Red Monkey Latin Fusion Kitchen — Restaurant in Raleigh

A friend and I decided to frequent the Red Monkey Tavern for lunch. It had been a year or so since our last visit. Upon arrival we were told that the establishment was under new owners and the items that were our favorite were no longer on the menu. Nevertheless, we decided to give it a go and try something different. My friend ordered a grilled chicken pita bread sandwich. The waitress for some reason thought that just because the bread was called pita it was so much healthier than any other bread including whole wheat bread. This should have been a sign but I was asking for punishment. I ordered grill salmon and steamed veggies. Like how difficult could such dish be? Now here is when it gets good. We waited for over 20 minutes with the place nearly empty after the waitress took our orders and still no food. A waiter walks by and asked us how everything was. We sarcastically tell him the water is great. He looked shocked, but didn't bother to follow up. Our waitress comes to our table and says oh it will be 3 more minutes. That translated into 10 additional minutes. Finally she walks to our table food in hand. My friend's grilled chicken pita looked okay but nothing to write home about. However, she said the fries tasted awful. My dish looked like something you would find in a dumpster. The so-called fresh veggies were definitely out of a bag and water loaded. They were so limp that they were grey in color and I guess by pouring tons of soy sauce on them this would upgrade them to find cuisine. Believe or not veggies weren't the worse part of it. The salmon was dark brown and looked like the tongue of a brown leather shoe. I touched it and it was crunchy. I said to the waitress he fried this it is not grilled. I invited her to touch it. She said to the waitress it is crunchy and I told her to look at the all of the grease that appears when you touch it. She asked the cook about it and of course he said he seared it, but there was nothing about that piece of salmon (at least I think it was salmon) that was seared. At this point, I had enough and put on my coat. The waitress had the audacity to tell me that she was not going to charge me and I told her that I know that. The real said part is that no manager came out to apologize or check the food. This place will not be in business very long. It was one of the worse restaurant experiences that I have ever had and the worse in Raleigh. Please save your money and...

My wife and I had tried a couple of times to eat here before. One time they had a private party and the second they were having computer issues. Anyway, we got in on the third time, but it will be our last. When we arrived, the hostess was on the phone for a couple of minutes before seating us. She didn't have enough presence of mind to recognize a kid that was walking around was part of another group and not ours (there were only a few tables occupied, probably due to the weather). Once we sat down, the server was helpful and knowledgeable about the menu, and patient with first time customers. However, that's where the good times stopped rolling.

We ordered our drinks, and the Dr Pepper I ordered distinctly wasn't. Even the server recognized this when he tried it out of the fountain. It was probably regular Coke. Didn't get that fixed or comped, and I went probably 3/4 of my meal with an empty glass. We ordered the alfredo with shrimp and the chipotle mac and cheese with chorizo and shrimp. Granted, not the most "authentic" dishes for Latin American fusion, but they were overpriced for what they were. The alfredo was decent, but really had nothing to commend it. Not sure why it was on the menu since I didn't notice any Latin American touches to it. The mac and cheese was reasonably tasty. But I don't think the dish consisting mostly of a pile of cavatappi was worth the price tag associated with it, even if it did have both shrimp and chorizo.

On that note, the shrimp was definitely nothing to write home about. It was cooked, but nothing was done to transform or elevate it. I wouldn't be surprised if the shrimp was boiled separately and then mixed in at the very end to get a coating of sauce on it before going to the table. The chorizo was passable, but I've definitely had better (and more) at a lower price point.

As far as the service went, as was said above, our server was helpful with questions about the menu, but I guess it was a slow night. He came by at some point and started chatting us up, even though we were both on our phones when he walked up and started talking.

From the outside, Red Monkey looks like an interesting concept. And perhaps their more truly Latin dishes deliver. But what...

One star is too many,, The food was nasty and made me sick, in the ER sick But the service,,, wow!! First off I came with big hopes to have great experience, the young lady greeted us ask how many in our party I told her 2 it was me and my husband. I asked if she had a booth available she said yes and she was going to clean it off! When she returns she notices more guest accumulated behind us. She turns to us and says she’s going to sit us at a smaller table because she needs the booth for bigger party! So I am only assuming that the money of 2 guest is less then that of a party, we were treated like we less important, we got seated by the door! During Covid-19 so now every person who walked in and out was breathing on us! The table was so shaky I had to hold my drink! Then we placed Our order and after realizing we didn’t want to be sitting there as more and more people were basically on top of us, if your following COVID guidelines then really follow them, that means for all your guest! Whether it’s 2 people or 5 people! Also if promise someone a booth don’t change your mind because you want it for bigger party! My money is just as good! we asked if they could move us, the waitress tried but was told that they needed the tables for other guest! I was ready to leave, but my husband convinced me to stay! The food took over an hour !!And then when we voiced that the table was broken and shaky and we would like to be moved were told no! The waitress did move us to high table by the bar which seem to be disapproval by others who worked there!! but also failed to ever refill our drinks , not once!! Also don’t talk about your guest in Spanish thinking they do not know what your saying! It’s rude and your lucky I kept my mouth shut! Will not return! ! Sad because this was Puerto Rican restaurant I was looking to love as it’s my food, my people, my heritage! Respect all of your guest! Whether it’s one person or 10 treat them like Puerto Rican treat people with love and like family!! Also your food is nasty and far from...