Monkitail — Restaurant in Hollywood

If Hakkasan and Kuro had a love child, Monkitail would be it.

While visiting the new Point Royal restaurant at the renovated Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood Beach recently, I caught a peek of this addition and moved it up on my list of must-try places. As in, I went back the next day.

Philadelphia Chef and restaurateur Michael Schulson‘s seventh restaurant brings modern Japanese cuisine to the area. Lined with dark and intricately carved wood panels, and showered with over two dozen multisized chandeliers, the seductive dining room’s wow-factor game is on point. Broken down into various sections- Cold, Small, Crispy, Meat, Fish, Sides, Robatayaki, Sushi, Sashimi, and Rolls-, the menu teased with reasonably priced items all begging to be ordered. Where to even begin…

WHAT I TRIED

Pastrami Bao Bun ($8) Duck Scrapple Bao Bun ($8) Robatayaki Lobster Tail ($12) Japanese Fried Chicken ($9) Robatayaki Skirt Steak ($4) Robatayaki Lamb Chop ($6) Robatayaki Miso Eggplant ($5) King Salmon Roll ($4) Yellowtail Roll ($4) Scallop Roll ($4) Foie Gras Roll ($10) Hamachi Jalapeño ($10) Edamame Dumpling ($8) Bacon Yakisoba ($9) Ice Cream Sushi ($8) Mini Soft Serve Cones ($7)

HIGHLIGHTS

Engaging every sense, the standouts out of a succession of pleasing bites were the Edamame Dumplings, the Bao Buns (Pastrami and Duck Scrapple), Bacon Yakisoba, and the Scallop Sushi. I never wanted the umami concerto to end. I am not monkeying around when I say I could easily and happily eat at least three portions of the addicting soft dumplings: misleadingly small, yet robust in flavor. The bao buns disarmed me. The pastrami, topped with a Brussels slaw for added crunch, finished with a mildly tangy Japanese mustard. Do yourself a favor and ask for extra mustard from the get go. Maple teriyaki and chili gave the duck bao a sweet and savory punch.

The prices deceive those of us who find this type of food irresistible. Listed per piece, it’s easy to over-order. Ignore the lingering FOMO. Do as I say and not as I did. On your first visit go for the Chef’s Tasting Menu. For $65.00, you can choose one item from each of the ten sections on the main menu, plus one dessert. It’s more than enough to eat and unequivocally the perfect way to test every menu section.

Barely two months since quietly opening, Monkitail is scorching H O T! I could not spot a single empty seat during my visit. The staff ran around hustling and working nonstop. Is that a miss? Of course not. But it was obvious they were understaffed. Despite this, our waiter Joel dealt with the chaotic situation surrounding us as courteously and professionally as he possibly could. He did his best to find backup when it became physically impossible to tend to the four tables simultaneously needing his service. Perhaps it’s time to hire a little of extra help on the weekends.

Monkitail offers several areas ideal for private dining and large parties. Nokku, their quaint speakeasy lounge complete with karaoke rooms, hides within the restaurant. But I’m not saying another word on the topic; you’ll have to discover it all yourself. Maybe I just want to keep this part of the story a secret a bit longer.

It’s been a while since we had a Broward County restaurant arrival as exciting as Monkitail’s. Besides the obvious delectable eats, we get the swanky Miami Beach “it” vibes without the inflated cost, taxes, difficult parking, and attitude. The tourist-magnet Diplomat houses the restaurant, and locals can take advantage of the complimentary valet parking with a validated ticket. A win-win for us all. It also sounds like a culinary staycation waiting to happen. Visit Point Royal, Monkitail & Diplomat Prime and complete the trifecta. I’m predicting only increased popularity for this gem, which can be a good or bad thing. Here’s hoping Monkitail remains genuine and maintains their integrity through the upcoming whirlwind without making any drastic changes.

Monkitail…sexy, mysterious, and invigorating. I, for...

(2 of 2) Some random guy came over over and dropped off an edamame dish that we didn’t even order and said sorry real fast and ran away before being able to say anything to him. Our server was still no where to be found even though we wanted to order cocktails and potentially more food. Finally, after a total wait of 1 your we received our gyoza dish which consisted of 5 burnt potstickers. STILL NO EGGS FOR THE CHILD WHICH WE ENDED UP NEVER RECEIVING. My fiancé and I were both furious at this time because we both are bar managers in a restaurant and used to be servers/bartenders, etc. My fiancé got up from the table and went on a search for our server whom was no where to be found and asked multiple random servers to please go find her which he was told “she’ll be right back,” he stood there in the middle of the restaurant waiting for her for about 3 minutes, and asked again for someone to please get her because we wanted to leave. At that time we saw the server walk in from the front door of the restaurant, so we asked her to please get the check. When we received the check we noticed there was 3 orders of the duck bao buns even though we ordered only 1 order which would have been fine if our server would have been there to tell us earlier in the night what she had done. By this time, we were just so distraught with her service my fiancé got up to speak with her about the overcharges and her overall demeanor. He told her about how terrible her service was, how she was never anywhere to be found, never checked up on us, didn’t answer our questions, guide us through the menu, take charge of the table, or even bother to care about us at all. She replied by giving only excuses, saying the “woman” was rude to me, everyone at the table was drunk (remind you we had two children with us, and only a couple of us at the table had one drink before going to dinner at the bar. We were NO WHERE near drunk!) she also right out said we were just a bad table! Even if we were a “bad table” which we weren’t, that is still is no right to ignore us the entire night. We were planning on having a $500+ celebration dinner which we ended very short because of the server we had. Not to mention, the manager didn’t bother to apologize, come over to the table, or do anything but take off the dishes that we didn’t even order. If I could give negative stars I would. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone, the servers feel entitled to your money because you’re in a mediocre restaurant in a higher...

Nestled inside the recently renovated The Diplomat hotel is a doorway to a different world (a stark contrast to the rest of TD's beachy theme). Dark materials and yellow-glow lamps illuminating from above and the walls make it a bit hard to read the menus after they dim the lights for dinner service.

Food: The food is offered a la carte or a tasting menu of 10 courses +1 dessert for $65 (with unchartes for optional dishes) in multiple categories.

The sizes vary vastly, but so do the prices...from a few dollars to $40+ each (when ordered a la carte).

We ended up with: -heart of palm salad (delicious, yet kind of hard to eat due to the size of the julienne) -crab maki (2 bites) -salmon sashimi -anago 🍣 eel (one piece, excellent) -tuna crackers (served warm) -crispy taco (too spicy for me, but delicious!) -duck scrapple bao (our fav) -short rib (big portion) -lamb chops, tender and double the thickness you usually see served on a small plate -lobster (delicious) -sea bass (showstopper, excellent, much better than Etaru's) -yakisoba (the lowlight of the menu) -dessert was yoghurt mousse and ice cream sushi - I didnt like either, but the other options looked intriguing

Drinks: The signature Monkitail (Manhattan, I believe) is a drink + a show with table side burning of spices to fill the glass with smoke. Reminiscient of mulled wine.

We tried a lychee drink as well that was excellent.

There are beers ($7 asahi), wines, and sakes available as well as the mixed cocktails ($15ish).

Parking: Bring your ticket, they validate.

Everyone seemed to be having a birthday and they bring a dessert with a sparkler in it which is a nice touch.

There were a few well behaved kids during the first seating of the night.

Staff was excellant and attentive for water and removing plates. My only complaint would be that the plates were removed so fast that sometimes there was a last bite that was wisked away as the next course arrived. We were all stuff though and ended up...