An institution: Monte Carlo Steakhouse serves up unpretentious menu, decent prices on old Route 66

In the restaurant world, there are places to eat and there are institutions. Monte Carlo Steakhouse on Central Avenue near the Rio Grande Boulevard belongs to the latter category.

The steakhouse has hosted countless locals and travelers in its six decades of operation. It’s a favorite of travel guide editors and Food Network’s Guy Fieri. It has survived the rise of the interstates, fast food and COVID, and remains so popular today you’ll often find long waits for a table during the dinner rush.

Greek immigrants Angeline and Michael Katsaros opened Monte Carlo in the early 1970s. Their sons Lou and George run it today.

The liquor store it grew out of is still there at the front of the one-story brick building on the corner of Central and 40th Street, just west of the river. The exterior is sandstone colored with crimson trim, and much of the signage is painted directly on the exterior walls in big block letters. The restaurant entrance is set back on the 40th street side, adjacent to a spacious parking lot. The front door on the Central-facing side takes you into the liquor store, a fact I discovered when I blundered in there during a weekday lunch hour.

Not a problem, though. The attendant moved the counter out of the way and led me through a back hallway to the restaurant, where I found my friend sitting at one of the horseshoe-shaped booths that ring the dining room. Even at midday, the dining room was pretty dark. The middle space is filled with tables and chairs that the waitstaff deftly shuffles around to accommodate larger parties. At noon, the room was nearly full. It was an older crowd, as evidenced by the oxygen tanks standing sentinel at several tables.

Almost every square inch of the wood-paneled wall space is covered with photos, artwork and Budweiser decorations. The place settings are blank white sheets of paper that look like something left for children to doodle on with crayons.

While Mac’s La Sierra and Western View Steakhouse, its contemporaries on Central to the west, offer New Mexican food alongside their steaks and burgers, Monte Carlo’s menu hints at the Greek heritage of the Katsaros family. The pork tenderloin souvlaki ($18.95) — called Shish-Ka-Bob on the menu — was featured by Fieri on his show, “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”

The Greek Appetizer Plate ($9) had me envisioning a charcuterie board; instead, what arrived was a compact pile of vegetables and salami topped with a slab of feta cheese and a single dolma. The thick, rather imposing chunks of salami tasted like baloney. Vegetables included Kalamata olives, quartered tomatoes, sliced cucumber and pale-green pepperoncini that delivered a surprisingly potent payload of heat. The dolma, a grape-leaf stuffed with rice, was minty and refreshingly light on the oil, but it was missing a punch of lemon. The dish was attractively presented and had a good amount of food for the price, but I would have happily paid more for the addition of pita bread and hummus.

The stars of the menu are the hand-cut, charbroiled steaks and the popular Prime Rib Special ($31.95) available for dinner Thursday through Saturday. Prices top out at $48.95 for the 20-ounce Porterhouse.

An institution: Monte Carlo Steakhouse serves up unpretentious menu, decent prices on old Route 66

Boneless Ribeye is available in 14- and 20-ounce portions. My friend got the latter ($38.95), a sprawling, thin-cut steak crossed with marks from the grill. It was a bit under the specified medium rare, so he sent it back for more cooking. It returned quickly, still juicy but a bit chewy.

The baked potato accompanying the steak was served with shredded cheese and bacon bits for an extra $1 each. The potato was cooked well, but the cheese was only partially melted. The steak was prefaced with a salad that consisted mostly of iceberg lettuce. The Greek dressing on it was good and tangy.

The Monte Carlo Burger, the other heavy hitter on the menu, is often mentioned as one of the best in the city. I got mine with green chile and cheese ($12.70). Served open-faced under a pile of fries with the lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion on the side, it required some excavation to get to.

I ordered the patty cooked medium-rare, but it was served at medium. Otherwise, it was a terrific burger. The loosely packed ground beef in the thick, wide patty brimmed with charbroiled flavor. As with the baked potato, the cheese on the burger could have used a little more melting. Both the top and bottom bun had been crisped up on the grill and held up well. Unfortunately, the green chile did not register at all.

The generous portion of medium-cut fries had lots of skin on them, which I like. Otherwise, they were middling, landing right smack in between soggy and crisp.

There are a few desserts in the $5 range, including Baklava made from a family recipe.

Service was solid throughout the meal. The staff was clearly accustomed to a busy dining room and processed everything quickly and efficiently and with friendly smiles.

Though a little weathered around the edges, Monte Carlo Steakhouse remains a vital player of our dining scene. With its unpretentious menu and decent prices, it’s a throwback to a different era.