Monkey & Me Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in London

I was in the mood for Thai food and didn’t want to go to a typical high-street chain, so I looked online for an independent spot and came across Monkey and Me.

Food: The food was genuinely nice — no complaints there.

Service: Unfortunately, the service was a big letdown. I couldn’t help but notice a stark contrast in how I was treated compared to other guests. The lady serving seemed warm and friendly to other tables — smiling, saying “kapunkap” in Thai, and generally being attentive. When it came to my table, though, her attitude was cold and dismissive.

It didn’t take me long to realise why — I was wearing builder’s clothes in what is clearly a more upmarket area. Still, I don’t think that justifies being made to feel like a second-class customer.

There was also a strange interaction when I ordered my steak. I asked for it medium, but she only offered two options: medium rare or well done. When I repeated “medium,” she simply restated the two choices again.

When it came time to pay, the bill was £51. I asked to pay in cash, and she said, “Only if you have the exact amount, as we are cashless.” Since the bill said service charge was optional, I gave £50 and said to deduct the missing £1 from the service charge if they didn’t have change. Her reaction made it clear she wasn’t happy with that.

To be honest, I didn’t even feel like leaving a service charge, but I let it go.

Final Thoughts: This review isn’t to bring down the business — it’s to explain honestly why I left disappointed and why I won’t be returning. Everyone deserves to be treated with the same respect, no matter what they’re wearing or how they look.

Sadly, this was the worst Thai service I’ve ever experienced. A real shame, because the food was good — but the overall experience was a big disappointment. I...

I am not a person who usually posts reviews on the internet but because of my experience last night I feel compelled to do so.

The food, the staff and the energy of the place is excellent. To start; I ordered the squid and pork rib - they were a delight! I veraciously enthused over the stickiness of the BBQ sauce and the tenderness of the meat and I was eager to enjoy my duck masaman main. The fragrant curry appeared and I took my first bite which would've been a lot more enjoyable if it wasn't for the thick black hair that made its way into my mouth. I understand these things happen and I made a quiet complaint, which was dealt with efficiently and I waited twenty minutes for my new dish, It felt like the potatoes had been rushed but it was nonetheless a tasty curry.

After another round of drinks I asked for the bill and noticed the hair laden curry was still on the bill. I asked for it to be taken off because of the inconvenience of waiting twenty minutes for a new one coupled with the fact that the hair made me feel a bit sick. The attentive waiter went and fetched the owner and this is where the night soured. His scowling face demanded to know why we asked for it to be taken off the bill...I explained that while the replacement curry was tasty, the potatoes weren't up to scratch and for the inconvience of waiting twenty minutes for a new one I expected not to pay. This back and forth went on for further fifteen minutes. I was exasperated but finally he said okay and took some money off the bill. It was only upon leaving I noticed he hadn't taken the curry off at all but the service charge! What a cheap bastard! It's such a shame that the night was marred by such an unpleasant fun sponge, he's lucky to have such attentive and gracious staff, which should be...

We had walked in with pretty low expectations, as the menu seemed rather unremarkable and we assumed it would be rather inauthentic. But my oh my, were we wrong.

We've tried quite a lot of different Thai restaurants in London, and I can say, hands down that the 'Bangkok Pad Thai' was the best and most authentic pad thai I had in London. In fact, it was even better than some of the pad thais I've had in Thailand due to the fact that they add dried jumbo shrimp - which I'm told they make themselves. I found them to be much better than the mass produced little dried shrimp that is found in Asia. I'm still dreaming about this pad thai and cannot wait to come back for another plate.

Their green curry also exceeded expectations - nice and spicy but beautifully creamy at the same time. Really does not taste like any other green curry that I've tasted around London.

Finally, we started off with the grilled squid, it was less remarkable compared to the other two dishes which simply blew our minds, but delicious nonetheless.

We cannot wait...