café iula — Restaurant in Monmouth

Love the idea and menu and approachable prices but it was not 10/10 for me. First, I wish they could add just a few more tables. Second please cut salt across the board. Chèvre is salty anyway and although the dish was tasty it had a lovely but rich dressing that overpowered the rocket and tomato. The onion soup was nice, interesting flavor but unfamiliar (perhaps more of a bone broth ?) versus traditional and quite salty, and though it was tasty it had not quite enough onions or bread to balance it. Ditto the beef bourguignon, tasty, beautiful, and obviously lovingly prepared but super rich and salty, without quite enough vegetables and potatoes to take the sauce up and cut through. Also we tried the steak (wish there was an entrecoute option) and the steak sauces were (again) super tasty but frustratingly rich and salty. The Roquefort sauce was super interesting notwithstanding its intensity. French bread is important and although not a French-style crusty loaf it was delicious and well made. Loved the unusually coarse pate, which was balanced and tasty. The fish is a Yes, a beautiful meal but the sorrel sauce was again intense, I was told it hit you on the first bite. Everything else was great. They are still new and calibrating, and we will definitely go back. It’s like nothing else and...

The wait was worth it! It's a small place so you may have to wait for a spot but once you are seated, it is fantastic! It appears to be a couple running the place. She is serving and he is cooking. What a team! All of the food was delicious! We started with the French onion soup- out of this world! Best I've ever had. I had the Bavette à l'échalotte (steak with roasted potatoes and a green salad). I ate every bite and enjoyed it is so thoroughly. My partner got the Beef Bourguignon with mashed potatoes. She was kind enough to let me have a bite and I am so lucky! The sauce was perfect and the potatoes, so creamy. At the end, we were shocked by how reasonable the prices are! I genuinely expected theeal to be twice what it was. I wish we lived in town to be able to go...

What a gem! We had AMAZING meals here (steak and duck) for date night. The steak was super tender and came with a very flavorful sauce. The duck fell off the bone. Absolutely delicious! Please don’t let my poor description get in the way of you trying this place. I rarely write reviews so I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the menu. This is an intimate restaurant but not stuffy in the least. We were greeted quickly, our food came out fast and hot. Dessert was delicious! I flew to Paris last year strictly to eat great food. Eating at Cafe Iula had me feeling like I was in a Paris cafe…but a lot closer to home! We will most...