Monks on the Commons — Restaurant in City of Ithaca

This review is about the bartender at Monk’s, Orlando, who was rude to the bride after her own wedding.

The majority of our wedding guests stayed at this hotel. While the stay was fine, we had a really bad experience when we arrived back at the hotel around 11:30 pm. We were told we could continue the party at the hotel bar at Monk’s, however the bartender, Orlando, refused to serve one person and one person only, the bride! He said that she was visibly intoxicated, which she most certainly was not - evidenced by us all continuing across the street for the next few hours and getting home safe and sound. We are in our late 30’s, not college kids.

We all tried to tell him calmly that what he might have thought was slurred speech was actually a foreign accent, but he refused to engage and was rude to the woman who was standing there in her wedding dress. No apology, no kindness, just a snarky look as he flexed his power to refuse service to the person who deserved all of those things on that day.

The rest of the patrons, including an off-duty Monk’s bartender, followed us across the street and brought their business to another bar. They even told us that this particular bartender has a history of picking on one guest and refusing them service. I understand looking out for people’s safety, but to do so to a bride on her wedding night because she has an accent, and refusing to change his mind because of his pride is just unacceptable. We let the hotel know and they said somebody would be reaching out to apologize. That never happened. Very disappointed in the Marriott.

If you get a drink at Monk’s, and it wasn’t your first, or you speak with a foreign accent, make sure to avoid Orlando as your bartender, or else you may be disrespected publicly. p.s. I highly suggest the Ithaca Ale House right across the street. The...

Mixed results on dinner. Service was very slow, even though it didn't appear to be a lot of diners. However, to be fair, there didn't seem to be much wait staff on hand. My burger was actually quite good, although more accurately medium rare instead of the requested medium, however, I actually prefer medium rare just never order it that way because I know many restaurants undercook their meat. The big disappointment, though, were the fries. I paid the extra to sub in duck fat fries, and was so looking forward to some hot, crispy, tasty fries. What I got were limp, greasy, largely undercooked, and more lukewarm than hot. Having been in the food service business for more than 20 years, I am quite sure that these fries, after not being left in the fryer long enough to begin with, had been sitting for a long time under a heat lamp in the kitchen. A drop back into the oil for a quick second fry would have done wonders for them, and it's not like there seemed to be any hurry to get our food to us anyway. To top it off, when my card was run for payment, they somehow charged me for some other diner's dinner--which of course was more expensive than mine! Took a long time before I spotted someone working there--my waitress was nowhere to be seen once she'd taken our payment--to point out the error and get it corrected. Really, the only reason my friends and I had dinner there was because it was a fundraiser night for a local theater, with half the dinner proceeds going to the theater. It's not a place I'd otherwise go to, especially with so many far better...

Great bar selection! So, Monks is a hotel restaurant / bar, but don't let that turn you off from it. It kept me away for far too long. Not sure how 'affiliated' it is, but you do notice the physical relationship.

First things first; there's actually a great alcohol selection and if you're thirsty, it worth the stop to tip a couple alone. Nice tap selections, but an the surprising star is their extensive liquor selection, and not just the cheap options. One of the few places in Ithaca with a rum selection. Also worth the mention is the extensive whisky and bourbon options.

The friendliness of the bartenders got me to take a look at their menu, it's simple and could be called 'small' (but I'd much rather a place do a few things well than throw 100 ok options). I've 'interacted' with a few staff members there and they have all been super friendly and responsive.

So far I've only had the burger (it's very good and I'm not sure I'm ready to stray yet). A thick juicy pattie (I think I've seen smash on the menu, but this was a standard thick one). I added bacon and it topped perfectly. A little pricey for the total ($22), but it was cooked and seasoned perfectly and it's only a little above average priced here. The burger itself was $18 and the bacon another $4. I wish there was more than two stips for that.

TLDR; Great bar, very good food, friendly staff, but with a boring / steril atmosphere.

There are a lot of great bars and burgers in Ithaca and I will definitely be back. I tend to eat a couple burgers a week and Monks will make it into...