3Ravens Food&Spirits — Restaurant in Monticello

I want to love 3 Ravens but unfortunately I cant recommend their food. In the past 2 months our family has gone there for lunch/ dinner 4 separate times and each time there has been issues with both very slow service and poor quality of food. Let’s start with the good- wait staff is really friendly! The bar and restaurant are clean and very inviting with plenty of seating. The fried pepper jack cheese curds are hands down some of the best I’ve ever had. So creamy and a perfect amount of kick. I also love their fried green beans and fried jumbo shrimp- (when the shrimp isn’t burnt which happened 3rd visit and we showed the waiter and ask for him to take them back and remove from our ticket as they could not be eaten) both are delicious. Although my daughter did not like her grilled cheese, I tasted it and thought it was very good. Nice thick bread and grilled nicely. Now to the bad. Things tend to be over cooked and dry. In the 4 visits I first had the fresco melt. The burger was dry/burnt and So I had to ask for extra sauce to eat it. Next visit I got the grilled chicken breast with green beans. They gave me broccoli instead and although it wasn’t what I ordered I was glad because the broccoli with the Parmesan was delicious. Unfortunately the chicken breast was over cooked and also dry. My son on 2 occasions ordered the jumbo wings and I think the oil temp is too high as the batter was almost burnt and the meat was dry as well. 3rd visit I got the chicken breast and broccoli again and it was the same as the 2nd visit. Just over cooked. Flavor was nice though just poor execution on the cooking. Today we came for a St.Paddy’s day lunch. My son’s burger was so over cooked he only ate 1/2. My daughter and I both got the corn beef, cabbage and Irish mash potatoes. The Irish mashed potatoes had Great flavor but it was clear they made a big batch and didn’t microwave our portions up enough as they were luke warm at best. The corned beef and cabbage was pretty bland. My daughter found a 2 inch black curly hair in her cabbage which I believe was the chefs hair, as I saw him walk out of the kitchen and he has that type of hair. Gross as it sounds, being a former barber of 18 years the hair didn’t bother me, but it ruined my daughters appetite and she couldn’t continue with her meal. My partner ordered what I think is called “the pot of gold nachos” I’m probably wrong about the name but it is waffle fries loaded with taco meat, cheese, peppers and tomatoes and lettuce. When it came to the table the waffle fries where crisp but cold and the meat with cheese mixture was literally cold like it came from the refrigerator. We let the waiter know and they immediately made a new batch. But again it makes me think they cook ahead and then warm up in the microwave. There is no other reason for the meat mixture to be that cold. I think who ever prepped it forgot to heat it up before sending it out. My partner did like the flavor of the 2nd batch of nachos but only could eat a small amount as there was so much liquid in it, it became soggy and unappetizing. I didn’t want to write a review off of a single bad day. Being the 4th negative experience I feel it’s not a fluke and it’s a chronic issue. I hope 3 Ravens is able to improve the cooking staffs skills and quality of food because I think there is a lot of potential. It’s just missing the...

Local resident review: Sliding downhill for years, this place is kind of a one-trick pony - some nice ambience with inconsistent, mediocre-at-best food topped off by lousy service. We have sworn this place off 3 times before but made the mistake of giving it one more chance on rumor of new ownership. Unfortunately, the core staff hasn't changed much, which means business as usual: staff and management preoccupied with hanging out with friends and regular barflies, and seeming outright inconvenienced to do their jobs (at least for anyone else). So if you like restaurants with menu items that are often unavailable, microwaved food with plastic wrap "in situ", wait staff that ignore you (and who do things like trying to pass off ranch for tartar sauce,) this is your place. We are finally done. There's much better food to be had right around the corner.

In response to owner below: Yes, I have left 4 negative reviews and these are only for businesses where the experience has been bad enough to warrant it. A review is one of the few recourses people have in such a case. Does this somehow affect the legitimacy of my repeated experience at your establishment? A reasonable person might think you'd take this as a sign that there are issues that need improvement at your restaurant, but instead you attempt to discredit my review and spin it into some kind of slam on our community? Sign of the times indeed. No, you can't conflate a negative review of Three Ravens to a critique of Monticello itself, but nice try. So you have instead chosen to try to deflect everything back on the customer... this merely supports the notion that any less-than positive review or complaint won't be taken seriously and that things will not improve. No worries, we won't be back. Using your response as an example, should I also add that a quick Google search yields that you also have other business ventures? Does this lack of accountability extend there as well? One...

Went to Galway and Dublin, Ireland for two weeks once. And while I was there, I wondered hard why such great food can't be found in the States, especially the Midwest.

And then we entered Three Ravens in Monticello, IL. I wasn't expecting much in the lines of a small town pub. But this pub shines in a way that most restaurants never will. While I didnt get the gentleman's name who seemed to be running this place, he runs it in a way that makes you think he knows everyone and everyone there is because they have mad respect for the food, the service, his humor, the ambience... list goes on.

We were given a nice booth after ten minutes of watching a staff of what seemed like two bustle and hustle for the patrons of this restaurant. The music, the lighting - ability to hear one another at our table - was pure bliss. The menu was simple and to the point, yet providing some distinctive Irish dishes that I wasnt expecting to see in a small town food list.

From our group of four, three of us ordered the Fish N Chips. Thought this would be a safe, solid choice. What I wasnt expecting is fish that made me question how "great" the Irish fish entrees I had had in Ireland. I dont recall ever in my life, eating such fine tasting fish, and the breading itself was thick, overflowing in flavor and seasoned perfectly. The fish we got, was huge. You dont get Sea Pack patches of fish sticks here folks... you get the real deal. The seasoned fries we received were a surprise because I had never had such seasoning and everything just complemented each aspect of the meal. The brewed iced tea they gave me (despite not ordering one) was a great welcome mistake and glad they hadnt served me plain ole cheap water. Their tea is as epic as their to-die for fish! Overall the service, the food and experience were second to none. You wont be disappointed at...