The Monkey King

I think this is the best restaurant in Brooklyn. They bring a variety of asian influences to the table - we ordered a bunch of things. My favorite was the Char Siu. Staff wise, they had great service. My girlfriend and I had the opportunity to meet the owners after the meal, who told us their inspiring story of following their dreams and opening the restaurant, which is still new. You have to go!!!

Clarification: ZERO STARS I have no idea what the food is like (though after telling our story to a few friends, I’ve learned it’s mid and that we weren’t missing much) because we weren’t allowed to eat here. Still perplexed at what this experience even was. My partner and I were passing by at around 5:30 on a quiet AF Thursday afternoon and thought we’d pop in and check it out. The hostess made eye contact with me but couldn’t be bothered until she finally decided to pull herself away from whatever hilarious story the server was telling her and acknowledge me. Not by saying anything, mind you. No. Just by walking up to the stand and…looking at me. Ok. I politely said, “Hi, thank you. We don’t have a reservation, but we were curious to know what the wait time for two would be.” She heavy sighed, rolled her eyes, and VERY disdainfully said that we couldn’t get a table until 8:45. Now. Yes, I realize that we didn’t have a reservation and obviously anyone who’s ever eaten out would know to expect that there might be a wait. 3 hours and 15 minutes on a Thursday was a bit of a surprise to say the least, but ok. You’re popular. Neat. Now, here’s where things get…wild. I asked the hostess about the possibility of sitting at the bar which, aside from two people already eating there, was empty…and with the most condescending grin you can imagine paired with a sudden vocal fry and nasal sarcasm, she said, “The bar is for single diners onlyyyyy…” Wait… huh? There is literally another (albeit straight) couple at the bar *sitting together* having food and drinks. I asked, “What?” because I kind of didn’t believe my ears. It was simply the first time I’d ever heard this in my life. (More fry) “Uh. Two people are considered a ‘partyyyy’ and you have to sit at a taaaaable if you’re a ‘partyyy’,” she whined. “Oh,” I said, doing my best to brush her attitude off of me, “well we can totally pay two separate checks if that’s…” SHE CUTS ME OFF!!! “What you can doooo is put your name on the list or you can leave, thank youuuuu.” I’m sorry WHAT?! I’ve never been spoken to this way at a restaurant, and frankly I don’t understand what part of town you think you’re in. Haha! And, I’m sorry, if I have to walk through a storage room past a big pile of cardboard boxes to get into your restaurant, you’re not as fancy as you think you are. God, I miss real Brooklyn. And boy oh boy I can’t WAIT to see what the extraordinarily professional owner has to say about this. I’m sure it’ll be sheer poetry!

If I could give no stars I would. This place that I never got to go to charged me $350 for their waiter putting the wrong date for the reservation I rescheduled one time. Then tried to flip it on me saying I called to reschedule three times which is impossible if I called Friday to reschedule for Sunday cause I couldn’t be there Friday due to the distance. I called and repeated Sunday 4 times and I’m glad I have my calls recorded automatically! So I have the recording of their employee saying Sunday and then not sending me no confirmation or anything. I am going to the BBB on you guys cause you are thieves. I don’t even live there and didn’t even get service yet I was charged that much for your mistake. I will be posting the recordings on TikTok and Instagram !

Great food. Actually great. But this place is run by children and there are absolutely zero monkeys (there's no evidence monkies is the plural of monkey, so middle finger emoji to you) and no bananas. No art. Not even a metaphor. This place does no deserve the name Monkey King. It is a jester at best. Also, don't tell me how to eat soup dumplings with your inferior cutlery. Get soup dumplings spoons and then we can talk.

decor and vibe was beautiful! food was pretty good more chinese american fusion than chinese traditional fusion.

One of my favorite restaurants in Brooklyn! Ambience and service is great—perfect spot for a date but also a beautiful place for a larger birthday dinner as well. I’ve tried almost the entire menu at this point and you really can’t go wrong! Some of the dishes do fall towards the end of salty but it sounds like they are always working on improving and perfecting their menu. We always make sure to take our friends and family to MK when they visit. Super fans of the shrimp toast and green beans.

Great place for dinner

I saw this place on instagram and added it to my bucket list. My husband and I traveled from Atlanta just to try The Monkey King. The atmosphere is comfortable and laid back. Our waiter was accommodating and made us feel like we were seating in VIP. We met the owner Mike. He was professional and was grateful for us traveling to Brooklyn New York to try his restaurant. The taste from each dish blew us away from the concocted herbs and spices. We will definitely return.

The food here is very good! I’ve been here once and haven’t been back because of the vibe. There’s nothing super negative to say about it, but the vibe just doesn’t feel 100% right. All the furniture is probably from West Elm, and the place just feels like it’s trying too hard to be fancy which just doesn’t feel fully authentic. The server also tried too hard to sell/force the vibes on us. It’s a Chinese restaurant, take it down a notch, we are in Bushwick. lol. You will definitely have a good meal here though and staff were friendly. Just don’t try so hard and it’ll be a better experience dining here.