We celebrated our 10th anniversary at Montarra, to a near perfect evening.
We opted to dine inside and sat near the waterfall. It may seem cheesy or like a small touch, but they make note of special occasions and even included a “Happy Anniversary” message at the top of the menu. But that also carried through, being the first words from our waitress. Such a simple thing to do, but carries a lot of weight toward making an effort to deliver an amazing experience.
We started with some fantastic bread rolls and I opted for a house Old Fashioned while Jill went with a specialty martini (which we both forgot the name of but she says was really good). We then started with the Spicy Ahi Tuna Tartar, which was absolutely amazing. Great mix of flavors, not too hot unless you got a lot of the red chile/sesame aioli, but even then it wasn’t overpowering. Literally could have just had a meal of that!
Jill went for one of the evening specials, an Oscar style Red Snapper with a bearnaise sauce and fingerling potatoes…which, quote, “was damn good!”
I went for the Shrimp and Sea Scallops DeJonghe, which featured a row of garlic butter crusted shrimp and scallops on cream sherry sauced baby spinach and whipped potatoes. Truly sensational with the shrimp and the sea scallops, both easily overdone, cooked to perfection. Both were beautifully plated and we might have to argue over who made the better selection.
We finished off with some kind of peanut butter layer cake (Ok, it had a way better name than that and was way better tasting than that sounds), which was so good that I failed to even get a picture of it!
And overall, our waitress was wonderful, helpful, always timely, without being intrusive or overly attentive. Likewise, the busser was attentive, keeping waters refilled, removing plates and wiping down the table between courses, without production.
So why only near perfect? Unfortunately, there was some kind of presentation going on in the large dining area, with mic and amplifier and projection on a screen. Fortunately, it wasn’t too loud, but still stands out even more than loud but “normal” dinner conversations. It was enough to occasionally pull your attention. I get it, they probably make some decent money allowing these type of group uses, but they also aren’t without a cost.
The last bit aside, we’ll be back and I highly recommend Montarra Grill, although next time we might check whether there are any group presentations scheduled.
da Baffone has long been one of our favorite restaurants in town. With COVID concerns though, we had not been back for a long while.
It was a delightful return, mostly. Service was excellent as it usually is. Jill enjoyed a French – tini and I had the first dirty gin martini that I’ve had for quite some time.
Excellent bread and house salads to start, followed by tortellini for Jill, a huge kid’s portion of spaghetti and giant meatball for the boy, and I enjoyed the gamberi & capesante alla sicilliana (sauted shrimp and sea scallops) which was amazing. Finishing it all off with the chocolate chip cheesecake, which even for a New York style cheesecake purist like myself, I have to admit it was superb. All in all, a truly wonderful dinner.
Sadly, an otherwise perfect evening started off on the wrong foot when Jill made the reservation. Now, we still remember when you didn’t need a reservation and I still remember the first time we stopped in and weren’t able to get in because we didn’t have one… which left us both disappointed but also thrilled at the success they had found. We were making the reservation for 5:45 on a Friday night, but before hanging up, whoever she spoke to on the other end finished with a rather “put out sounding response” about how that was fine, but we would have to be out by 7:45 though.
Is unfortunate that this sole interaction started the whole evening off on a sour note. With only 3 of us, it would seem highly probable that we would be in and out without issue, which we were.
We will just write this off as a fluke and will of course be back. Grazie
Our first time and we were pretty impressed…even though there were some major, major issues!
I had one of the specials, the Baja Scallop & Shrimp Scampi Pasta (pictured), which was really creamy and delicious. We were going to start with the Tempura Crunch Sashimi Tuna, but it never came. Jill was going to have the Scallops & Shrimp Skewer, but instead the order got messed up and they brought out the Sirloin & Shrimp, which was even more unfortunate as she’s moved away from eating meat.
They do have a kid’s menu, but surprisingly, no burger, so our son had the regular dinner menu Half-Pound BFG Burger…which unfortunately, came with pickles, onion, lettuce, tomato, and sauces, even though we asked for only cheese. That said, we picked things off it and he ate about 4/5s of it and all the fries anyway…so I guess he thought it was pretty good anyway. I finished off the remainder and have to admit it was one of the best burgers I’ve had. Although I shudder at the thought of our 8-yearold now eating $16 burgers! Yikes!!!
As for drinks, Jill really enjoyed the Crushed Pineapple Martini and I enjoyed the Smoked Old Fashioned. It was good and a unique twist with the “smoked with oak,” though otherwise not extraordinary. And that’s mostly OK, though at $13.50, you do kind of want extraordinary.
Okay, so at this point, you’re wondering why this isn’t a 1-star review? Because it really was an otherwise fantastic experience.
Our server was very personable and truly offered guidance on selection. Yes, she probably should have checked in after noticing that our starter never showed up. To be fair, we were sitting in the bar area and it was fairly loud and very busy on a Saturday night. While we said to go ahead and just cancel the starter, she had it made up to go for us and didn’t charge us for it…subsequently we can say that it too was really good!
Because they had brought the Sirloin & Shrimp to the table, they let us keep rather than taking it back and tossing it out. Then the server also had the Scallops & Shrimp Skewer packaged to go (which was still amazingly delicious even warmed up a day later…literally some of the best scallops we’ve ever had) and charged us for the Sirloin & Shrimp, the lesser of the two, rather than the Scallops & Shrimp Skewer.
We finished it all off with the Chocolate Lava Cake, which she also comped us for even though we insisted she didn’t have to. So all told, around $50 in comped meal charges compared to what we got.
We also really enjoyed the atmosphere. While it is a chain restaurant (part of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc., which also owns Outback Steakhouse), the atmosphere and decor is very lowkey and classily done; you’d easily not even realize it was a chain if you didn’t know.
So yes, mistakes were made, no way to overlook that. But the food, across the board, was stellar. More importantly though, they truly went above and beyond to make up for it. Even on the best nights, some things go wrong…it’s how you handle things when they go wrong that really matters. We wouldn’t hesitate to go there again.
Excellent lunch and a great addition to downtown Crystal Lake.
Fantastic chips and salsa, although a little larger salsa bowl would be nice. I had a Herbivore vegan chorizo taco which was excellent! And Spicy Shrimp taco… packs a kick and really tasty.
Jill had the fish tacos, which may have been the weakest link… she said it seemed a little fish-sticky, but that may come down to whether you prefer fish tacos with breaded fish or not.
We both loved the black beans as well… I highly recommend eating them like a dip with the chips!
Drinks-wise, my traditional Cantina 52 (I think it was called) margarita was perfect and Jill enjoyed fancy margaritas… they were a little smaller so she had a couple to my one.
Speaking of quantity… while they feature “small plates,” they aren’t skimpy and/or overpriced for what you get, which is much appreciated!
Nice atmosphere. Might be a little loud when it gets busy.
Will definitely be returning!
We celebrated our 10th anniversary at Montarra, to a near perfect evening.
We opted to dine inside and sat near the waterfall. It may seem cheesy or like a small touch, but they make note of special occasions and even included a “Happy Anniversary” message at the top of the menu. But that also carried through, being the first words from our waitress. Such a simple thing to do, but carries a lot of weight toward making an effort to deliver an amazing experience.
We started with some fantastic bread rolls and I opted for a house Old Fashioned while Jill went with a specialty martini (which we both forgot the name of but she says was really good). We then started with the Spicy Ahi Tuna Tartar, which was absolutely amazing. Great mix of flavors, not too hot unless you got a lot of the red chile/sesame aioli, but even then it wasn’t overpowering. Literally could have just had a meal of that!
Jill went for one of the evening specials, an Oscar style Red Snapper with a bearnaise sauce and fingerling potatoes…which, quote, “was damn good!”
I went for the Shrimp and Sea Scallops DeJonghe, which featured a row of garlic butter crusted shrimp and scallops on cream sherry sauced baby spinach and whipped potatoes. Truly sensational with the shrimp and the sea scallops, both easily overdone, cooked to perfection. Both were beautifully plated and we might have to argue over who made the better selection.
We finished off with some kind of peanut butter layer cake (Ok, it had a way better name than that and was way better tasting than that sounds), which was so good that I failed to even get a picture of it!
And overall, our waitress was wonderful, helpful, always timely, without being intrusive or overly attentive. Likewise, the busser was attentive, keeping waters refilled, removing plates and wiping down the table between courses, without production.
So why only near perfect? Unfortunately, there was some kind of presentation going on in the large dining area, with mic and amplifier and projection on a screen. Fortunately, it wasn’t too loud, but still stands out even more than loud but “normal” dinner conversations. It was enough to occasionally pull your attention. I get it, they probably make some decent money allowing these type of group uses, but they also aren’t without a cost.
The last bit aside, we’ll be back and I highly recommend Montarra Grill, although next time we might check whether there are any group presentations scheduled.
da Baffone has long been one of our favorite restaurants in town. With COVID concerns though, we had not been back for a long while.
It was a delightful return, mostly. Service was excellent as it usually is. Jill enjoyed a French – tini and I had the first dirty gin martini that I’ve had for quite some time.
Excellent bread and house salads to start, followed by tortellini for Jill, a huge kid’s portion of spaghetti and giant meatball for the boy, and I enjoyed the gamberi & capesante alla sicilliana (sauted shrimp and sea scallops) which was amazing. Finishing it all off with the chocolate chip cheesecake, which even for a New York style cheesecake purist like myself, I have to admit it was superb. All in all, a truly wonderful dinner.
Sadly, an otherwise perfect evening started off on the wrong foot when Jill made the reservation. Now, we still remember when you didn’t need a reservation and I still remember the first time we stopped in and weren’t able to get in because we didn’t have one… which left us both disappointed but also thrilled at the success they had found. We were making the reservation for 5:45 on a Friday night, but before hanging up, whoever she spoke to on the other end finished with a rather “put out sounding response” about how that was fine, but we would have to be out by 7:45 though.
Is unfortunate that this sole interaction started the whole evening off on a sour note. With only 3 of us, it would seem highly probable that we would be in and out without issue, which we were.
We will just write this off as a fluke and will of course be back. Grazie
Our first time and we were pretty impressed…even though there were some major, major issues!
I had one of the specials, the Baja Scallop & Shrimp Scampi Pasta (pictured), which was really creamy and delicious. We were going to start with the Tempura Crunch Sashimi Tuna, but it never came. Jill was going to have the Scallops & Shrimp Skewer, but instead the order got messed up and they brought out the Sirloin & Shrimp, which was even more unfortunate as she’s moved away from eating meat.
They do have a kid’s menu, but surprisingly, no burger, so our son had the regular dinner menu Half-Pound BFG Burger…which unfortunately, came with pickles, onion, lettuce, tomato, and sauces, even though we asked for only cheese. That said, we picked things off it and he ate about 4/5s of it and all the fries anyway…so I guess he thought it was pretty good anyway. I finished off the remainder and have to admit it was one of the best burgers I’ve had. Although I shudder at the thought of our 8-yearold now eating $16 burgers! Yikes!!!
As for drinks, Jill really enjoyed the Crushed Pineapple Martini and I enjoyed the Smoked Old Fashioned. It was good and a unique twist with the “smoked with oak,” though otherwise not extraordinary. And that’s mostly OK, though at $13.50, you do kind of want extraordinary.
Okay, so at this point, you’re wondering why this isn’t a 1-star review? Because it really was an otherwise fantastic experience.
Our server was very personable and truly offered guidance on selection. Yes, she probably should have checked in after noticing that our starter never showed up. To be fair, we were sitting in the bar area and it was fairly loud and very busy on a Saturday night. While we said to go ahead and just cancel the starter, she had it made up to go for us and didn’t charge us for it…subsequently we can say that it too was really good!
Because they had brought the Sirloin & Shrimp to the table, they let us keep rather than taking it back and tossing it out. Then the server also had the Scallops & Shrimp Skewer packaged to go (which was still amazingly delicious even warmed up a day later…literally some of the best scallops we’ve ever had) and charged us for the Sirloin & Shrimp, the lesser of the two, rather than the Scallops & Shrimp Skewer.
We finished it all off with the Chocolate Lava Cake, which she also comped us for even though we insisted she didn’t have to. So all told, around $50 in comped meal charges compared to what we got.
We also really enjoyed the atmosphere. While it is a chain restaurant (part of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc., which also owns Outback Steakhouse), the atmosphere and decor is very lowkey and classily done; you’d easily not even realize it was a chain if you didn’t know.
So yes, mistakes were made, no way to overlook that. But the food, across the board, was stellar. More importantly though, they truly went above and beyond to make up for it. Even on the best nights, some things go wrong…it’s how you handle things when they go wrong that really matters. We wouldn’t hesitate to go there again.
Excellent lunch and a great addition to downtown Crystal Lake.
Fantastic chips and salsa, although a little larger salsa bowl would be nice. I had a Herbivore vegan chorizo taco which was excellent! And Spicy Shrimp taco… packs a kick and really tasty.
Jill had the fish tacos, which may have been the weakest link… she said it seemed a little fish-sticky, but that may come down to whether you prefer fish tacos with breaded fish or not.
We both loved the black beans as well… I highly recommend eating them like a dip with the chips!
Drinks-wise, my traditional Cantina 52 (I think it was called) margarita was perfect and Jill enjoyed fancy margaritas… they were a little smaller so she had a couple to my one.
Speaking of quantity… while they feature “small plates,” they aren’t skimpy and/or overpriced for what you get, which is much appreciated!
Nice atmosphere. Might be a little loud when it gets busy.
Will definitely be returning!