Blue Monk On Belmont

Its closing or closed.
Probably for the better. Not gonna hate on it. Wouldn’t go back, though.

Closing on the 29^th of April. New owners are going to do an extensive remodel.

Between the $ 12 plate of Chef Boyardee Spaghetti to the waitress who brought the ‘disdainful shitty Portland wait staff attitude’ to a new level, I left Blue Monk hoping I never had cause to visit again. Like a ghost that never realizes it’s dead, this place is a woeful, sickening hovel. By next year, God willing, it will have burned down or been replaced by a less pathetic excuse for a bar.

+Honest food.
My boyfriend and I have been here twice and had great experiences both times. I can’t seem to get away from the coconut curry polenta, it is just SO GOOD. The flavors are pretty simple but still so interesting and I like that it is served with veggies. My boyfriend got the daily special both times we went, both times the meal was impeccable. This time it was a dijon-​dill salmon which I stole a bite of and it was perfect. Will definitely be coming back, maybe I’ll be able stray from the polenta and try something else on the menu!

Went and watched my friends’ band play on Saturday night in the basement bar. We didn’t order any food but we drank so much the caloric count would have been the same.
They have a really clever drink menu. If you order a Pete Rose you get to roll dice to determine your vodka, correct me if I am wrong but if you roll an even number you get your choice of vodka but if you roll and odd number you get well.
The sound is great in the basement and sitting in a booth for a concert is my kind of night. I am excited to go to more shows here.

My friend and I went there for happy hour last night after work. We both had the Ninkasi IPA that was on special and food (our favorite were the shrimp tacos, followed by the bruschetta). We also has the pork sliders but we weren’t very impressed by them. We heard there would be belly dancing downstairs, so we paid our tab and went down to the basement to see the Off Beat Belly Dancers. Bring lots of dollar bills to tip the dancers. It was a so much fun, and I would totally go again.

We stopped in one Tuesday to check out the Pagen Jug Band. They were fun, the crowd was fun, the beer was good and the beet salad and bruschetta were tasty.
Without the ambiance of the «regulars» and without the eclectic variety of musicians/​events every week, I’d probably give Blue Monk three stars. But belly dancing? And variety shows? And poetry readings? And that crowd at the Pagen Jug Band show? Can’t wait to go back.

We went back tonight for Happy Hour and then headed downstairs to their basement for Offbeat Belly Dance.
We experienced a better level of service this visit. I ordered the Chicken Parmesan Sub for $ 5.50 on the Happy Hour Menu. It was fairly good, not amazing but definitely good. It consisted of a fresh roll, good sauce, fresh chicken, and just the right amount of cheese. I appreciated that they served some extra sauce on the side, I used most of it and enjoyed each bite that much more.
I also was able to taste the Coconut Curry Polenta (Vegan) and really liked it so I plan to order that when I return. It had a really nice combination of sweet and spicy, very nice indeed.
The performances were top notch and fun, it was a great way to spend a Friday night with friends.

Apparently I’ve written a review for the Blue Monk before but here we go for round two.
GOT to be one of the best happy hours in Portland for food.
Highly recommend the following:
Sweet potato and chicken enchiladas, Thai shrimp tacos (fusion type-​sweet chili sauce) and especially curry polenta — it was phenomenal
The chef brought our food out and was very excited about his creations. He was obviously proud of what he does, as he should be, the food was BOMB.

Is this place really able to be called a true restaurant? I’m going to say «no» on the grounds that the night I showed up, the few non-​tomato-​based dishes they had were marked as «unavailable», or simply had a black line through them on the menu. The black marker lines were pretty tacky. This also made me exceedingly unhappy, because there was a Wild Coho Salmon on their online menu that I had really wanted to try.
Everyone else seemed to think the food was good enough, but no one in my party of 6 raved about it.
The pluses are the downstairs bar (small, reasonably priced, good bartender the night I was there), and of course the jazz room /​music. I really do like the Blue Monk décor (which borders right between being artsy and a more typical jazz dive bar — love it), and the trio I heard *on a Sunday night* was quite good. Again, I stress that Sunday is not normally a night you can hear good jazz.
On that basis alone, I’m giving it 3 stars — but I highly doubt I’ll eat there again. Probably go eat someplace else, then downstairs for the jazz.

Our friend recommended this spot when we were looking for a good place to eat dinner. It was pretty, pretty delish! We shared a couple dishes and were full way before we expected.
The service was a bit slow, but very friendly! They have a downstairs area where they were having a blues show that night — seemed to draw a pretty good crowd.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is a bit different, but they did have a couple tables which was lovely for people watching :]

I chose this restaurant using a tried-​and-​true selection method — Eeeny Meeny Miny Moe. You see, I just moved to the SE Belmont ‘hood and immediately wanted to start exploring the area and its offerings.
The restaurant is jazz themed with paintings and other likenesses of Thelonious Monk scattered throughout. Oh yeah, and it’s also very blue! It looks kinda dive-​y, so in true prejudicial fashion, I assumed the menu was going to be chock full of dive-​y, crappy bar food. Much to my surprise, the menu had a lot of classy items! So, the lesson here is, don’t judge a book by its cover!
I ordered the chicken parmesan, which was served with white and red cream sauces. Shockingly good! My boyfriend ordered the chicken cordon bleu entrée. Really? Cordon bleu at a jazzy, dive bar? Interesting but also surprisingly good.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I won’t come here for high-​post dinners, but I will definitely come back. If not for the food, I’d come back to see what was going on in the basement. There were some very interesting characters emerging from the abyss that led us to make-​up all sorts of stories as to what was happening. We know it was band, but we couldn’t hear any music, so we (again), jumped to our own conclusions.
Oh, and one other thing, the service was achingly slow. There was only one server and one chef handling all the food and drink orders for the entire venue — upstairs AND downstairs. My hope is that this is not the norm. If it is, then… no more Blue Monk for me.

This review is about the upstairs bar — not about music downstairs, which I didn’t experience (see below).
The selection of beers is great — well done there.
Not well done — the atmosphere — it’s cold and impersonal — probably because of the blue lights creating the opposite of a warm feel.
Also, kind of lame that I called ahead and they said there was a $ 10 cover after 9 pm, and when I went downstairs at about 8:45, they wanted to charge me a $ 10 cover. I explained what the lady said on the phone, and they were like well she misunderstood. Umm, get your stories straight people!
Overall this was an okay experience. I’d probably only go back if someone really really wanted to go there and I couldn’t persuade them to go somewhere else.

Are looking for ammmmbiaaaance… or are you looking for a place with a quirky vibe and good food? Well if you are looking for ambiance there are loads of places that are happy to charge you a $ 100 a head for dinner. If you are looking for something different try the Blue Monk.
The interior is dark with retro 50’s type furnishing, old but comfortable. Someone has good taste in music. While we were there music was playing the background. It was both interesting and eclectic. Service is very good although we were early and only the bartender was on. He was tearing around the place doing it all so service was a bit slow but understandable. Once he got some help service was excellent.
Happy hour prices are a real deal. Bruschetta was wonderful with olive oil rich toasted bread topped with super fresh tomatoes. The veggie pizza and the meat lovers pizza were both excellent with rich tomato sauce loaded with toppings.
We were drinking and eating freely with the emphasis on drinking and still I was shocked by how inexpensive the bill was for the four of us. Finally, the bartender despite working like a madman makes a top flight martini.

Blue Monk is the sort of place you visit if you’re walking around Belmont and can’t find anything else to do. The signs on the street entice you into restaurant, the mellow jazz music solidifies your intent to enter the door, you read the extensive beer menu, and you’re stuck inside, waiting… and waiting… in their oven-​like dining room for service.
When my girlfriend and I were looking for drinks and a light dinner on Belmont a couple nights ago, we decided on Blue Monk, an apparently cozy, jazz-​themed pub that looked quite interesting from the outside. I ordered a beer from their extensive beer list, and while it was served cold, the 85-​or-​so degree ambient temperature quickly warmed it to an undrinkable mass of malt and hops. We then ordered the antipasto appetizer (which, according to the menu, is intended for consumption by two people) and were largely impressed with the offering. The meats, cheeses, artichokes, and olives were prepared well and were very tasty. The bread had great flavor but had such thick crust that it became difficult and painful to chew after a while.
After eating, we were sweating and ready to head back out into the cool, evening air. However, since only one person was working both the bar and all the tables (and, since he decided to sit down at another table and chat with some ladies for seven or eight minutes), we waited forever, like Dante and Virgil in the depths of hell, to request our check and then again to receive it. At about $ 30 in total, the meal and drinks were a bit overpriced: if service and comfort were factored into the cost, the bill should have only been about $ 2.
Despite the very good antipasto, I’ll make every reasonable effort to not visit Blue Monk again.

Call it early onset Alzheimers but I had forgotten how much I love this place!
Friendly and attentive bartender? Check
Great food? Check
Strong drinks? Check
Sidewalk tables? Check
Ambiance? Well, 4 out of 5 ain’t bad, eh?
And one of the best happy hours in town! Heaping portions that are big enough to call dinner. We had the polenta, bruschetta and ahi carpaccio and a few drinks each and walked out very satisfied.
And Warren, the bartender, should give lessons in customer service to some other establishments in town!

Food has become very good, with very good service to match. Good enough that the frau is a fan as well now. Still a great selection of beers, and she likes the mixed drinks a lot. Perhaps the best American-​style Italian food in Portland, and a heck of a value. I’m puzzled as to why it smells of smoke so much (hmm, maybe the basement…) but other than that, really a great place.

This is not a quiet establishment. The lighting is kept very dark and the music is tuned up very high (see photos of camera struggling to take pictures). I don’t know if it’s to hide its flaws.
The Happy Hour food and drink menu has a pretty decent selection. All domestic beers were $ 3.00. We filled up on Beet Salad and Bruschetta, both $ 5.50 each. We were surprised by their Beet Salad. The roasted beets were diced, on top of a bed of baby spinach and served with candied nuts and goat cheese. The Bruschetta toasts were served separately than the tomatoes. Blue Monk was thoughtful enough not to sog up the bread. Nice.
The place was busy and the service was a little slow. We didn’t have a chance to peak downstairs, but we’ve heard good things about the live music. We wish there was a little bit more lighting. It would have been nice to see our dining companions facial expressions.

Blue Monk on New Years Eve**************Rockin’!
The previous poster shoulda been there NYE because we couldn’t find a place to sit for all the people in the basement.
A truly fine and fun time with great dancing music and excellent free food gave my date and I a reason to stay for the whole night.
Busy but excellent bartender poured generous drinks, there were party hats and horns and free champagne for the midnight toast.
It was an impromptu evening for us-​we wanted to go listen to music but not pay the killer cover charges that some places were getting. We plan on going back for The New Iberians music again, and for Blue Monk food too.

I really just don’t like this place. The service blows… and the food is pretty average. The downstairs is non-​smoking which is about the only good thing that this place has going for it in my opinion.
Wine list? Sucky. Beers, eh. Since I don’t drink the liquor, I got no feedback on that. I just don’t see any reason to go to this place again… and I probably wouldn’t have gone had it not been for someone else’s birthday. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do… but hopefully I won’t have to go to the Blue Monk again.