Another Ballantyne area restaurant goes out of business as Monty's Seafood Grill serves its last meal. Monty’s was located in Ballantyne Commons filling the space formally occupied by Providence Bistro. The restaurant was open for about a year and a half offering fresh seafood and steaks in a casual dining atmosphere. Despite being in one of the most affluent areas of Charlotte the restaurant simply was not successful. Monty’s is not alone either as several other restaurants in that area have recently shut their doors. The question is whether the closing of Monty’s is a sign of the times, as Charlotte residents continue to cut back, or was there more to play in this restaurants demise. Personally I only dined there once when they first opened. As I recall the meal was underwhelming. Other diners, it appears, share my sentiment. Common complaints were under/over cooked food, bland seasoning, and unresponsive staff. See the quotes below…
…“Once the entrees arrived, we were disappointed again. The vegetables were cold and bland. My friend’s steak, although ordered medium, arrived burnt and tough. The mahi mahi was mediocre and certainly not worth the price. The server could not care less and acted as if he knew the restaurant was going out of business.” …
..“I can not recommend this restaurant. The overpriced food was nothing special and the staff ( from the owners/managers down the servers) was actually quite cold and unfriendly. Maybe they are having some problems.”…
Of course not all patrons had bad experiences. Many, it seems, had rather pleasant experiences at Monty’s. They raved about the atmosphere, live music, outdoor patio, and the food. One reviewer was so pleased that they suggested the negative reviews must be from a disgruntled employee or competing business. See some positive excerpts below…
…“The atmosphere is undisputedly wonderful. It has a classy yet comfortable charm. This is often hard to accomplish.”…
…“It is enough to say the food was cooked nearly to perfection.”…
…“As the owner subtly approached our table at the end of the meal we were overwhelmed with the feeling that somebody truly cared about our dining experience”…
With decidedly mixed reviews it is hard to determine what ultimately closed the doors of Monty’s. Was it another victim of our shrinking economy? Did poor service shun away wood be patrons? Perhaps it was the increasing competition from competing restaurants. Likely it is a combination of all of these factors. At least we can look forward to another new restaurant in Ballantyne to take its place.
Have an opinion? Is the closing of Monty’s a great loss to the community or is it good riddance to bad rubbish? What kind of restaurant should take its place? Did I make a typo? Feel free to express yourself below.
Quotes taken from patrons reviews on CitySearch
