Rice Monkey — Restaurant in Durango

Stopped in for dinner here with my son. He loves sushi and was very excited to try a new place. He ordered the Dragon roll and we also ordered the Lime Twist at the recommendation of the waiter. Both rolls were delicious. I ended up preferring the Dragon and my son the Lime Twist, so that worked out really well. I also ordered the Bang Bang Shrimp and I'm glad I did, as it was outstanding.

We were a bit surprised when we entered that the restaurant is very compact. There is a counter along the window side, 3 tables with a long bench along the wall and two stools on the aisle of each of those tables (so 3 cozy 4-tops), and a couple seats at the bar with very high stools. There is some outdoor seating as well. Luckily we were able to snag the 2 counter seats, and we could watch the staff at work. They were amazingly quick and efficient in the tiny kitchen, despite the amount of staff crammed in there. They obviously are very experienced working together, and were very professional. Because it was so busy when we arrived, we did have to wait a bit to get our food, but it certainly wasn't because anyone was slacking. They were in constant motion, but still polite. They even took the time to chat when they had a moment to do so. The prices were comparable to other sushi places we go to for this quality. Yes, it's small and can be crowded, but it's popularity is well deserved. My son wants to return to try their pho. From what we saw of the size of the servings, we will probably have to...

Wow! I'm literally blown away by this pho. I lived in Chicago and we left last year to travel around the country until we set roots in South Fork Co. The one thing I have missed is pho. I've tried plenty of pho in my travels and they are usually just okay or a let down. We traveled two hours to go do some shopping in Durango and was excited to see this restaurant. I didn't expect much, but at least enough to fix a craving so I tried it. This has to be one of the best pho's I've had in my life. I am convinced that this broth is cooked in it's traditional way. The broth is flavorful and a little cloudy showing that it's been cooked in meats and bones. It doesn't have that fake sweet taste that most pho places have. It's just flavorful and delicious. I liked that they put all the toppins in for me. We also ordered sushi and summer rolls and they were all delicious. I was just blown away by the pho. I ordered one to take home and now I'm kicking myself because I should have ordered more and put in the freezer. Next time I go I will order the whole pot since I have to drive two hours. I now have a place to go when the craving kicks. If you guys would consider opening a restaurant in Pagosa that would be helpful! Btw the restaurant is small it has a few tables inside but there's more sitting outside. The service was phenomenal and the waiters are even cute 🥺 lol. Give this...

Based on what I read online I'm assuming many of these folks either have never had authentic Asian fusion/Sushi or they live under rocks and just came out for a bite and it was "ultra" satisfying. Either way it was food set on Asian inspired plates. Our summer rolls were pretty basic the peanut sauce was great. One thing I will say is that the Pho (Ginger chicken) was yummy. Broth was flavorful and I was happy that I ordered it although I'm still wondering where the ginger came in as that flavor just wasn't there. No biggie it was delicious. The Caterpillar roll was odd. It had it's basics inside but it included fried asparagus. Anyone who has had asparagus knows that the butts are hard and fibrous. That was the brunt of the roll filling. No bueno. And the sauce, kind of a soupy mess. Our server had two tables and a roadside bar that would seat ten at best. She was dry and had no recommendations or smiles to crack... until I asked for our bill that's when we noticed that she actually had teeth. Pretty girl underneath it all. Basically, the cute name and great reviews brought us in. Glad that we checked it out going for...