Loose Noodle Pasta House - Monterey, CA

Loose Noodle Pasta House. . . what a name! There were some giggles before I made my way here but once I got inside all that was forgotten. This restaurant is located along Lighthouse Blvd. in the New Monterey district. It is one of several small unobtrusive looking restaurants along this row. I have driven past this place countless times. I never bothered to even look twice. Then came a Groupon I found, I had cancelled another Groupon so I had some extra money to put toward something and I didn't want to wait too long as .. well honestly, I'd forget I had it. So.. Groupon for the Loose Noodle Pasta House it was. The Yelp reviews for this restaurant looked to be ok and there were some really happy customers lately so I took the leap and although I don't usually choose Italian restaurants, I thought that I could find something pretty good and this would be my opportunity to give it a try without spending too much cash.
     The sign looks as if this place has been here for quite some time. I have no clue exactly how long that was but we were hungry so we headed right in! As I walked inside and along the wall I looked over to see the beautifully dressed tables with white tablecloths and flowers on the tables and great lighting from the front window. I was alarmed because I wasn't dressed for this! I was not expecting this level of dining for such a small cost which I had paid for my Groupon but I still walked in, I mean this is a tourist town, people often come in all sorts of different attire and today had been an exceptionally hot Monterey day. I didn't notice being treated any differently due to my shorts and t-shirt attire in this very well dressed restaurant. I was thankful! Anyway, the dining room was beautiful.

     The waiter was so very kind as well. When we sat down he immediately offered water and asked if we wanted lemon which I felt was very considerate to actually ask if I wanted it and to not press me to order drinks first but to just offer some water on a hot day. It was very kind. Again he was considerate when I explained that I was going to be using the Groupon which I purchased online. He was very knowledgeable about the Groupon and let me know exactly what my options were and how it would be used toward my dinner with them. He suggested that the appetizer I chose not be bread since I was going to get free bread with dinner and was overall very helpful with the Groupon use. So, on to what we ordered. I went to the restaurant with my 8 year old son, he eats like an adult might these days so he was very happy to order from the adult menu rather than the kids menu and he has rather matures tastes at times so I was sure to get another great review on a dish. Unfortunately, it's true that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because we ordered two dishes that were very similar. We ordered Cajun Shrimp appetizer and for our dinners I ordered Crab Cakes and Shrimp Scampi and he ordered plain Shrimp Scampi Pasta. They brought out a lovely basket of bread with pats of butter and I very large tub of garlic. This bread was delicious and had a really good chew to it. Very crusty and slightly chewy in the center.  Now, I'll address the appetizer. The Cajun Tiger Prawns was made of 4 very large shrimp and a lot of sauce, I didn't read it in advance but the sauce was a simple tomato ketchup and tapatio sauce. It was ok but something about it just made me not like it much. I probably wouldn't order it again. 

     My son ordered the Shrimp Scampi which is Tiger shrimp sauteed with lemon, garlic, butter and fresh herbs, served over angel hair pasta. This was a beautifully presented dish and he loved it. He ate nearly the whole plate and we loved that they provided an ample side of Parmesan cheese. However, I realize this is something that is typically done but why do the tails of the shrimp have to stay on!?!?! it makes for very messy eating.
There was just enough garlic, and a great flavor in this plate that made you want to keep going back for more. 
     I ordered the Crab Cakes and Scampi. I already told you about the scampi,

mine was equally delicious and covered with a good number of shrimp, but in addition to the scampi were these two lovely patties of crabby goodness. Crab Cakes are by far my favorite way to eat crab. I feel that crab meat is a good vessel for a wide array of spices to explode in my mouth. These crab cakes were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and delicious in the center. The sweet and sour pineapple mango salsa that covered them gave it a great unexpected flavor that I will probably be craving in the next couple weeks again. It was one of those things, so unique that you will think about it for weeks to come and you'll be wanting to have that flavor in your mouth again from time to time. 
     This meal was already so delicious, and we were feeling the happy dance come along from being so delighted with out meal when we remembered that dessert was left to be had! The options were nothing fancy, it was a very basic menu of things like chocolate mousse, strawberry sundae, chocolate brownie a la mode, cannoli, and a few others. We chose the chocolate brownie a la mode. It did not disappoint, at all! The brownie a la mode is a cousin of lava cake which we absolutely love. The brownie was warmed to perfection, and topped with a creamy vanilla ice cream and then topped with not 1 but 3 cherries! The cherries are a favorite of my son so he got 2, I got 1, we loved it so much that we had to do a little spoon fight over who would get the last bites.
     Overall I would give Loose Noodle Pasta House 4 stars. They had a very nice atmosphere, delicious dishes that would please most everyone with a good amount of seafood options that one may expect when visiting Monterey. They were very attentive and checked on us several times, to refill our waters, and offer more bread as well as check on how our meals were going. The wait staff was very courteous, the food was well prepared and I was happy that I had made the leap to try this restaurant with my Groupon. I think I'll be back again. What is your favorite spot to eat Italian food on the Monterey Peninsula? I'd like to hear from you, maybe I'll try it out next. Let me know in the comments!