By far the best dinner club era restaurant I've ever been to. Missy is such a fantastic waitress. Tip her well and then find your way to the retro bar! read more

My family has been dining at Monte's for years and it has never disappointed. The care and preparation that goes into the meals is second to none! I usually go with the prime rib, but tonight I had a ribeye, which was nicely cut and aged. Excellent place for a great meal!!! read more

My co workers and I ate there. It was very dark so be prepared. It is a nice place to eat. Food was good. Our only issue was we get as if they put everyone in one area so we felt cramped. The prices were a bit high for the area. Also there is no outdoor seating which would be nice for being along the river. read more

My husband was hungry for a steak. The fact that it was a tuesday limited our options and took us further out of town than we normally would go. And boy was it worth it! We ordered mushrooms for appetizer. They were hand breaded and horseradish sauce was great. I ordered French onion soup and half order of chicken picatta. They were both fabulous! My husband ordered the London broil and we had enough to use leftover the next night. Atmosphere is a little dated and dark, but overall a great experience. We will be back! read more

We stopped here three years ago while driving cross country - and arranged a trip this year to be certain to eat at Monte's again. Dated decorations from the 50's, yet fun and immaculate. Food is exceptional, from the generous drink pour to the fresh salad ingredients to the entrees prepared by an obviously talented chef. Definitely worth the detour off the interstate! read more

My fiancé and I went tonight for dinner the first time. The chicken sandwich I had was very bland and my fiancé was not happy with the chicken piccata either. Especially for the price. The mushroom appetizer was the only thing amazing. We had to wait 25 minutes for our check even though they were not busy at all. As a life long resident of Ottawa I was excited to try to try a local restaurant and have a nice place for special occasions. This place will not be it. Unfortunately we won't be back. read more

I never do reviews but I had to today. This was the worst place for the money. We were recommended this place for a nice steak dinner. I would never recommend this place to anyone. Food and service was mediocre and everything was way over priced. If possible, I would give it no stars. read more

I enjoy Monte's. The decor is dated, but I always enjoy the food. Steaks are consistently cooked perfectly, service is always excellent. The menu is predictable but tasty. It's a little pricey, so we don't dine here as often as we would like, count on $50 a person if you get drinks. Avoid the hot bacon dressing, it's a poor mixture. read more

I don't think we've ever had a bad meal here. The service is always good, and the food is fantastic!

I really LIKE the decor! It's not a rush you out place, but a restaurant. I'm perplexed by people who don't understand the classic steakhouse look. . . maybe they think "Texas" or something should be the look. The decor is one of the big reasons to go there. The food prices are a tad too high for me, however, so I've gone there a bit less and less as other options have developed. This is pretty sad, since the ambience is very nice. Good steaks; pasta can be hit or miss in terms of how long it's been cooked. read more

From the homemade tortilla chips to the shrimp to the prime rib and lamb chops, everything was completely awesome! Brad and team does an excellent job. Nicely done! read more

We have been going to this restaurant since 1993 and have always enjoyed it. Tonight was no exception. I really like the low light atmosphere and the private booths. They have a really nice bar. Tonight I ordered the New York steak and my husband ordered the rib-eye. Salads were fresh, crisp, and the blue cheese with crumbles on mine was delicious. I was disappointed to find that they no longer offer crackers and cheese with the meal. They always cook steaks perfectly to your order. I had a double-baked potato which was good but I thought the extra $3 charged for it was excessive. My husband always chooses the sweet potato fries which he really enjoys. We've had mushroom and onion ring appetizers in the past(both very tasty) but knew how full we'd be with the steak dinners. We had an excellent waitress. The only negatives I would bring attention to was a good long wait to be seated even though the restaurant was empty (no hostess or waitress in sight) and waiting for our card to be run because only the bar-tender could run it and she was busy. This restaurant is worth the drive to us--for a relaxing dinner or for a special occasion. read more

This restaurant was fairly good. Polite staff, great food, fast service. The only downside would be perhaps the location and decoration. It is located on the side of the Illinois River and I wish that they had tables and chairs lined up near it for you to eat. However the parking lot is between the restaurant and river so you do not get a good view. Another small complaint would be the decorations and atmosphere of the restaurant. It very dark and I could barely see across the room. I know that it was supposed to tie in with the decoration but I would have enjoyed some more lighting. The decoration also seemed a bit dated and could use a little "modernization". Overall though I rated the restaurant 4 stars because they did have such a nice staff and the food was very good. I would highly recommend their chicken as it was perfect. And everything else was pretty good too. read more

Overpriced menu from top to bottom. Even the most simple tortellini dish was more than $20. For an Italian restaurant, it had a seriously limited pasta menu. Ordered the sea bass special for $30, and got about a 5-ounce piece of thin-cut fish with a huge ring of parmesan-crusted fat. It also had two bones in it. I've never seen such a poorly sized and presented sea bass meal in my life...especially for the price. My guest ordered grilled pork chop meal. It was a huge bone-in chop. Portion big, but texture tough, grizzly. Another disappointing, over-priced meal. It's sad that such a classic old restaurant has depreciated to this poor venue. The only saving grace was the ambience...and the drink pour was good. read more

Food is acceptable but nothing extraordinary. Way too dark for my taste. Brought an elderly relative and they tripped on the way in and out. Maybe add some lighting? Service was good here and appetizer was good too. read more

I have eaten at this restaurant a few times. The food was adequate, the service unremarkable. Then I dealt with them in a customer service related manner. I called on New Year's Eve to ask for a simple favor - I gave them my CREDIT CARD NUMBER on the phone and asked them to charge me $100 towards my parents bill that night as a surprise. I knew they had reservations and wanted to do something nice for them as they help us out often. I was told this would be taken care of when they bought dinner. I never heard from my parents. I called in and was told that they were simply too busy. They were too busy to type in a 16 digit number and put $100 directly into their register. I suggested that this really wasn't that difficult of a task. I was then informed of how many customers they had that night and how trivial my $100 was that night, given the volume of customers. The person I spoke to suggested that I buy a gift card the next time, not try to surprise my parents with a nice gesture that takes minimal effort from the person YOU ARE TRYING TO GIVE YOUR MONEY TO. My trivial $100 will not be spent here in the future. They clearly do not need it. read more

Top notch establishment with delicious food! Wonderful warm atmosphere! Fantastic service! Hearty portions!

Very impressed. My family and I just stopped here wanting to try something new. My husband got the prime rib, he really enjoyed it. I got the salmon and it was delicious!! My kids loved the breadsticks that came with our salads. The service was excellent also. We will definitely be back!! read more

Montes definitely serves the best steak in this area, the French onion soup is the best I've ever had and I always love the specials! The customer service is great! I always love having dinner at Montes. Everything on the menu is excellent! read more

My wife and I ate there yesterday- we had driven by more than 20 years, were always curious about the place, and finally went in. The decor is dark, heavy and does make you think you have gone back in time. But, the food and service was good. For the area, the prices were high, but in Ottawa there are not a lot of high end choices. My wife had the London Broil - meat was great, cooked just right, but it was in chunks, not thinly sliced on the bias as it is usually served. I had the baked cod which was fine. The sides were uninspired - rice pilaff, baked patato, soup. The flatbread crackers and thin bread loaves were served with a chedar cheese spread. After a weekend of Octoberfest enjoyment, we passed on the desserts. read more

Looks like not much has changed since the Sep 2009 review. Crackers and cheese, blue cheese crumbles...side salad was fresh and larger than average...service was very good. Had the Montes chilean merlot which was not bad for the price...had the grilled jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and sausage with a strip of crisp bacon on top appetizer...very tasty if you like spicy ! Steak was ordered medium and was more like medium rare but very tender...did not order the mushroom sauce on the side but I guess comes with it...bread sticks that come with the main dish were stale...very dark inside but not so much that you can't read the menu...nice atmosphere...they have booths if you want a quieter environment read more

Don't be fooled by the outside or inside for that matter. When you drive up its pretty plain. Inside it is dark and like you stepped back in time a few decades. The service was perfect. The food (steaks) were tender and melted in your mouth like butter. I would recommend it to anyone. read more

Was in the area on a weekend getaway and chose Monte's. My prime rib and my wife's fillet were excellent as well as the service. Would definately go back. read more

I was disappointed in the food this time. I drive almost 2 hours to go there for dinner, once a year. Every other time, my experience has been exceptional. However, this time.....the pork chops were not fully cooked. We ask the waitress to send it back to the kitchen, but when we got it back, they had just thrown it in the microwave! How terrible! WE expected the waitress to deduct something from out bill, as a courtesy. Even after telling her we drove 2 hours for dinner, we expected something more than microwaved chops. It was Valentines day, and we didn't want to cause a scene. But after this experience, not sure I will go back again. I will add that the Prime Rib was amazing, the services good except for not making it right on the chops. read more

I love an old school steakhouse, and Monte's is among the best I've been to. Yes, it's dark, as a few have said. It looks like a place where Sinatra, Dino and Sammy would eat. That's good in my book, I don't like trendy restaurants. I had prime rib, came out exactly as I requested, rare. My girlfriend had lobster, she reports it was excellent. She had martinis, I had Manhattans, the bartender knows what she's doing. Monica was our waitress, she was great. Prices were about what I expected for food, and less for cocktails. It was well worth the 45 minute drive, we'll be back. read more

Food is good just wish they offered more than salads as a vegan option...

I read the three reviews and would not have gone to Monte's except we were with a group that had a dinner outing planned there. First of all, one of the reviews was right on - the place is as dark as can be - we were wondering how bad it might look if the lights were turned up. Secondly, when we arrived, we stood at the hostess stand while the host was talking to a couple of women. He then looked at us and just walked away - never said "I'll be with you in a minute" or even acknowledged that we were standing right in front of him. A hostess then walked by us a couple of times and also ignored us. We finally went up to the host guy as he was prepping a table, and asked him where our party was seated - he looked at us with with a look like "why are you bothering me, can't you see I'm busy". Yep, we felt very welcome right away. We were then taken down a dark hallway to meet the others in our party. From the time we ordered, it was at least 30 minutes before our salads arrived. In the meantime, they've got some cheese spread and crackers on the table - not enough crackers. The menu was boring, the meal was overpriced. My hubby and I both had the prime rib special and mine was good - his was mostly fat. The bread consisted of three soft breadsticks placed down in front of every six people. The meal included choice of potato unless you wanted twice baked and then it's an additional $3 charge. The waitress was attentive and friendly. Monte should meet with his insurance agent soon and up his liability insurance as the steps leading in and out the front door are as dangerous as can be. Overall, I'd definitely skip this place - for the price, not worth it. Sorry Monte! read more