Monti's La Casa Vieja

I thought is was OK. It's a classic place but the food isn't as nearly as good as I remember in the old days and seems overpriced. My family still loves it so oh well. more

We took some friends who were visiting from Canada recently. The food was very good and cooked right and their bread is fantastic. The staff was attentive and friendly. I love the old stories and photos about Tempe. We had a great time. Thanks! more

Monti's La Casa Vieja is a place of culture like none that can be found elsewhere in Arizona. The restaurant itself is teeming with history, being amongst the oldest houses in Arizona. Beyond that, however, Monti's has integrated fine dining with fine music, and done so seamlessly. Every Sunday evening, the back room is filled with the sound of Jazz music. This weekly event is the ""Back Room Jazz"" jam session, where talented musicians from abroad come to play their instruments with an incredible rhythm section, an opportunity that is becoming more and more rare these days. Jazz, as a form of music, is currently going through a decline in popularity. It is because of venues such as Monti's that offer the jam session experience that it keeps alive. In fact, Monti's is making great progress in advocating for jazz music and jazz education. Apart from offering the ""Back Room Jazz"" session, the restaurant also sponsors performances by high-caliber jazz singers and instrumentalists such as Dennis Rowland and the Jazz Experience and Margo Reed. Beyond that, Monti's is also working with Jazz in AZ, a local non-profit that funds jazz education projects like the acclaimed Young Sounds of Arizona. To sum it up, Monti's La Casa Vieja isn't a simply a place of food and atmosphere. It is a business that is truly engaging the culture of our city and keeping our music alive. Pros: Jazz Jam Sessions and Performances more

Sunday evenings, sitting down to enjoy dinner is quite the experience at Monti's. Musicians from around Arizona come to play live jazz for the dining audience, and after they play a couple of songs, allow members of the audience to come up and bring their instruments. The musicians in charge know just about any jazz standard you could call out and are willing to play anything. Its candle lit dinners and live music make it a great spot to be with friends or a date. People in the crowd who are prepared to play are allowed to come up and perform with the band. The band makes sure to keep at a reasonable volume to ensure that the diners won't be deafened by their music and will enjoy the experience. The music is always at a non-stop flow, and the people willing to play far exceeds the time period the band is told to played. The band is very willing, and even takes audience shout-outs, so entertain anyone who walks though the doors. The staff was kind and courteous to the musicians, paying compliments to the performers. The smell of grilled food, dim-lighting and music make for a very intimate experience and can even be romantic depending on who you are with. Pros: My experience at Monti's is unforgettable. Cons: the building is a bit hard to navigate more

The staff made me feel terrific, good service seems harder to come buy these days, and were consistent as well as helpful and polite. Not to mention their excellent food! My two favorites were the New York Strip and the juicy baby back ribs. I recomended Monti's to all my family, and so far everyone loves it! Pros: Excellent service Cons: Not open 24/7 more

I love this place!! The staff was so accomodating and the food was great. If you are a prime rib fan, you have to go to Monti's! The portions are fantastic and their bread is amazing. I love to bake and they even give out their very own recipe for people to make it at home. They truely care about quality food and service, and if you like history, Monti's is like a museum of Tempe history...did you know the building was the first ever building ever built in Tempe??\r \r Signed,\r \r My new favorite restaurant.\r \r P.S. Dubai obviously doesn't know what he/she is talking about. They haven't allowed smoking inside Monti's since the 90's. In case you were wondering, smoking is still allowed outside Dubai. more

My husband and I have frequented Monte's for 20 years. More off than on now... the last three times we went the service was terrible, the meals cold, steaks not cooked correctly, and items returned after using the microwave.\r The prices have also increased for main entrees and sides, while quality and lack of consistency has decreased. We have not returned for two years.\r Now, with Morton's and Flemings in the area, as well as other family owned restaurants, we don't have to go to Monte's for a steak--we can get a great steak and excellent service at many other restaurants.\r \r There is a no smoking law in Tempe, they don't enforce it and allow smoking without any proper ventilation\r Overall, I wouldn't recommend them to anyone, which is very sad. Pros: good parking for Tempe, ambience is southwestern - catacombs and dust Cons: poor service, food is inconsistent quality and preparation, prices too high for what you get more

This was a great restaurant in the 60's, 70's for a dinner & a place to take out of town guests. I'll never go again, as I consider it over-priced, over-rated for what our party of 5 experienced. The table service was fine, reception seemed a bit confused with my reservation, altho the time gave my visitors a chance to browse the history. It was a disappointment for about $20 per person - there's much better eateries for quality, value & atmosphere. Pros: Service at table was fine Cons: Disappointment overall more

I had been coming to Monte's for years since I was a child. It was my father's favorite steakhouse. I was very excited to take my son there for the first time and also because it had been about 15 years since I had been there. Everything has changed and not for the better. The only part that has remained the same is the building. The food was just mediocore. The steak was fair, not juicy and tender like I remember. It was served with a lukewarm potatoe that looked like they bought it from the local Wal-mart or something, it was so small. It was tough and unappealing and unappetizing. The vegetables were overcooked and wilted, plus they gave us about 6 greenbeans on our plate. I was very disappointed and will never go back. yuk!!! What a waste of money! And the waiters could barely speak English. I couldn't help but think that this place will close down soon. I miss the old Monties that used to be sooooo wonderful , with awesome steaks, huge tender potatoes, the best bread you could ever eat and great big salads. Don't eat here, you'll waste your money!!! Pros: Nothing really Cons: Bad food, chef can't cook! more

HORRIBLE SERVICE!!!!!! DON'T GO IF YOU ARE DISABLED, THEY WILL NOT MAKE ACCOMIDATIONS FOR PERSONS REQUIRING A TABLE INSTEAD OF A BOOTH.\r \r I recently visited Monti's on September 29th at 3:30pm. I went with a friend whom is too big to sit in a booth. He has handicap plates on his vehicle and is on disability. We requested a table instead of a booth. We were escorted by the hostess to the middle of the dining room which was 3/4 full of patrons. Then we are told in front of a room full of onlookers that no tables are available. Keep in mind that a room full of tables was available 6 feet away. They just didn't want to open the section to make an accommodation for an overweight person. \r I know that the first rebuttal Monti's may make is that it is my friend's fault for being too fat. That is absolutely correct. If he was thinner he would be able to sit in a booth.\r Where Monti's is dead wrong is to humiliate a customer in front of a room full of onlookers and to be so inconsiderate as to not just sit us in the adjoining section. Rather we were turned away from the restaurant in a degrading manner by the Monti's staff. \r Make sure if you go nobody in your party is over 250lbs or disabled because tables are not available. Cons: Horrible insulting service more

Even with reservation long wait.\r Tables are sticky and not wiped down. Long time to recieve bread, waiter explained he was waiting for a fresh batch to come out of the oven, but when it finally came it was cold. At least we think that was what he said. Hispanic speaking staff only. Too dark to read menu but that hides the filth. Vulgar obscene t-shirts for sale in the lobby. Not fit for children to read while waiting\r Prime rib was tough and flavorless.\r Butter tasted sour.\r Will not be returning Pros: historic value only Cons: dirty looking, dirty feeling, fast food could do it better more

3 of us had the 12oz. NY Strip Steak. Cooked to perfection. All agreed, as good as any steak (and better than most) we've had in the 2 years we've been in AZ. Moist, tasty, melt in your mouth delicious. Ditto for the casa burger had by the 4th member of our party. Entrees come with salad, potato, and vegetable, and a bountiful basket of delectable Roman Bread. Very good value for the price; $19 for the steak, and $10 for the burger. Staff was very friendly, and the service was exemplary. Kudos to Jose R., our server, and whomever his ""bus person"" was, who came around frequently to fill iced tea and water glasses. Definitely will be back! more

Great place for happy hour but I don't think I would return for dinner. I hosted a large party for dinner here last week (25 people). We tried a large cross section of the menu and I have to say that the quality of the food was very random. The foccacia served with dinner was good, the sirloin tips with wine sauce was not. The fried appetizer platter was very average, chicken wings were pretty standard, the green beens were awful, the mashed potatoes were good. \r You won't find anything extraordinary on the menu here just straight forward steaks & seafood. I think they could do a little better developing some consistant quality regarding what what they serve. \r Again, probably a good place to watch the game over some cold ones, but not where you should take a first date. more

I have dined at sevral steakhouses in the region including OceanClub, CityHall, Frashers, Durant's, and this has been the best for the price. It was succulent and cooked to perfection. Plus, without the unprententious digs of the others, it's comfortable and quaint. I loved it! Pros: steak more

Great food at a great price. I had the King cut Prime Rib. It was very tasty and at 19.99 it was a steal. We were seated promptly and the Service was out standing. It's a must visit if your in the Phoenix area. Pros: Great steak, Ample parking, Great service more

My friends and I come out to the Phoenix area every year for Spring Training Baseball and out of the two nights we're in the town one night is dedicated to Monti's. It's very unpretencious, perhaps self depricating, that's probably why some don't like it here. I could go to Flemings or Mortons in the LA area but while out here, Monti's is the place for me. Pros: Great steaks Cons: It's not in LA more

I puchased the $40 ""2 dinners and a movie"" meal. My wife and I both got the Top Sirloin (her 7 oz and me 11oz), which comes with some string beans side and a baked potato along with the complementary plate of their ""Roman Bread"". The steaks were par at best...my wife actually had unchewable pieces in hers. The potatoes were smaller than we would have expectedt. The string bean side was acceptable. The salad was unremarkable. The Roman Bread was very good and probably the highlite of the whole meal. Our waiter Danny was acceptable. Granted, this was our first visit to the restuarant, but I cannot image going back again. I would have loved to stay and read all the historical stuff on Carl Hayden, but the movie awaited us, which was the saving grace for me on what I thought would be a romantic dinner. Pros: Nostalgic Cons: Food more

My husband and I went to Monti's and watched people sit down after us, order after us, and receive THEIR FOOD BEFORE us. We got excuse after excuse and NO FOOD, even though we put our order in way before the other party!!! We walked out in disgust! Believe us, WE will never attempt to eat at this resturant again!!! Thanks but NO Thanks. more

I was so impressed with the warm hospitality and comfortable atmosphere at Monti's. It was family friendly and even had options for the vegetarian. I highly recommend this restaurant for anyone who is looking for great food and great service! Pros: inexpensive, good parking, vegetarian options more

Monti's is a terrific independently-owned restaurant. The selection on the menu is great and the prices are even better. Everything is included with your meal - salad, famous Roman Bread, baked potato with all the fixings! No ala carte prices on the basics here. Pros: Parking, Kids Menu, Terrific Selection more