El Mono que lee — Restaurant in Oviedo

Can absolutely not recommend it!

We were 2 people and ordered 2 meals for dinner (Tortilla and grilled veggies, which were the only gluten free options available this night)

1. I asked for the garlic to be put at the side, which didn't happen. When I reminded the waiter, he took the Tortilla into the kitchen and picked up the big pieces of fried garlic and brought back the exact same tortilla (with smaller pieces of garlic all over it).

2. The veggies never came. We were hungry so we started to eat the Tortilla. We thought about asking for the veggies, but after finishing the Tortilla we were kind of full, so we thought that they had forgotten, so we asked for coffe. The waiter looked stressed and said that he would bring the veggies now. In the discussion about why in all the world we would want to eat the veggies we had ordered 30 min later then the Tortilla, the waiter attempted different explanations. One was that the Tortilla didn't take as long to prepare then the veggies. Another was that the Tortilla was the first course and the veggies the second, which didn't make any sense since we were two people who ordered two meals and primero and secundo plato is usuall for lunch not for dinner... Because we were already short of time I said "Vamos a llevarlo." and asked to order coffee. 10 minutes later - nobody came to take the order for the coffee btw, I even asked another waitress for it - a waitress came with the veggies on the plate. When I asked her why she replied to speak with our waiter. Which I did. While I was speaking, he just walked away in the middle of the sentence. In that moment my mood changed from annoyed to angry. Another waitress stepped in and calmed the situation by asking if she should remove the veggies from the bill. I agreed. We waited, I don't know for how long to finally order the coffee... I specifically asked 2 or 3 sugar for my mother. The coffee came fast but, with only one sugar each.

So, if you would like to enjoy the experience of eating in a restaurant or even if you just expect the food you ordered (like you ordered it) I world higly recommend eating in a different...

My brother and I enjoyed a great lunch here. Since it was so hot out we wanted things that were cool and refreshing, and what we chose was perfect (see plate reviews below). The portions were also quite generous so great for sharing, which we did. The service was at first a bit 'cold' but our waitress warmed up to us when we made effort to have more conversation with her and she took good care of us from then on.

We first had the Ensaladilla Rusa del Mono con sashimi de salmon ahumado y aceite de trufa blanca (Russian potato salad with sashimi smoked salmon and white truffle oil). And yes, it was delicious!

Then next we enjoyed the Carpaccio ahumado de tenera Asturiana de los Valles (smoked carpaccio Asturian beef from an area of Asturias called Valles). It was also wonderful, especially with the fresh rocket greens, the parmesan crisps, and the lovely green dollops of sauce.

To finish it off, we had a warm dish, the alcachofa, rabo de vaca, crema de patata, y apionabo. The artichokes were perfectly cooked, the cows tail was tender and delicious, and the mashed potatoes and celery root went wonderfully with everything. The various tastes blended together deliciously and was a fantastic dish.

They also have their own homemade vermouth which we enjoyed, the beer on tap was good, and they make their own whiskey (but we didn't try that this time).

I would definitely return and have the plates and vermouth again. The plaza where the restaurant is located is also very charming and right in the center of Oviedo's historic district, which is beautiful. The interior of the restaurant is also nice with a main floor and downstairs/basement seating.

Of course, I'm a little biased of the location since the bust statue in that plaza, General Rafael del Riego, was my 4th great uncle. I'm glad to see that this location has this newer restaurant which is turning out to be...

BAD. Just ate dinner at El Mono with friends. My friend and I ordered the entrecot which arrived cold and so the waiter took them both back for heating up. At least 15 minutes later we got our steaks back, still cold. My friend´s was also cold but as she was really hungry, she decided to eat what she could. The waiter took mine back to the kitchen. Again it took several minutes to return and although the plate was sufficient to burn my finger, the steak was only mildly warm and now overcooked. In fact the waiter was so abrupt at serving me the plate, it was this that burned my finger! I ate a little but really it wasn’t good. All in all this was a very bad experience. When it came time for the bill, there wasn’t even eye contact made while a wooden box was tossed onto the table, neither was there an inquiry about the quality of the meal. This was in total contrast to when we started out when the waiter was friendly and helpful, that is before we were served food. We will not be returning to El...