The Drunken Munkey - UES — Restaurant in New York

A Disappointing Experience

We visited Drunken Monkey yesterday evening (my wife, son, and I), and unfortunately, what was meant to be a special dinner turned into a disappointing and upsetting experience.

We reached the restaurant at 5:25 PM. Having been there before, we were looking forward to it – especially our son, who loved their crispy okra and had been asking to return for a while. Since the restaurant is quite far from our place, it took some planning to make this visit happen.

Upon arrival, the manager politely informed us that they had reservations starting later in the evening and asked if we could be done by 7:30 PM. That seemed fair, and we appreciated the transparency. However, what followed was a series of unpleasant interactions that completely ruined the evening.

The server assigned to our table was noticeably rude and impatient from the very beginning. He asked for our full order twice within the same minute, seemingly in a rush, even though we clearly mentioned we’d prefer to order appetizers first and then decide on mains based on how much we eat—something fairly common at most restaurants. Still, we went ahead and ordered two curries along with the appetizers.

The food took some time to arrive (understandable given the weekend crowd), and while it was just about average this time, we didn’t mind much. However, the server’s attitude throughout the meal was unacceptable. He appeared irritated when placing the dishes on our table, without any courtesy or basic hospitality.

The worst part came when we simply tried to order one additional garlic naan toward the end of our meal. As I tried to get the server’s attention, he looked at me and said, “My tables are waiting,” in a tone that was dismissive and disrespectful. It left me stunned. In front of my son, I felt genuinely insulted and humiliated. It’s hard to put into words how hurtful that moment was.

We finished our meal quietly, didn’t ask to pack the leftovers or order dessert—just wanted to leave. What should’ve been a warm family dinner turned into a stressful and disheartening experience.

Hospitality is the backbone of any dining establishment. Unfortunately, what we encountered was a hostile and indifferent environment. Based on this experience, I will not be returning to Drunken Monkey with my...

Coming all the way from Atlanta. And from Manhattan where we were staying during our NY visit, it was a major hike to get to this restaurant. Unfortunately, the food greatly disappointed! The chicken tikka masala dish that I ordered was just excessively salty. I merely tasted the gravy and realized that it could not be consumed. I asked for what I thought was another “safe vegetarian option” instead - the saag paneer. This curry lacked flavor altogether unfortunately. It was pretty much chopped spinach with highly lacking authentic Indian flavors. And again over-seasoned with salt. Think frozen, prepackaged Indian food that tends to taste this way. As I looked over to the kitchen, I didn’t see any Indian chef or even a supervisor there. I don’t know if the food was being prepared fresh or pre-prepared curries were just being served. Nonetheless, it was totally inauthentic and the flavors reflected that. Our server was very accommodating, and was happy to have me taste a couple of other curries before choosing one. While she also mentioned that “sometimes she just finds everything to be extra salty” - insinuating that’s what was happening here. Not true. It was not a personal palate issue, the food just was not up to par. As an Indian that’s fairly well traveled, I can trust my judgement. I got a taste of the paneer tikka and vegetable korma before ultimately settling on the vegetable korma, which was just about edible, but genuinely nothing special. I shouldn’t have had to do any of this. I should be able to go to a restaurant a eat what I’m craving/wanting rather than having to do a taste test to find something that can be edible. Not to mention that this completely took away from my dinner experience with my partner during our short trip to NY. While this place has good service, a nice ambience, and good cocktails, the Indian food is just plain inauthentic. And I regret wasting one of my few meals in NY here. A city where there are a number of some of the best authentic Indian food options in...

TERRIBLE SERVICE!!! (WEST VILLAGE LOCATION) One star for taste of food and charm of the space!

I went to the drunken monkey with a group of 4 friends. Our waitress (wish I remembered her name, she was a short white woman with reddish brown hair) from the start had a condescending attitude and did not seem genuine at all in her waiting. There was one question a colleague of ours asked her concerning the menu, and again, we were met with an arrogant response in the way the question was answered. I even saw her go back to the bar and begin laughing with the bartender and the manager while peaking over and signaling with her head and eyes towards our table and it felt as if they were laughing concerning my colleagues question, which I could sense by the behavior in which she answered it, thought it was stupid.

The worse part was when a friend who did not dine with us came into the restaurant while we were waiting for the bill to pay. He was drinking a juice he had purchased from outside, and eating a snack, we were literally about to pay for the bill and leave, he came inside because it was cold outside. She began to give him a hard time about him drinking a juice from outside, and eating something that wasn't purchased in the restaurant. She finished by saying if you have a problem with it talk to my manager, this time in a very rude manner. She immediately walked away and my friend respectfully left. But again, it was the very rude manner in which the waitress handled the circumstance; not that he wasn't allowed to stay inside. We called the manager and began to complain about her unacceptable behavior. The waitress never came back to our table and the manager closed out our bill and never apologized on her behalf for her terrible service.

We closed the bill, and did not tip. Very poor quality of service from manager and waitress. Not worth my dollar. Its sad, the service killed the charm of the space, and the taste of the food, which isn't worth the quality of service. Never going back...