Monk's Cafe

Absolutely packed on a Friday Afternoon at 3pm! Monk’s delivers an authentic Belgian experience complete with original cold draft brews w mussels. The pub atmosphere is for real (especially in the BACK BAR!) and the bartenders are quite friendly. We did find the background music to be “not our preference” but you can’t go wrong with Belgian brews 🍻 that taste like something right out of the cellar of a Trappist Monk 🙏

Lamb meatballs were fantastic. Mussels were solid, I got the Thai curry ones and wish I would have picked something more traditional. They also needed a little salt but that's subjective. The westmalle duo beer was fantastic, like really fantastic. Bartender was friendly.

The unofficial Belgian embassy in Philly, and I feel totally at home here. Easy to get to from downtown. Great atmosphere, warm and welcoming, with a lot of Belgian beer memorabilia. The tap list is always incredible, from locals to classics from le plat pays. Didn't try the food, but it did look good.

Monk's is a place that feels just about perfect. Nothing is too fancy or pretentious, it's just excellent all around. I think it's not that controversial to say that Monk's has the best fries in the city, and are a must-have whether you get them with mussels, a burger, or a standalone order. We also tried the cheese board, smoked trout dip, and split the famous duck salad sandwich. All were great and everything felt reasonably priced. When I return to Monk's, I'll probably stick with their burgers since those have been my favorite in the past. Service is great overall, bartenders and waiters are very helpful with the beer list which for many will be the main attraction. While I'm not a beer aficionado, every beer I've had has been outstanding and I personally would recommend the Westmalle Dubbel. Visitors should be aware that there are no reservations at Monk's and limited seating, though the restaurant is bigger than it looks when including the back bar and seating. Expect to wait for a little while if you try to come on a busy weekday evening. We went on a Sunday evening though and were pleasantly surprised that there was no wait at all!

I love ya monks but the price in the beer bible was lower than the actual price of my beer, and the bartender did not correct the price on my tab when i politely pointed this out. You guys rule. The food is great. The beer is great. But you gotta have the prices on the menu match the prices in the point of sale system. Please respond to this review when you have corrected this error. All you need to do is update the beer bible to say the hitachino nest xh is $12 and not $10.

Tried good beer for the first time (I don't drink it often). We must've been so ravenous because everything tasted 30/10. The beers are worth every penny. Service was amazing. Will come back soon. We downed the salad within seconds. The thai curry mussels tasted ADDICTING that I was dipping my pomme frites in the sauce. Can't wait to come back!

My first time visiting this bucket list destination on 2/21….spring was in the air in Philly, people everywhere. Also happened to be Pliny The Younger day. Place was absolutely packed. Managed to squeeze in at bar to a standing spot. Despite the crowds service was great. Just had a Pliny Younger and Elder. Was definitely not disappointed. Will visit again for food, etc.

A really cool little Belgian beer bar - it reminds me very much of Belgium! Inside is all wood, the floors are creaky, and it’s bustling and noisy. The food is quite good and we were very happy with everything we got - the duck salad in particular is excellent! We have seen them win awards online for their duck salad and burger.

I went here with a friend this week and didn’t have the best experience. We heard great things on the internet about Monk’s and I was very excited to try their acclaimed beer and food. Unfortunately there was quite a bit that went wrong. The service was very sloppy. Both the beer and food took too long to come to the table up and they still managed to mess up our order. When we ordered beer, the incorrect beer came; when we ordered the Thai curry mussels we received the garlic even though we were very specific. And lastly they messed up our bill and mixed up the items between my friend and I. And we didn’t even order that much. The food was good but nothing special either. I ordered the duck salad sandwich (which going off the menu is “award winning”) and it was mediocre at best. Duck was cooked well but the bread wasn’t the best and the overall flavor I felt was lacking. The fries and the mussels were good though. Overall, it’s a nice place and the staff is really friendly, but people are overrating the food and the service was way too sloppy

If I was on death row, the steak frites salad from this place would be my go-to last meal. I'd wait 5 hours to get this food and I dont even like to eat. I've also tried burgers from here that I would fight a bear for, so I'm not sure you can go wrong ordering food from this place. Plus I love the music and cozy atmosphere.