Monkey King Thai - Richmond — Restaurant in Sydney

We have been going regularly to this place for a while now but mostly on the weekends. Nan and the other staff are always provide great service. But today, we went for lunch for mums birthday and the service was pretty bad. We had already booked a table and we are seated for a while and the person working didn't bother to tell us we had to order at the counter. The girl working in the kitchen was kind enough to tell us we had order at the counter. We went to order the drinks and she tells us wait a minute and doesn't come back. She assumed we were having the lunch special as she didn't bother to ask or give us the ala carte menu. Entrees were brought out but none of us received a plate. She made a mistake with the drinks order and brought out the wrong ones. Another table returned their as there was something in their food. We drive quite a distance to this restaurant because we love the food and service but today was just quite bad. The staff member working at the front today did not have any customer service skills. We will only return if Nan or any other staff working. Need to mention that the female staff working in the was so good as she even came out to offer the keys...

Food here is good, we have been here twice now. Price is a little steep but it is what it is. The atmosphere here is fantastic, very upmarket and feels cozy. Clearly gets very busy of an evening too so make sure you get a reservation. Most of the staff are fantastic.

I have one small gripe though, and that’s why I marked down two stars. Last time we were here, we got a vegetable fried rice with no egg (vegan). Staff were more than happy to accommodate and it was a super busy period too. Today we come in, at opening time. Same order. “Nope we can’t do that”. Huh? Just don’t add the egg? I’m confused how this lady at the front could possibly say they can’t do that? Just don’t add the egg????

Honestly I was stunned for words. It doesn’t seem like an outlandish request but this lady looked at me as if I had asked for vegetables from an alien planet. Genuinely confused.

The food is still decent but I’m actually just a bit lost for words about this ladies service. Maybe I should’ve asked to speak to a chef? Or maybe a manager, but I really didn’t want to escalate things and make a scene.

3/5… still...

Looking for a quick bite to eat, before heading to a short film at Richmond cinema. We had 45 mins before the film started. The Royal Hotel turned us away, saying there’s no way they could get us steaks in half an hour (fair enough). We hit the street and looked around for somewhere to eat. Husband spotted Monkey King Thai, so we crossed the street, and were very happy we did.

I explained our short timeframe to the waitress, who looked at us and said “ok, I can push an order through for you” and asked us to sit down. She came over straight away and we selected a meal within minutes.

Food was out in ten minutes and was delicious! Service was impeccable, with staff watching to see when we needed more water etc.

We made it to our film with nice breathing space, but both agreed that we would definitely be back to east at Monkey King Thai again and will bring family with us.

Thank you Monkey King Thai, for helping us a with our short timing AND for providing us with great food. We look forward to seeing...