The Market at the Tap — Restaurant in Monticello

This place has the potential to be awesome, but that awesomeness missed the mark on our first visit. It’s the little things that just kept adding up. I’d like to give them a 3.5 if I could.

Our server was great! Five star all the way. Friendly, knowledgeable, attentive, and vibrant. The restaurant atmosphere playing off a speakeasy vibe is well done and the low light honky tonk bar side with band stand and pool table took me back to fond memories of misspent days of my Midwest youth.

We were there for the Friday/Saturday dinner menu so this review doesn’t consider the regular weekly menu that gets a lot of rave reviews.

Dinner could have been a winner, but as I said, the little things…. I started with a classic Gin Ricky cocktail and my wife an Old Fashioned. Hers was excellent, but my Ricky was flat. No effervescence at all. Yesterday’s seltzer? Didn’t clear the gun? I switched to a very dry Grey Goose martini, up, with an olive. I got a very dirty martini. Did the order get mis translated by the server, or does the ‘with an olive’ mean make it dirty, I don’t know? Our appetizer order of calamari presented well, but was cold in the center. Sent back and replaced with a proper serving.

My wife’s entree game hen was roast to perfection and presented beautifully, but her side of yams was luke warm, As were my smashed potatoes. I ordered a medium rare beef filet. The meat quality was some of the best I’ve had in a long time. The farm to table commitment of the Market really works. My medium rare was definitely very rare with a cool red center, but the outstanding quality of the meat carried the day. The red wine gravy needed a bit more reduction to take away the bitter edge of the wine and emerge with the rich robust and savory classic they were going for. (I’ve made that same mistake all too often in my own kitchen) I’d love to have this meal again with just a bit more center heat and a hotter grill that increases the surface sear. Let’s call dinner close, but no cigar.

After dinner we sat on the bar side for live music and a couple more drinks. Love the atmosphere, especially the vintage old kinetic PBR marketing pieces in motion over the bar. I usually like a surly bartender, and maybe it’s just his game or it was a really bad day, but the bartender didn’t seem happy at all. Never good to shout back at a server: ‘don’t ask me, no one ever tells me what’s going on.” Bad juju.

All the above aside, The Market is definitely worth the visit, a great asset to the community, and a potential farm to table winner. I’m looking forward to giving...

We were visiting from out of town and decided to try this place as it was one of the few options in town. The food itself was okay—nothing special, but fine for a casual night out. Unfortunately, the experience was soured by poor customer service and how a simple issue was handled.

My 13-year-old son wanted mac and cheese, but the only version listed on the menu was a $30 lobster mac and cheese, described as mac and cheese with a 5oz lobster tail. We asked if he could get just plain mac and cheese instead, and the waiter said yes—no problem—and even asked if the kids wanted any “protein on it.” My son declined, but his friend added chicken. My wife also ordered the mac and cheese as a side.

When dinner came, both kids were served large bowls of plain mac and cheese—no different from my wife’s $5 side, except for portion size. Then we got the bill: $30 each for the kids’ plain mac and cheese, totaling $60, plus the $5 for the side. Thinking it was an error, I politely asked the waiter about it.

To our surprise, he became defensive and insisted the kids had simply ordered the lobster mac without lobster. I pointed out that the lobster seemed to be the only thing justifying the $30 price, and that a more reasonable approach would have been to simply offer the $5 side as a main. He left to “talk to a manager” and returned offering only a $5 total discount. When I pushed further, he said the manager (who turned out to be the chef) was too busy to come out—even though the place wasn’t busy.

The chef’s message? That “if you go to McDonald’s and ask for a Big Mac without pickles, you still pay the same.” Not exactly the standard I’d hope for at a sit-down restaurant. My father-in-law, who had planned to return for breakfast the next morning, said we’d changed our minds—and the waiter replied, “It’s probably better that way.”

We weren’t rude or confrontational—just hoping for a reasonable conversation and some understanding. Instead, we were met with dismissiveness and a bizarre comparison to fast food.

In summary: a small-town restaurant that overcharges out-of-towners, refuses to listen to basic customer concerns, and makes no effort to turn a disappointing situation around. We didn’t expect a free meal—just...

Title: Disappointed by Hidden Fees and Low-Quality Food

I recently dined at Market at the Tap and was quite disappointed to discover that they pass along credit card fees to the customer. This outdated business practice not only felt unfair but also goes against the Mastercard merchant processor agreement.

For example, when I paid for my meal, I noticed an additional fee on my bill labeled as a "credit card processing fee." This unexpected charge added a few extra dollars to my total, which was frustrating. In today's market, most businesses absorb these fees as a cost of doing business, understanding that it's a necessary part of providing customer convenience.

According to the Mastercard merchant processor agreement, merchants are not allowed to pass credit card processing fees directly to the customer. By doing so, Market at the Tap is not only inconveniencing their patrons but also potentially violating their agreement with Mastercard.

Additionally, the quality of the food was quite disappointing. The meal included Bush's canned baked beans, ketchup served as BBQ sauce (KC Masterpiece would have been preferable), oil-soaked cornbread (half a muffin), and mustard and pepper-based coleslaw. The overall quality was comparable to what one might find at a local gas station, but at a much higher price point.

These unexpected fees and the subpar food left a sour taste in my mouth. It's disappointing to see a business choose to shift their operational costs onto their customers rather than finding ways to absorb these expenses. In an era where customer experience is paramount, such practices can significantly detract from the overall dining experience.

I hope Market at the Tap reconsiders this policy and aligns with industry standards for the sake of their customers' satisfaction. Until then, I might think twice before dining there again, knowing that my payment method could lead to unnecessary...