Villa Montez - (Near Tyler, TX)

1 /5 Jessica Ellison: Had dinner with old friends tonight. The drinks were great, and getting a reservation was easy. The evening started out well. We ordered a chimichurri steak medium rare to split. It was nicely plated on two plates, which we appreciated. Unfortunately, the steak itself came out basically blue. That wasn’t an issue for me, but it was for my partner. He did not eat any of the steak. He cut off the fat, saw that the inside was cold and uncooked in the center, and stopped. We told our server, expecting a standard fix — re-fire it, replace it, or adjust the bill. Instead, the response was that he would “tell the chef.” When the check arrived, we were charged the full price. When we asked about it, the server said the manager refused to do anything because “a bite had been taken.” To be clear, no bite was taken. Apparently trimming fat and noticing raw meat now qualifies as finishing the dish. There was no apology and no attempt to make it right, just a rigid response to a clear kitchen mistake. We won’t be back.

3 /5 Brittney Bing: This restaurant is beautiful, and we had super high expectations since we rented a room for $300 to celebrate a friends birthday. We had a party of 14. Everyones food came out and was perfect....except mine and my husbands. I ordered the Chilean sea bass, and it was burnt on the bottom. My husband ordered the Matador special, which was a NY strip, medium rare. 2 others ordered the exact same thing. While they received their plates, my husband was told his was on the way. 30 minutes later, after everyone was done eating, he still didnt have his. All we got was sorry about that. Needless to say, we wont be back.

5 /5 Kristi Stanley: Booked for my son’s rehearsal dinner. Beautiful place. Elegant. They were amazing to work with.

5 /5 Ballew Nicholas (Big Back Ballew): Villa Montez is one of those places I’ve always wanted to try and for some reason, I’ve never made my way around to actually trying it. I’m very guilty of doing this with many restaurants. I called yesterday and made a reservation for 5:30pm today for my wife and I. I spent the good part of last night thinking about it as well haha. When you first walk up to this establishment, you’ll probably find that you’re instantly taken back by the sheer beauty of everything. From the exquisite gardens and sculptures, to the stunning architecture. Everything just seems like it’s where it’s meant to be. When we walked in, we were politely greeted by the hostess and a very kind gentleman by the name of Eli. We informed him of our reservation and he took us right to a table that sat inside a room with massive windows, overlooking the patio. Our waitress came by shortly after and took our drink order. I believe her name was Rosa and she was the absolute best. A minute or 2 went by and she brought our drinks out with some chips and salsa. She also took our food and appetizer order. I ordered the tequila lime chicken pasta as my main dish and my wife wanted the queso fundido as hers. We also got the spinach and artichoke dip. The chips and salsa were incredible. The chips seemed very fresh and still warm and the salsa had a very good flavor. Slight kick, but nothing too much. The spinach and artichoke dip was honestly the best I’ve ever had and I’m not even exaggerating. The roasted jalapeno and garlic was such a nice touch. My wife’s queso had the perfect consistency and flavor and it also came with 3 homemade tortillas. To say that I enjoyed my pasta would be an understatement. The chicken was cooked to perfection, as well as the noodles. The fresh herb pesto cream had such a unique flavor to it in the best way possible. To wrap things up, we ordered a slice of tres leches. We had no idea it would end up being almost 4 inches tall!!! It was so incredibly moist, not soggy. The homemade whipped cream was spectacular. Overall it was an amazing dessert. I hate that I’ve waited so long to try this place. If you’re reading this and you’ve yet to try it out, go now!!!

5 /5 Lesley Schmidt: This place was such a surprise and so phenomenal. The service was amazing. I cannot remember her name but it was the younger sister of another server (the older sister also came by and was delightful). The recommendations were perfect. The drinks were delicious. The meals were HUGE and so so incredibly good and unique. Flavors were deep. Chimichuri they put on the meat was top notch. And the chocolate cake… could easily feed 4. It was nuts. Really really great evening. Thank you!