Nicholas Ballew (Big Back Ballew)

Villa Montez is one of those places I’ve always wanted to try and for some reason, I’ve never made my way around to actually trying it. I’m very guilty of doing this with many restaurants. I called yesterday and made a reservation for 5:30pm today for my wife and I. I spent the good part of last night thinking about it as well haha. When you first walk up to this establishment, you’ll probably find that you’re instantly taken back by the sheer beauty of everything. From the exquisite gardens and sculptures, to the stunning architecture. Everything just seems like it’s where it’s meant to be. When we walked in, we were politely greeted by the hostess and a very kind gentleman by the name of Eli. We informed him of our reservation and he took us right to a table that sat inside a room with massive windows, overlooking the patio. Our waitress came by shortly after and took our drink order. I believe her name was Rosa and she was the absolute best. A minute or 2 went by and she brought our drinks out with some chips and salsa. She also took our food and appetizer order. I ordered the tequila lime chicken pasta as my main dish and my wife wanted the queso fundido as hers. We also got the spinach and artichoke dip. The chips and salsa were incredible. The chips seemed very fresh and still warm and the salsa had a very good flavor. Slight kick, but nothing too much. The spinach and artichoke dip was honestly the best I’ve ever had and I’m not even exaggerating. The roasted jalapeno and garlic was such a nice touch. My wife’s queso had the perfect consistency and flavor and it also came with 3 homemade tortillas. To say that I enjoyed my pasta would be an understatement. The chicken was cooked to perfection, as well as the noodles. The fresh herb pesto cream had such a unique flavor to it in the best way possible. To wrap things up, we ordered a slice of tres leches. We had no idea it would end up being almost 4 inches tall!!! It was so incredibly moist, not soggy. The homemade whipped cream was spectacular. Overall it was an amazing dessert. I hate that I’ve waited so long to try this place. If you’re reading this and you’ve yet to try it out, go now!!!

+17

Kent Morrill

Amazing food. Service started slow, but ended up good overall. The atmosphere could be better, construction of an addition is underway, and the outdoor experience wasn't great. (Also noticed it was very loud indoors when we moved due to rain.)

Tammy Morgan

Have not been here in quite a while and were pleasantly surprised. Service was top notch, drinks were amazing and the food was excellent as well. I recommend the shrimp ceviche as well as the shrimp enchiladas and tequila cilantro shrimp. Highly recommend for an upscale meal.

Joe Spadea

Villa Montez is one of the top restaurants in all of East Texas. The view is amazing and the history of the building makes it even more interesting. There are several different dining areas throughout the restaurant making for a different experience every time you visit. This includes a beautiful, large patio, bar area and the cellar. The staff is very friendly and extremely accommodating. Love the Latin-inspired menu plus some really good burgers. The steaks are cooked perfectly. The cocktails are very good. The bartender makes a very good old fashioned. The desserts are very tasty. Can't wait to spend time on the patio and try some of the other menu options.

+1

Chase Nelson

Montez has some of the best Latin food I've had around Texas. The ambiance of the place is so unique, it's pretty much an old house. It really makes you feel at home. The service was great, recommended a lot of choices off the menu. Everything I had was delicious and if this was in DFW I'd go once a week.

Brooke Bragg

Delicious food, amazing service, great vibes and atmosphere

+4

Dean Pennington II

This long established restaurant is a staple of Tyler, Texas. Reservations are recommended. Although the exterior is a bit worn, it remains a beautiful setting with indoor and outdoor seating. The staff seemed a little stretched. This led to a little slower service, but the server was very friendly. We had Hors d'oeuvres and main course. The food flavors were quite good. I recommend this restaurant, especially for a couple on an evening out!

+3

Andie Hyndman

I took my Mom to Villa Montez for her 82nd birthday on 12/09/25. She has a sentimental attachment to the restaurant since the last time she was there was before her husband passed away. I recently had a friend recommend the place so I was super excited to go and eat there after talking to my Mom about it. Emily was our server and she was fantastic! I ordered the Osso Bucca since it's so hard to find in Tyler and while not always on the menu, we were told it was pretty much served every night if you knew to ask for it. I couldn't believe how huge the cut of meat was (they say everything is bigger in TX and I just moved back) and I could only eat about 1/4 of it and it was not served in the traditional Italian way but in a whole new Tex Mex way with charred beans and lime cilantro rice with a few steamed veggies thrown in. So much food so I took the rest home to eat the following day but couldn't because unfortunately, I spent the next 2 days in bed with food poisoning and was extremely ill. It was a damned shame to throw out a $150.00+ meal with the meat still pink in the middle so obviously not cooked all the way through. While I won't have that meal again, I will go back to try the pasta dishes and give them another chance. I'm an expert event planner and this venue is very interesting to me but would have to take a tour to see what the rest of the place looks like since we had to sit in the bar due to a 50+ party having a holiday party that same night.

Lana Copeland

My husband and I dined at Villa Montez on Sat,10/4/25. 1836 Texas Kitchen is one of our favorite restaurants and we became interested in Villa Montez when we learned it is a sister restaurant. After researching this beautiful mansion, we decided to celebrate our anniversary there. We arrived early for a 6:30 reservation, and we were surprised to be taken downstairs and seated in what appeared to be a basement. There was a party of 6 or 8 around the corner from us that left shortly after we were seated. So there we were for our special anniversary dinner in a beautiful mansion, but we didn’t enjoy the beautiful mansion because we were seated in a dreary, unattractive basement with no ambiance and no energy, and were completely by ourselves except when our server popped in. By the time we received our food, we were feeling super disappointed about our dining choice. In hindsight, we should have been asked to be moved, but really didn’t want to be those people. We did mention our disappointment to our server after the appetizer arrived. He was a very good server, but did not offer to improve our experience. We enjoyed the Chino Latino rolls. Our entrees were the sea bass and shrimp enchiladas, which we thought were average. After our meal, our server let us know there was an external exit to the parking lot and we didn’t have to go up the stairs to exit. We opted to go up the stairs to get a peek at what could have been.

Brittney Bing

This restaurant is beautiful, and we had super high expectations since we rented a room for $300 to celebrate a friend's birthday. We had a party of 14. Everyone's food came out and was perfect....except mine and my husband's. I ordered the Chilean sea bass, and it was burnt on the bottom. My husband ordered the Matador special, which was a NY strip, medium rare. 2 others ordered the exact same thing. While they received their plates, my husband was told his was on the way. 30 minutes later, after everyone was done eating, he still didn't have his. All we got was 'sorry about that'. Needless to say, we won't be back.

Lana Joslin

My daughter, son-in-law and I ordered the steak. It was cooked perfect and was good. But it wasn't hot (just kinda warm) the veggies were cold and whatever else was cold as well. We had reservations, but they didn't have a table for us. Asked if we would mind sitting by the bar. If you make reservations there should be a table reserved for you. The building and grounds were beautiful and maybe the dining area is too, but the bar area is nothing nice at all. We could have waited with no idea of the wait time for a table. My children wanted to treat me to a nice meal with a nice atmosphere, but we got the bar area full of loud noise, breaking of glasses and people rushing by continuously.

Jessica Ellison

Had dinner with old friends tonight. The drinks were great, and getting a reservation was easy. The evening started out well. We ordered a chimichurri steak medium rare to split. It was nicely plated on two plates, which we appreciated. Unfortunately, the steak itself came out basically blue. That wasn’t an issue for me, but it was for my partner. He did not eat any of the steak. He cut off the fat, saw that the inside was cold and uncooked in the center, and stopped. We told our server, expecting a standard fix — re-fire it, replace it, or adjust the bill. Instead, the response was that he would “tell the chef.” When the check arrived, we were charged the full price. When we asked about it, the server said the manager refused to do anything because “a bite had been taken.” To be clear, no bite was taken. Apparently trimming fat and noticing raw meat now qualifies as finishing the dish. There was no apology and no attempt to make it right, just a rigid response to a clear kitchen mistake. We won’t be back.

lori wellington

I am very disappointed. I ordered my favorites soup to go. I got home and opened my bag to a half filled container of soup. I ordered a bowl that should have filled the container. I called and the employee that answers the phone put me on hold and didn’t tell me. I go back to the restaurant to return the soup. The hostess says she will get the manger and didn’t return with my refund. Another employee comes and brings me another bowl of soup. I had to get someone from the bar to help me. I just wanted what I asked for

Madison W.

I had called two weeks ago to book a reservation for my rehearsal dinner in October. Everything went smoothly at first, I confirmed all my details and contact information, picked my food package, and was told to reserve the private room it would be $250, which was great. They told me an event coordinator would reach out to me in a day to 2 to discuss further steps and will send me a cc authorization for the private room fee. 1.5 weeks go by and the event coordinator never reached out. Luckily a couple days ago my mom and I were in the area and wanted to stop by to see what the private room/restaurant looked like in person and to confirm everything was ok with my reservation. They proceeded to tell me they had no record of speaking with me and that my reservation was not booked. Freaked out, I asked if they still had it available and they said yes, we can still book the private room and it would be $500 which is double what I was originally told. We then asked to speak to a manager which wasn’t there in person, so the hostess called him on his phone. Instead of honoring what we were originally told of booking the private room for $250, they said we could still pay $250 but the room might not be completely private if it’s a busy night. This is for my wedding rehearsal which is a private and intimate event, why would I still pay you $250 for a not completely private room. Overall I’m very disappointed in my experience and the way they handled this, I was told “I’m sorry this is all we can do” which is ridiculous because I bet if we would have paid $500 the room would have been completely private. Please do not try to plan any events here, I was excited because I’ve heard how good the food is, but the management and event coordinating is very poor.