Eating at the Three Ravens in Monticello is a pleasant experience because the wait staff is helpful, there’s a nice patio, and they serve good takes on simple pub food.
As a friend and I sat on their downtown patio, the wait staff took our order and chatted us up a bit. It hit the perfect amount of being engaged for me, but I could see others wanting a bit more privacy and less chat.
I started with a Leinenkugel’s summer shandy ($4.75). A great beer for light refreshment with a bit of lemon flavor notes, it hit the spot on a July afternoon as the sun was setting, and the temperature was thankfully dropping.
I ordered a shared pretzel appetizer with beer cheese ($7.99). The cheese congealed a bit and wasn’t the most appetizing in appearance, but the flavor was fine. The pretzels themselves were a unique shape I hadn’t had before. The pretzels hit the mark with the right amount of outside crunch with soft warm bread inside. They did seem to have an excess of oil, but as pub food to some extent, this is a good thing.
For the main course, I had a garlic bacon burger ($11.99). When ordering something labeled with garlic, it can often go horribly wrong: either overpowered flavor or totally plain and wondering why it even had this label. I’m happy to report they balanced this excellently. Each bite had me tasting a strong garlic flavor, but I never felt overwhelmed with the spice or need to sneeze. The bacon was well cooked, and the patty hit my medium-rare preference.
Given it was a cool summer day, I ended the meal with a Gin Ricky ($7). This is my personal favorite cocktail made simply with gin, lime juice, and a bit of soda water. It’s deceptively simple and very easy to overpower the gin with lime or water down with the soda. While I did have to explain the drink to the wait staff, they made it well — though perhaps with a bit too much lime juice. But it was fresh juice rather than rose syrup which made a huge difference in quality.
If you’re wandering to Monticello for any of their festivals or perhaps on a journey to or from Allerton, the Three Ravens pub is an excellent place to stop for a quick bite of quality pub food.
Check out the restaurant’s website here.
Three Ravens Pub
108 S Charter St
Monticello
Tu 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
W 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Th 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
F+Sa 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Su 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.