monster kitchen and bar

whoever said canberra does not have good food has never been to canberra! this place ticks all the boxes -greatfood, knowledgable staff, good atmosphere. tick tick tick.

located inside of hotel hotel, monster kitchen and bar replaces the hotel lobby. we started off with cocktails by the fire pit as we were a bit early for our booking. once seated, the staff explained how the menu worked, what the specials were, what they recommended and even shared some of their stories with us (which weregreatstories!).

now time for the food! we started off with oysters, i mean who doesn't start off with oysters! the steak tartare with black rice crisps, party in your mouth! the flavours and textures, they just dance on your tongue. now let's talk about the yabbie jaffle, yes a jaffle! who knew a simple jaffle could taste sooooo good. and that wagyu, cooked to perfection and just melted in your mouth, exactly how a wagyu should be! now the fried tofu infused with japanese flavours and ever so soft and silky on the inside, now that's a fusion.

we also had the quail sriracha, kimchi pork bao, and smoke goats curd eggplant - these were good, enjoyable but not as good as the above.

there were also some specials which we ordered, calamari (average), tuna (tasted overcooked) and mushrooms (weird tasting). we would recommend staying with what's on the menu. we felt like the specials were some things they were trailing, which didn't quite work with our tastebuds.

we ended the night on a sweet note, chocolate, sea salt with peanut burnt butter ice cream and mango, tapioca, kaffir like and coconut. both weregreatends to a wonderful night.

the time flew by us. we enjoyed our experience here so much that we quickly forgot the things we didn't like and only remember all the things we did like. we love this place and their staff. we will definitely be returning back and back and back again.

very funky setting, greatservice and excellent food. we started with a (slightly lethal) cocktail, followed by lamb ribs and sensational duck parfait. for mains it was a massive steak (porterhouse??)and roast chicken, both cooked to perfection. the only let down was the churros for dessert. all in all agreatnight

really beautiful ambience with a big warm fireplace in the middle. we came here on a night which had an event called skyfire, so we were able to see fireworks as we dined. we got a few cocktails each, steak tartare, duck dish, pumpkin and goats cheese dish, 2 fish mains, kingfish w gochujang, lamb ribs and chips- they were all pretty good. bill wasn't overpriced at all, it actually felt likegreatvalue for money, service was excellent and we would definitely come back. approximately $270 for 3 diners, including 3 drinks pp.

thoroughly enjoyable meal. the eggplant was fantastic. lamb ribs great, but a bit dry. tofu was amazing and the sirloin fantastic. we'll priced andgreatservice.

trendy bar located on the periphery of civic at hotel ovolo.greatlittle share plates. had the tofu and eggplant. good place to hang out with colleagues after work / pre-dinner.

good selection of beverages with a focus on wines from canberra.

we stayed at ovolo nishi and came here for late night dinner, drinks and breakfast. the decor is quirky and amazing. it has a wonderful fire place and really cool lights, tables and chairs and a kitchen you can see into; and as you can see from the photos they keep it pretty dark. the waiters were all very enthusiastic, polite and helpful!

each day they have a breakfast menu, a bar menu, a share menu and a light lunch menu (12-5). i didn’t eat the light lunch menu but we saw that the servings were quite generous.

the free included breakfast was either granola or eggs on toast. the granola was nice, lots of fruit, feta and muesli. tasted great. could have done with more. the eggs on toast were pretty standard. the included coffee was filter so it wasn’tgreatbut the teabags were amazing.

onto the really nice stuff. we came into town quite late and the bar menu is available until late. they had a number of nice beers on the menu and the ipa was great! except we drank the last two! the flat oysters were ok, salty but perhaps canberra is a little far from the sea and freshness wasn't the best. the lamb ribs were extremely tasty, well cooked and not too oily and the contrast between the jam and the ribs was fantastic. their take on beef tartare was fantastic, once again a contract between the crunch of the black rice crackers and the juicy, succulent tartare.

definitely one to come back to on another visit to try some of the other dishes. best of all they are one of the few places in canberra to take gourmet traveller giftcards so if you manage to get them at a discount you're all set!

love the super cool decor and atmosphere here! had a really nice family dinner before going to the movies downstairs - food was delicious and service was friendly and efficient. had been here before (hotel isgreattoo!) and will definitely be back if i’m ever in canberra again.

service was mediocre, host desk was unattended and we had to wait a while to be seated. atmosphere and decor is incredible, very trendy and well designed. food came before drinks, my main came 10 minutes before my friend's. menu wasn't too extensive, fairly expensive. however, the mulloway dish was delicious. fish was cooked perfectly. my martini came out with a fruit fly in it, when returning it to the bar i wasn't offered another or my money back and instead had to tell the waitress i'll not be paying for a drink i didn't drink. an excessive amount of dirty dishes scattered on display, dirty and unprofessional. a gorgeous place,greatfood potential that really needs to improve their quality of service.
on second visit, service was improved and food and drinks were satisfactory with fish being the highlight.

food was excellent! incredibly tastey and beautifully presented. service was awesome and explanations were helpful.greatwine selection. only disappointment was the table seating...awkward shaped tables made it a little hard for conversation and being seated near the bar was a little noisey and cold. but overall totally worth the $$$

first impressions were great! quirky mix of furniture, art & design. our waitress was young and fun and suggested the degustation, as we were a group.
first couple of courses weregreat- especially the pork bao with kimchi! really loved the eggplant main - a stand out! everything on the plate was there for a reason, with each ingredient well matched and balanced.
it was downhill after this. quite a long wait before the lamb came out (happy to wait and have some time to digest but felt it was too long). the dessert was disappointing- the chocolate had a strange texture and there was an overpowering herb taste - possibly rosemary. it was a shame the meal ended on a low as this tainted the overall experience.
food was value for money but the wines were very expensive - even the cheaper bottles were $60+!
we still enjoyed our meal but i wouldn't be in a hurry to return

high court of consumption

betty cocker cj

1. ignore all the bad reviews from pretentious types who don't know what they like because monster (the 'place under hotel hotel, they should have called it restaurant restaurant') isn't bad at all. it's great.

2. the wine selection here is great. great. keep thinking great. great.

3. interior design? you know it's great. don't even lie. don't even pretend.

4. the tables are a bit suss, though. jagged, sharp layouts. it doesn't really make too much sense, but it's there. it's different. get over it. 

5. the food's delicious. the wait isn't even that long. it's not long at all. check yourself. 

6. the waiters are babes.

orders

7. monster is fun, there's no doubt about it. it's gotgreatvibes. great... vibrations. tingles. it gives you tingles between the legs, and it warms the cockles of betty's heart.

ate there 3 times over the weekend and it was pretty much flawless.greatfood,greatstaff,greatatmosphere. it almost made up for the fact it was canberra!

the atmosphere is festive and staff attentive to the extreme. the wine list could support a few more local producers, however offer an interesting international array. given my solo act, i opted for the bar menu rather than the shared plates. hard to choose! a chefs tasting plate would be agreatidea!!!!. local olives was the first to arrive, tasty, generous. presentation in rustic tableware fits perfectly into the recycled eco decor. highly recommend the cured kingfish, served with kohlrabi straws, chilli and a "hint" of dried scallop, delicious. the eggplant with smoked goats curd and katsuobushi is something else, aroma and flavour. finally the salad withyuzu dressing...and i haverun out of room. a fabulous meeting place, full of nooks as well as tables for many. a fabulous meeting place. love it. monster

wow. wow. wow. canberra is screaming loud and clear with this one! we went, we had and were blown away! stand out? the fried pigs head. no words. just do it.
pulled lamb shoulder, too. in fact, everything really! 
shared plates are very generous. 
staff are attentive and super-cool. the decor is new retro-chic.greattaste tunes. love it. destination eating all the way over the border! go, new acton!

had dinner here xmas eve, we had an excellent waiter who really knew the menu. share plate servings were generous andgreatvalue considering the quality of the food. good atmosphere, not crazy noisy but enough background noise for privacy. we had a lovely time and will recommend to our friends visiting canberra.