The egg white dish was a big fluffy hunk egg white over a delicious and light tomato sauce.
You can enjoy your meal and the view on the balcony but be aware of the birds trolling the area waiting to snatch a bite.

**If you must, eat here for brunch, DO NOT eat here for lunch! Trust me!
We had to dine at Motif since we only had a bit of time in between meetings during a convention (held at the St. Regis). I had come here previously for brunch (good) and lunch (bad) so I was really trying to find an alternate, but in the end we had no choice :(
Food: Lunch was a set menu ($ 35) and there were about 5 items to choose from, a salad or soup and a small dessert
Soup: The cream of mushroom was decent
Ciabatta chicken sandwich: I ordered this thinking «how can you go wrong with a chicken sandwich» Wellllll it was terrible: they had both pesto AND sun dried tomato sauce slathered on and some of the driest chicken I have ever tasted slapped in between. I had to keep drinking water while taking bites cuz it made me so thirsty… the fries were ok though
Sirloin burger: Served open faced and dry dry dry
Cobb salad: It tasted ok, pretty standard but I was leery paying $ 35 for a friggin salad, but after tasting it I think it was the best thing on the menu (sadly)
Pasta and shrimp: It was a pesto pasta served with some shrimp, blah
We didn’t even get any dessert because it took them forever to bring out lunch and we were running out of time. Ugh. In the end our party of 9 left feeling quite dissatisfied.
SKIP!

I’ve been here twice for Sunday Brunch, once for my birthday and the second time for my boyfriend’s. I wouldn’t go here as often, but only for special occasions.
Both times I’ve had attentive service. The servers and chefs were so friendly and sociable.
The buffet, in my opinion, is comparable to the buffets in Vegas. Not as big though, of course. There’s a good amount of variety from land meats, seafood, and salad. Bottomless mimosas were very tasty along with our meal. I’d prefer outdoor dining when it’s a nice day out: the view is really pretty from the restaurant!

A few friends and I ate at Motif for dinner one night during our stay at the St. Regis Monarch Beach, and overall, I felt it was a good restaurant with good service.
Originally, when I arrived on Sunday morning, we attempted to eat here for brunch, but they were fully committed with a line out of the door. Apparently their Sunday brunch buffet is highly sought after! However, when we returned later that night for dinner, the restaurant was practically empty. We had our pick of tables, and decided to sit outside under a heat lamp. Standing up, the view across the hotel to the ocean from this restaurant is great, however, when you’re sitting down, all you see is the stone railing, which blocks you. That’s no fun.
With any of these type of restaurants, we had a few different waiters for various tasks. In general, they worked well, but sometimes they were out of sync. I will say that all of our dishes arrive without explanation. They would throw down the dishes and then immediately run away, which is kind of annoying because half the time you forget the small intricate dishes that you ordered 40 minutes ago. And because the service was irregular, it’s not like you can wait for some one to come back around to ask him what it was. You’d just starve that way.
The food itself was well-​executed, in general. My friend and I share the pork belly appetizer, which was tasty but not very memorable. It was covered in sauce, so you really lost that crispy texture that comes with pork belly. For entrée, I had the lamb two ways. The shredded lamb was good, with a large portion. However, it seemed overcook and a bit like I was eating a sloppy Joe without the sauce.
Overall, Motif is a good, medium-​priced restaurant at the St. Regis (relatively speaking). We weren’t able to go to their fine dining restaurant because it was closed the days we were there, however on the St. Regis property, I felt that the Monarch Beach Club was a better restaurant option.

I’ve never been to Motif but we enjoycasual dining at beautiful locations from time to time.
We pulled up to the valet area and there seemed to be a little confusion and wait so, being the impatient person that I am, I got out and left the men to sort it out.
We walked through the lobby and wandered into the bar. I was actually looking for signs to Motif but nothing was immediately visible. We did notice a sign to a baby shower so we followed it to the 3^rd floor. We walked up to the empty hostess stand and waited for a bit then were seated outside on the patio. The heater evened out the temperature and made the lunch quite pleasant.
The servers great. She made recommendations and assisted with selections. I definitely wasn’t disappointed with the flatbread or ahi sliders. Those little buns were very cute. My husband and BIL said the burgers were excellent. I don’t hear that often.
After lunch we roamed around the property goofing around. We had fun and the St. Regis even liked a few of my Instagram photos!
3.5 star food
4 star service
5 star location
.

The Motif is located downstairs inside the St. Regis with a stunning view of the courtyard and the golf course. I highly recommend outdoor seating if weather permits. Luckily for us, it turned out to be a beautiful day. Very exclusive and elegant setting.
For drinks, we ordered the French 75 and the Monarch Butterfly. The Monarch Butterfly was a mixture of grey goose, chambord mango purée, passion fruite purée and pineaple juice. It was so good! I think about that drink to this day.
Tipsy and three Monarch Butterflies later, we placed our order. Perhaps I was too tipsy to realize, I ordered a salad. Yes, a caesar salad. I’m not a salad girl. Anyhow,
the Caesar salad was great. Enough to share for two, served with brioche croutons, parmesan tuille and roasted garlic aioli.
The ahi sliders were served with yuzu aioli, sesame brioche, ginger and asian pear slaw. Big chunks of seared ahi.
I was pretty full (and/​or drunk) by this point so I only had a couple bites but he adobo kobe skirt steak was amazing.
Only complaint I had was all the birds outside that kept creeping closer and closer and at one point grabbed crumbs from our table!
I had such a delightful lunch, followed by a beautiful stroll through the courtyard. Absolutely gorgeous. Looking forward to their Sunday brunch.

This was a surprise birthday brunch, and it was simply divine. Heavenly.
First of all, the view is amazing, so reserve a patio seat if possible.
There was a band that was fun too!
Kids price is $ 35.
Adult price is $ 69 which includes juice.
Adult price with champagne is $ 79.
I absolutely recommend indulging here. It’s probably my favorite breakfast buffet ever. And it was extra special since none of my family had been here for brunch either, so we experienced it for the first time together. Memorable!
Here’s what I indulged in:
The seafood was incredibly fresh and delectable — I couldn’t resist several trips to the seafood stations.
Fresh oysters on the half shell
the beautifully chilled crab claws (pretty presentation, and easy crack on these!)
Large Chilled Cocktail Shrimp
Sushi & Sashimi — very high quality here, and I’m a sushi snob
Smoked Salmon — excellent and they offered two kinds
Eggs Benedict was perfectly done
The Filet medallions and creamy risotto was excellent
Prime Rib was to die for — so juicy and tender
the small bowls Caprese –fresh balls of mozzarella and grape tomatoes — lovely
small serving of watermelon and feta salad w/​Balsamic — refreshing
Desserts were decadent and luxurious
Hubby and I shared the small portions and had a bite of almost everything
Don’t miss the warm chocolate cake, the cheesecake, the fresh macaroons, yeesh. Then again, you can’t go wrong!
Cheese plate: I seriously splurged on all the fine cheese. Be sure to try the blue which was surprisingly light and creamy, not as pungent nor peppery as I expected
Then, when I could do no more, I realized I still hadn’t tried it all. There was still the tempura station, massive salad counter, the gorgeous crêpe station, and the french toast and pancake station — which has 60 toppings!!!
though my son ADORED his pancake creation.
Speaking of the kids — they even had a lower kids table with upscale PBJ sandwiches, chicken tenders, fries, and other kid favorites.
It was an absolutely wonderful brunch, with attentive service, and every food station was promptly refilled with fresh servings and kept meticulously clean. I just wish I could have taken a bite of absolutely everything, but I simply couldn’t.
Needless to say, we left in the happiest food coma ever.
Go celebrate life and bring your loved ones. It is heaven is on earth.

WOW! Gorgeous view! Amazing food! Unlimited champagne! What more can you ask for in a sunday brunch buffet?!
Once you step out of your car, you are welcomed by the luxurious entrance of the St. Regis Monarch Beach hotel. Motif is located downstairs. As you make your way towards the stairs, you get glimpses of the magnificent ocean view from the windows. We were greeted by a lovely hostess who took us to our table that faced the ocean. At first she was going to take us to one of their patio tables, but it was too windy that day to take advantage of their outdoor seating.
Our waitress came by and told us the location of where the food was located. They had omelet station and a deep fried/​teppanyaki station outside on the patio. There was a quesadilla station, pancake/​waffle/​french toast station, carving station, and hot foods stations to the side. There was a raw seafood area. And last but not least, the dessert area, along with a crêpe station, in the back.
Everything was top-​notch quality. The raw seafood was fresh. Crab claws were meaty, and already cracked to save you the hassle. Oysters were fatty and briny. Cocktail shrimps were big and fresh. Smoked salmon was fatty and tasty! They also had ceviche and poke that were great!
The omelet station lets you choose between your usual egg omelet or an all egg-​white omelet. Of course, you can always just order a regular sunnyside up or overeasy egg. While you are waiting for your omelet, you can take in the magnificent view of the hotel’s garden/​pool, and the pacific ocean. Absolutely breathtaking!
The dessert station had so much variety of cakes, cookies, chocolates, french macarons, and pastries to choose from. It is definitely a dessert-​fanatics dream come true. Each piece was like a work of art, delicately put together. So don’t forget to take pictures and to save room for dessert!
While everything was amazing, my favorite that morning was their freshly-​made-​to-​order french toast. You get to choose what bread you want: an egg bread or a cinnamon raisin bread. Once you choose, the chef will dip it in egg batter and start cooking it. Once he hands you your perfectly cooked french toast, you get to scoop your own freshly-​whipped cream. There are three flavors of whipped cream: original, chocolate, and berries. Try all of them because they are absolutely delicious! The french toast is soft and fluffy inside and goes so well with the whipped cream and maple syrup.
There is so much variety and food to choose from. If you just took one bite of each, you’d be stuffed so full.
Unlimited champagne brunch buffet is $ 79. Brunch buffet with no champagne is $ 69. Parking is valet only. Get a validation and it will be discounted.