When a group of foodies (All we crazy folks met, thanks to Zomato!) decided to catch up after a long set of chats and getting to know each other better, we decided to meet over Breakfast soon. After a lot of discussions and atleast 250 msgs in 15 minutes, Monkey Bar came up, thanks to the fancy pictures everyone posts, especially of those Red-velvet waffles. So, we decided to catch up for a Sunday Breakfast or Break-first as MB would like to call it.
Now, for starters, the area is a little chaotic with parking, hence I parked on Castle Street and walked up to the place. Folks planning on parking on Wood Street - Beware. I've received a Parking violation once for some place the Valet for Olive Bar & Kitchen, parked on Wood Street. MB has no parking, no valet - So, fend for yourself.
Location: If going from Koramangala, take the Viveknagar route, turn left at the Lifestyle Signal and Monkey Bar is on the right side at the next signal. Take the right just before that signal on to Castle Street and park. Sunday morning 9:15 am, hassle-free parking, but in peak hours, I would be worried.
I reached first and to my amazement the place was full! Ergo, there are a lot of people who wake up early on a Sunday (Note to self)! Some paying their bills and some halfway through. Anyways, we were going to be 6 and hence me and another friend who arrived minutes later, were given a smaller table to wait while they worked out a larger table. It is interesting, they did not seem to want to check inside for a place and instead finally relegated us six to the first table at the entrance! In fact I didn't even know there is more place inside or in the basement and I do wish the staff had the courtesy of informing me and giving me the option to check and decide where we wanted to sit. Besides, sitting and looking around, somewhat admiring the American cafe style of interiors, it continues to baffle me, what is Monkey-sque about the place. It could be called Rabbit Bar or Camel-Bar and nothing would change.
I asked for my coffee, while I waited for the others to trickle in. Once it was three at the table, we decided to order - Partially because we were hungry and partly because we were given quite a few cold stares! So, pleasant surprise, the menu does have some vegetarian options, few - I will agree, but more than I expected. I ordered for the Garden City, which was a platter of A Gratinated Veg Crepe, Feta stuffed mushrooms, hash browns, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, toast. In particular, the Crepe was fabulous, soft and lovely minced veggies inside. The mushrooms were a little less done as I would have expected (Read: Raw). The Hashbrowns were easily the worst I've ever eaten - completely lacked basic salt. Baked Beans again were a little bit of a let down, less tomato flavour and more of something else, onions maybe? Almost made me feel like I was eating Rajma (The coriander leaf garnish continued to suggest I was eating Rajma!).
Friends ordered for a couple of different things, before we could move on to what brought us here - The waffles.
The Chilli Cheese Vada Pav - tasted less Bombay than anything (the menu description needs serious mending) and interestingly did not contain ANY cheese
The Keema Bao : My friend had reservations about the meat being soft, but seemed to be quite happy with the texture. I'll agree the presentation of this dish was excellent - especially the mutton broth in the shot glass.
The Akuri was ordered in as well and seemed to be well-received.
Moving on to the ever so famous waffles.
Two of us had the Red-velvet waffles - Delightful. I understand why this is such a big hit here. The red velvet not only looks different but also tastes slightly different. So besides the coloring, I'm sure there is something additional in this version. The cream-cheese blobs on top and the almond praline are ever so perfect. Whatever you have or don't have - Try this particular waffle!
I had the Regular waffles with Cream - Regular, boring, no stand-outs, except for the cute and tiny mug of maple syrup.
One of us had the Waffles with Bacon - The bacon was separate, the waffles were separate - A little too much workout to actually enjoy this dish. Not exactly the amount of effort one would expect to make on a sunday morning for breakfast!
Finally, while leaving, I did notice a foreigner having her breakfast, with a little black dog sitting on her lap. The waiters seemed quite amused too and made it a point to play with the little fella when they brought in plates of food. Monkey Bar MAYBE pet-friendly. Do call and check, But if you are refused, join me in wondering how the lady managed to sit with her dog licking her face and her water-glass (which you need to specifically call out and ask for) over breakfast one Sunday.
The bill worked out to about 3,200 for all of the above (And a cocktail) . The place is definitely pricey and charges a 10% service charge, for some not so kind and polite service, which is a little let-down. For a vegetarian, it is not the best place around. I'd recommend driving a little further, maybe Smoke House Deli or so, where you have a choice of sandwiches and much better hash browns on the menu. For red-velvet waffles alone however, this is the place to be.
http://www.zomato.com/review/NvLZY
Now, for starters, the area is a little chaotic with parking, hence I parked on Castle Street and walked up to the place. Folks planning on parking on Wood Street - Beware. I've received a Parking violation once for some place the Valet for Olive Bar & Kitchen, parked on Wood Street. MB has no parking, no valet - So, fend for yourself.
Location: If going from Koramangala, take the Viveknagar route, turn left at the Lifestyle Signal and Monkey Bar is on the right side at the next signal. Take the right just before that signal on to Castle Street and park. Sunday morning 9:15 am, hassle-free parking, but in peak hours, I would be worried.
I reached first and to my amazement the place was full! Ergo, there are a lot of people who wake up early on a Sunday (Note to self)! Some paying their bills and some halfway through. Anyways, we were going to be 6 and hence me and another friend who arrived minutes later, were given a smaller table to wait while they worked out a larger table. It is interesting, they did not seem to want to check inside for a place and instead finally relegated us six to the first table at the entrance! In fact I didn't even know there is more place inside or in the basement and I do wish the staff had the courtesy of informing me and giving me the option to check and decide where we wanted to sit. Besides, sitting and looking around, somewhat admiring the American cafe style of interiors, it continues to baffle me, what is Monkey-sque about the place. It could be called Rabbit Bar or Camel-Bar and nothing would change.
I asked for my coffee, while I waited for the others to trickle in. Once it was three at the table, we decided to order - Partially because we were hungry and partly because we were given quite a few cold stares! So, pleasant surprise, the menu does have some vegetarian options, few - I will agree, but more than I expected. I ordered for the Garden City, which was a platter of A Gratinated Veg Crepe, Feta stuffed mushrooms, hash browns, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, toast. In particular, the Crepe was fabulous, soft and lovely minced veggies inside. The mushrooms were a little less done as I would have expected (Read: Raw). The Hashbrowns were easily the worst I've ever eaten - completely lacked basic salt. Baked Beans again were a little bit of a let down, less tomato flavour and more of something else, onions maybe? Almost made me feel like I was eating Rajma (The coriander leaf garnish continued to suggest I was eating Rajma!).
Friends ordered for a couple of different things, before we could move on to what brought us here - The waffles.
The Chilli Cheese Vada Pav - tasted less Bombay than anything (the menu description needs serious mending) and interestingly did not contain ANY cheese
The Keema Bao : My friend had reservations about the meat being soft, but seemed to be quite happy with the texture. I'll agree the presentation of this dish was excellent - especially the mutton broth in the shot glass.
The Akuri was ordered in as well and seemed to be well-received.
Moving on to the ever so famous waffles.
Two of us had the Red-velvet waffles - Delightful. I understand why this is such a big hit here. The red velvet not only looks different but also tastes slightly different. So besides the coloring, I'm sure there is something additional in this version. The cream-cheese blobs on top and the almond praline are ever so perfect. Whatever you have or don't have - Try this particular waffle!
I had the Regular waffles with Cream - Regular, boring, no stand-outs, except for the cute and tiny mug of maple syrup.
One of us had the Waffles with Bacon - The bacon was separate, the waffles were separate - A little too much workout to actually enjoy this dish. Not exactly the amount of effort one would expect to make on a sunday morning for breakfast!
Finally, while leaving, I did notice a foreigner having her breakfast, with a little black dog sitting on her lap. The waiters seemed quite amused too and made it a point to play with the little fella when they brought in plates of food. Monkey Bar MAYBE pet-friendly. Do call and check, But if you are refused, join me in wondering how the lady managed to sit with her dog licking her face and her water-glass (which you need to specifically call out and ask for) over breakfast one Sunday.
The bill worked out to about 3,200 for all of the above (And a cocktail) . The place is definitely pricey and charges a 10% service charge, for some not so kind and polite service, which is a little let-down. For a vegetarian, it is not the best place around. I'd recommend driving a little further, maybe Smoke House Deli or so, where you have a choice of sandwiches and much better hash browns on the menu. For red-velvet waffles alone however, this is the place to be.
http://www.zomato.com/review/NvLZY
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