Monterrey Cantina

Monterrey Cantina
Royal Oak, MI 48067

What do Roberta Flack, BJ Thomas and Barry Manilow have in common? They can all be heard in the background at the Monterrey Cantina mexican restaurant! So the atmosphere starts pretty much south, and I don't mean "of the border". The tile on the floors... Oh my. It's that little tile, the one inch square pieces that you see on the floors and walls of high-school gym showers. Who picked that out? Or was the restaurant a former public bath house or something? Do they still have public bath houses? Do they serve mexican food there?

The food was average. We'll go back just because there is no other mexican restaurant north of Cincinnatti. I salted my tortilla soup and added a slice of lime from Chrissy's fajitas for flavor, after which it wasn't half bad. Tepid, but edible. Chrissy's fajitas were ok, too. Again, nothing to write home about. Everything was plated with the typical mexican restaurant I-could-care-less fashion, and the waitress didn't seem to appreciate working on the Fourth of July because she didn't smile once. I would have been more distracted by the TV's, which are everywhere, but I don't like tennis or baseball, and the tour-de-france was on the screen behind me.

They have sidewalk seating, which I would highly recommend. I rather like sidewalk seating.

Overall Rating: Well, if you sit outside on a nice night... Acceptable.

Taste: acceptable, Presentation: poor, Service: Acceptable, Atmosphere: poor.

Price: $19.59 for two, no dessert.