Best of Citysearch
50% ambiance
“the food is not edible and its expensive for what it is,the staff is not friendly,the atmosphere is okay.”
100% dessert
“Last year's menu had some real surprises: *my favorite* squid salad, mulligatawny with curried popcorn, lapsang souchong halibut over blackeyed peas and horseradish creme fraiche, curry chocolate mousse with chickpea brittle, pomegranate cheesecake with c”
62% drinks
“My girlfriend and I love cocktails and at Monkeytown a reasonable $8 and a really attractive bartender makes you an imaginative, well crafted, fresh, no gimmicky brand inspired sponsored, delicious cocktail!”
63% food quality
“Worst food and the worst service -- all in one place”
100% menu variety
“Last year's menu had some real surprises: *my favorite* squid salad, mulligatawny with curried popcorn, lapsang souchong halibut over blackeyed peas and horseradish creme fraiche, curry chocolate mousse with chickpea brittle, pomegranate cheesecake with c”
75% overall
“great place for a large gathering!”
100% return potential
“We will go back for sure and I definitely recommend this place, even if past reviews seem kind of harsh.”
41% service
“The food has no flavor,atmosphere is nice however you can not just sit down to have few drinks and go home because the staff make sures you spend over 60 dollars.”
66% value
“the food is not edible and its expensive for what it is,the staff is not friendly,the atmosphere is okay.”
11% wait time
“already been said in other reviews: extremely overpriced, mediocre food (everything was too salty and in fact lukewarm), HORRIBLE service (not only were they slow and rude but they never removed a single dirty dish!”
Monkey Town
Tips for Monkey Town
a total disappointment. the food is not edible and its expensive for what it is,the staff is not friendly,the atmosphere is okay.not recommended by me.i had the worst experience with the staff as well!
worst place to eat in williamsburg!. The staff unbelievably rude.The food is beyond gross, but the atmosphere is cool.I am sure this place gets tons of complaints.i heard the staff is racist!I am never going back.Do not support places as this!
worst staff ever!!!. I came there to see my friends show. I paid the admission and spend another $30 during my stay inside for about 1 hour. However the waitress she harass me constantly during this one hour stay while the room was absolutely empty- only two tables were taken.She took my beer out of my hand and told me to go talk to bar about it instead of handing me my beer and apologize for her obnoxious behaviour. I really need you to take my complaint with the utmost sincerity.This place should consider hiring staff with manners.By the way the food is sloppy as well.
Ain't What it Used to Be. They must have changed chefs because the quality between last November (2006) and earlier this year has taken a serious nosedive. Last year's menu had some real surprises: *my favorite* squid salad, mulligatawny with curried popcorn, lapsang souchong halibut over blackeyed peas and horseradish creme fraiche, curry chocolate mousse with chickpea brittle, pomegranate cheesecake with cardamom and pistachio crust. All of it a dream! I had dinner with my husband earlier this year and the menu had changed, to its detriment. The ingredients were inferior, and the oomph just wasn't there in any of the dishes. The squid salad they bothered to keep made me want to cry in frustration. My seat kept getting kicked by people entering and leaving the back space, and I realized there is always a large birthday group when I go there. The bill seemed much higher, too. Alas, Monkeytown lives no longer in my heart.
Creative food, cool space.. The food is always creative, fresh, and delicious. I also appreciate the unusual concept of the restaurant. It's a unique dining experience and I like to bring friends from out of town to eat here.
Confused???.....but very impressed!!!.
I had heard all this buzz about Monkeytown in williamsburg from time out, nytimes, flavorpill, the onion, etc.... I was pleasantly suprised, enjoyed everything and had a really nice time. I was however floored by my disbelief as I read past reviews about other people's experiences. Having had such a good experience, I didn't understand.... My girlfriend and I love cocktails and at Monkeytown a reasonable $8 and a really attractive bartender makes you an imaginative, well crafted, fresh, no gimmicky brand inspired sponsored, delicious cocktail! We loved the lavender cilantro mojito, grapefruit ginger caipirinha, pomegranate whiskey sour, Monkeytown Manhattan, oh and the best Espresso Martini I've had (although Espresso Martini aren't that imaginativel, but this one is very tasty!)The staff was attentive, friendly, cool, and trendy. Also refreshing to find casually dressed staff instead of the stiff apron and all black wearing Manhattan staff uniform. The food came out reasonably paced, was well prepared, intriguing with its combination of spices and generous portions: overall tasty. Grilled squid salad, was spicy, but delicious. Other dishes we had risotto, thai hanger steak, and this layered napolean thing made with french toast. Desserts are always a must in our dining experience and we plunged into a delicious choc mousse (shared the Espresso martini), we were in heaven! The space was filled, but not crowded and the music selection was great.
We left feeling good and agreed that we had found a special place with some really creative things going on. Monkeytown is clearly trying to do something that manhattan doesn't offer. We will go back for sure and I definitely recommend this place, even if past reviews seem kind of harsh. Which I find utterly confusing...but maybe all places have problems. Following this impressive direction I am sure with experience this "budding" restaurant/creative project will iron itself out and only get better as it matures!
Highley Unique Performance Space with Adventerous Food unlike any. Reading all the other reviews below makes me wonder whether I'm absolutely out of my mind or these people have their heads up their asses. I had a wonderful experience at Monkeytown, coming from Manhattan and used to fine dining, I admit, i was a but skeptical. I was drawn in by the interesting programming in the back room and the unique experience of eating while watching a fantastic video and music performance. The host was fantastic, he eagerly explained to us the way the place operates, and the waitstaff was mellow/hip but friendly and attentive. Although i thought the flank steak was a bit spicy, i was very satisfied by the enormous portion and the tenderness of the meat. My wife had rissotto which she fell in love with, I highly recommend this place as an off the beaten path mid range dining experience.
Worst food and the worst service -- all in one place. This is the worst 'dining' experience I have ever had in New York. My husband and I went for our fifth anniversary to a reception and dinner at Monkeytown. The food was mediocre and slow in coming. But compared to the waitress who ruined our evening? Her attitude was hostile and pushy. When we left a 10% tip to register our diappointment with the vibe, food and service she came over to our table to try and get more money out of us. Glad to hear this terrible place is losing its lease.
Worst Meal Ever. Awful! I hear this place is closing so i wanted to check it out because I thought the idea was nice. It took fifteen minutes to even get water, not even order a drink. We ordered appetizer salads which TOOK AN HOUR! Then when our entrees showed up our waitress could not be bothered to place them in front of us, she just slammed them on the table. The food was beyond sub par, my girlfriend's quesadilla might as well have come from dennys and my shellfish stew has some of the worst clams i have ever tasted, not to mention there were mussels that weren't even open, gross. Anyway I guess there closing , i can see why, its a shame because it is a beautiful space and the performance space is a great idea.
Stay Away!. Monkeytown was an awful experience! The waitstaff was extremely standoffish, unapologetic and way too hip to actually do their jobs. Our reservation for 9:30 was unfullfilled, many of the food items were no longer available and we waited over an hour for our cold, unappetizing meals. Instead of a sincere apology, the waitstaff simply told us that the place had a "chill vibe" and couldn't understand why we were so upset. Needless to say we won't be going back.
Monkey Town
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