I had the yellow curry chicken with rice. It was very good but a little pricey. Some of the best I e tasted.

Where else can you go in Riverside and get a hot plate of spicy fried rice with vegetarian chicken and vegetarian beef, spicy chili oil, Thai chilies and a large Japanese beer? Delicious food and amazing customer service! Needless to say we will definitely be coming back, we are addicted already! read more

Excellent meal. I don't think you can go wrong here. The broccoli side is worth it if you like broccoli. Also got the ginger lover and salmon and surprisingly enjoyed the salmon more. The hot sake was the best I've tasted. It has a pleasant sweet aftertaste that lingers. Would like to return here. read more

We were supposed to eat at another restaurant near this one... but due to unfortunate circumstances, we fortunately found this place. Their food was delicious. I should've taken pictures of the entrées. We had beef pad see ew, Monark steak, and Spicy Crispy Shrimp. All three dishes were good! We can't wait to try more! read more

Yummmy! Love the coconut shrimp and hot sour soup. Oh don't forget saki. But everything is amazing!!

This is a Gem hidden in Canyon Crest. The Service was impeccable Tang is a Great Server. We always had what we needed. The Food was terrific, the beef was very tender and the cook was on point. Will recommend this place to everyone. read more

This bistro had great service by the waitress and the Walnut Shrimp was good. However when we got the chicken lettuce wraps they tasted like the chicken came from a can and were very dry. When I asked the now owner who brought our food for a side of peanut sauce, she said "it won't go with the lettuce wraps" and I said I'll take my chances. She then proceeded to say ok, "you order side". She brings the sauce which was tasteless, thick and chunky and charged me $2 for about 1 tablespoon worth. Will not be returning and don't recommend this place. read more

My boyfriend and I decided to try something new so we googled food in Riverside and Monark Asian Bistro popped up so we decided to give it a try. Worst decision ever made... I gave it a star because the customer service wasn't too bad. The lady gave us our drinks and appetizer before our main meal which was great... Everything was going great until I turned my head and faced the kitchen.....I saw a man in the kitchen where they cooked our food, he was blowing his nose and DID NOT wash his hands. I don't know if he cooked our food or serve the food to the counter so the lady can bring the food to us. But I told my boyfriend about it but we decided to give him the benefit of the doubt that he wouldnt serve. So we let it go... then when the food came out the chicken was very rubbery and the salmon was under cooked. When we told the server that the salmon was undercooked, she brought it back to the kitchen and came back with the SAME fish and said "the reason the salmon was undercooked because it was too thick." I can forgive an undercooked fish but you SHOULD NOT give the customer back the same fish after you bring it back into the kitchen. That's restaurant 101... they should've give us a new plate of fish not the same one.... on top of that the damn fish had hair on it.... like, EWWWWWW! I spit the fish out into my napkin and wanted to leave... My boyfriend and I didn't even touch the rest of the fish and just paid for our food and left. I didn't want to tip but my boyfriend wanted to so we tipped her. We will never come back to this restaurant... DISGUSTING! read more

This place is mediocre at best, but it's close to my home. Walked in today with my hubby for lunch and was told that due to Valentine's Day, the lunch specials were not being offered. Really? Walked right back out and had a yummy lunch at Jammin Bread. I would give bistro a zero just for wanting to charge me more! read more

I don't even like Chinese food and I love this place. It's close to home. Service is fast, efficient and very friendly. The food is excellent. We have never waited for a table and happy hour has $6 yummy glasses of wine. We now visit this restaurant at least 3 times a month. read more

I had the chicken pad see ew and it had like lemon pepper on it, which was weird. But overall just not very yummy. And there were mushrooms in it? I wouldn't eat it again but the Thai tea was alright read more

We love the food here. The Tom yum soup is amazing. And the vegetation orange chicken is better then real chicken. I would give anything to know what they use to make it. It's different then tofu. read more

We recently had dinner here to celebrate my friend's daughter's 21st birthday; The service and ambiance were great - we could actually have a conversation among us instead of being drowned out by music. The food was delicious. They have a multitude of dishes and sides to select from. And, you can request to have your food selection spicy or not. We tried several different dishes with varying amounts of "hotness" and sauces. Truly a lovely evening spent enjoying our tastey meals and quiet ambiance. Definitely will be coming back again and again. read more

I love Monark Bistro so much. It is definitely a family favorite. Get the Monark steak or the walnut shrimp. You won't regret it.

Was greeted at the door, was seated right away. After that I sat at the corner for more then 18 minutes without anyone acknowledging me, a table of 4 gentleman walked in after myself, these customers had there drinks and already place there orders by the time I have not been acknowledged. Finally I was acknowledged, so I asked for my drink and place my order, minutes later gentleman came back with my drink, left but forgot a straw, I ask him for one and he reply "yes sir I'll have that too you" only to forget and I had to ask again. For the amount of customers at the restaurant (not a lot) I should of had a much different experience! Food was decent but service was terrible. Being a bank manager, i pride myself on good service, drives a business and builds loyalty! Worse experience I had in riverside read more

Love, love, love their Pad See Ew (we get it with pork). The asparagus stir fry was fantastic as well. I wasn't crazy about the Strawberry chicken, but everything else we've tried has been very good. The inside of the restaurant is very elegant and upscale. It's a nice date night restaurant for my husband and I when we can get a babysitter. They don't have any desserts, though, so plan on another place for something sweet (or just order something from their extensive bar). read more

Their meat substitutes are so weird. They are breaded triangle soy nuggets. It's a good portion of food but what does any of that mean if the "meat" is soggy and the sauce is runny and bland? Oh, I had the orange "chicken" read more

Quaint, adorable, clean, great service (host was very nice and the food came out very fast) means I will definitely be coming back here. The lunch specials are great until 3pm you can choose from dishes like Thai ginger pork (which is what I ordered and it had robust flavor [you can really taste the ginger] and thankfully the pork was succulent and fresh it's sad to say you can tell when the pork used at a restaurant is not fresh because it is of course, dry and that was not the case here), kung pao chicken, beef and broccoli, garlic shrimp, chicken and vegetables (and other such dishes which I can't remember at the moment); the prices range from $7.50 to $10.50 (the shrimp dishes) for these specials and they come with fried rice (which is nice because usually lunch specials come strictly with white rice at similar sit down Asian restaurants) and an egg roll. read more

Monark Asian Bistro - Thai Ginger Pork lunch special with fried rice and egg roll. Don't you love the presentation? - Chinese Near Me - Riverside, California

Today was my 3rd visit to Monark and the taste is consistently good. We requested egg rolls as our appetizer and sadly they came out after our first dish. We also requested the Walnut Shrip Lunch special and I must say when ordering and sharing family style it is best to order the dinner portion. We also ordered the Emperor's Choice, Jungle Curry, Kunk Pao Chicken, Thai spicy fried rice with chicken and several rounds of white rice. If ordering from the specials, be sure to let the server know so you are charged appropriately. Service was adequate but food took a bit even when restaurant was empty. I have seen this is the case which tells me they either make dishes fresh or also possible it is a slow kitchen. Either way we did not mind the wait. Ambiance is appropriate, a tad too dark in the middle of restaurant but we sat next to the window therefore darkness was not a problem. The AC could be lowered slightly ...it was so cold in there and that is one thing that I did not like so much, either way I will definitely visit again. read more

Monark Asian Bistro - Lunch specials!!!! - Chinese Near Me - Riverside, California

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HANDS DOWN the best vegetarian chinese food in the inland empire. their vegetarian orange chicken is my favorite. and everything else i have tried has been excellent. non-vegetarians will also appreciate their simple, but elegant menu. the service is pretty good but when you catch them on a busy night, they seem pretty understaffed. it's moderately priced, but totally worth it. highly recommended! read more

The Hubby and I had a babysitter and were out on a bonafide date! Whoop whoop! So I had a craving for Italian, and we decided to go to Romanos. But the wait was like an hour. I was hungry. Too hungry to wait that long. So hey, why not Asian instead? We'd never eaten at Monark and were up for something new. The place was fairly empty, but they had a pretty good little jazz trio. We had a secluded window seat. The lighting was low and the music soft. It was actually pretty romantic. Our server was insanely sweet and completely on point. The dumplings were straight up OMG to die for. The rest of the food was respectable. Not by any means stellar, but definitely decent. All in all, we really enjoyed ourselves. We'll probably end up there the next time I get a craving for Italian... read more

Great Riverside-local place. Top notch food, but surprisingly never busy. Service is great, and the ambiance is nice. I highly recommend them. They have a fusion of different Asian foods. I recommend trying their Thai-style entrees. read more

I came here with my girlfriend for the first time tonight. We've been by here several times and it always looked like one of those over-the-top snooty places. Well, we checked the menu the other day and the prices didn't seem bad so we figured that we'd give it a try tonight. Other yelpers seemed to like it and the price was right, so we went for it. Though I'll mention here that there always seems to be live music in the evenings (easy listening, guitar, etc.) so if that is a turn off for you, then I suggest either staying away or sitting near the front of the restaurant like we did. We were seated right away, and the service was fine. We decided to go for the "fusion" part of the menu rather than go for the standard Chinese fare. My lady friend got the ginger-lover's with chicken. I went for the fire-cracker chicken ("Slices of crispy meat and sweet pineapple sautéed in a spicy cherry sauce"). The food came out quickly, except mine was a bit delayed. Instead of waiting, we dug into the ginger lover's. It was decent, but there didn't seem to be much ginger and the platter was mostly comprised of onions. Mine arrived after a few bites of the ginger plate and I really wanted to like this dish, but just couldn't because everything was overcooked. The chicken that they used for this dish was the thin, small strips of white-meat often found in the non-fried Chinese food items, but fried. The preparation of the chicken is where the dish fell apart for me. I love these strips in other dishes, but for this one, it was fried to a crisp, except for maybe two pieces. I honestly thought that I was eating a chicken version of pork rinds for the first few bites. Many of the pieces were burned chicken "nuggets." Next was the sauce, a cherry-like reduction. Unfortunately, this was also over reduced. It tasted burned and the consistency was nearing glue. One final note is that this dish Is supposed to be spicy, it wasn't even close. Nonetheless, I think that there was enough potential to give this place another go around to try to let it redeem itself (which I really think that can), especially since we signed up for the "emperor's club" which will get a buy one get one free entree in the future. p.s. their online menu is slightly different than their actual menu. read more

We went here for a weekday dinner. The waiter was the best I've had in a long time. He placed the napkins on our laps, filled our water before we could ask, and was super polite. Although the service here is great I felt that the food was lacking in taste. I honestly regretted paying for the meals. The pad Thai was my least favorite ever. Although the staff is great, the food just doesn't offer much. I won't be coming back. read more

This restaurant has some really stand out dishes. The hot and sour soup is very good. It's the kind of soup that I sometimes get a craving for on a cold rainy night. Another favorite is a crispy red chicken, I think it's called firecracker chicken, I've never seen this dish anywhere else. It's crunchy and sweet and spicy, very tasty. I've been a few times and and I've always been satisfied. The decor is really nice, definite upgrade over the last place that was there. I feel bad for them because as others have said sometimes it's pretty empty inside (don't let that scare you away). read more

Service was better than the food. Ambiance was very nice but we were disappointed with the food. Orange chicken was a little on the dry side taste was fair. Asparagus with shrimp with pork was not to my liking. Sweet and sour pork dish was very good. Unfortunately we won't be back. We feel we wasted $70.00. read more

I was very disappointed because I had high expectations but they have terrible customer service. The workers here were very rude and disrespectful even when you are trying to be understanding and respectful to them. I brought my parents, but the owner (the lady manager) treated us very poorly. The food they served was rotten and I spoke to the server about this matter but he didnt apologize and said it was supposed to taste like rotten. -Also they added that because we were vegetarian and refused to add fish sauce, it was the reasoned why the food was tasting rotten. It made no sense to me. Then the old lady manager came over and tried to do a long lecture with very angry/loud tone about their food and that they taste fine. I had to stop her many times. Very disrespectful in front of my parents. I don't want anyone to experience what I did. This restaurants may have some good dishes which I also thought before all this happened. But their mindset of customer service is completely wrong and they look down on customers. I hope in the near future resturants like this will not be allowed to open. It was a good experience to acknowledge that restaurants like this still exist. read more

Best Thai Food Riverside the service is fabulous and the Food is amazing!! This place will not disappoint.

It was really nice inside but the waiter was very dry not friendly at all and the food was just ok I expected better because of the price and it's a bistro but I don't think I will coming back customer service is very important you have to do your best to make your customers happy and they didn't do that too bad I thought I found a good place . read more

Super yummy, clean, casual yet can feel formal (which I truly love) ... beautiful interior, food, service, excellent menu that feel very fresh. Soooo happy to have discovered it! read more

Just tried this place for the first time and I loved it! The ambiance is relaxing, the food is delicious and the prices are very reasonable. I tried the garlic peppered chicken, beef spicy greens, and hot and sour soup. SO GOOD! Great for a date night or family dinner. read more

When I say love love going in with my daughter. I love just about every dish on menu. The owner is super nice and has a good staff. My husband and my favorite dish by far is the Walnut Shrimp and Emperors Choice dish's beyond amazing. My daughter is simple combination fried rice, pot stickers and chicken skewers. Again not to many things we haven't tried being we live across the street it's quick and easy and delicious. read more

Such an underrated restaurant. The food was absolutely amazing! Our server was so sweet and kind, and she made sure that we were well taken care of. We had a lot of leftovers after because we ordered so much, and it was all gone the next day because of how good it was. It wasn't busy at all when we went, which I'm surprised! With food that good, I'd expect a line down the street. Definitely recommend to everyone. read more

We were the only customers from 5:00 to 5:45 on a Saturday. The interior is elegant and peaceful with fancy folded napkins and classical music. Food came out promptly and was tasty, but it was a bit pricey for what it is. We only found two shrimp in the vermicelli noodle dish but the kung pao chicken was a good sized portion for family style dining. Dishes were priced $9.95 to $12.95, and rice is charged at a dollar per bowl. I guess there aren't any competitors for Asian fusion in this area, so that's why they can have those prices. The waiters were courteous, so it's fine that we paid a little extra for average Asian food. read more

So today is Chinese New Years and we couldn't go without a decent Chinese meal. Since my friends and I are from NorCal we've been suffering without homecooking for a while. Damn dorm food. This place looks really nice and of course that comes with the higher prices of the food. It's probably the best looking place I've been to in Riverside. The four of us ordered three dishes and ate family style. We got the steamed fish, monark steak, and sauteed chinese broccoli. They were all very dericious! I liked the Chinese broccoli and the fish. The steak came with really good sauce but the texture of the meat was kinda weird to me. Too soft for beef.. Yeah it is overpriced, but since we just split the three items it came up to be about $12 per person including tips. A big con for this place is them charging for tea and rice. WTF! I let it slide because we're desperate for good chinese food. Oh yeah, and the waiter did his job but it really seemed like he hates his job. Overall, good food in a nice looking place. Overpriced. read more

This was the first time I ate here and second time eating the food (first was take out). It was empty when we went, only my boyfriend and I, so the waiter was very attentive. I was able to have a small sample of the Riesling I wanted and when I got the glass after I liked it, the waiter was very generous with the amount of wine I got. I got the angel hair pasta which was really good but too many veggies in my opinion and my boyfriend got the sweet and sour chicken. He wasn't able to get fried rice for a side because they didn't serve it in small portions, which kinda through me off. read more

Monark Asian Bistro - Veggies are all buried under the pasta - Chinese Near Me - Riverside, California

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This place has excellent food! I been coming here at least once a month. For me this is the best taste in Asian foodie riverside.

I hosted dinner after my wedding at Monark Bistro, not only was the food delicious but the owner Karen and the staff was pleasant and professional. read more

I will start out by saying our waiter was awesome. Wow. He was just super friendly and knowledgable. Now, the food: if it weren't for the fact we were super hungry and had no time to go elsewhere, we would have left. I ordered the pad thai, and I cannot believe how sweet it was, or how undercooked the noodles were. I have never had to add a drop of soy sauce to pad thai, let alone the copious amounts I poured on it just to make it somewhat edible. My friend had the veggie fried rice and it was just totally average. This was just a huge disappointment - especially because the ambience is so nice and the waitstaff so friendly. I can't even bring myself to try it again, especially considering that the town center has a bunch of good places AND there are other thai places in Riverside that are way better. :( read more

Food was beyond good, service was great . It's was clean and a very nice relaxed feeling. N the lilttle details they add to each dish was a nice surprise read more