Monterey Court

Went for the first time tonight. I gave three stars because the atmosphere was cool. I had a burger and I could have gotten the same one up the street at Rockabilly’s 5 dollars cheaper and two times bigger. The service was disappointing, the waitress was bizarre and the first thing she said «are you sure this is your reserved table? People lie and hide the name». Was she joking? Idk but that is not something you say to a customer. She was busy but kept tending to the same tables, it took me over an hour and a half to get a box for my food and another beer. This place is very over priced and think I will go back. $ 15.00 for a «western burger».

The food choices are great, full bar, family friendly, and an unlimited variety of live music, the majority of which is free!

Love their chocolate stout! Super rich and flavorful.

Great unique place to listen to music, dance, eat and drink. What is nice here is that women can feel comfortable dancing together or even alone. Since I’m a lesbian that swings far with me. I’m a veggie so I choose the portobella burger, the humus or roasted eggplant dishes. The carrot cake is outstanding. Wine, my drink, is $ 6 a glass. A wide variety of local and out of town musicians perform here. The setting is partially outdoors which rocks in Tucson. Heaters can be used in winter and misters cool off in summer. Don’t expect perfect service, but servers work hard. Just stroll around the shops kick back and relax.

I was here a while back so maybe things have changed. One of the best fish taco plates in Tucson, fun shops, bands, and dancing. Cool atmosphere. Don’t let the shady area keep you from checking it out.

Over priced sub par food… will not eat again. My boyfriend and I did not enjoy our meals. I had roasted vegetables and he had the fish tacos and both left much to be desired.

Over priced sub par food… will not eat again. My boyfriend and I did not enjoy our meals. I had roasted vegetables and he had the fish tacos and both left much to be desired. The service is also hit or miss. We had decent service on this particular occasion but the first time we were there the service was almost non existent.
I recommend this place only to listen to music and sink into a dark corner with a drink. If that’s not your MO then do avoid.

If you want the best burger and fries in Tucson, it’s at Monterey Court. Especially those fries! I don’t know how they make those slices of potato taste so heavenly, but the fries alone are enough to keep me going back! I forgot to get a picture, but when I go back I’ll add one to this review!

Great food. Great staff live music shopping at night! No hassle great artistry president excellent management.

Not a negative thing to say–
Friendly service, beautiful patio, entertaining musician, flavorful quality food. We came on a Tuesday which was somewhat quiet — and had a perfect evening. Great wine list and impressive cocktail menu, we’ll definitely return.

Contrary to what many others have experienced, I actually had pretty good service. Caveat: I was there earlyish on a Friday (around 4:30) and it was not busy at all. This also means that I’m really only reviewing the happy hour menu and bar experience — I left before the live music started. The happy hour food menu is pretty good, all appetizers are $ 6 except for the mussels and crab cakes, which are $ 10 each during happy hour. I decided on the chicken quesadilla, which was quite tasty. They do have a pretty good rotating craft beer selection. I chose to have the Breckenridge Avalanche, a very robust ale.
All this being said, the vibe was a little off — I don’t know if it’s the location, the décor, or what it is. I do want to go back for their live music so that I can include that in an updated review. When I left, the tables in the courtyard were all nicely decorated and they appeared to have most of those tables reserved for the evening.

I love this place! It’s a bright spot on miracle mile with great food and nice atmosphere. They have great drinks as well and I love it when Giant Blue plays in the evenings but I’ve seen lots of good music there as well :) check it out!

Not ready for prime time. Food too slow. Staff does try to do well. Big crowd. Good music.

Went last night for dinner and music — first time. The four of us all had great dinners and drinks. Because we went early, to hear the Mighty Maxwells play from 5 – 7, we were lucky enough to get our drinks and apps at reduced prices. The food was very good, the band was fun, and the ambience and setting were fantastic. We live near, so will be back often! The only small complaint was that the speakers were blasting a little too loudly. We moved from a middle of the under cover table to one in the rear, then watched two more tables do the same. If there is a way to turn down the speakers a little bit, it would be much more pleasant.

I was so pleasantly surprised at how tasty the food is and would recommend to friends.

Good for music and a beer.

A uniquely Tucson experience. It’s a café, bar, and music venue housed in an old motor lodge with funky art stores and galleries lining the walls. The food is great, drinks are great, and the whole place is a lovely slice of bizarre. Monterey Court is a truly awesome, eclectic place to kick back, relax, and enjoy some tasty tunes.

Who doesn’t love the idea of a former Miracle Mile motor court hotel being renovated and repurposed? I can’t fully review Monterey Court since my group was seated in a private meeting room this evening. We spent our time in the «Rhino» room — a former hotel suite that now houses the private collection of an individual who has gathered rhino figurines, paintings, stuffed animals and a few other versions of the odd-​toed ungulates species. All of them for sale should you feel inclined to own one of the horned beasts.
The owner, Kelly greeted us and was very pleasant and seemed genuinely happy that my group was there as she showed us to our meeting space. My biggest issue with our meeting space was that it was uncomfortably hot and by the time we left an hour and a half later, we left sweat marks on the chair seats. Upon my request, Kelly adjusted the air to cool it off in there but it never really cooled down and. Now I know these are old buildings with single pane windows and probably not the best air conditioning system but HELL, it got HOT in there. I’d love to come back and use their funky and interesting meeting rooms but perhaps in the winter or at least once it cools off in Tucson.
Food and drink (at least my order) was nothing to write home about (as I sit here writing about it). I had the quesadilla and it was stuffed with cheese, mushrooms, grilled onions and chicken and served with guac, sour cream (I personally hate when «Mexican» food is served with sour cream) and a meh salsa. Way too many grilled onions in that sucker for me. My drink, the Happy Chata, was an interesting combo of Rumchata, light rum and orange juice. Actually kind of yummy but then again, Rumchata and anything is yummy.
I’ll give Monterey Court another shot and try out the regular restaurant, perhaps when it cools down so I can sit outside and enjoy live music and some more Rumchata.

5 stars for the most unbelievably awkward and poor service I have ever had in a restaurant.
We came with 4 people to sit outside and enjoy the warm weather and the live band. The waitress was out of it. Beyond out of it…
Every time she came to the table she was confused and even before we ordered she kept attempting to take our menus away (like obsessively), even though we asked many times for her to leave them as we were sill deciding. She took our drink order and came back with a full tray, which was dropped in super slow motion over two people in our party. Literally slow motion, as in everyone at the table could see what was happening and yet the waitress somehow did not and had zero reaction. We were in a good mood and didn’t get angry, but it was a nasty sticky mess as they were cocktails. We had to move our own items from the wet table to another table without assistance from the waitress. I think she thought we should stay at the same table? She did not clean the broken glass or sticky mess from under the original table for the entire duration of our time there. We were worried once it got dark that someone was going to get hurt, but still, it never got cleaned. She also commented that she got her arm sticky, but did not comment on the fact that full cocktails had been split over the laps of two people.
I joked that the round of drinks should be on the house– she laughed, but of course we got charged full price.
She then brought new drinks, took our appetizer order and we waited. 20 minutes later she walks by, tries to take the menus again, and asks if we want to eat. We say… umm…yah, we ordered 20 minutes ago. she had no memory of this, so we reordered. The food came pretty quickly. we had the chorizo stuffed dates for 6 $ on happy hour, and the Monterrey crab cakes, also 6 $ HH price. While both were fine, the normal price is $ 12 which is much too high, especially for tiny pieces of chorizo they bring out. Barely enough for one, forget sharing. The waitress had some serious confusion about side plates for the crab cakes, really awkward again. Also, tried to take the menus for the umpteenth time,. even though we hadn’t put our entrée orders in yet. Which we kept explaining over and over.
While we are eating the server comes back and tries to remove my drink from the table, even though there is clearly ¼ left. She also tries to clear a plate that someone was eating off of. Strange.
For mains we had the quesadilla with chicken breast, grilled mushrooms and onions (HH 4.5 $) which I thought would be tasty, but instead I ate one piece and left the rest because it tasted of nothing. The salsa was not flavorful either. There were also two orders of fish tacos (I cannot remember the price, not on HH) which came with a side of rice. One person did not touch the plate because it was so bad, the other ate it because they were hungry, but said it also had zero flavor. I tasted it and agreed completely. Like so bland that even adding salt didn’t help. The shrimp scampi was apparently good (not on HH), because the person who ordered it enjoyed it… so there’s one positive.
The server came over and saw that the fish and quesadillas had not been touched and asked if we had enjoyed our meals. None of us are mean angry people, so we said things like, «umm not really… it didn’t have too much flavor.» She didn’t seem concerned that there were entire meals left uneaten. The person who ordered the fish tacos didn’t even want to take them home they were that bad. I took mine home for my pets :)
The happy hour prices are not great– most beers are still 5 $ a pint which is a lot. The food on the happy hour menu was also half off, but even so prices were too high for what we had. Our bill, for 3 drinks, and appetizer, a HH quesadilla and fish tacos was $ 42. For that amount of money I want to enjoy my meal.
Also, while we did come to enjoy the band. and they were very good, they played so loud we could not speak at all. we had to yell to say anything which isn’t really pleasant. I was also excited to come here to see the shops… but there didn’t seem to be much going on. Only one or two that were actually being used.
Overall it was a totally strange and surreal experience. We all left saying…“What just happened!?”

I am torn. The patio area and live music should have made for a wonderful night; however it’s location is surrounded by low end trailer parks. The cocktails and food should have made everything perfect. I arrived for dinner at 5 and had the server was obsessed with taking away our food and drink menus; even though there were no other diners there and we had not ordered any food. She then in grabbing at the menus for the second time tipped over our drinks spilling two out of the four on us. Our waitress was so out of it, she picked up the tipped over broken glasses, the big pieces of glass and then left glass under our seats. No sweeping up of glass, no wiping off of the table we were sitting at. Although she did hand a single wash cloth to my husband who got the most alcohol spilled on him. We moved tables since we didn’t want to continue to sit over broken class; zero effort was made to clean the table, chairs or glass under the table. The food for sitting outside on a patio on Miracle Mile was pricey and not memorable. I ordered fish tacos and they had no flavor; literally no taste to it. I couldn’t tell what I was eating. If two diners at a table tell the waitress the food was bland, shouldn’t someone ask questions as to why, instead we were offered something else on the menu and a box to «take home» food I don’t want to eat. Our meal appetizer of crab cakes were good, but over priced for happy hour at $ 12 for two patties. Our cocktails were very nice. The live music was nice but not the genera of music I normally like, plus it was very loud, to the point our server couldn’t hear us and basically had to be mouth to ear to know what we were ordering. My husband ordered the shrimp scampi and loved it. So I should give this place another chance. However after paying $ 60 for such a disastrous experience, it’s going to take some grace of heart to give it another try.

Excellent setting. Great venue for music and food. Open with lots of wonderful air flow. Friendly wait staff. Comfortable seating. Love this place.
Even with a lot of people it is easy to maneuver. There’s a large spacious dance floor. And the open-​air settings does not make loud music oppressive.
The fellow customers were fun and friendly and seeking a good time. There are plenty of space heaters keep you warm and comfy if it gets a little chilly.

Unbelievable re-​do of classic hotel. If you have lived in Tucson for as long as we have you may feel you are putting your lives (and your kids!) in danger as this place is located smack dab in the middle of Miracle Mile – which I assume was ironically named as it has traditionally been a quite dicey part of town! We went to see a friend’s band and they played in the remodeled courtyard – and it was really a cool idea!
There is a tiny stage, which opens onto a small dance floor and seating area where the restaurant serves food and alcohol. It is all open air, so it can be a bit chilly, but the manager was quick to light the heaters where we were seating, which made it perfect. The service was prompt, and we just had desert but what can possibly go wrong with a brownie sundae? It was fine.
There is an interesting mix of folks at this place – and I like that a lot! The band was rocking, people were dancing and having fun – and I would definitely go back there for another show. There were lots of cool art studios and shops, but they were all closed when we were there.

Yes, it’s on Miracle Mile… and it’s charming-​quaint, sort of a mélange of Old World style, small town appeal, and Tucson lefty hip. Quel surprise.
A friend invited us to celebrate her birthday here and we were charmed by the venue. It’s outdoors-ish…some parts are open air and some are covered. There are upscale (overpriced) little shops all around the edges, and seating on both sides of the stage. They had the misters on, which helped keep the temperature bearable, but ours broke, apparently, so we were pretty warm. There was a live band that night, and lots of dancing on a small stage. The guy in the sound booth must have been asleep, though, because almost every song had some unexpectedly painful feedback in it.
The menu looked great: they have sandwiches, salads, burgers, and appetizers, which sounded pretty creative. Our table had chips, which were pretty good, with salsa (which I found really sweet… perhaps some like it this way, but it wasn’t my favorite), ceviche (not bad… could have had more flavor, and guacamole, which had sort of a strange color, almost like it had been out for a bit, and also could have used some garlic, lemon/​lime, salt, and pepper, IMO.
I ordered a chicken Caesar salad. The place was really jam packed and the waitress said it would be a while, but it came out fairly fast. So-​so. The lettuce was warm, which seemed weird. The cheese was very good, and so were the croutons. The chicken was OK but could have been juicier. Not sure the $ 12 price was justified. My husband got a burger, which looked amazing. You get to choose 3 toppings (he had cheese, avocado, and bacon). He got the potato wedges as his side, and they basically tasted like they were cooked yesterday. Not impressed. He didn’t even finish them, and I didn’t even want to finish them for him.
A few at the table ordered the pulled pork sandwich and seemed to like it. Someone had the mac and cheese side, which looked amazing.
Many wines and beers to choose from.
I would look to come back at a time when it wasn’t so crowded and see if the food is a little tastier. (Also, to try some different appetizers.) It was passable, but what showed up on the table didn’t match my expectations based on the menu. I felt really bad for our server, who was working very hard. We had to wait almost half an hour to get the bill.

This is one of my favorite discoveries of late! We went on a double date with some adventurous friends and they mentioned a local group performing near by.
Monterey is in an area that used to be known for, well, um, let’s just say «other things». But the owners took this old hotel and it’s cute casitas and turned it into a little artsy plaza. Each of the casitas is now a cute little shop specializing in art, or stationary, or handmade candies. In the center is a courtyard with tables and chairs under a canopy and some white lights headed up at the front by a stage, and a little bar as well!
We got our drinks (a very strong gin & tonic btw) and found some seats at the back. We were able to enjoy the band, our drinks, and still carry on a conversation with our friends.
Can’t wait to go back and try the café!!!

I’m a fan of the outdoor area! This place is almost hidden gem. I had come to Monterey for an evening concert, so I didn’t get a chance to check out the shops. I did however eat the café there, I just had a typical grilled cheese sandwich nothing to write home about so it was just that. They didn’t have french fries but they had home fries instead. They were short staffed that was probably the down side of the event so we had to wait for service.
I’ll have to go back and check out the shops and maybe the café again.

While frantically trying to find a unique last minute gift for a friend, I swung in here to see what the deal was.
There are a bunch of shops that are individually leased to create a small mall of sorts. Not all of the shops are occupied, and the open hours vary by shop. That kind of sucks. The revamped space of the old ‘motor inn’ was done very well. The courtyard is great, and the bar and restaurant setup looked pretty good, but I did not partake.
Each of the shops that were open had some very unique individual items. There were a couple different things I wanted to buy (but for myself not the person I was looking for). I love to support local places and this definitely gives you that option.
I like the idea of this place and hope it works out and continues to grow. I could see it becoming a great venue, but it has a little ways to go.