I have a love/hate relationship with The Wicked Monk. Which is to say, I want to love this spot so badly, but my 4 or so experiences here have been mixed. Let's get honest, my dearest Yelpsters.
THE GOOD: The drinks are on point. The cocktails, the beers, the selection in general--it's all great. No complaints with anything coming out of the bar. Additionally, my cohort and I have tried most of the flavors of the wings and we have always been happy with them. Great stuff in the wing zone. Food and drink aside, you just cannot deny that the aesthetic at this place is awesome. They're going for a kind of gothic sanctuary/monastery vibe inside and it is totally working for them. I get the desire to come back to the Wicked Monk partially because the building is just so damn cool, and you're doing something right when that's the case.
THE BAD: We have consistently found the value and quality of the starter and entree items to be inconsistent. I'll just kick off this segment of the review with the value part. The menu is overpriced. And I know what you're thinking "we live in New York, tell me something I don't know." But no. There are some things I cannot bear and refuse to weather. I have unfortunately found some of these things on the Wicked Monk's menu. You're going to have to check out my photos for reference, though. I will use the "Reuben Spring Rolls" as exhibit A. This appetizer was $10. What we received was two, not impressively sized, spring rolls. Were they tasty? Yes, yes they were. Will I ever willingly pay $5 per spring roll again? Absolutely not. I was honestly pretty upset with that value gap. It just feels like extortion, and I hate that. Moving on, though. On another visit, I got the fish and chips. I asked for a side of cole slaw and was willing to pay for it. What I got was a (maybe) 1/2 cup serving of cole slaw in a porcelain ramekin...which was pretty much what I was expecting. What I was not expecting was to be charged $4 for that when the check came. Again, there's just a value gap here. It feels like extortion, and it makes me not want to eat at your restaurant again. Check out my photo of the fish and chips and you tell me if you think that plate is worth $17 NOT including the $4 cup of cole slaw. Would you pay $21 for the food in that picture? I hope not. I could go on, and not everything on their menu is so price-inflated, but you get the point; unfortunately, I have felt that I'm paying way too much for way too little enough times at the Wicked Monk to be put off.
On to the part about the quality. I have experienced a phenomenon at the Wicked Monk several times that is always stunning, always surprising, and never welcome: The food looks great on the plate...yet tastes bad in my mouth. It is a disconnect that I have as much a hard time understanding as I do stomaching. On a specific outing, myself and 3 others all came in for dinner. We ordered Bangers and Mash, Shepherd's Pie, the Gaelic Steak, and the Steakhouse Sandwich. The steakhouse sandwich was really great (and I've ordered it again since--still good). The Bangers and Mash were ok; I wouldn't get it again, but they were alright. The Shepherd's Pie and the Gaelic Steak...were a very sad state of affairs. It's not that they tasted bad...they just didn't taste like anything! It was so bland...I just...I don't know what to say. I never understand bland food. Overseasoning? Ok sure, it's not good, you got overzealous, but at least you tried. Underseasoning? What happened back there? Again, the food looked great but it just tasted so bland it was unappetizing. My two friends who ordered the steak and the pie didn't even finish half of their food, didn't take it home with them, and we went somewhere else afterwards so they didn't have to be hungry. I'll just not say anymore about this. The steakhouse sandwich was solid though...
WRAPPIN' IT UP: All in all, the Wicked Monk has only been ok for me. With the aesthetic/theme of the spot, the ambiance, and the good drinks, I can't tell you how much I want to be in love with it. Unfortunately, I'm just not. We'll probably never be back for dinner again because it's not worth the gamble with our money. For drinks and wings though? We'll definitely be back around. read more