Montlake Cut — Restaurant in Dallas

Alright, I came here with my family and we ordered like a third of the entire menu so here's my informed review.

First, the vibe: whoever designed this place really nailed the Pacific Northwest / Seattle atmosphere. This restaurant manages to feel both divey and high end at the same time. It's a unique experience that offers something different in the middle of stuffy, affluent University Park. The biggest thing that throws off the illusion of being someplace else is the crowd here, which does reflect the surrounding neighborhood: old, white, conservative. Which brings me to...

The service: Most of the staff are on the younger and inexperienced side, and they didn't seem to handle reservations very well. Despite having made one, we still waited at least half an hour before we were seated. I also stood at the bar for close to 10 minutes before I was noticed. Being the only group of nonwhite people in the entire restaurant, something I definitely noticed was the relatively poor service.

Lastly but importantly, the food: The oysters are by far the best offering this restaurant had to offer, and yet they don't have a physical menu of their oyster selection to look at. Any place that takes oysters seriously would have at the very least, a chalkboard. The server had to recite them from memory a couple times. Just show me a damn menu!!

Also, a Pacific Northwest themed restaurant but no actual West Coast oysters? Lol...

Their halibut was slightly overcooked, but tasted fresh. Their mussels were nothing to write home about, and some of them were dead. Their ceviche shouldn't be called ceviche as it had almost no lime juice and it was more like a fish tartare. It was still fresh, though. Their hamachi (yellowtail) was fresh and tasted good, but I've had better elsewhere. Their crab fried rice was flavorful and I'd recommend it. All in all, I wouldn't come back here for anything except the oysters.

And their drinks are well made, I would recommend the rum old fashioned. Their beer selection is absolutely paltry though considering the size of their bar. They have almost nothing on tap. If you don't care and you like wine with your seafood instead, you won't complain as they have an entire wine cellar attached to the restaurant.

Summary: this place is a unique and aesthetically pleasing spot for folks who like that Pacific Northwest type of vibe. It offers good oysters, though apparently not from the West Coast. It's "an experience" if you have time to spare and are going for something special and social. However, don't expect good service or a large...

We had an absolutely horrible experience at Montlake Cut, and I would never recommend this place to anyone.

The biggest issue was our waitress, Cheryll Lynn, who was beyond rude and completely lacking in professionalism. From the moment we sat down, she made it clear we were an inconvenience. She rushed us through every step of the meal, didn’t bother asking any questions about our preferences, and displayed zero personality. The most egregious moment was when she literally threw a bucket of Swedish fish across the table at us along with our check in a tiny metal bucket that skipped across the table—something I’ve never experienced in any dining establishment. To make matters worse, she picked up our checks before we had finished our drinks and food, leaving our entire party feeling rushed and disrespected.

As for the food, it was mediocre at best. The Ahi Poke bowl was especially terrible—the rice was undercooked and crunchy, and it tasted like someone had drizzled warm beef reduction over the top (why?!). On top of that, the dish was served at room temperature, which was highly unappetizing. Without us even saying a word about it, Cheryll Lynn just took it away without asking how it was, adding to the growing list of service failures.

The only redeeming item was the salmon taco special, which was well-seasoned, properly cooked, and flavorful. However, one decent dish is not enough to justify the overall disaster of this dining experience.

Our entire party left appalled by the service and lack of care. For the high prices Montlake Cut charges, I expected much better food and service. I’ll be going out of my way to warn friends and family to avoid this place. There is simply no excuse for what we experienced when the bill was...

I was between a 2.5-3 star review. Before I get into the negatives, I would like to state that the service at Montlake Cut was impeccable. The two hostesses were quite affable and our server was great. If I was reviewing service alone, the restaurant would receive 4.5-5 stars.

My primary reasons for rating the restaurant as I am is the price and the food. Price alone never warrants a bad ranting with me. A big price tag for great food is perfectly fine with me. But paying substantial amounts of money for low quality food is quite the bummer.

My fiancée and I ordered two appetizers-the yellow tail and the calamari, and for our main course ordered the Milanese and the halibut and ordered side dishes of mashed potatoes and asparagus. They bring out goldfish (instead of bread, etc.) for an appetizer. I would definitely ditch the goldfish as an appetizer at a restaurant that is supposed to be nicer. It is not fashionable but rather kitsch.

The yellow tail was decent but the sauce it came it was both too rich and unoriginal. It tasted like a cheap syrup. The calamari was decent, but nothing I haven't experienced at restaurants that are half as expensive. The biggest let downs were the main courses. The halibut was incredibly small and overcooked. The Milanese lacked flavor. The mashed potatoes tasted like thy came out of the box. The asparagus was about the only part of the main course that was decent.

I would much rather have spent the $150+ we spent at Montlake Cut and some of the other restaurants in town. Again--great service (keep it up) but the food itself needs...