80 Old Street
EC1V 9LT
Date of Last Visit: Monday, March 29th, 2010
The Victims: Fellow London food and restaurant bloggers Alice and Mr. Noodles
The Background: There's something about Mr. Noodles. You just trust his opinion. When I met up with Alice and Cara at Chili Cool earlier this year, we followed Mr. Noodles' ordering advice pretty much exactly and had a fanstastic, gut-busting dinner. So when Mr. Noodles suggested meeting up for lunch, I felt pretty honored, said yes and invited Alice along too.
I wanted to try Monsieur M because I had a niggling feeling that it was trying to copy the format of the hugely popular Monsieur Vuong in Berlin, which I visited in September. And oh boy, was I right! When I asked the guy in charge (Owner? Manager? Not sure. The German dude.), he came right out and said it. He liked Monsieur Vuong and thought to bring the concept in London. But totally not in conjunction with Monsieur Vuong at all.
So um…Is that legal?
Well, regardless of the legalities, here's my initial impression.
Monsieur M looks CHEAP. Flabby. Temporary. Something is just not quite right with the space.
The Food: All that being said, the set lunch is a very good deal. For £10, we get a juice, a starter, and a main. The juices are basically fruit smoothies, which seem to retail these days for £3.50 and upwards. So getting one of these in conjunction with the rest of the menu is a very good deal. I think.
The chicken sesame toasts are drunk food. Greasy in a very satisfying way. A very guilty pleasure.
But the beef curry is…suspiciously gray. The meat just doesn't look right, but that might be because of the green curry sauce that it's drenched in. Alice and I discussed how the curry did actually have a kick to it, as opposed to some places in London that seem to deaden their food for our Western taste buds. But I also remember thinking…
this just isn't very good.
I don't know if it was the beef or the peppers or the combination of the rest of the ingredients or what. I just was not feeling compelled, and I left more than half my meal there, which is always a bad sign with me.
The Verdict: Not convinced. And kinda weirded out with the copying thing.
13 comments
Agreed Krista – I was really unimpressed with the place. When I went it was empty and the service was still horrible. And although a smoothie included in a £10 meal is definitely a good deal, it’s a bit much with all the food I think. A fresh juice is one thing but a smoothie fills me up and puts me off the meal.
Yes! that's exactly how I felt…way too full after banana smoothie.
Considering I eat lunch at nearby Song Que for much less than 10 quid, I actually don’t think our lunch at Monsieur M was good value. It’s true there was a large quantity of food for that price, but the food wasn’t very good. So for me – bad value.
Ok, good point.
Sometimes I daydream about the glass noodle salad at Monsieur Vuong. To.Die.For.
One to forget! Looking at the interior design, it does look a bit IKEA like but not in a good way. And really don’t get me started on their noodles…….
Well, one to miss I guess. Thanks for the grounding work. I remember reading Mr Noodles’ review, he was also terribly unimpressed. What a waste of a meal!
Good to know, was about to try it out, looked kind of nice from the outside… you saved me from some unpleasant surprise here..!
I knew it wouldn’t be that good, somehow. Poor Krista!
Can’t believe what the previous reviewers are writing. Either this place has come a long way or they have been on a different planet. Went there recently for a birthday party and loved it all around. Great food, great service, great value for money! Have been back a few times since and was positively surprised each time. They also do great cocktails …. Have yet to try their £3.60 lunch offer.
Same here, cannot believe these reviews. I went there last night and LOVED it. Great food, had a LUSH fish curry, spring rolls, and a lovely banana fritters with ice cream dessert. It’s the third time i go and all 3 times were a winner. The fact they change the menu daily shows they use fresh produce, and you can tell in the food! Probably my favourite place to eat in Shoreditch.
Verdict: Skip the overrated, rubbish joints on kingsland road and go to Mr M – it’s delicious, great value for money and a much nicer atmosphere.
And same here !!!!!!!!!!
I love this place! I go there every time I am in Shoreditch. Fresh hot meal, very tasty, full of fresh herbs. Staff is very friendly,helpful and fast. And compare to other Thai restaurants on Old street I finally got clean cutlery and glasses which is a plus! Very well organized place and friendly atmosphere. Love everything about this place. Definitely recommend !!
OK, firstly, Monsieur M is not Thai. It's meant to be Vietnamese. Not THAI. You can visit the Berlin restaurant they ripped off here: http://www.monsieurvuong.de/
Secondly, there are only two other Thai restaurants on Old Street:
Thai Thai, which is run by Bangladeshis but has Thai cooking staff and is actually okay
Busaba Eathai, which should have just opened.
Both of these are much better that Monsieur M.
Thirdly, there is only one other Vietnamese restaurant on Old Street (if that's what you meant when you said Thai) and it's Cay Tre. Cay Tre is eons ahead of Monsieur M.
Krista
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