Blue Monk On Belmont

Recommends

timmeyer

Joined 7 years ago

Great food, friendly people, we'll be back!. We celebrated my girlfriends 30th here the other night on a friends recommendation. With 18 people it was a large group. Chris, Tim, and Beth were fantastic! We started out with the appetizer platter and boy was it good, we especially liked the curry and coconut polenta, and there were raves about the spicy tomato soup. Friendly and attentive the staff executed a seamless transition from drinks to appetizers to dinner. The price and proportions were just right. The specials of manicotti and chicken parmesan were down the hatch in no time! We'll be back with our friends again soon!

Recommends

starbuck_1979

Joined 7 years ago

Good jazz music, very limited food menu, extensive drinks list. Okay, okay! I admit it. The reason why I was interested to visit this place is because it was feature on "Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels". It also didn't hurt that I appreciate jazz music. The restaurant was empty as me and my fellow OMSI Star Wars companion entered. The basement bar where the band was playing also saw one other table and one other couple. Pretty empty for a Thursday. The band was super enthusiastic and play with gusto. I tip my hat to them for playing with such passion even with such a small crowd.

The food menu came and I was disappointed by the selection. I expected a little more choices. My companion ordered the spaghetti and meatballs and I had a really interesting ravioli dish, which was pink peppercorn ravioli stuffed with butternut squash, goat cheese, cranberries and almonds with caramelized onions and beets in a port reduction sauce. I chose that dish because it was feature on that episode and it sounded like the most unique thing on the menu. It was certainly unique in taste as well, but I found it too sweet for a entree. My companions spaghetti and meatballs were awesome thought. Love those huge meatballs! Yummy!

The most impressive thing about the Blue Monk beside the band playing, was the extensive beer list! Talk about selection! They even had beers with up to 12% alcohol content. Most of their bottled beers were European styled beers. I had an awesome Brother Theolonius which had an 11% alcohol content. It was a strong dark ale and tasted great!

Verdict: Go for the beer and music. Give the food a miss!

Recommends

rpjoseph

Joined 7 years ago

Great Music Venue - Shoddy Drinks. We went to the amazing Shelly Rudolph show at the Blue Monk. The lower level music venue is amazing. Although there are an incredible number of beers to choose from... they are served at room temperature. Mixed drinks are poorly made - except for the Blue Monk. Our servers was polite and seemed pretty cool - but not super attentive. Overall the experience was positive - just don't get beer and stick with simple drinks like vodka tonic or something.

Recommends

slovakjaso

Joined 10 years ago

Good food and good style. Blue Monk is a nice change. It is quite unique from the beer list to the decor. The owner has often been serving when I have been in and is very polite and knowledgeable about his beer list and menu. Great beers, decent cocktails and good food. For constructive critism I would say that it does sometimes take a while to get food and the menu is rather limited, but neither are fatal flaws. Still havn't made it for the jazz shows downstairs but that is a great excuse to come back!

Doesn't Recommend

chanameow

Joined 8 years ago

unbelievably rude service, subpar food. We heard mixed reviews but unfortunately decided to try it anyway- big mistake! We seated ourselves after we stood there for awhile. The inattentive server eventually brought us oil in a small bowl- no bread. We waited an hour & when the food arrived, it wasn't what we ordered! I told the server that there was a mistake and he was rude & put-off. He took the food back to the kitchen & picked at it, brought it back & asked if we wanted to take it home. I said no because of food restrictions & he said we should feed it to a dog or something. It was unreal! I've never experienced such arrogant, rude, unprofessional service & we'll never eat there. I would absolutely discourage anyone from eating here not only because of the horrific service but the quality of food for the price just isn't worth it.

Recommends

shescrafty23

Joined 9 years ago

ummm...just have a beer. There was only one person working the bar and 7-8 tables. He rocked, but he was spread extremely thin. One more server would have helped everyone. The clams, while good...weren't served in broth. Just drained and somewhat dry. I want yummy garlic butter broth to dip my bread into! The beef tenderloin was excellent, but the chx parm very overcooked. Although the veggies were sauteed perfectly al dente. Dessert selection was awful. Tiramisu(which I hate) and a tangerine torte...that's it. Pretty sad. Food a bit overpriced...I would go for a drink...but won't eat there again.

Recommends

bowenshea

Joined 9 years ago

Great for hipsters...and parents. My husband and I were incredibly pleased with how TASTY the food is, especially the antipasto plate and the eggplant parmegian (which comes on a bed of crisply steamed veggies and al dente penne). Generous portions and everything tasted very fresh. Decor was relaxed yet hip. We were on "date night" but we plan on bringing our 2-year-old daughter with us next time (kids are welcome in dining room until 10 p.m.) as there was room to wander freely without being an annoyance. Waitperson was incredibly attentive, prompt, and super-nice.

Recommends

thechowhound

Joined 11 years ago

Not bad at all.... The curry & coconut polenta is out of this world, although it could lose some of the oil it swims in. Ravioli with pear sauce was a bit on the sweet side, but dish was very creative. Pasta should have been more al dente (bit of water on plate) but sauce was tasty. A respectable performance, and worth another visit. Food creativity and waiter friendliness were best parts. Fun, unpretentious quintissential Portland ambiance.

Recommends

Jackie_o

Joined 11 years ago

They Have Brunch!. I passed by this place last Sunday and saw that they were open for brunch. I tried the stuffed French toast...it was delicious! Great atmosphere. Their beer selection looked great but I couldn't order beer with breakfast (I was with my Mom).

Recommends

sarap

Joined 11 years ago

try this place!. I've been here twice and enjoyed it thoroughly both times. good as a couple spot or with a group of friends. Food is pretty decent- price and taste. Drinks are good, though a tiny bit on the weak side. But the service is great and friendly, and it's just a super place to relax and hang out and listen to some great tunes.