Montana’s BBQ & Bar — Restaurant in Edmonton

Haven't been to Montana's in years but our twin boys wanted to have their birthday dinner there last night 9-22-25. Had to call for a reservation the day before because the opentable app was useless and I might as well delete it. Our table was ready when we arrived and our server was friendly, responsive as you would expect one to be really anywhere, it was not particularly busy as it was a Monday night but there were a few people there for wings. I wanted wings too but was surprised and disappointed to find out that all of them are coated with flour so not GF. The pork nachos were terrible, very little cheese or pork, some of the pork wasn't even edible so it might as well be removed from the menu as $25 is way too much for this dish. We waited a reasonable amount of time for the food to come out as there were nine of us, the ribs were awesome as usual but somehow my fries came out cold and the coleslaw was not good, almost like there was no dressing on it. Cold fries are way more disappointing than they should be and really should not happen. The portions are decent for the price such as the fish and chips, however I think the ribs are still too expensive. Last week I signed my kids up for the birthday thing which includes a free kids meal but our server was not entirely versed in as she said (without checking for sure) that only one kid can get that and we were like well we have twins and she said well you had to sign up twice. I checked the app while she went to get drinks and you can not sign up twice you just add however many kids you have and put in their birthdays, which she should have known. The kids meals are reasonably priced compared to other places and the portions are pretty good. Lastly, we spent $250 for 9 people which is around what we thought it would be but getting 74 scene for a bill that size is pretty disappointing so not sure if we will be back...

I believe it was an off night for our server. All of her tables in our section received regular attention and follow up. Us, zip. After she took our order I had to ask someone to bring her to our table to ask a question, this was before our meals arrived. After that she never came to our table again. My meal was somewhat tasteless and dry because (it came with a dressing) but there was very little of it. I needed a couple of tbsp more and it would have brought the dish from a 2 to a 10. I didn't feel that I should have to keep interrupting other servers to get them to bring her to me so I never got the situation resolved until I finally got a manager. But by then I was full and very disappointed. If our server had come to our table an at least apologized she could have turned the night around but no. The manager exceeded my expectations with her remedies but still no server. She never brought us our bill, the manager did, but she did finally come to make change for us (as I believe she was instructed to). Still did not acknowledge what happened. My daughter was with me and she is a server herself. Part-time, going to school so for her, tips go a long way and she is always fearful the I wont tip enough. She asked me if she could leave the tip and she left $2.15 on a meal that should have been at least $13.00. Only so that the server wouldn't lose money when she had to tip out the kitchen.

Will I go back...yes. I will give it another try because everything else was great or would have been. Like I said, I just hope it was an off...

We had a nice Friday dinner but I felt nickel and dimed. The 23 ounce mug that used to be $8.99 is now $10.49. 16.6% increase. I ordered and it came with 2 fingers of foam. Ordered smaller size next . 2 fingers of foam. I asked server why so much foam and she said they have to serve 2 FINGERS of foam. Policy! So they are stealing! Sell 23 ounces. Deliver 21ish ounces. So another 6.5%. Now up 23%. Did u get a 23% raise last year? I didn’t.

So I ordered fajitas. Got 4 cold soft tacos. Needed one more. Got three more and was charged 69 cents. Now the meal increased 3.2%. Math is hard I know. The server took the two leftovers before I could include with my wife’s leftovers that we took home.

Then the bill comes. Electronic guilt prompter suggest 18% tip if things were ok. 20% plus otherwise. On top of the tax. Why do I need to tip the government ? Why do Canadians feel a need to tip servers who make $15 an hour the same % as American servers who make $6 an hour? Not that $15 an hour is a fortune but no one tips the Canadian Tire cashier who makes the same wage ( but doesn’t screw you out of $1.50 of beer foam).

I can buy a nice steak. $25 bottle of wine. Cook at home. Etc. I know running a restaurant is challenging but eating out is becoming a misery. If you need 69 cents for a taco shell or an extra 50 cents for a beer or - this really pisses me off - 75 cents for tobasco sauce (Montana’s doesn’t do this) just charge accordingly. Don’t make...