Monster Kitchen and Bar

Nice and hard-working staff. Environment very unexpected. Food was regular. Dessert was out of this world. Celebrated my birthday, staff and chefs were very kind. Bathroom were beautiful and amazing for photo taking and general use.

I had high hopes for Monster Bar in Canberra, but unfortunately, their cheese board fell well below expectations, especially considering the premium $39 price. For that price, I expected a thoughtfully curated selection with a balance of quality cheeses, fresh accompaniments, and attention to presentation. Instead, what was served looked like something hastily thrown together at home. The board featured a few basic cheeses, some tired grapes and raisins, a handful of mixed nuts, dry crackers, and a small piece of quince paste. One of the cheeses even looked like it had been sitting out too long. It was underwhelming and felt like an afterthought, not a premium experience. When we politely raised this with the waiter, their only suggestion was to return the board. No attempt was made to offer a replacement, a better alternative. For a venue that charges premium prices and markets itself as high-end, this lack of customer service was very disappointing. What makes this even more frustrating is that venues like Ambrosia provide cheese boards that are not only generous and beautifully presented but also far more reasonably priced. Ambrosia’s platters show real care, with artisan cheeses, fresh produce, and well-matched sides that make you feel the price is justified. Monster Bar needs to seriously improve both the quality of their offering and their approach to customer service. At the moment, it feels like style over substance, and not worth the money. OUTRAGEOUS

RIP Monster. The old Monster was our go-to for special occasions, and whilst over the last year we’d noticed a distinct drop in the level of customer service we’ve always tried to give the place the benefit of the doubt as the food and menu remained excellent. We were aware of the change in approach to an omnivore menu before we booked, and knew we’d miss the tasty veggie, vegan (and almost entirely) GF offer. Tonight we had booked an early table before a film. We were met hesitantly, shown to a dining table in the bar area where we were seated and told to order at the bar. We assumed perhaps a new approach to early evening dining or that there was an event in the main dining area. Sadly no, this is the new status quo and both our first round of drinks and food were served to the wrong table. Whilst the food was tasty, it was overpriced, and if we’d have booked for an (even more) special occasion we’d have been left with a bad taste in the mouth. A disappointing experience.

A Thursday night birthday celebration that was 5/10. Staff not familiar with table reservation system and actual table location. Bar staff needed assistance with drinks, senior staff took over and was excellent. Bar staff were also waiters so had a lot of work. I took empty glasses to bar at one stage as table was becoming crowded. Entree was interesting with a load of olives, no cheese. Perhaps chef was off for night. Winter flu is raging in Canberra. Staff tried to give more mains to people who already had them. Lovely location and atmosphere and food quality was almost what I had been told to expect from others recommendations. Gonna return in summertime.and try again.

This is a nice venue within Ovolo Nishi on the ground floor. The layout of the restaurant is nice, as it is open and there is space between tables. You have to order food and drinks at the bar, so it doesn't have a typical restaurant feel to it. We were coming to watch a movie at Palace cinemas but came here first for a beer. It is nice that they have a fireplace, as the venue has a warm and cosy feel. It would be most convenient if you were staying in the hotel to come down for a meal.

The owner must have been changed. I came here twice before and it was fine. Now it's completely unacceptable. It's extremely overpriced, the portions are tiny, and worst of all, every single dish tasted terrible. They just dumped tons of salt in everything. If you want to upset someone, recommend them to come here. After reading more negative comments, I started wondering how much of the food was actually made in the kitchen. The fried calamari cost $26 and tasted like a premade pack with salt from the supermarket. Four pieces of unremarkable little tortellini cost $30. The lamb loin that taste like merely sour cream was ridiculously tough and undercooked, and that was $46. The worst birthday dinner of my life. I'm sad that my husband chose this place to make me happy - he thought it was nice but was deceived by the new business owner.

Delicious, interesting vegetable dishes. Great flavours and well prepared. Our party of 2 shared the corn ribs, pomello pumpkin salad and the crispy tofu to start. Then shared the cauliflower shwarma main dish. The cauliflower was very tasty, ribs and tofu were very good, the pressed pumpkin in the salad was a little strange texturally, but the pomello and creamy feta was a nice combo. Great wine list, attentive service. We'll be back 👍🏼

Drinks great but food never came. I stopped in for a meal before a meeting and ordered a dinner and a drink. Finished the first cocktail which was outstanding! Food still hadn’t come. Ordered a second and finished it, over half an hour and no update on food. I have to go to my meeting :( bartenders seem very nice and knowledgeable. Atmosphere is awesome for a drink. Should at least today every 30 minutes or so.

Writing this review after experiencing this hotel lobby restaurant and bar at all times of the day and visited/ordering food and/and drinks 8+ times. Overall will rate at 3 stars for "ok" but the 2 star rating "could be better" really sums it up. To start: I love their veggie initiative - all foods for the year will be vegetarian which is awesome and great for the earth. The building itself is awesome too, and the decor is nice, sleek and modern with some interesting art. Food and service are okay, not many healthy options but food comes out quickly. If you are not an adventurous eater the veggie burger and fries may be your best bet. We ordered edamame once but it was so salty and spicy it wasn't really edible. Biggest pet peeve: Operating hours do not adhere to what is published on website. Even with revised COVID hours, kitchen/bar often close earlier than published on their own website and staff is unclear when asked what time they are actually closing, which is awkward because no one wants to be ordering food or drink or lingering when the place is about to close. Another big issue is that the restaurant website also advertises room service and takeaway but the website hasn't worked in 3 weeks but will take you through the whole process before saying the order cannot be completed. Not ideal, especially for a hotel bar/resto where people may be arriving and needing sustenance at odd hours. Overall okay, but could do better.

Omg omg wow wow my husband took me in a date night and the service was soo warm and welcoming and the staff were friendly and always made sure we were ok and if we needed anything. The food what can I say cooked to perfection fast service and tasty food I would 400% return and recommend to any one