Villa Montez has now expanded their patio to wrap around some of their amazing old growth trees that are some of the largest trees of their type in the East Texas area. Since Villa Montez sits up on a mansion on the hill they have trees that grow down in the valley up past the top of their mansions roof. With the new porch wrapping around two of their large post oak trees they have one of the best views and outdoor patios in East Texas. When you order something from Villa Montez you consistently get one of the nicest food presentations that any Tyler Texas restaurant can dish out. I honestly have not seen anything quite like the food presentation that Villa Montez offers their customers. The closest thing to it is Kiepersol restaurant which is another fabulous Tyler restaurant. Kiepersol is located in Bullard and is a bit of a vacation to travel to but the experience is on par with Villa Montez. The difference between the two is price. You will pay an arm and a leg when visiting the Kiepersol winery and restaurant while you will be able to get away with an affordable classy meal and view when at Villa Montez. I recommend asking to be seated on the patio as long as the weather permits as you just can’t beat the fan misters, the view, and the trees while eating a delicous meal presented in a truly remarkable way.
My wife ordered a pork tenderloin dinner at Villa Montez and there were these white crispy things that I had no idea as to what they were but made the overall presentation just right and the little things tasted pretty good as well. I ordered the Sea Bass after many requests by the owner on several different occassions and although I am not one to normally order fish on a menu I was pleasantly surprised. The Sea Bass is now one of my new favorite menu items at Villa Montez and I think you will find it fresh and filling if you order it for yourself. If you are not a fish person and especially do not like the “fishy” taste that most fish give off than the Sea Bass is just right as there is no fishy after taste. If you like to order an appetizer before your meals then please take a look at the Chino rolls. They are basically southwestern egg rolls that come with a jalepeno jelly. These egg rolls are delicious and I order them almost every time. My father in law ordered the steak salad and unlike other restaurants, Villa Montez does not have you asking, “Where’s the beef!” He loved the salad from what I could tell and everyone liked sitting out on the patio.
After dinner, my wife and I shared a creme brule. Villa Montez gets the creme Brule right and not all places do. The creaminess was just the right amount. It was not too sweet and the caramalized sugar on top really hit it over the top. They usually put a couple of berries on top with a dab of whipped cream to make this the top desert in my list on their menu. After you get up I recommend taking astroll around their grounds. They have a very nice fountain and cement bench as well as an herb garden and water fall. The whole facility is truly amazing and I always wonder just how much it cost for the facility and refurbishing it to the degree that Villa Montez has done. The whole experience is remarkable and I really don’t have many complaints. The service there has always been spot on and you will usually see that the waiters participate as a team helping each other with making sure glasses are kept full and the food is delivered on time and to the right table. I assume tips are split up among everyone as the team participation in providing service is always consistently the same unlike most Tyler restaurants who seem to get this major part of the dining experience wrong.
The only thing I don’t like about Villa Montez is their pasta meat combinations. It is only personal preference but I just don’t like the combination and recipe of some of their pasta dishes. I think as long as you order anything else you will be more than happy and you may even like the pasta I am just an italian only type of person when it comes to pasta. Having a latin blend with pasta just doesn’t do anything for my taste buds. Do not be surprised to find one of the chefs or the owner coming by to personally meet you and shake your hand while you are here. When you first arrive you will have a large room with tables to wait before you are seated. You can order an appetizer or drink while waiting for your table and may end up meeting someone new in this little hangout. Expect Thursday – Saturday at Villa Montex to be packed but also expect a wait time for a table at a convenient 20 – 30 minutes at the most. This Tyler Texas restaurant truly gets it right on verey level. Come to Villa Montez and expect to have a 5 star dinner without the 5 star price.
With Tyler being overrun with restaurants and a large number of them being mexican restaurants, it is real easy to overlook a restaurant like the Cancun Cafe. If you are in the mood for mexican food and are bored with the multiple Lugars, it might be time to try something with a little kick. Cancun Cafe is located off of the loop in Tyler across from the Green Acres Bowling Alley. Without the bright lights of Mercados it can be easy to overlook but this is one dining spot in Tyler you don’t want to miss.
Cancun Cafe has quality mexican food and surprisingly enough I’ve found that they also have a large quantity of delicious seafood dishes, and no this isn’t fish tacos or a trout with a jalepeno stuffed down its throat, this is quality seafood dishes with a kick, coupled with great mexican food. The signature dish that I have to suggest that everyone try at least once is their fajitas and snowcrab. I found as odd as this sounds it is one of the tastiest combos I’ve ever tried.
The service is decent although many people have had problems with food arriving late. Since this is not one of the more popular mexican restaurants like On the Border or Mercados, you will not find the crowds you will find packed out the doors as is frequently the case at those places, allowing you to be seated almost immediately. The atmosphere is like that of most of the mexican restaurants in Tyler and is roomy enough to cater to nearly all of your party needs. This is a restaurant that hosts events like karaoke night so if you don’t mind the howling that comes with these events it can be a good night out on the town.
Prices are pretty good, with several dishes under $10, and quantities especially in the fajitas and snowcrab are very generous. When ordering a dish like that you might consider taking a bag to go because I’ve found they often serve more than one can eat. So next time you are eating out, try something new like the Cancun Cafe, as long as you don’t mind the occasional wait for your meal it’ll definately be worth your while.
In the past few visits to Outback Steakhouse I have noticed a dramatic improvement in service and food quality. The deserts actually taste better and the steaks have been cooked right. Consistency is a big deal to me and Outback has really been getting it right. A few years ago something was off and I imagine Outback may have had a bad manager or something because the service was always terrible, the food didn’t come out cooked correctly or even tasting right. I am so glad that Outback in Tyler TX is back on track and has their service, food, and steak temperatures down. I know that for every negative thing that happens to you it takes about 5 good things to evenly balance your assessment of a restaurant. Taking that into consideration I truly believe that Outback management is back on top of what goes on there.
One minor pet peeve of mine is I wish that Outback would rinse out their beer mugs and glasses a little better. The edible sanitizer in the glasses can be tasted very well in beer and it really ruins the beer taste. This sanitizer taste in beer mugs and glasses seems to be the case in almost every Outback franchise I walk into whether it be in Houston, Dallas, or Tyler.
Regarding the Outback deserts I would say that the hot fudge brownie icecream thing is much better than what you get at Chili’s. I would still prefer to head over to Marble Slab for some of their icecream but the fudge brownie thing is very good. The recent holiday addition of the gingerbread cookie martini however looks very disgusting and I am not sure why anyone would buy it. The Martini has cookie crumbs on the rim and a gingerbread cookie floating in the alcoholic beverage. I just don’t get it and I am not sure enough people would understand this combination to buy it. I may be wrong but I just had to mention the martini because it was very weird.
My recommendation when ordering from Outback steakhouse is to go with their 7 ounce filet and maybe even add a lobster tail. I would have the steak cooked medium and I think you will really enjoy that dinner. I always get their house salad and a loaded baked potato although their ceasar salad and sweet potato are also very good choices.
