Montefiore Cafe & Restaurant

We enjoyed our first visit here even after reading all the reviews! Service was fantastic, food was nice and hot and tasted great to top it off! Wife got the cheesy crepes and I had the penne pasta. We shared a French onion soup. Loved it! We will be back!

Avoid — Bad service.
Service was horrible. We were served by an asian lady, did not get her name. She kept disappearing, I had to go up and ask for service 4 times.
Manager was sitting at the table in back of us and was not paying attention to what was going on.
The food was actually not bad at all. We ordered panini’s, I’d give the food 4 stars but the service ruined it for us. There was another waitress who seemed like she knew what she was doing and when our server disappeared we asked her for our bill and a smoothie and got to us quickly.
IF we had her and the food it would have been a pretty decent experience.
The asian lady needs to go.

If anyone wants to visit this café I think you should read the reviews… and pay close attention.
Service was poor. I think the reason they add an 18% gratuity is because they would be earning MUCH less based on the level of service. As I was sitting at the table I was reading the reviews – which I sure wished I would have done earlier.
I had the Greek pizza which was overpowered with garlic & tons of cheese. Can’t recommend. My son had the avocado salmon burger. Definitely from the freezer. My plate was served first then 15 minutes later his came but we could see the cook put them out on the counter at the same time! No one refilled our glasses of water and no one checked to see how our food was.
Too many nice places to eat in Miami Beach-don’t waste your time on this place.

Avoid this place!
They charge automatic 18 percent gratuity for any table size and call it «restaurant policy.»
The food selection is shameful for a kosher restaurant. They call themselves kosher but in reality are incapable of providing a full range of kosher foods. Don’t expect any cured meats here.
Terrible and extremely slow service. The waiter basically ignored us. He brought us the wrong side dish. He forgot to give the salad dressing to a table next to us as well.

I love this place, keep coming back! The food’s great, the ambiance is so pleasant and comfortable! The staff is really nice! Try their yogurt cake, irresistible!!!

At first you go in your impressed w the design of its simple but clean décor. Once the appears its down hill from there. The server looked so not interested in hosting. Once you think beyond the sour look if this person they brought out bread to the table. Frozen, hard rock buns. Once I told server not an apology but a dirty look and sweeps the gasket of the table. He brought it back burnt along w our order. I can say worst bagels ever. Cream cheese had not an ounce of flavor or texture. I’m disappointed and discussed that I had to subject my kids to that !!!

Have been here before. This is a hit and miss kind of place and it missed for me. Went for birthday lunch with father 91 mother and sister.
The waitress seemed confused about menu and specials. They brought out three entrees and forgot about fourth until reminded. The whole table ate theirs and then mine finally came. my sister had ordered the same fish and chips. There was a lot of fried dough but not that much fish. I had mentioned and they gave more.
It’s a shame that kosher restaurants feel they don’t have to cater to the customers satisfaction since they have a captive audience. The owner or lack of it seems not to the address the customers as to their satisfsction.
I’ve seen this many times it is not about the short run but the long term if they want to be there in the future. As far as I’m concerned I won’t be returning.

Ate here twice in our 5 day stay in Miami. Food was quite good. Serivce was quick and professional. Awesome smoothies and good quality food with good presentation. The only thing they could improve on is the home fries (which are baby potatoes cut in quarters or halves). They need to be a little more soft. Some had distinct crunch to them which is the last thing you want when biting into a potato. Otherwise it was a lovely experience.

FRAUD ALERT!
Here’s an update to my review below…
Someone at this restaurant stole my credit card number and used it at the CVS down the street because I got an urgent FRAUD ALERT call from Citibank about the charge today! That restaurant was the ONLY place I used my card in Dade County in the past 3 days. Therefore one of their employees IS the thief!!! DO NOT DINE OR USE A CREDIT CARD AT THIS RESTAURANT!!! GET OUT OF THERE!
My earlier review…
Very upsetting that this place puts an automatic gratuity of 18% on every order! I had one glass of wine st $ 9. When the girl brought my check I told her that they cannot put the tip for me and that a tip is at the customer’s discretion. She told me it was their policy and they cant change the cash register. She was Russian and didnt seem to understand why I was refusing this. I crossed off the tip and wrote in my own. I thought I was bring generous at 15% because pouring one wine and walking 8 feet to the table is only worth a bartender tip of 10%!! Anyway when they came back with my credit card they handed me 12 cents! They charged my card the 18% tip.
This automatic tip charging has been written about extensively since the IRS changed a ruling in 2012. The employers were caught not paying tax on part of the sales and we giving their workers less in gratuities. Since the new ruling most restaurants have quit this bad practice because they will now be taxed on all of it and fined by the IRS if caught!
Unfortunately this restaurant owner is a goniff (thief) and unethical to customers. Yes I got my 12 cents over tip back, but think of all the other customers not allowed to decide for themselves if the service was good, bad, or indifferent! What happened to our freedom & rights in this little part of America. BTW I had worked on 41^st in Miami Beach for 16 years and I’m a native Miamian. I have not seen this practice at all where I now live (Ft. Lauderdale). Needless to say, I’m not coming back to this over-​priced Kosher Italian hole-​in-​the wall!

Good food and service. Liked the relaxed ambiance. Prices were very reasonable and the bathroom and restaurant are very clean.

I’ve been going to Montefiore for years and it really has exceptional potential. Recently, it has lost points for food consistency (90% of the time it’s great, sometimes I wonder whether the chef is off duty). As for service quality, Montefiore never had any points to lose.
Last week I had an unusual experience that I hope the owner will consider seriously.
Four of us arrived and the restaurant was empty.
Episode 1: The Order
Within 10 minutes, three different waitresses asked us for our order 1 – 2 times each. One waitress took the order from one of us, and another waitress came back again to take orders from the remaining three of us. Unsurprisingly, the third waitress came back with the food and had no idea what she was delivering and to whom it was to be delivered. Waitress: «Who got pasta?» Me: «three of us ordered pastas.» W: «I don’t know whose this is.» M: «Someone should ask the chef what it is.» W: «Yeah, I guess.» M: «Well, should I do it or will you do it.» W: «I guess you can ask the chef.» — She wasn’t being rude, just incompetent!
Episode 2: Burgers and Dip
One of us ordered the soup of the day and a burger. Burger arrives. He asks to cancel the soup. Waitress says «no. It can’t be cancelled.» Patron: «Should I dip the burger in the soup?» Waitress: «Yes.» She also brought bread for $ 2.
Episode 3: Do It Yourself, Bud
Order: Gnocchi Alfredo. The gnocchi arrives. That’s right, just a bowl of boiled potato dumplings. Sometime later, a cup of alfredo sauce arrives. Do it yourself, bud.
Episode 4: Into the Distance; The Blind Lead the Blind
While we were eating, someone came to clean the table. She put garbage from a nearby table on our table to free her hands and then cleaned it all off.
All three waitresses told us it was their first night. Three first timers 1 person with 3 night’s experience (not that that’d be much better).
Some Parting Words
I love your restaurant. I went there every day last summer. I’ll pay you a dollar more per item to hire some waiters, someone for quality control, run this place like you used to (with great food), and start making investments (in decent service).

I decided to try someplace new for breakfast. This little kosher restaurant was packed so I thought I would give it a try. The server was friendly and attentive. The restaurant was clean. The bagel tasted as if it might have been frozen. They ran out of home style breakfast potatoes so they sent me French fries. They also appeared to be the commercial frozen type. Based something on the two things I ordered I probably won’t go back.

The food is delicious and I want to give them 5 stars but they left a very bad taste in our mouth. I ordered an «iced coffee» and they charged us the same price as a latte. What made me mad was they didn’t give free refills on the coffee. But if you ordered hot coffee you get refills. What put icing on the cake is the owner started arguing with me about how he has to pay rent and employees, etc. Not one restaurant in this country, kosher or non-​kosher charges patrons for refills on coffee. Not even the 5 star hotel I am staying at. Another example of a kosher establishment thinking they are in Israel and don’t have to practice normal customer service practices

Found this place by accident, my waiter was very helpful. i had the house salmon burger… delicious! Came with Jalapeño mayo and the bread… the bread! It’s a kosher joint so it’s challah bread. Phenomenal. Will come back for sure!

I come to this place 3 or 4 times by week because I work close to this place. My favorite is mr avocado. I order pizza Alfredo too because I love this sauce and this pizza is famous. This place has some table outside and you can enjoy the beautiful weather. Staff is very active and smiling. I am totally addict to this place.

Service was superb. Food was excellent. Enjoyable. Great décor. Large menu. Want to go again very soon.

Cute and non-​touristy little Miami café where we enjoyed coffee, croissants and omelettes. Friendly but unobtrusive waitstaff and a nice outside patio for enjoying the weather. For Miami, prices are reasonable.

It was a long day. Driving back from yonder, we took Arthur Godfrey to return to Miami Beach. We weren’t hungry, but we were sort of peckish if you understand. We spotted this place on a side street — a miracle as I’m practically blind. It’s cute and unassuming. It’s quaint. It’s charming. And it’s kosher.
At first glance, it reminded me of a bakery. That is until I got an eyeful of the extensive menu with intriguing dishes. Suddenly, peckishness morphed into ravenous hunger. So we started with golden zucchini. It wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst either. The personal pizza, however, was to die for. To Die For.
We chose to share a Margarita pizza. God’s truth, it wasn’t enough (this is what happens when you claim to be peckish when you’re not). More to the point, I don’t even like pizza that much. OMG! I like this pizza, let me tell you so much so that for a moment I considered ordering another one. I didn’t so as not to look like a slathering pig.
The next best thing was our waiter, Amit. He was as a human wait staffer should be. Personable. Engaging. Relaxed. Knowledgeable. Accessible but with nary a harassing bone in sight. Personally, I think he should start a consulting service called How To Be A Human for wait staff in Miami.
The prices are Miami Beach-​moderate, perhaps on the high end of reasonable. You have a choice to dine in or outdoors, and they serve beer and wine. It’s a quiet and relaxing café setting and perfect for uninterrupted conversations (remember those things), but if you’re in the mood for people-​watching or loud background music, this isn’t the place to do it.
Peckish or not, I’ll be certain to visit again.

I like this spot! Cute and tasty.
I visited this morning after an appointment. There are several restaurants on some of those side streets off 41^st Street and so far I’ve had great luck. Today was also good. I knew two things — I wanted to sit outside and I wanted oatmeal. Mission accomplished. When I saw that the awning read, «breakfast», and I saw outdoor seats, I could taste my yummy oatmeal before I parked. The cashier/​server was super friendly and great with my picky self. I needed to be sure that I could have my oatmeal with water, not milk. She answered, «sure, no problem!». I sat outside and enjoyed my yummy oatmeal at a comfortable table. The men next to me ordered some kind of breakfast special… at least I think that’s what I heard with my nosy self. Hey-​I wanted to be sure my review was accurate! Anyway, their omelettes looked amazing, The menu is varied; wraps, paninis, salads, pizza… and the prices are really reasonable.
I’ll be back by weekend to try something else. Stay tuned.