I was excited to try Monk, both from the reviews and from my curiosity about what had replaced the Cuban cafe. (Cafe Havana was originally in this spot. At one point it was my favorite Royal Oak restaurant. Then changes were made, I heard it was bought out, and the quality went significantly downhill.) I had heard that the owners (the same as the neighboring Bastone) wanted something they was more aligned with Bastone and the brewery. I found the new decor to be a bit heavy for the narrow space and it felt more closed in than during previous visits to the same space.
While my friend was very happy with the beer list and the beer, I was disappointed by the food. Not that everything was bad, because while there was some bad there was also some good stuff happening, but that it was not as amazing as the original Cuban.
I love beer cheese soup, so of course had to order this. The soup was thick and came with what I would call salad croutons on top. These are meant for salad, not soup, as they turned to mush due to contact with the soup. I had to pick them out. Soup croutons need to be hard and dense (a plea to the owners to please fix this!). The soup was a bit too thick and had more of a herb taste then I expected. It did have a good flavor though and was filling.
My friend and I shared two gaufres: the pulled chicken and the pork belly. The chicken was very good as was the garlic aloi, the mix of other ingredients reminded me of a chicken salad  with a waffles as the bread. The pork belly was not very good. The meat was thickly sliced and incredibly fatty. We are talking hunks of fat, equal amount to the meat. The sauce was too sweet and made the waffle too soggy. This was really too bad as I think pork does well with fruit sauces, cherry in this case. I did not bother to finish it. The sandwiches also came with a hunk of giant pickle. It was fairly good but very difficult to eat. We also had the pomme frites (french fries in the US) with duck fat. They came with ketchup curry and Bearnaise sauce for dipping. They were the best part of the meal. Fried perfectly with a sort of larger salt, just the right amount. My friend really enjoyed the curry ketchup.
We had random complaint during our visit. My friend ordered a pale ale that was carbonated and as a result was foaming as poured. while the waiter recognized this and did not fill the glass, he poured it straight in without tipping it which makes it worse. At a regular bar, okay fine, but this is called a beer abbey, the staff should know how to pour beer. Other than that the service was fine. The food was bought quickly and he checked back in with us.
Overall, I really liked the concept and think it has potential if the owners make some improvements. The other reviews seem to enjoy the moules so I would come back to try these.
This place is awesome. I was looking for something with a unique menu and this place fits the bill. I had the three different mussels for the app menu
then I had the waffle with pork belly and fries made in duck fat. DELICIOUS!!! Oh yea and they have some GREAT beer on tap. This place is a must if you want seething different.
The sun was out, the breeze was up, and hair being blown in the wind; perfect day for some Belgian beer and waffles! The concept of Monk sounded interesting. They open at 4pm everyday, and we arrived a little beforehand on a Saturday afternoon. Even though we had arrived just 5 minutes before opening, the bartender wasn't exactly the most friendly when I popped my head in and asked, "Are you guys open already?" I mean, the door was open all the way (not ajar) so it was a little misleading, and since 5 minutes isn't a ton of time, we thought maybe it would have been okay just to be offered to sit at the bar while we waited. Well, that didn't happen, so we took a stroll around the block.
After about 15 minutes, we came back, and waited to be seated. There wasn't anybody to greet us immediately, so we waited about 2-3 minutes before our server came out and told us that we could sit anywhere. We elected to sit in a booth further back into the space. The space itself is quite dark, and the dark fabric curtains certainly don't help. I suppose that they are trying to capture a more elusive bar feel, but the booths are black, and the table tops are dark cherry brown with black table tops, so it seemed a little bit TOO dark. It wasn't a huge deal; just something we observed.
As first timers, we got a detailed explanation about the menu, and were excited to try a little bit of everything.
We ordered -
1. White wine, garlic, fresh herbs, salted butter moules ($9): Mussels were on the bigger side, so not as sweet. Fresh, perfectly steamed, and had great flavor with the chopped garlic, parsley, and white wine. I was a little afraid that the salted butter would be the prominent flavor profile, but it was really light and understated. The white wine really showed clearly, so it was tasty. Good balance, and good amount. Loved the cast iron pot that it was served in. It really matches the concept of the beer bar. The baguette had great flavor, and was perfectly grilled, but more like a breadstick than a true baguette. Yum though!
2. Burger with housemade bacon and Edam cheese ($10): Nicely seasoned and flavorful patty. The meat was moist, and had enough fat without being greasy (I'm guessing a 80/20 blend). I ordered mine medium, and it came out just as we both like it. I gave half to Husband, and he agreed that it was tasty. There were two thin slices of bacon, and a nice slice of Edam cheese that melted on top of the beef patty. Other accoutrements included fresh green lettuce, heirloom tomatoes. I particularly liked the heirloom tomatoes, but wish there were onions as well.
3. Lobster, arugula, hazelnut vinaigrette, Havarti dill cheese wrapped in a fennel herb waffle ($13): It was a lot smaller than I expected. The flavors were okay, but we weren't huge fans. It was a bit sloppy, and the waffle was too soft and sweet when you bit into it. Lobster amounts were decent, but way too much arugula for the amount of meat. I didn't really taste much of the Havarti dill cheese, and the vinaigrette. Overall, it just tasted too sweet.
4. Frites with curry ketchup and bearnaise sauces ($5): They were a great texture, and not over fried. Loved the curry ketchup, but the bearnaise was mediocre. The amount was good for the price, but nothing wow.
We also ordered a 6-beer sampler ($7), and I'm not much of a beer drinker due to allergies, but the little sampling I had was good. My favorites were the Monumental Blonde, Dubbel Vision, and Nectar des Dieux Triple. Coincidentally, most of them had fruit undertones; probably the reason why I liked them. :D The Royal IPA was our least favorite of the group.
Final bill came out to be about $44 before tip. I think it's a fun place to come with friends and your partner, but foodwise, it was overall just average. The mussels and beer are worth getting here, but the others, I'd probably pass on.
Came here to meet a friend for dinner/drinks. Was lucky to have found a parking space in the lot behind Monk. Big pet peeve is a bar that doesn't have a foot rail to rest your feet on when sitting and drinking (- 1 star).
Had the Belgian waffle sandwich with the lobster. DAMN good. Also, fires are a must if you eat here.
Waitress was super attentive and friendly.
The beer selection is huge (obviously).
We really enjoyed Monk. We started with a beer sampler and felt we got a good deal on a fun time. Next, the fries cooked in duck fat were tasty but maybe not worth the price (so many scraggly bits instead of hearty fries makes a difference). My lobster waffle more than made up for the fries though. It was just great, I recommend you try it. My partner had a burger. He said the taste was perfect but it was too messy; and I agree, he looked goofy trying to sop up the egg after it immediately ran off the burger. The tray it was served on didn't help either. Poor food ergonomics or something. Don't get me wrong, this visit was a success. We'll be back!
Review Source:Definitely a different concept than its sister restaurant next door, and a very welcome one. Â The menu reads a little more in the realm of "modern gastropub" (with a very belgian twist, naturally), with more interesting ingredients and a bit more creativity. Â And it's more focused on small bites, sandwiches and burgers. Â
In terms of specifics, the fries are great (as are the dipping sauces, which really do remind me of eating frites in France/Belgium), and the mussels are well done (with some great bread for sauce-sopping). Â The wild mushroom/garlic/herbs/cream rendition was the best we ordered - it's reminiscent of an awesome mushroom marsala pasta sauce, with mussels underneath. Â The gaufres (waffle sandwiches) we ordered were both good, but the chicken had probably the better savory combination of flavors - with a little sweetness from the grapes. Â My pork belly sandwich was great for the first half dozen bites, but the rich sweetness got to be a touch too much by the end.
Decor: they actually didn't do all that much to change much from the space's previous incarnation as Cafe Habana. Â The walls themselves are the same, but there's a pretty slick (but perhaps a little unfinished-looking) wood paneling placed over the top. Â There are also some new light fixtures, and the bar has changed shape to close off the old connection with Bastone (the new doorway will be at the back of Monk). Â The intention is clearly to create a "beer bar" atmosphere, where patrons line up next to each other, all quaffing different brews.
Beer really is the centerpiece there. Â They have all of Bastone's in-house offerings, plus American-made belgian style bottles, and a whole heaping ton of imported belgian bottles. Â The only negative is that there didn't seem to be many belgian bottles less than like 8 bucks. Â I didn't pay much attention to the sizes, though, so perhaps they're all huge.
In any case, it's definitely a worthy neighborhood gastropub spot. Â Supremely friendly staff, btw.
The good:
They have Bastone's beer selection
Great Belgian beer bottle selection (which Bastone did not have)
DUCK FAT FRIES (graisse de canard pomme frites)
waffle sandwiches, ya'll
The bad-ish:
not sure what to make of their bar/counter - what is the point of the bar if drinks are not made there and there are no taps? Â This is a very weird/incoherent set up.
I would vote to combine this with Bastone - why do these need to be distinct places? Â I would go further and just combine the whole corner - including Vinotecca and Commune. Â Knock down the walls and have a common menu - and VOILA! Â You have a spacious bar that has something for everyone.
Visited Monk today for the first time. Â I've been so excited to try this place, and I'm extremely happy with my experience there.
Our server (Tim?) was great. Â He explained the beer menu/food menu to us in great detail and was very attentive.
We ordered 3 different types of moules, the pancetta, the white wine/garlic, and the lobster/tomato. Â They were savory and packed with flavor. Â My favorite part was dipping the bread in the broth afterward. Â Definitely the best mussels I've ever had. Â We stuck with the Witface beer (Bastone beer), but I would love to go back and try some of the belgian ales they serve.
We will definitely be back. Â We have made it our person goal to try everything on the menu. Â Good job, Monk!
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