Monti's has probably the best cheese steak I've ever had. It's amazing. Their pizza, buffalo bites, salads, and everything is delicious! I really wish more people knew about Monti's because then maybe they'd stay open later. I highly recommend eating and drinking here if you live in the area. Don't listen to your friend about going somewhere else, he/she's an idiot. Come to Monti's. read more

Great atmosphere. Talked to an owner! She was an absolute delight. Fantastic food! Can't wait to go back.

The food is excellent, and the atmosphere is fun and relaxed. There is a huge beer selection and daily drink specials that are a great deal. I would definitely reccomend this place to anyone looking for a tasty sandwich and a craft beer. read more

I walked to the new Monti's the first week it was open and pulled up a chair at the bar. The restaurant is clean and server was friendly. I ordered the pizza philly cheese steak with mozzarella cheese on the fries. The cheese steak awesome! I ordered the 12'' sub and I had to wrap it up. The restaurant will do very well. It's in a great location and the staff was friendly, and most importantly the food was great!!!! I will go back several times!!!! read more

I stopped in to try out their sandwich and was not disappointed. I wish I wasn't in a hurry and I could have had a beer and enjoyed the space. Nonetheless the sandwich was great and the fries were crispy and on point. If you're thinking about going, do it. read more

Food was delicious, served quickly and hot. Service was very pleasant. The Rocky was tasty but a little too spicy for my husband. Then the waiter tells you it's hot, believe him! read more

Monti's - Cheesesteaks Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A mini Philly cheesesteak with fries was pretty filling and delicious. The staff was extremely friendly and I would totally visit next time I'm in town. read more

Been here a few times, you have to pay very close attention or you will miss it. Good Philly cheesesteak. I had it with cheddar sauce (wiz), the hubs had it with provolone. Fries are fresh and crisp. Overall good place! read more

Solid place! I had never been to the chili place that was in this space before. In all honesty, I forget that there is a restaurant at this location. Not a very visible spot. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised as to how nice the space is. Small, but nice. Good beer list, very strong service and really enjoyed the cheese steak sandwich. It is slightly pricey, but still a good overall value. I will definitely be going back. read more

Philly's Best?? More like Philly's Worst now that this place opened!!! Moved back to Chicago 7 years ago and was on a quest to find a Philly like I had, well at Pat's in Philly. Tried the "best" and was grossly disappointed. Went 6 years without one in Chicago until this years Ribfest! Met the super upbeat Monti gave it a try and wasn't damn bad considering it was a street fest. And learned about their actual shop. Talked about it for 2 weeks to the missus and finally she gave and said ok already. Man were we shocked, the place is super cool inside, clean as hell, chalkboard full of craft beers, full bar and then the food. I seriously had the best Philly since Pat's and I dare say it may have just been a bit better!! The missus had a turkey hoagie which was MASSIVE. and the baby had the pretzel bites, well who are we kidding we all had them. The fries were awesome as well, seasoned perfectly. You may look at the menu and say woah that's expensive but it really isn't for the size of the sandwich and fries its worth every penny!!! Well done Monti! Welcome to the neighbourhood, you have a few more loyal customers as of today!!! read more

I don't see how this place gets anything less than a five star review--we go all the time and it's delicious every time. It's a small place, but has a great vibe and the service is always spectacular. The person below that's complaining about a 20 minute wait for food? Wow, you must live life at warp speed because in my world, that's pretty standard and hardly worth griping about...but, I digress. We always get Philly cheesesteaks, and they are always AH-MAZING, and the fries are perfect. I've seen several pizzas delivered to nearby tables during my visits and they always smell wonderful and look very appealing....maybe I will order one soon. This is a great addition to the area--excellent food, reasonable prices and great service. Check it. read more

I have a gluten allergy and came here because of the Yelp reviews on my visit to Chicago. I had the gluten free hoagie philly. Absolutely amazing food and service!! read more

Great food, wonderful atmosphere, and their beer selection tip the scales from a four- to a five-star.

One of my favorite neighborhood places. Food is great. Tastes fresh and tastes like Philly. Even if you don't live close by this is a great place to seek out. The pizza is great as well. read more

YUM. They bring in the bread from Philly and it's worth the trip. A taste of home for anyone who misses Pat's or Gino's.

Im a big fan of cheesesteaks as my family is from the east coast and i grew up having them a couple times a year as a treat. For whatever reason, Chicago just couldnt duplicate them. Its weird, because they cant make Italian Beefs in Philly too. I gave up looking for a good steak here in chicago a few years ago. But then Montis opened and i never hearf of it until last week. It had great reviews and the pics on yelp looked pretty legit. I went today, had a lg steak and fries. Honestly, same or better then anywhere in Philly. I will be back for sure. read more

It is as good as they say. They have amazing cheese-steak hoagies, what looks like amazing cut fries, and great beer to wash it all down. And all the while, a Blackhawks game in the foreground. I can't ask for more, well besides the Blackhawks winning their last game. read more

First time to Monti's was great. My sister and I traveled from the northern burbs. We both had 8" philly steaks with onions and provolone. I've been to Philly and it's the real deal. Perfect bread and steak seasoned just right. The food comes out piping hot. I love that. Wonderful lightly salted fresh cut fries that come with each sandwich. I talked with owner James and I was impressed with his attitude that if something doesn't fit with our Chicago market it may get changed or adjusted. Nice people, just don't change the steaks!!! Our server was excellent. He started with 2 tables around noon and wound up with about 8 tables soon after. Very attentive and pleasant. It's taken us a long time to get here and we're so happy to check it out. read more

Great for Celiacs! Fabulous pizza steak! Wish I could have the fries though. I'm a Philadelphia native, so it's gets my recommendation :) Service could be a little quicker though, since we ate here twice on our lunch hour. read more

Having spent fair amount of time in Philly sampling the renowed steaks....Montis surpasses taste and quality. Been going for yeas and only knock is no delivery. Soups and other menu items worth checking out. Steak with white american is my go to. Highly recommend. Service on point and consistent great. read more

The cheesesteaks here are incredible. If you have a high tolerance for spicy food, get the Rocky and you will not be disappointed. Rotating draft beers are generally quite good. Service is quick and friendly. I wish I still lived in the area, but whenever I'm around I like to stop in for a meal and a beer read more

I want to love this place. It's close to my home, with awesome service and a super comfy feel. Service is amazing! At most places, you feel they want to turn the table. Definitely not here. And as a Sox fan, I appreciate them having the game on. Also, they have an excellent craft beer selection. The vibe here makes me want to hang out for hours. Sad to say, the Philly cheesesteak is dry and mostly flavorless. My wife had the Italian hoagie, and she also felt it too was dry. I wish the sandwiches were juicier. The fries were pretty tasty. We felt very welcome here. So, we're going to come back and try their pizza and give their food another try. Because honestly, this is a very friendly place that's worth trying out. read more

If you are craving the best Philly cheesesteak in Chicago, then this is the place to go!! I like the cheesesteak hoagie the best with provolone. read more

Three thumbs up for The Rocky. I also recommend the Buffalo chicken bites with Bleu cheese sauce. I carryout multiple times every month and the food is consistently good. I love The Rocky so much, I never want to try anything else. read more

Had our first experience at Monti's tonight - with my husband and two toddlers. Went in with a Groupon - our server was Joe. He was very attentive, so was happy with the service. My husband and I split one regular philly cheesesteak and one Rocky. They were both good but I enjoyed the spiciness of the Rocky more. I'm not too familiar with philly cheese steak but didn't feel like I could really taste the aged cheddar sauce much. My husband very much appreciated the unique beer options, and I enjoyed one of their ciders. The kids split a meatball sandwich, which I snuck a bite of and thought it was tasty. We all enjoyed the fries as well. All in all, good dining experience! read more

I hope you come hungry. The gyros come with plenty of meat! I found the sauce to be a bit salty for my liking. Our order seemed to take longer than what I'm used to for a fast food joint that was not busy when we arrived. The taste and quality of food made up for it. read more

What a great restaurant! Simple food, high quality ingredients. I appreciate the black angus ribeye in those cheese steaks! I have never had lemon wheels deep fried in with my calamari before! What a treat! And re: Kelly S. Ha! Leave it to someone from New York to set up an account on Yelp just to publicly wish that a new restaurant would fail! You're in Chicago now, honey. Our new mayor just said that one big difference between Chicago and NYC is that Chicago has lots of really nice people. Why don't you just say that you hope Monti's fixes the kinks in their system, since you admit they make the best cheese steaks you've ever had? Then you could get cheaper drinks, and have another great restaurant to choose from. I have some advice for you: Relax, or go back to Brooklyn. Chicago doesn't need your kind. read more

Such a shame. We live and love in Lincoln Square, and we were so excited about a new restaurant on Talman Ave! The food was satisfactory at best, but at those prices everything should have been OUT OF THIS WORLD. IT IS SO EXPENSIVE!!! My wife and I to popping out to split a sandwich and a few beers is not my idea of a fifty+ dollar evening. An acceptable selection of craft beers is not a scale tipper either, not in Chicago. Completely apart from, and as equally disappointing as, the food was having to watch our poor server get reamed by who I can only assume is a panicking owner. I'm not one to wish an entrepreneur bad luck, but this place has a long way to go. I hope a little model tweaking will bring the experience and price more into balance. Try the pretzel bites if you've got $10.00 to spare and are feeling opulent read more

The best steak and cheese I have ever had! The bread is straight out of Philly, the meat so tender it melts in your mouth!! Steak and cheese is my favorite sandwich and I try them everywhere, Not any more, I found my favorite!!! Had a southside Johnny, it was fantastic!! Aslo had a nice selection of local brews! Nice job Monit's ....See ya again soon! read more

My wife and I have been to Monti's over a dozen times, brought several friends there and everyone thought it was great food and great service. I've twice been to Pat's in Philly so I do know a real-deal Philly Cheesesteak experience. Monti is very friendly and explained her Cheesesteak philosophy; to bring the best elements of the Philly sandwich (amoroso rolls shipped in from Philly several times a week) here to Chicago, to upgrade it with a better quality beef (Black Angus) and use real Wisconsin Cheddar instead of Cheez Whiz as an homage to being here in the Midwest. I agree with the philosophy, and the sandwich. A Cheesesteak from Pat's in Philly is wonderful in its own way - when that runny Cheez Whiz combines with the hot greasy beef, the resulting sliding mess is overwhelming, fantastic and tasty! Monti's Cheesesteaks are a cut above, not the big greasy sliding experience, more refined. I think that if Cheez Whiz were offered as an option, some might find Monti's Cheesesteaks to be even more "authentic", but its obvious why Monti chooses to serve her signature sandwich her own way; they are great. Anyway, Cheez Whiz only became popular at some point in the 1960's - before then the basic authentic Philly Cheesesteak was served with American cheese slices. All the talk of what is authentic and what is not is, after all, just a bunch of talk. I suggest just go to Monti's and try a Cheesesteak and let the sandwich do the talking. We have friends who go just for the Hoagies, and just as with the Cheesesteaks, the amoroso rolls shipped in from Philly make them unique in Chicago. If you've never been out east to stop in a Wawa for Tastykakes then try some here for dessert - not that they're the most awesome dessert ever, but I'm pretty sure you won't find them anywhere else in the Midwest, and they are tasty. My wife loves the Ice Cream Sandwich Sundae for dessert and doesn't share it! Enjoy. read more

This place has some of the better cheesesteaks I've ever had. The cheese sauce is a nice alternative to Cheez-Whiz while still keeping the cheesesteak traditional. My two problems: 1) the cost - a Philly should not be this expensive. That said, it is very good and filling, so I get it, but $30 for two footlongs just kind of hurt. 2) This may seem nitpicky, but they had Oskar Blues listed as a local brewery, among Revolution, Half-Acre and Metropolitan. That is not accurate and it bugged the crap out of me while I was there. read more

I love this place! My boyfriend recently visited this place (Monday )with our neighbor and had the opportunity to meet & talk with the owners. He loved them and their food. So we went back last night and I ordered the cheesesteak with extra cheese and the plain wings. Sooooo good! We will definitely be back and the bartender Natalia is one of the sweetest people I've ever met. We will be regulars for sure read more

The best things about Monti's is that the ingredients are excellent, the beer (et al) selection is better than many places three times Montis' size, and the french fries. The only "bad" thing about Monti's is that you have to pretty much be looking for them in order to find them - but if you are, they are easy enough to get to - a couple of blocks from the Rockwell stop on the Brown line. Did not get the Philly Cheese Steak first time around. Hadda go for the Roast Pork with brocolli rabe and cheese. It was excellent, also excellent was the turkey breast with pepper jack and banana peppers. Some excellent beers (Lagunitas, Five Points, Half Acre) and a full bar but you might have to watch a Phillies game. The prices are not so small (about $14 for a 12" with fries, I think) but the sandwich was worth it based on the overall taste and dedication to quality ingredients, and the fries were excellent. Monti's is worth the trip and the neighborhood is far from being in the middle of nowhere (despite some other reviews that seem to consider Lincoln Square as urban pioneering). There is plenty of zone-free parking available and the neighborhood is ridiculously gentrified (i.e. safe to walk in). And Lincoln Square is just a few blocks away for after Monti's closes. I hope this place works... a year ago this location was CInners - a Cincinatti bar that specialized in chili and Little Kings. I shudder to think what would be next if Monti's doesn't make it. Dubuque? Indianapolis? St. Louis? Wheaton? read more

Fantastic food! I took a gamble on this place because I wanted to get a genuine cheese steak, having never had one before. Great reviews on Yelp. The owners are obviously from, or have spent a lot of time in Philly judging by the decor. We came in just after opening on Sunday. Joe was tending bar and waiting tables. He was prompt and knowledgeable. He made sure we were cool with onions on our sandwiches after we ordered our app and entrees. The fried calamari was great. The fried lemon really set it off but I would have rather had cocktail sauce then marinara. The sandwiches were amazing. We both got the authentic with cheddar sauce. Incredible. Go to this place of you want a great sandwich. 'Nuff said. read more

The cheesesteak was great! Since I've never had one in Philly I can't speak to it's authenticity, but great is great, so there. Had the pizza and liked it a lot, but the cheesesteak will be my raison d'etre when I'm at Monti's. The calamari was tasty & fascinating as it had batter fried pepper rings & lemon slices in it, proving an axiom of my hillbilly forefathers that you need only to fry something to make it delicious. Dessert was an Ice cream sandwich with chocolate sauce and whipped cream... oddly enough I liked it more than almost any dessert I've ordered in fancier restaurants. The salted carmel martini was something I wanted to try and it was so good that I shall never have another. I refuse to be a "carmel martini guy" despite my new found proclivities to such. No! A thousand times NO! Unless, of course, it's a special occasion. read more

So at the end of the day this was a really nice place and kind of what I expected prior to going. The whole place was clean, even the bathrooms. The sandwich was awesome and we would go back although I would pick a better time to drive there from Portage Park other than right in the middle of lunch hour. Took me 20 minutes to go 4 miles. read more

Best Cheese Steak in Chicago. No contest, hands down, they win. The flavors, texture and consistency are all spot on. Ingredients are of good quality, and the preparation and execution are on point. I love the bread which is perfect kind for this type of steak sandwich. Caramelized onions are sweet, perfect size and shape (you can tell the kitchen staff knows what they are doing and have knife/culinary skills). The steak has great flavor, rich and still juicy without being too grizzly and again cut/chopped perfectly. Chili is also amazingly delicious, well seasoned and has become another one of my favorite things to get when I go here. Alway receive good service, always get my food quickly, and because of all these reason I will always come here when craving a cheese steak. Great place all the way around, highly recommended. Did I mention they have a full bar? read more

I have had a lot of great, authentic Philly Cheesesteaks and this place is the real deal! Setting- went on a Sunday afternoon. Tucked away on side street off of Lawrence. Small restaurant with a bar and a few Flat Screens. Beer- Had a great selection of Local and Craft beer Menu- consists of a selection of Apps like soft pretzels with cheese and Wings etc Soups, salads, Hoagies and Grinders, pizza And of course the main attraction: Philly Cheesesteaks! They had a handful of specialty cheesesteaks and array of different toppings and cheeses. They also use an authentic Amoroso Roll to hold all that cheesesteak goodness! Bonus! What I really liked was the Cheesesteak Sampler platter where you can choose 3 different cheesesteaks as mini's. Great option if you want to try different things. I had the Authentic Cheesesteak WIT White American. I also got some spicy mayo and some Jalapeño Scotch Bonnet relish on the side. That relish really brings the heat and was awesome if you like HOT. (Which I do... And it delivered) came with great fresh cut fries. Very tasty and cooked well. (Meaning not soggy) We also had the Soft Pretzels with cheese and mustard which were really good as well. Service- service was attentive, polite, and accommodating when asked for things. Would I go back? Umm hell yes! In fact it's been a few hours as I write this and I am contemplating going back for another it was so good. I will be back for sure and will tell anyone to do so as well. Really enjoyed the food and experience. Check this place out! read more

My home town is Philly, needless to say I was hesitant about trying Monti's. My sister introduced me to the restaurant and was convincing enough for me to try it. Of course I had to read a few reviews before I made the trip. I took my daughter with me and it was definately a great choice. The second time I went I took my husband who is very familiar with Philly Cheesteaks and he also loved it. It was nice to enjoy a little bit of home. By the way, Monti's staff was excellent!! read more

Trust all the four and five star Yelp! reviews this time, folks. Some seriously good, fresh cheesesteaks here, and many varieties from which to choose. (Note: mixed melted aged cheddar and spicy mustard taste great when coating chewy pretzely nuggety appetizery goodness and washed down with cold bottled and canned beer or their one rotating tap craft beer) During our most recent visit we shared the Sampler Platter, three varieties, and took a third of the meal home. The portions are huge! True Philly style rolls barely enclose rich and hefty helpings of your favourite ingredients. One's mouth waters in remembrance. Fries do not get much better too, if you ask me. You're reading this. You're asking me. Though find out for yourself! Please. Right now. You'll see. Hey, even their chili kicks some serious ass, and I never thought Chicago chili would take a backseat to Philly chili, even though it rhymes. Or maybe because it rhymes. Sadly, Chicago doesn't rhyme with any food. Does it? Yes! Sacrebleu! Escargot is a food and rhymes, but it's French and it's snails. Monti's cheesesteaks are better.Take that, Frenchys! You and your damned weird snails. HAH! The Philly cheesesteaks served in Chicago by a native Philadelphian win! Go listen to a mime. James is a charming, gracious hoot and a half host, cook and sometimes bartender who makes one of the city's best Maker's Manhattans. We've not had the sure delight of meeting Jennifer (Monti) though James always speaks very highly of her and we sincerely look forward to having that pleasure. We and our friends like her namesake restaurant a whole lot. Such good food and drink. ~Peter O. and S. read more