Monkey Bar Restaurant Review

Every Tuesday at Monkey Bar & Restaurant it is 'Taco Tuesday' when each of their delicious flavoured tacos are just €5! For someone like me, who finds it impossible to make meal choices, Taco Tuesday is the best thing ever - I can try as many different options as I want without having to get someone to agree to share dishes. Perfect. We went for the 'Chipotle Pulled Pork' (Chipotle pulled pork with lime and apple slaw and jalapenos), 'Panko Cod' (Chunkey sesame panko'd cod strips, pickled cabbage, cucumber and wasabi mayo) and the day's special of Tempura Prawns with fresh Mango. For these wraps you can choose to have traditional tacos, or if you prefer, corn tortillas are available.

Three is definitely the right amount to fill your belly. The pulled pork was particularly spicy (as advised on the menu) and well cooked. The mango that accompanied the prawns was very refreshing and complimented them well. The cod was tender and fell apart nicely. The seeded batter was an excellent addition, really adding to the flavour and texture of the fish.

For something a little lighter, we tried one of their new Salads & Bowls. Their vegan-friendly 'Falafels & Chock' salad is your favourite ground, spiced fried chickpea balls with grilled artichoke and a tahini dressing. It is worth noting that if you are a vegan, vegetarian or even a pescatarian, Monkey are one of the few restaurants in Chamonix that offer a good selection of dishes for all diets.

Their salad portion sizes are decent and are actually a great alternative to a main meal. The artichokes were delicious and tender and all the grilled vegetables were cooked to perfection. The falafel balls were a generous size, well spiced and a good consistency - not dry and crumbly. The tahini dressing really brought all the flavours together to make a very enjoyable, filling salad that I would certainly order again.

Last but not least, we noticed the new 'The 'Cuda' burger on the menu. My pescatarian friend is particularly partial to a fish burger, especially as they are pretty hard to come by in Chamonix so there was no question about what she was going to order.

Accompanied by some lime & apple 'slaw which was a fantastic fresh alternative to chips, this burger is filled with caper, lime and coriander mayo and gherkins. The sesame seed panko batter and the brioche bun were a nice original twist on an already delicious burger option. The fish itself was succulent and tender, not at all overcooked.

Obviously, we had to try the puddings, it wouldn't be a complete review otherwise (any excuse to nurse my sugar addiction). The desserts this summer are 'Sticky Toffee Pudding', 'Freshly Baked Cookie Sundae' or a selection of ice creams at €2 per scoop. When they say freshly baked cookie, they mean it, hot from the oven the dark chocolate chunks are runny and melting onto the plate. The whole thing didn't last very long with three of us attacking it - probably a minute tops. As a connoisseur of cookies in Chamonix, I'd say this one is among the best.

For those that are fans of sticky toffee pudding, you won't be disappointed with Monkey's version. The light cinnamon sponge is drowned by just the right amount of sticky toffee sauce and there is even delicious vanilla ice cream to go with it!

All in all, there are some wonderful, flavoursome summer additions to an already great menu (all your favourites are still available from The Dude to the Marilyn Monroe burgers) giving everyone yet another reason to stop off for a great value meal at Monkey.

Monkey Bar & Restaurant is open daily between 11:00 and 01:00 and they offer a brunch menu between 11:00 - 15:00 in addition to their main menu.