Cafe Monte French Bakery and Bistro — Restaurant in Charlotte

First time here for my wife and I. Went there for her birthday, her meal was great but I definitely got the short end of the stick. Drinks an appetizers were good but my steak was terrible,6 big tough pieces (didn’t know that till the next day as I took it home so we could make actual Béarnaise sauce). I asked the waitress when she set it down if that was Béarnaise sauce because it was the color of mayonnaise. She assured me it was. I am not exaggerating,it had ZERO taste. There were 4 of us there and everyone tried a dab of it with the same conclusion (it was terrible). The waitress saw I wasn’t eating it and asked me if everything was okay, so I said she should tell the kitchen that the Béarnaise sauce was not right (wife thought it had no tarragon). Of course I was stuck with it all over my steak and asparagus. There was zero offer to correct it in anyway, never saw a manager,it was just like grease so I left my card with the bill and went to wash up, there were several pieces of dropped food on the floor to the bathroom I walked around and after I washed my hands the towel dispenser was empty with the stainless front door hanging wide open and the trash overflowing. Someone had come in and plopped down two huge rolls of paper towels on a corner table that you could wrestle some strips off of (could see previous people’s wet finger marks soaked into it where they were gripping it…..siiiigh). Then the coup de grâce was my wife telling me I needed a new debit card,in fairness it occasionally was hard to scan but was not folded,cracked etc They had literally broken one end completely shoving it in their machine and folded it over swiping it. It literally is in 2 pieces now and bent the other direction. We spent over $250 there for the four of us and I was totally disappointed. My wife made Béarnaise sauce for my steak today but the steak was so chewy and had considerable fat to the point I threw it away at that point. In fairness everyone else’s meal was fine & the desserts they got on the way out (I was out warming the car,just wanted to get OUT of there at that point) were very good. I guess just don’t go with me and your meal...

This was such a disappointment. Having just come back from Paris, I booked a table at Cafe Monte for my husband's birthday, hoping to recreate one of our favorite dinners out in France.

When we arrived the restaurant wasn't very busy, but it took 10 minutes for our server to even greet us. We ordered a bottle of wine and he disappeared for another 10 minutes.

We had to ask a table runner for silverware. We had to ask a table runner for steak knives when our dishes were dropped off without them. I had to get up and go to the bar to pay our check because while our waiter took the order from the table of 6 right next to us, he ignored the folio with my card in it and left quickly. He continued to not even glance in our direction the other two times he was at tables nearby.

We were ignored often and thoroughly. If this is how they treat a customer with a reservation and a note that it was for a birthday, I'd hate to show up cold.

The food was also a miss. Not enough sauce in the boeuf bourgignone and the Bearnaise with my steak frites was flavorless. The fries were hot, at least.

It took us an hour and a half for one course and a dessert. Meanwhile tables sat around us came and went without having to ask for silverware, knives or decent service.

Apparently, if I want decent French foood and good service, I'll just have to buy another ticket back to France. The irony? The amazing meal that we had in Paris, same dishes (boeuf bourgignone and steak frites), a bottle of wine and dessert, cost €74, all in, no additional costs for tax or an expectation of a 20% tip on top of the menu prices. Last night's disappointment for the exact same dishes cost $124, before tax and tip. I'm comparison, coming to Cafe Monte just felt like...

We were promptly seated for my friends birthday dinner but service was very lacking. Maybe our waitress was really trying to channel a French waiting experience with us because we were left alone for too long. Started off with escargot which were cooked well except they needed a pinch of salt (amazing afterwards); artichoke hearts that were bland and disappointing and the burratta with prosciutto and asparagus which was a taste bud satisfying appetizer. Our waitress checked in us during appetizer time but quickly walked away, to which I flagged her down to take our dinner orders. She also didn’t clear any flatware or cutlery so thing piled up and we didn’t have room once dinner came… and we ended up having to ask to take more items away before desert arrived. We all tried each others meals and in order of preference (from all of us) it was trout, following by duck confit and lobster and crab crepe. The trout was delicious, light and paired very well with its side dishes. The duck was also delicious but was a very heavy meal. The lobster and crab crepe just felt wrong. There was a lot of crepe and tomato, and very little crab and lobster… our friend was very disappointed as it was highly recommended. We finished off with beignets which were warm and incredibly delicious. The bartenders were nice and assisted in picking out a bottle of wine, and later bagging it for us as we were walking out. Restroom was clean and easy to get to, nor did we have to wait for it.

Brunches have been great but our dinner experience wasn’t the best. Because I like the establishment I’ll give dinner one more try...