Monsoon Restaurant

What more can you say? I love Monsoon, and I have to disagree with another JB member on the "authentic" part of the restaurant -- I don't think Monsoon is necessarily going for "authentic" as much as they are going for pan-Asian food done well. Every time I have gone to Monsoon I have been very pleased with what I've had -- the chow mein is wonderful, the drunken chicken is delicious, the ribs are messy and finger-licking-good (even though they give you a hot towel to wipe off with) and everything else I've tried has been delicious and fulfilling. It will make a dent in your wallet -- but it's a nicer restaurant and well worth the extra money. To put it simply: you know a restaurant is good when you start to have cravings for their food specifically. I definitely have "Monsoon" cravings. I'd give Monsoon a try if you haven't already -- I will definitely be returning. more

I've heard great things about Monsoon, how the food is great and the service is exceptional. I decided to try it out with my fiance. We had reservations, but the wait to be seated was about half an hour! By that time I was starving and any little free bread would have helped. I waited and waited, and finally, after waiting for 20 minutes the waiter came and took our order! We weren't even offered water during that wait period. I was pretty annoyed by that time. We've decided to order the catfish in clay pot and a vegetable dish with rice. Our food didn't come for another 20 minutes. Finally, when it came, I realized how small the portions were. My fiance and I looked at each other and was like, maybe we need to order more. We decided that if were to order another dish it might have taken another half an hour. We just settled on what we have. Now, moving on to the food, the clay pot catfish costs us $18, and it was good, but I've had better at the Vietnamese restaurants in the ID for $8. The veggies (rau muon xao toi) which was supposed to be the traditional Vietnamese dish didn't turn out to be very traditional. It was just plain veggies stir fry with olive oil and some garlic. Not as tasty as what I remembered it be. After paying, we felt for unsatisfied with our food and still hungry. Although the decor is nice but the service was horrible and the food was really just mediocre. I don't think I would ever come back. If I wanted good Vietnamese food, I would go any of the restaurants in the ID. more

This is one of my favourite asian places at the moment. Try the cat-fish claypot. The papaya salads are excellent too when they are on the menu. The drunken chicken is good western-junkfood with an asian spin. They wait staff changed changed recently and we haven't had a good service experience since. The food is always great, but they need better service. more

Monsoon is quite a find. This sleek Capitol Hill joint (across from Kingfish) has a very interesting menu which has yet to disappoint. It's not your typical Vietnamese, but the combinations are quite impressive. We were wow-ed by all our dishes. Atmosphere is sophisticated. Prices were reasonable for the quality. Give it a try! more

Well, it is certainly right to call it pan asian and we've been numerous times. It gets crowded so go early. The menu keeps changing and I just love knowing exactly where your meat comes from. The pork was named Lou, he liked classical music, etc. Really, though the ingredients are terrific. more

Above average asian-fusion cuisine. Dishes were ok: I’d recommend the crab and shrimp spring rolls, nothing special about the drunken crispy chicken (my wife enjoyed her halibut). Clean, nice little restaurant with friendly but slow service. [12/11/05] I took a another chance on Monsoon yesterday with a friend and had to update my posting here. It was a great dinner; I had a fantastic plate of caramelized shrimp and my friend had an exceptional filet. I’ll go back to Monsoon. more

The food is just fabulous and they have a great wine list, too. Definitely a top 5 restaurant for us. more

Consistently good menu from top to bottom (not just a couple of "best" dishes - very consistently good). They also do some creative things with some of the soups and sauces using local and seasonal ingredients, and they are always a great add - not weird creative, just improvement creative. Very spotty service. A bit overpriced, but not too bad. Noise creates the big variable for Monsoon. There's an unusually simple, open format with tables very close together. It's less an issue of being generally too loud than the fact that you overhear what your neighbor table is discussing. In some cases it has felt more like family style dining than not. So we often will start talking with the people sitting next to us, or they start talking with us (and we rarely, if ever, do that anywhere else) and talk about the food or something equivalently not-personal. Sometimes we are not so lucky, though and that's when even the great food isn't enough to overcome that hassle. more

Tired of Thai? Weary of wasabi? If you want a great Asian meal that will shake off the sameness, Monsoon is the place to go. Located in a small but well-designed storefront on 19th Ave E. (across the street from Kingfish Cafe), Monsoon delivers well-crafted Vietnamese and Pan-Asian food in a lively, modern setting. Particular favorites are the black cod hotpot (flaky, buttery cod with a rich broth), gailan crispy chicken (addictive battered and fried chicken with spicy sauce), and green beans (lightly sauteed yard-long beans with pepper flakes). The beer selection is minimal - a few crisp SE Asian favorites like Tiger and 33 - but a great selection of wines, well-paired with the light-but-spicy food. A few caveats: don't expect an intimate experience - Monsoon is often crowded, and the minimalist design (concrete floors, angular wooden benches) doesn't do much to hold down the noise. There's often a wait on Friday and Saturday nights; I recommend putting your name on the list and crossing the street to the lively bar at Kingfish (a great scene all on its own). Finally, some folks complain that the prices here are higher than those at the Pho shops on Aurora, a fair charge, but one that doesn't take into account the great atmosphere, lively scene, pleasant service and excellent people-watching. If you ask me, it's well worth the price. more

Perhaps I've blown it twice on what to order or because we came straight off the plane from Vietnam and it disappointed? I just haven't felt really happy with a meal at Monsoon and it kills the wallet. Last time I ordered a lemon grass dish with bland flavor and the green beens needed less oil and more seasoning. I recommend poking around the ID for some real deal Vietnamese food more

Nice atmosphere, good service, a bustling crowd. A bit of a split on the dishes -- the sea bass, crispy spring rolls, and vegetable dishes were all excellent. the curried shrimp was ok, the chicken was sketchy, and the cold spring rolls were too minty. Oh and a pretty deep wine list. more

this is a great spot in the neighborhood for very good vietnamese. keep your jacket in the car - the lemongrass smell from the kitchen can permeate your clothes. more