Welcome to Mad Monk

We had the squid, the chorizo, bruschetta, olives,tasting plate and for mains the seafood pizza, a meat pizza, and a chicken sandwich of sorts and they were all nice but nothing outstanding.

Atrocious. We waited 1.5 hours for our mains...about 45 minutes after our starters had come the waitress told us our mains were on there way...but they didn't arrive for another 45 minutes and only after I asked the chap in charge where they were...they had lost our order and then lied about delay!

Very trendy...probably not the best choice with children though our 4 were angels despite the wait...The chairs are really uncomfortable though. We were also stuck in a back room which was a shame as it was a lovely day...and this was with reservation too. Maybe that was because of the kids?

Really disappointing. There are so many wonderful places to go in Freo we wont bother here again. The only positive was that they didn't charge us for our mains...though we had to pay for all the drinks we had whilst waiting!

For entree we ordered the japanese crumbed button mushrooms, flash fried calamari and the hand cut chips. Mushrooms were delightfully presented and tasted lovely. The calamari were done well resulting in a lovely soft & tender texture. The hand cut chips were fairly ordinary, but the chutney they were served with was great change from the usual sweet chilli sauce. It's unfortunate that our mains did not live to the same standard as the entrees. The parpadelle was a little salty and my friend's pan seared salmon was clearly over cooked, the beef fillet was not medium rare as requested.

The waitress took our drinks orders and promptly brought out the in house brewed beers. The teas took a lot longer to come out, and despite our entrees coming out quickly, it was clear they had forgotten about our mains. The waitress was clearly having a bad day, and we were on the receiving end.

The setting of the restaurant is dark, but pleasant with wooden beams separating areas. Large plasma screens looped with footage of a wood fire to give the impression of the place being cosy. The chairs however, are unfortunately the most uncomfortable seating I have ever had to use.

The delay in bringing out the mains spoilt the evening as it was clear the kitchen had prepared the food, and it was left under heating elements for some time before we prompted the waitress for our food. The chairs are seriously uncomfortable, if the proprietor ever sat down for a meal, I'm sure he/she would agree. The entrees were as expected and the beers are unique, but otherwise unremarkable.

We ordered the ribs marinated with what tasted like a chunky tomato sauce and hand crafted chips which I thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant it also its own micro brewery; I strongly suggest trying the smoked beer and for afters the Chai Latte with honey.

Relaxed

Interesting eye grabbing interior and a laid back atmosphere

Mad Monk first drew me in with it's name, a great choice for a restaurant situated on Fremantle's busy cafe strip. This light hearted, relaxed and modern eatery is a perfect for a late Sunday afternoon lunch, Incorporating live acoustic music and smiling staff. The quality and selection of food on the menu was quite a nice change to the other run of the mill restaurants trying to be young and fresh, I think this is a place even Buddha would eat at!

Until Sunday I didn't even know that this place existed. I headed out to lunch with a friend and we were looking for somewhere new, she suggested that we head to Freo and try out the place that has gone into where Miss Mauds had previously been.

The decor in Mad Monk is great, very funky and casual, and a choice of indoor and outdoor areas, we sat outside as it was a warm day and the courtyard was piped with funky tunes which just hit the spot for a Sunday afternoon.

We were greeted by a member of staff who told us to choose a seat anywhere out the front, and promptly given menus to choose from. Menus come in a slip and are divided into food, wine list and coffees/teas. The food menu is great - they have a large range of Tapas to choose from - we opted to start with a Tapas plate of the chorizo, mixed olives and fetta bruschetta, which was delicious. This all came out on the one tasting plate, and is a great idea as you can pick and choose what you want on your tasting plate, for the fussy amongst us this is a great idea.

We both ordered a beverage my friend had a wine, and they have an extensive wine list, wine which come from all over Australia and New Zealand, a great selection. As Mad Monk is a microbrewery they have their own beer, I tried the Rogue which was nice, and rather inexpensive $3 for a middy and $6 for a pint. The only disappointing thing was that they don't stock a light beer and as they are a microbrewery they only sell their own beer - which was lovely, however it would be nice to have the option of a light.

For mains we each had a Thai Chicken Salad, this very fresh and tasty and had a coconut milk style dressing which just hit the spot on a steamy summer afternoon.

I will definitely return to Mad Monk again, I can imagine how much of a vibe a place like this has on a hot summer night, with their great outdoor area looking over the street and full of happy patrons.

It is also worth mentioning that the staff are very accommodating and were more than happy to explain the whole concept of the place and talk beers to us.

Worth a try on a lazy Sunday afternoon or an nice place to go for a meal and some funky tunes.