Drunken Monk — Restaurant in Menlo Park

Promising, but needs work. Was hoping 4 months in they would have worked most of the kinks out but they seem to still be in their soft opening phase.

The menu was a minefield of sugar. Many dishes, like hiyayakko and sake asari clams, had unexpectedly sweet sauces. I deliberately avoided the sukiyaki and donburi (bowls) as they're traditionally sweet dishes, but then other items I thought would be safe, based on having had them many times elsewhere, surprised me and were sweet too. Other less traditional dishes also sometimes were sweet. But then the yuzu amazake was not sweet enough, and also not sour enough for yuzu.

The sushi was meh for the price. I understand food is expensive these days but for $230 for 2 and no alcohol I expect more. I am much more satisfied at Kaisen Don for the same cost or less.

There's very little soft surfaces in the dining room so it got very loud. Tables are squeezed together tightly and it was hard to fit all the dishes on the table.

They are short-staffed so our meal took 2 hours. Also they made some errors, bringing us dishes we did not order.

The pacing of dishes was inconvenient. We were told it was okay to order more than one skewer at a time and that they would be spread out and wouldn't come out all at once, so we ordered two skewers that not only came out together but also came out at the same time as a third dish and we were overwhelmed.

I also overheard some patrons being told about specials and desserts we did not get told about. On the other hand we were walked through every page of all the menus we were given, which takes up too much of the servers' time, which could have contributed to the slowness.

Some menus, like the sushi menu, they didn't have enough for every table and they took it away from us, meaning we couldn't look at it and order more without flagging someone down for the menu, which we were not inclined to do. The menus themselves are beautiful but are fragile and don't seem like they'll hold up for long. Maybe they plan to change the menu often enough that this won't cause problems.

The parking lot is tight and some careless idiot boxed us in by parking perpendicular to everyone else on that side of the lot, so it was a pain to drive out unscathed. The lines should be repainted to make it more clear how you're supposed to park.

P.S. We were not full after spending over $200 here and went all the way to Kaisen...

This Japanese restaurant has an endless stream of customers. The narrow road next to the restaurant leads to its parking lot, and you can also park on the street. The environment is elegant, the music in the store is moderate, and the bathroom is super clean. The overall taste of the dishes is also good, focusing on highlighting the original taste of the raw materials, supplemented by seasonings. My kid likes to eat Gyudon udon. It contains beef and onions and the overall taste is sweet. I personally like the Mapo Tofu Omelet Don. It has soft tofu, eggs and rice, plus spicy seasonings. It tastes very good with rice. You can taste the aroma of soybeans without the fishy smell of eggs. The overall taste of Oyakodon is sweet. It contains chicken, onions, and eggs. It has a very fragrant taste and is suitable for all ages. The taste of eel rice is very distinct, and the fusion of eel, tea and fried barley has a unique texture. The pity is that the portion is too small, with a little piece of eel and rice served with tea soup. For the same price, I would rather choose the first two. Hiyayakko is quite satisfactory, and you can taste the aroma of beans. It is paired with dried fish crumbs and seasoning sauce. It is a light and greasy dish. For the skewers, we recommend the chicken cheek, which is crispy, tender and refreshing. There is nothing wrong with Uji Mocha & Strawberry Soda except for being a little sweet. Matcha Yuzu Amazake is quite exquisite. If there is more sake brewed in it and the taste is stronger, it would...

The Drunken Monk in Menlo Park offers a taste of Japan with a modern twist. The sleek interior with wooden tables and woven shades definitely has a cool vibe. Finding parking, however, can be tricky - there's limited street parking, and the restaurant itself has a very small parking lot.

My friends and I arrived during peak dinner hours, and the place was buzzing. Maybe because of that our server seemed a tad rushed, pushing us to order quickly (got asked 3 times in 5 minutes if we were ready to order.) It made it hard to relax and enjoy the atmosphere.

The food itself was pretty decent, but not amazing. The lychee amazake was a refreshing mocktail, but there was way too much ice in it to really enjoy the drink. The mapo tofu omelet don and the gyudon were both quite filling though lacking in flavors. The Hizanankotsu (chicken knee) was a bit chewy and hard, but the tsukune (chicken meatballs) and shishito peppers were tasty. The kanpachi (yellowtail) was good in terms of the cut of the fish and the freshness, but the wasabi was too much for my personal liking. Corn kakiage was a decent shareable item for our party of 3. It was very greasy and definitely needed additional seasoning. On a side note, their $118 omakase feels expensive knowing that there are some great omakase places in the Bay area that are cheaper and offer more.

Overall, Drunken Monk is a decent option for a casual Japanese dining experience. The food is good (and pricey for some of the dishes), but not mind-blowing, and the service could be...