Monte Carlo

The Monte Carlo is over 100 years old and it took me that long to get my ass there.
I love the wings, I already knew that from Rachel’s. But I really love the space. With some of my other favorite cocktail bars getting increasingly crowded, it’s great to find another spot to put in the mix. Classic bar vibes, long and slender with dark wood and a tin panel ceiling. Uniformed bartenders serving up excellent cocktails — some of which are a better value than they first appear as you get the full shaker’s worth in a side glass. I’m much happier here than some of the other popular bars in the neighborhood. Great pit stop before or after a North Loop dinner. Oh yeah, they have food here too.
Street parking in front as well as an adjacent lot for a couple bucks.

Classy classic place… does that make any sense? Well I liked this place. The ceiling was all I looked at. oh and the bar! One of the most elaborate array of bottles I’ve ever seen.
The food was okay. I think it’s just not my type of menu. Your basic old-​fashioned bar menu with an extra flare. Sandwiches, burgers, and signature wings.
I had the Plaza Burger. It was good, the sour cream was definitely different, which I like. The pumpernickel bun was awesome, I just wish they toasted/​warmed this a little. It was just bland tasting because it was on the colder side. Meat was just right even though our server didn’t ask what type I wanted now that I think about it. The fries were good. Price was okay.$ 14
Also tried their signature wings. Didn’t care for them much, they have a very acquired taste. Definitely running along the Beijing 5 spice trend I don’t like so much. My bf enjoyed them though, maybe it’s a guy thang??! :p
Would come for the bar but go elsewhere for food. Parking is on street/​metered and shouldn’t be hard to find if not on busy weekend nights.

Great bar and ambiance, love the location. It’s off to a corner and somewhat out of the way.
Other than the bar and ambiance, staff is terrible, and sluggish (what’s with the uniforms?). They were so out of sync, we had just sat down and told a waitress we needed a minute then two more waitresses immediately came over separately and asked for our orders kind of annoying.
Food was very overpriced and terrible. The kitchen staff seems not to care.

They don’t offer a happy hour :(
But I gotta admit, I still go for their awesomely huge martini’s anyway– you know the kind where they give you the small shaker filled with whatever overflow that didn’t fit in the martini glass? Mmmmmm…
Their food is quite good as well — if not slightly overpriced.
This place has been here forever and could use an update on their interior but I sometimes find that comforting when a place looks the same way it did when you were a kid. :)

Came on a Saturday night with reservations. Table still took about 15 minutes. Had the scallops, over cooked and underwhelming. Server’s were on point, very attentive without being obtrusive. Overall, a nice place for a weekend date, but not worth repeating.

Umm… their servers are dressed in French maid uniforms. Naturally, when I think of French maids I think of sex costumes, anyone else…
Anywho, in this old school restaurant the outfits were quite creepy. I felt like I was in a haunted mansion. The décor is supper clubish. Dark colors, a bit mysterious, a little bit cool. The crowd was interesting. Not too racially diverse, you had high school prom kids in one corner and seniors in the other. Being an Asian women in my «late twenties or so» I felt slightly out of place.
Aside from the creepy getup, our server was awesome. No complaints at all on that front. We had a group of 8, so I was a little concerned based on other reviews, but we were pretty happy with service.
I was not impressed with drinks or food. I ordered a pear martini, that drink was excellent. Downhill from there. My girlfriends ordered an old fashion, and a Moscow mule. Both were incredibly awful. The old fashion was red with too much cherry juice and tasted like all soda, and the Moscow mule was basically lime juice.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the three of us decided to order vodka sodas instead of switching to wine or beer, because we’re geniuses. Surprise! That was all club soda.
For food I tried the beef liver pâté, veggie pizza, Beijing wings, and Charlie’s kitchen steak sandwich with a side salad.
The pâté came with chopped up onions and eggs. The pâté itself was good. I was disappointed that they gave us individually packaged saltine crackers with it. For the price, I think they needed to give us at least a small cracker basket assortment. By the way, make sure you have gum or mints if you decide to order this.
Veggie pizza and wings were fine, nothing spectacular there. Again, expensive in my opinion.
The steak sandwich for $ 17 was sad as hell. My blue cheese salad that I upgraded a $ 1 for was a plate of lettuce. No onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, ain’t nuttin in that thing. The steak sandwich, although cooked perfectly, was mostly bread. Then there was a small slice of steak, nothing else at all interesting on it.
I’d gladly throw down on a high dollar dinner if I walk away impressed. This felt like I paid $ 10 for a Oscar Mayer hotdog. There’s potential here, but for the price they charge, their drinks and food should be so much better.

Cold wings, shrimp cocktail tough and flavorless. the salmon filet was farm raised and not good. The pork chops were ok. Service was extremely slow. We waited 15 minutes to get our check after asking because our waitress disappeared. I would not recommend this place.

This place NEVER disappoints me. This classic knows service and food-that’s why last night I wanted to share it with my 16 year old son on our dinner out before the MN Gopher Basketball Game.
I did make a reservation and we were seated at a perfect table to observe all the other Gopher and Timberwolves fans. Luckily my son spotted a few of my favorite items on the menu and it was not difficult to place our order. Chicken soup, Cesar salad (with anchovies), Charlies Kitchen Steak Sandwich with fries and horseradish sauce. Perfect. I grew up on this place-​I only hope someday he wants to return and share it with his girlfriend and family someday.

Until 5 years ago this was our number one favorite restaurant in the twin cities. Outstanding highly personable bartenders skilled perfect drinks. Outstanding well priced very delicious excellent seasoned dishes with great service. Perfect New Year’s Eve.
First the outstanding bartenders left within a year. Then the food quality died. My husband ordered their beloved friend chicken wings/​drummies and found they were super saturated in salt, completely inedible. Instead of listening helping, the hostess was belligerent hostile disbelieving even a bit on the nasty side (older light haired lady still there). My husband was mortified and we stopped going.
We tried it again just last week. Food quality had improved. Bloody Mary was full of liquor no juice zero flavor — the worst I have ever had.
But the BIGGEST shock were the prices !!!
The number one appetizer, sampler platter, skyrocketed from $ 14 to $ 25. All the dishes sandwiches rose $ 5-​$ 10 each, portions a little larger but $ 18 for beef liver and onions for lunch was shocking. And the customer base were all quite wealthy considerably older.
Sorry. Miss the old Monte Carlo.

Long time customer of the Monte Carlo and the bar atmosphere is the best. Had the wings they are normally outstanding they were mediocre and ordered a fillet medium and it was like shoe leather… way overdone… waitress at the bar was lost in her own shadow… asked if the meal was good and told her the steak was way overdone cat got her tongue hope this place isn’t resting on its previous rep… lots of competition in the north loop

I’m from Texas and we have a great selection of wings but these are in the top 3 on my list! Delicious! Crispy and juicy and no horrible aftertaste like some wings. The bar is fantastic! I’ve talked to 3 people who have been there at least 50 times and they have zero complaints and neither do I.

I had seen a segment on a television show about how good the Beijing style wings were at Monte Carlo. Well I love wings and made it a point to get to Monte Carlo. I ordered the wings and a flat bread to go as we were in the area and didn’t have time to go in and eat. They brought our order out to our car which was nice. I was so excited to try the wings I had one while I was driving. I don’t recommend this but I couldn’t help myself. After my first bite while the wing tasted good, it was underwelming. Certainly did not have the wow factor I was looking for. Having wings from D Spot and the Nook, this was just anywhere near their level. The flat bread that I ordered for my wife was not supposed to have shrimp or bacon on it, but it did. Mistakes happen sometimes and while I wouldn’t say this was a mistake on our part, we won’t try these wings again,.

I Loved this place !!! Everything about it — very Retro, old School Cool. Great relaxed 1950’s or 60’s Lounge like atmosphere. Food was outstanding especially the Chicken Wings — the Best i’ve ever had — unique. The Appitzer platter was just so delicious and different –not pretentious — like some of these new modern restaurants– i loved the way they served it .The waitress was super nice and polite and efficient, i loved the «uniform» she had on so old school. The Bar is gorgeous & stunning, my wine was excellent, i had the Fish & Chips, yes in a Steak house but everything was so fresh and delicious, and it was a sunday night — late — but not a problem, everything was really Great. We were a group of 7 and everyone loved the food — they give you big salads to start too. I don’t live in or near Minneapolis, but will go back for sure next time i’m there !

A snapshot of the 50’s here in Minneapolis. What a cool establishment, awesome food, great dining experience. I bring business partners here for lunches at least twice a month and have made a tradition of the Monte Carlo. Would LOVE it if they’d add a Monte Cristo Sandwhich to their menu, but the burgers and pastas are unbeatable. And VALET PARKING — no meter maids, nobody keying your car with attendants on the lot. A Twin Cities must on any restaurant list.

Very good food but not huge portions. Appetizers and salads are suggested. Service is a bit slow but friendly. Needs more dessert options. For cocktail drinkers, the selection is top notch! Conveniently located just off 394 and parking is available.

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! Manager (blond, female, sixties) has zero respect, hostess (tall, blond, female, twenties) is a complete idiot. Waitresses are not good at their jobs and put in zero effort.
I wish I could give them zero stars but the wings are quite delicious yet nothing else on the menu warrants a second look. All the other food is crap.
Not worth it to dine in AT ALL — pick up the wings instead if necessary.

I give 1 star for one reason… Service. I sat down with a group of friends in their outdoor area (very quant). We received our water almost immediately but waited to order for at least 15 min. The waiters are dressed like French hotel maids… Which would be cool
If when they did bring my food they remembered the freaking ranch dressing! Totally cool looking place, historical rep, HUGE let down. Get it together. Everything was just half assed.

Wowza, wish we would have read reviews before checking out this place. But alas, it was one of those weekday nights we didn’t want to venture far and my husband saw the word «steakhouse» and said «let’s go there». The fact that I haven’t ever really heard about this place should have been our first sign we should have gone somewhere else but oh well.
I’ll try to be quick about this, and this is consistent with all of the other reviews on here which is probably a bad sign for this place. Anyways, service was not that great. Waitress was short with us and clearly unhappy to be there.
I ordered a hamburger because nothing on the menu sounded appetizing and my husband ordered the beef liver. My hamburger was so bland it was literally just some ground beef with no seasoning… why did I pay over $ 10 for this? But that wasn’t the worst. My husband loves liver, and he is not a picky eater. He took one bite of his beef liver and the look he gave me was one I never saw before. It tasted like someone threw salt all over it, put it in a washing machine, and then cooked it in a microwave… I literally can’t describe the taste. My husband never does not eat his food, and he literally couldn’t have one more bite. It should have been a bad sign that for only $ 15 you get two huge pieces of beef liver, which means it probably wasn’t that good of quality to begin with. The last thing that bugged me is that the waitress clearly saw about three times that the liver wasn’t been eaten. I’m never comfortable being that customer that sends food back, because I think that is reserved for when a bug or hair is in your food. But she should have at least asked if something was wrong with the beef liver so (a) we didn’t have to pay for something we literally had barely one bite of and (b) because that is just something you should do to have good customer service. I gave it two stars because the patio is nice and the wine list was good.

Hmmm. I don’t even know where to begin. But let me begin by saying I was very unimpressed with the service and rules here.
I got all dressed up and decided to wear my favorite news boy hat, picked up my date, then struggled to find parking near Monte Carlo (strike1). As soon as I walked into the door, I was greeted with perfunctory smile by a waitress who informed me that men are not allowed to wear hats in their establishment (strike2). What restaurants mandates the removal of hats? What restaurant has a dress code? Monte Carlo. So Lame!
Let’s just say I will not return to this place. Worst customer service I’ve experienced all year! I think I’ll go somewhere else or enjoy a home cooked meal while wearing my favorite news boy hat.

Go for the sidecar fo sho.
Disclaimer — I have never eaten here, but I’m not sure I would. I’m a picky eater and nothing really jumps out at me food-​wise.
What does jump out at me? The large selection of booze in the bar area.
I’ve had various mixed drinks at the Monte Carlo, but my new favorite is the Side Car. It’s sweet, nicely chilled and you get the whole shaker. Can’t beat that.
Why no more than 3 stars? The service is very hit or miss. The bartenders can be super crabby or almost friendly. The run the gamut. Will I still stop in for a drink or a glass of wine while checking out some of my favorite joints in the area? Yes, will the service be decent? You just never know.
Good drinks and okay service make for a 3 star place for me.

We stopped here on a Saturday morning for a quick lunch and a morning bloody mary. Well worth the stop. Classic menu with full flavor. Exceptional service… Food was excellent! Very tasty…
We will be back here for drinks and food again!!! These are a solid 3 3.5 stars. Maybe will be bumped to 4 after trying more options! This is a positive review.

Monte Carlo is a classic old-​timer steak joint. I typically avoid these establishments like the plague. But, I can flex every now and again in the company of others.
Given my aversion toward meat-​centric eateries, I suspect most steakhouses wouldn’t be able to squeak more than 1 or 2 stars out of me. As such, a 3 star review for Monte Carlo is not too shabby.
Why the [relatively] high rating?
*Delightful patio set aback from the main road (which is itself not even a particularly busy road)
*A decent selection of cocktails; mine was an ideal summer drink with muddled raspberries – sweet and fruity, but not artificially or sickeningly so, rather a very well-​balanced beverage
*Our waitress was attentive and personable, and all interactions were punctuated with a genuine smile
*My non-​steak entrée (poached salmon salad, similar to a nicoise, with cold beans and white potatoes and some zesty cucumber salsa) was not at all unpleasant, a relatively light and tasty dish designed with quality ingredients. However, I’d have preferred more veggies, less salmon (figuring a single serving at 4 oz is about the size of a card deck, this whooping cut of fish must have been about 12 ounces – simply excessive), though any less meat on the plate and the price would have been unacceptable.
What left me unimpressed…
*The meat-​centric menu, duh… it’s a steakhouse, I do realize, but nonetheless, it’s my review and I can whine if I want to
*Zero acknowledgement when our group of 5 entered the premise, a sign of poor customer service. The hostess was away from her podium and the bartender (with virtually no indoor customers to tend to) made no eye contact or attempt to inform us that the hostess would return momentarily. Rude!
*The interior, a complete ghost town on a beautiful summer evening, was incredibly dark and felt somewhat outdated.
Bottom line. this place is not for me! If you’re a full-​blown vegetarian, stay away as there exists zilch veg-​friendly options. A flexitarian, such as myself, can manage, but don’t expect to be blown away. Yet, from my meat-​averse perspective, dinner at Monte Carlo was not an unbearable experience – thanks in large part to satisfying cocktails, an expansive patio, and Unilocal-​tastic company.

This is your grandparents’ restaurant.
Free valet because they can’t walk the 20 steps to the door.
Waitresses they can relate to. (The two we saw were in their 60’s or 70’s in black and white polyester uniforms from the seventies or eighties.)
A dated menu and flowery wallpaper.
On top of that, the acoustics magnified everyone’s conversation. Loud!
We stopped in for drinks at the bar wanting to just peek at the place that has been a mainstay for generations.

My friend and I tiptoed into the Monte Carlo for lunch this week. Why tip toe? 1. I had read the horrible reviews of the very mean waitress and didn’t want to set her off. 2. It’s rumored that Brian Setzer hangs out here.
Neither of these things happened.
We were greeted and seated at a booth and the nicest waitress on Earth (Amy I think was her name) came to our table.
The Cobb salad with feta vinagrette was amazing.
Cheeesecake topped with strawberry sauce-​again-​amazing.
Upon leaving, the young bartender said, «Thanks for coming in girls.» GIRLS-​yes and we loved it! (Once you’re in your 40’s you’ll enjoy it).
The free valet was another bonus and the attendant was also very friendly.
Our next visit will be checking out the amazing bar and the drinks.

Decided to eat here for New Years Eve based on a recommendation from a coworker. I have to admit I was a little worried, as most of the reviews I read were extremely negative toward the staff. I have to say — I was completely surprised! We made reservations for 7pm which was great because the place was packed. We were seated immediately and our waitress was SO nice. She explained everything on the menu, including the specials and got our drinks right away. My date had beer and I had the pear martini that was DELICIOUS (and also great, they give you your martini, plus the shaker). My date had the walleye, which he loved. I had the seafood pasta that was incredible. Everyone around us seemed to be having an equally as good of time. The table next to us dropped a drink on the ground and we could overhear the conversation with another waitress and she was very polite and forgiving. Prices were on the higher end, but I usually expect to spend more on NYE and don’t mind spending on quality food.
All in all, a great experience. We’ll definitely be coming back.