Spice Monkey

Food 2 stars, bonus star for the building. Hell 5 stars for the building but I’m not reviewing the building. But. Those. Tiles. Classic arts and crafts era tiles — a huge one with a forest scene against the wall. Peacock ones on the fountain. Cool colored ones on the vertical surfaces of the stairs.
Back to the restaurant. Medium sized menu made smaller by them being out of a few items. Yeah, no Brussels sprouts. Or soup. So I got the salad with beets which was way mostly mixed greens — tasted fine but pricey for what it was. Got the small size of «Monkey potatoes» that tasted fine but were an odd texture inside.
Not returning for the food but those tiles.

Came for Oakland restaurant week and got the 3 course prix fixe menu. We were seated quickly and service was prompt and cordial. I noticed there was a butternut squash side paired with 3 of 4 entrees which was a good sign that they’re trying to be seasonal and efficient. I love winter squash so I didn’t mind that either! I think I may have gotten an out of date menu because the descriptions didn’t seem to match up with the day’s offering.
Appetizer — Arugula, baby kale, red lettuce, radicchio, shaved pear, pepper-​lime vinaigrette. Mostly arugula and mixed greens with some slices of pear, couldn’t detect any kale or lettuce mentioned. The dressing was very bright and citrusy. Small and light but definitely not worth the $ 8 it would have been a la carte. While lacking the other vegetables, I’d hope they’d throw in nuts, cheese, beets or premium ingredients thrown in there to compensate at that price.
Entrée — Basil seared salmon, butternut squash purée, winter squash medley. Well cooked, tender and buttery on the inside and nice crisp on the outside. A tad too oversalted in some parts. The parsnip? purée it was sitting in was really flavorful and smooth. A couple chunks of butternut squash. I was expecting more vegetables or a bed a winter squash from the menu description. There was a small side salad which tasted exactly like the appetizer salad same lime vinaigrette — without the pear slices.
Dessert — Mexican Chocolate Pot de Crème was definitely the best course. The chocolate was dark and dense but not too sweet. A light dollop of cardamom cream. The thickness and texture were perfect and you could only have a few bites at a time because it was so rich, forcing you to take it slow and enjoy it. I expected more spice heat from cayenne since it was listed as Mexican Chocolate. Garnished with a mint leaf to cool it down.
It wasn’t bad but nothing outstanding or interesting about the food. The ambiance is really chill, pleasant and casual but not divey, with a fountain inside.

I’ve eaten here before and have always had a good experience. This time, however… So, I go in the restaurant, tell the server it’s just me. She hands me a menu, says to sit wherever, and goes off somewhere. I notice that no vacant table has been bussed, so if I want to sit, it’ll be at a dirty table. I take the menu, sit at the bar because it’s clean, which seemed to startle the bartender, and after a few moments of watching, decide that the way things are going I probably won’t get served any time soon, and leave. I’m guessing this is a temporary situation due to the Market opening up and making them short staffed, but I suggest people wait a month or two before visiting Spice Monkey.

Oh wow. We made a reservation because the menu looked unique, and my husband and I were eager to try a bunch of interesting small plates for a nice evening out. Sadly, that didn’t happen, as this was the worst restaurant experience we’ve had since living in Oakland the last 10 weeks.
Part of the problem is that they were super understaffed, and one poor woman was acting as hostess, server, and cat wrangler for the folks going to see a comedy show upstairs. We notice this immediately, and were very patient about it to start.
In addition, there were a lot of weirdly rude patrons — a large and very loud birthday crew shouting at a table one foot away from us, an older drunk woman who bumped into our table no fewer than 5 times, and lots of folks going to the show upstairs who kept the door open while loudly traipsing through the restaurant to go upstairs to this show. I know I sound like a grumpy old lady myself, but, honestly, I’m not! This was just a terrible experience for all angles.
Our cocktails took almost 30 minutes to arrive, and just as they were placed on our table, we had decided we were going to leave since we had been waiting so long. We felt guilty since we had placed our whole order by then, and stayed. Both cocktails were average, and would have been totally ok had we gotten them in a timely manner.
Eventually the food arrived — and the small plates and entrees all came out at once. Our server was apologetic, but it just added to the awful experience. Of the food, only the asian tacos were something I would want to eat again. The plantains with beans were sloppy and lacked any flavor at all, and the stuffed poblano was well executed, but way too $$ for a vegetarian plate.
The server offered us a dessert on the house when she noticed we were having a miserable time, but we just wanted to leave as soon as we could. It would have been wiser to give us the drinks on the house instead. We will not be back, and I would advise folks looking for an interesting meal in Oakland to look elsewhere. There is no need to have a terrible experience in a city as wonderful as Oakland.

Date night. Trying a new restaurant. Had a reservation. Got seated. Got ignored for 20 minutes while servers walked past our table. Left.
It was early and half full. No excuse.

Bringing it down a star. Served a «steak» on top of pile of flavorless (no spice… monkey) green mush. Steak was sliced into 4 pieces and layered over the mush. Was a cheap cut — flat iron — and still there was probably only 3 – 4 ounces of meat on the plate.
Cmon folks…

The beet salad with chicken & feta was perfection! Would have taken a picture but I ate it. Had a bite of the monkey potatoes which were also delicious

I love Spice Monkey. The atmosphere is both intimate and exotic and the food is varied and interesting with a menu that’s updated pretty frequently. The Monkey Fingers and Nacho Plantains are favorite menu staples for me.

Asked the bartender to make me something he enjoys. Ended up with a saffron cucumber gin drink. Absolutely delicious. Thank you Chris!

We made a dinner reservation here for our first time tonight, because my hubby picked up tickets on Goldstar for the comedy show (comps + service charge). I was a bit wary of dining here, since I’m a vegan, and although I checked out the menu in advance, I had my doubts as to how good it may actually be. Well, I am sorry to say that we ordered the (vegan) paella, which our server gal said was large enough to share, so we did share it, plus he wanted the potatoes. The potatoes were pretty tasty, served in a small steamer basket with paper — cute.
When I asked him later on what he thought of the paella, he said he really liked it and gives it a rating of 8.5. I, on the other hand, first said I give it a 2… and after further discussion, I went down to a ZERO. I’m sorry but this is why I feel this way: first, the menu says the vegetarian style paella is made with tofu, but, there was NO tofu in the dish! It was made with cheap looking small strips of seitan instead. Second, it was swimming in a tomato sauce. Paella should not be «saucy». It was a turn off for me. I ate some because we ordered it and I was hungry, it was just edible in my opinion. Barely. My hubby is not a vegan, and his taste is more open to pretty much anything with the ability to fill him up. The carrots were the only thing about this dish that I liked at all. For $ 18, I feel that it was a waste of money, and I went home hungry, after the show, I cooked myself some food!
I got a free refill on my iced tea, but it was brought to me right after we paid the bill.
Our server was friendly and patient, so I will grant her that, but the timing was a little off perhaps. I also had a rickety wooden chair, which I was worried would break. The table next to us complained that their table was shaky, but they fixed it themselves. The few tables are up against a wall, so someone has to sit against the wall without ANY pillows. They also have a weird fountain that takes up space, and isn’t really adding much to the décor. This place makes money on the bar during and after the comedy shows. The show was fun, but PACKED solid upstairs. We were a bit surprised, and we sat right smack in front of the «stage». You can get drinks and light food upstairs before the show too. I saw on their website that if you get there early, they will give you a reserved table, but I felt it was weird since it was so mobbed when we went upstairs, that we had no choice but to sit in the front row of chairs.
Anyway, I would NEVER go back for dinner (or lunch) but the comedy was fun. There are far better restaurants in Oakland than this joint. The website says (I think) that they are changing it to just be a bar and community performance space soon, plus opening a small store. So maybe that’s a good plan for them. I wish them well, and I support events for fun nights out at a low price.

This place is great! I love the fountain inside!!!
Aside from that, the food is also really good. I’ve been here a couple times and have loved what I’ve gotten each time. It’s been a while since I’ve been back so I don’t remember what I’ve had… But I’ll definitely go back!

Spice it up! The food is delicious! I had a Filipino style dish the first time (apologies, the name escapes me). Second visit I had the burger and it was great! Nice stop after salsa class; wish I knew about this place when I worked on Franklin St. But, it’s a nice after work spot. Staff is friendly, accommodating and efficient. Bartender is nice. Back bar is cool with a big mirror and back lit — very nice atmosphere. Casual and comfortable! I haven’t been there for any of the entertainment, but I understand they have some — check it out!

Came here for their free improv comedy show and decided to grab dinner beforehand. We got:
Hamshuka: Spiced ground lamb in a cast iron skillet topped with yogurt and two fried eggs. Toast slices on the side. This dish is delicious! Lamb + runny eggs + yogurt is a winning combination, and the spice they use is interesting/​tasty. I’ve never had anything like this and absolutely loved it. Don’t fear the lamb fat bubbling away in the skillet, by the way… embrace it and dunk your bread in.
Pork belly/​tofu tacos: I’m a sucker for steamed buns, coleslaw, and pork so this is a winner from the get-​go. The slaw had a little kick to it, which was nice, and was very refreshing. By «pork belly» I was hoping for slabs of pork belly but this was more like pulled pork, which was a little disappointing. Same goes for the tofu, which I prefer in slab form but this was crumbled. Regardless, still delicious.
Island Faux: This was one of their cheapest entrees, and was a coconut glass noodle soup with mushroom strands and tofu strands. Again, I wish the tofu (and mushrooms for that matter) were more in whole chunk form to give some more variety, but it was all noodle-​like. The broth itself was tasty but a little weak on flavor compared to the first two dishes (and what I would have expected). Overall an ok dish, but the apps were the best.

I found this on Unilocal and the reviews were spot on! We got various plates, the app tacos, Mac n cheese, the shrimp rice plate, the potato ball things, I can’t remember what they are called but they were delicious. Such a cute place as well, small and quant, very calm and peaceful and the waitress was so cute and nice. Will totally come here again when we are in town

Amazing flavors.
This was a very memorable meal on my list trip to Oakland/​San Francisco.
My first thought was the menu looked great. Some really cool looking, asian type flavors going on. It was hard to choose.
I settled on some kind of pork over rice. The flavors were really amazing.
My brother got the vegan south asian paella with «lemongrass, kaffir-​lime, turmeric, coconut cream sauce, Mendocino brown rice, seasonal veggies» that was also amazing.
I would go back in a heart beat.

Spice Monkey makes you feel like you’re in Mexico with all its tiled, Spanish style charm. There’s even a large, tiled fountain in the center of the place.
I came here for a show on a Friday night and was impressed with how friendly the staff are. It looks like they have a pretty good happy hour, although we had missed it. They had table service for the show upstairs, which was an awesome time saver. No need to miss anything with delivery drinks.
The food didn’t look like much to write home about, but it’s located across the street from Bar 355 (one of the best bars in Oakland), if you’d like another course of liquid dinner.

A friend and I were literally STARVING and roaming around Lake Merritt/​Downtown looking for a nice sit down to grab a bite. We pass by Spice Monkey, and my friend mentions that he’s heard of it but never tried it. So we’re like «what the hell» and go for it. Walking up, we realized the restaurant was completely empty except for a waiter and a bar tender. Good for us, but a bad sign perhaps? We went for it anyway.
We sat outside, it was a gorgeous night. Our waiter was amazing; so funny, kind, very attentive, and super sweet. I LOVE nice waiters. I mean, who doesn’t? But I’ve always loved making friends with my waiters rather than an occasional ‘thank you’.
Like I said, we were hungry, so we split:
Asian Taco’s — So good but small portion
Nacho Plantains — My favorite, we cleaned the plate. Never tried
Bangkok Noodles — Okay. Basic asian noodle dish. A little bland
Asian Paela — So flavorful
Bread Pudding — INCREDIBLE, a must try
Chocolate Pot de Cream — My favorite desert, I ate most of this and cleaned the bowl
Our waiter loved us, so she brought us out a few free things:
The House Sangria — Like no other sangria I’ve ever had. It was ‘spicy’ with nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. I absolutely loved it and plan on coming back just to get the sangria again.
Potato thing — I forget the name, and I don’t see it on their menu, but she brought us an additional appetizer that was like a panko fried potato bite. It was delicious, fried heaven.
I’m still exploring Oakland and trying to find the best spots around. So glad we stumbled upon this place, and I’ll definitely be back.

We stopped by on an early Friday night, to unwind after a long week. After sliding into a couple of empty bar stools, we struck up conversation with a couple of rummies… er…I mean regulars (!). Apparently Spice Monkey is owned by a tiny Cambodian woman named Kenitha (we didn’t meet her), and they specialize in what I can only describe as Pan-​Asian pub fare. From the name, I would have guessed Indian food (it’s not), and the décor is Third World, Mediterranean, and South East Asia all mashed together.
The main reason we stopped in was for the full bar! I was actually surprised to see this kind of restaurant with a full bar, so it was a treat. We ordered a few items from the kitchen. They were fine, not knock-​your-​socks-​off though. Our bartender, Mr. Brown, offered good pours and friendly service. The other patrons with whom we were chopping it up were very friendly regulars. We actually had a great time.
I also heard that they host a comedy night, Might have to check that out!

Differently an awesome place to check out, beautiful interior and interesting dishes. Service can be slow during the lunch hour, but very friendly. They also happened to run out of a number of things today, but still had a great experience here.
Turkey burger — jit’s a tad spicy with the pepper if you’re the sensitive type. Bold earthy flavor, it does get messy to eat as many burgers are. The bun is baked so the top part is a little hard to eat (can’t just squish it down to fit in your mouth) — still a tasty challenge. Comes with a small side of chips.
Coconut flan — pretty small portion, decent flan the coconut is mild and you still get mostly the caramel flavor.
I plan to come back during happy hour instead!

Came here for Oakland Restaurant Week ($ 30 for a 3-​course dinner).
The only dish I am actually really excited about and would whole heartedly recommend is the CHAMOMILE FRIED CHICKEN. Sounds basic, but it’s the best fried chicken I’ve ever, ever, ever had. It’s a bit sweet from the chamomile tea and breaded so perfectly, giving the chicken a good crunch without being soaked in oil. The portions are also generous.
The most disappointing dish was the Seafood Paella. It was very watery (gross) and lacking in flavor (sad). Portion was also very meager.
Our waitress was charming and super patient, but the overall management was just okay — we made a reservation a week in advance, and on the day of, our reservation seemed to have disappeared. We had to wait an extra ~20 minutes. They also ran out of frog legs, one of the specialty items on the Restaurant Week menu. :/​
Overall, I don’t think I would be back. The food was good, but I wouldn’t pay the full menu price for it.