Montis Grill

Food is great, no doubt. And prices are reasonable to boot. There’s no reason not to enjoy a meal here!
But I agree with previous reviewers — Montis suffers from an identity crisis in trying to be too many things at once. The neighborhood wants this great place to succeed, so pick one thing and do it well!

Came here with my girlfriends for happy hour and we were surprised on how good everything was! The kobe beef patty was seasoned so BOMB, fries were seasoned well and crispy, and the moscow mule was not bad!
Very easy parking — directly across the street on beacon ave. I do agree you get confused when you walk in, it’s pretty fancy looking with table cloth and glass cups and then there’s the bar area with TVs and all that. Don’t be intimidated by the shortage of people inside, you have all the attention from the workers!!! We sat at the bar. Very cozy place. If you live around the neighborhood, I definitely would give this place a try! You don’t need to travel far for great, quality burgers anymore! The customer service was great! Everyone was very friendly and happy to help us.
I ordered the calamari (very VERY dry and was not good at all sorry! But I won’t be downing this place a star because of that), and a burger $ 5 (kobe beef — cheese was extra $ 2 more). My friends ordered the Monti’s burger (comes with fries) and the happy hour salad with steak (extra $ 5). Everything was sooo good! The food that came out to other customers also looked VERY delicious. I’m very satisfied with this place.

Let’s get this out of the way — The food is decent and the service is great.
Now for the trivial:
Question; what does the following have in common: Apple Pie, Spaghetti, Club Music, Rustic Tables, Margaritas, Big Screen TV’s, White Cloth Tables, Bottles of Wine & Lolli Pops…
Give up? Me too! This place i suffering from a HUGE identity crisis, from the out side the first thing that my come to mind is a rustic pub, a good burger and a cold pint. When you enter you; struggle to figure out if you’re in a fine dining restaurant, a sports bar, a pub or a club.
We sat at the bar, uncomfortable and confused with our surroundings. We also noticed obvious first time customers come in with a very confused and scared look on their faces. We were not the only people whispering «W…T…F» to each other.
Listen, if you have the game on… lets not play loud techno. If you’re serving a nice white cloth dinner… let’s not have the game one. If you’re greeting your guest with a wine display… lets not have lolli pops next to them. I think you see where I’m going here…
The long and the short of it is i WANT this place to succeed. Were locals and would love a place to hang out, but don’t want to be confused on why were going to go to your business… While the food and service were great, were going to struggle to find a excuse to come back other than to support a local business. Owners — Please consider focusing on 1 aspect of your business.
My personal suggestion (Modern American Pub):
— Ditch the pasta and Italian desserts — Go American (heck it’s written on your window!)
— Remove the cloth tables — Replace them with large rustic tables to match your bar. (If i were you i would hire your neighbor at Urban Feed to design for you… their customers are your customers. Consider co-​advertising!)
— Don’t play techno — Go for classic rock maybe rap or jazz? (this is outside of my personal taste FYI)
— Tear down all the club lighting — Opt for nice overhead lighting.
— And shrink your menu — 4 burgers (1 make your own) — 4 sandwiches — 4 apps — 4 signature cocktails — 2 specials — 2 deserts — (seasonal, fresh and prefect them!)
— Lastly — Spell Check what you put on your chalk board it’s pretty cringe worthy when customers notice spelling errors in large text.

My father discovered this place a couple months ago while he was looking for event venues. It is owned by the same people that run El Quetzal, another great restaurant/​bar.
I’d consistently heard that there was no one at this restaurant, even on Friday and Saturday nights. This information alone made me reluctant to come here at first, but I finally did, and it was great. The food is delicious, and it’s quite affordable.
I ordered the special, Hawaiian Pineapple Salmon, which came on a bed of sauteed asparagus and a side tossed salad. The meat was cooked through and tender, and the salad was fresh. The asparagus had good flavor, although it was slightly overcooked. We also had the «Beacon Hill Dip» — a pepper roast beef sandwich au jus. It too was very good, and it came on nicely toasted bread.
The server and manager are both very friendly, and the décor is clean and unique. This restaurants major drawback is its location. There are a lot of Chinese and Hispanic people living in the area, and classic American food doesn’t match well with the local audience. Also, it hasn’t been marketed very well. Even so, I’d highly recommend giving this place a try!

My brother and I went to this place on a whim. It was not a mistake, we walked in right in time for Happy hour. We each order a burger for $ 5 and I have to say, one of the best burgers I have ever had. It wasn’t even anything «special». No bacon, lettuce, cheese or onions. none of that. Just two pieces of bread and beef in the middle, but what a burger. it was just so juicy and flavorful, I wasn’t even that hungry but I sure as heck ate that burger in about 2 bites.
We also order five wings each off the happy hour menu. My brother order the Louisiana hot wings and I order the blacken wings. Those were unfortunately not as good. The wings could use some work. it tasted like they baked some wings and just toss the sauce/​seasoning on last minute. The redeeming point is definitely the burger and the service.

Stopped in for a happy hour meeting here. Average beer, wine and cocktail offerings. Good food items for $ 5 each on the happy hour menu. We had a very tasty happy hour salad, bacon cheese fries served up in a hot frying pan and the black wings (with peppercorn and jalapeños). It was all really tasty and lots of food for the price. Recommend stopping in for the happy hour. I think I saw a sign saying happy hour all day Tuesday and Wednesday in the bar too. Friendly, good service from our waitress!

Okay, I admit… we are a little lame that it took us this long to get in and try Montis Grill. We knew it was open but we had not found the time to check it out.
I’m happy to report that it is excellent and a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Parking was easy, the restaurant was clean and well designed, service was great… but most of all the food was excellent and we can’t wait to try more.
I’m happy that we have another great option and especially one that serves brunch since that is something that we need more of in South Seattle.

This restaurant was definitely a surprise to me. Right when I walked through the door, nobody had greeted me (low-​staffed) so I sat myself down next to the window. The restaurant was very well-​kept and looked very organized. Very spacious as well. After about 5 minutes max, the owner had greeted my party and I with a big smile on his face. He was very welcoming. I ordered the beacon hill dip which was very filling! Would recommend this place to anybody.

I have high hopes for this place.
The space is a bit odd, much larger than expected and unfortunately not super warm and inviting, but I think they’ve done an overall good job of renovating. They need to get some plants or something to make it more welcoming.
Service has been good, very attentive and happy to provide suggestions if asked.
The FOOD! The food has been great. Prices are outstanding for high value deliciousness. So far I’ve very much enjoyed the calamari, the spicy shrimp appetizer, the chicken dinner and the Rainier Steak. Everything is prepared well, and I have been dreaming about their mashed potatoes.
It looks like they are running all day happy hour Tues and Weds, and have both trivia and Karaōke nights to drum up some business.
Go check them out! I want them to stay open and I might see you there soon while enjoying another great bite!

This is the second time I have come here, hoping to LOVE it, has such potential in the area it’s in… but sadly, service is horrible. Today was the last straw. Ordered the fettuccine Alfredo, and found Hair in it, sent it back, they brought me another one, which I didn’t eat because I lost my appetite from the hair in the first one. Drank 2 glasses of ice tea… Received my bill, and they charged me for 2 glasses of ice tea, however last time I was here, refills were FREE. They should tell customers they charge for refills on a cup full of ice with a little ice tea. Received my bill and was not pleased! Will not be back, which is unfortunate because I am a devoted customer to places I love!

Visited Monti’s for dinner after hearing about the reviews. Parking was easy. A new restaurant in an old place that used to be a karaōke bar.
Walked in and got a seat w/​out being waited by the waiter. Music was very loud in the foreground. Not a sports bar. Two tvs were there, but the volumes were muted. Waiter was attentive and explained the dinner special. Orders took a while to arrive to the unusual chairs and small tables that can fit just a few dishes. Steak was more than medium rare and fries weren’t flavorful. Chicken Alfredo was very plain w/​the chicken tasting very bland and tasteless w/​out any seasoning. The two pieces of bread in the same bowl seemed fresh. The prices on the menu were expensive, but they attempted to make up that up w/​big serving bowls and plate sizes that take up a good amount of space. Wait staff were attentive, but the atmosphere just doesn’t seem right.

Friendly service and really enjoyed the fettuccine alfredo — generous portion. Added the seafood to it as well as it was delicious. Yum!

Good bar and food south of the VA on Beacon! We have been twice, both times good service, good steak and chicken dishes. Nice salads and soup too. Space is big and open and not crowded so far. Two Beers IPA and Roger’s Pilsner on tap-​big happy hour beers (24oz for $ 5 I think)
TV with sports, kids welcome, we will be here often.

Stopped by Montis for lunch on a Saturday to try it out. I really wanted to love this spot as it’s new to the neighborhood and supposedly owned by the same folks as El Quetzal, which I love. Sadly, 2 stars is the best I could rate it. Here’s why:
Thumbs Down:
— Slow and poor service. For a place that is nearly empty, it took over 30 minutes to get one burger and the chicken entrée. The waiter never came back to refill our water and I hunted down my own ketchup from a table that wasn’t cleared the entire time I was there. Kind of gross to be sitting by an empty table with dirty plates on it for your entire meal. I could see that there was only one waiter though for maybe two small tables and a large group. At least collecting our payment was super fast.
— Western burger was alright… Yes, the burger is moist and the bun is good, but after a few bites, it was pretty one note. I also ordered the meat to be cooked medium and it wasn’t pink at all. Why bother asking us how we want it cooked if it’s going to cone out well done anyway?
— The chicken entrée was fine. Three stalks of broccoli, a pile of mashed potatoes, seared chicken thigh, all covered in a brown mushroom sauce. It would have been nice to have crispy chicken skin and for the chicken to be on top of the sauce so it wouldn’t be soggy.
Thumbs up:
— Ample parking across the street.
— Spacious airy interior, good for groups.
— Lots of TVs. Probably good for drinks and a game.
— Fries were good and the menu looks like it has some decent options.

I understand that Montis Grill only opened a few weeks ago. It looks like they’re off to a pretty good start. Located at the intersection of Beacon Ave and Columbian Way, there’s parking available to the south and rear of the restaurant.
You wouldn’t know it from the street, but Montis Grill is cavernous with lots of paper-​covered tables. We came here for lunch today and were directed to sit anywhere we liked. The front of their menu listed lunch items, and the back, dinner items. Brunch items were shown on the front of the menu, but are available only on the weekend.
Our server started out by stating several items, including the steak were unavailable. And as it turns out, even though the menu showed iced tea, Montis Grill did not have any on this particular day.
I was curious about the Boeing Field Bird — pan-​roasted chicken with mashed potatoes. But since I loathe rosemary, I thought it prudent to check with the server to see if they used rosemary. Of course they do, as I was told. Grrr. So I went with the beef dip sandwich. JP went with the Pasta Marinara Bolognese.
My beef dip sandwich was very good. In particular, I liked the bits of carmelized onion accompanying the meat inside an excellent bread. The dip was excellent too, having a hint of wine flavor. Along with the dip, came in a tiny cup filled a very mild horseradish sauce. I wanted to spread the horseradish sauce inside the sandwich, which I managed to do with my fork (for some reason Montis doesn’t provide either knives or spoons). The a-​little-​bit-​sweet horseradish sauce was a nice enhancement to the sandwich.
The fries that came with the sandwich were very nice. I wouldn’t claim these shoestring fries were baked, but they were pleasantly and decidely ungreasy. The beef dip for the sandwich made a nice dip for the fries. JP’s Pasta Marinara dish with Bolognese was so-​so. The pasta, meat and sauce in the dish were fine. Yet, even though JP is a basil fan, he found the massive volume of basil in the dish overwhelming and unpleasant.
Still, I think we would come back since there were other menu items that interest us and that we’d like to try. Service was very good. I especially liked the regular refills of my water glass.
For this visit, I can go with 3.4 stars.

Really superb service, but pricing is higher than the neighborhood will sustain though. They have a fairly good happy hour ($ 5, 32oz micro drafts and all-​day hh tues/​weds). However, I think the food needs a little bit of work. It is standard bar food and could perhaps benefit from the addition of some fresh items and unique dishes. The space is big and airy, but feels like something is missing — it feels a bit like an empty warehouse. Overall, it is good to have yet another option on Beacon Hill.

Great new casual spot on beacon hill! Happy hour all day on Tuesday and Wednesday!
Ordered from the happy hour menu and was pleasantly surprised by the quality and portion size (maybe except for the chicken wings — they were kinda small and you only got 6). But it was nice of them to put the spicy sauce on the side for the wings since I can’t handle it but my husband can still dip them in.
Décor is a little sparse and walls are really dark which doesn’t seem to fit the ambience the restaurant is going for. But food is good and service was great so I’m looking forward to trying more things on the menu!

When a new restaurant opened up in this location, I was intrigued. Grabbed a bite lastnight and was pleasantly surprised by the interior; it’s super spacious, good for families. If you sit in the window, you can sort of catch the sun set, facing North. I was happy to find out the restaurant is owned by Juan Montiel, who also owns the awesome El Quetzal just a little ways up north on Beacon. Service was quick, friendly. The Moscow mule was okay, not as stiff as other places and comes in a glass cup. The grilled Caesar salad with chicken was really good, big portion. The calamari tasty, crisp, fresh. Everything priced well. Definitely going back… already thinking about my next visit!

Had dinner there last night. Atmosphere is quaint and warm with a real neighborhood bistro vibe. Cocktail offering are fun and creative.
Started with the Drunken Prawn Appetizer. Cooked to perfection with a lovely, zesty red sauce.delicious. Only thing missing is a big piece of crusty bread to sop up the sauce. Which I guess you can order as a side.
Caesar was big in portion. Loved the dressing and the croutons. My only wish is that they mentioned on the menu it was grilled. Would have asked for it cold.
Painted Hills Bistro Steak with chimichurri rocked! Perfect temp and great crispy fries along side.
No room for dessert but we will be back!

I was eager to try this place because it is one of the few restaurants that is within walking distance on my stretch of Beacon Hill. I had a pleasant enough experience, one that could have used some improvements.
First. the good. The service from the two bartenders was very good. They greeted me brightly upon entering (as they did everyone) and were quick to provide me with a menu, list of drinks, and a glass of water. They were extremely attentive; even though they were chatting with friends throughout my visit, they were quick to provide me with a refill and answer any questions that I had.
The food was a solid ³⁄₅. I had the Montis grill burger, which appeared to have been cooked to a solid medium. I prefer my burgers medium-​rare, so I wish that I would have been given the option to choose the doneness of my burger. The fries were a tad too «wilty» for my preference, but all in all I found my entrée to be solid food with good flavor. I routinely ask for mayonnaise to accompany my fries, of which the waitress/​bartender gave me a generous helping of alongside some very good garlic aoli which I found myself eating more of with my fries.
The not so good: one of the women behind the bar suggested a strawberry-​rhubarb pie that came with a scoop of ice cream and whipped cream on the side. While the pie itself tasted good, I found it to be a bit too dense and doughy for my liking.
The bad: The décor is — well, not that great. It looks like someone without a lot of money was going for some sort of Industrial chic with a postmodern dancehall vibe. It has the feel of a club that doubles as a restaurant space rather than the opposite. The predominant colors are black, silver and red, and the primary materials are reclaimed wood, iron and concrete. It was actually quite a shock to me coming in from the outside, since, based on the outside appearance and the typography on the menu, I was under the impression that the place would be a lot more rustic.
All in all, I think that this place should be made to feel welcome in our neighborhood. With a few tweaks, I’m sure that it will do very well in the years to come, and I am looking forward to more visits.