Monsoon was recommended to me by an acquaintance who now that I think about it, I don’t even like. As you can tell from the title I will no longer be taking any advice from him.
This place is off the beaten path. It is located not far from Blue Ridge Outdoors (across from Fellinis #9). The location has some cute outdoor seating. You can also eat inside, where I felt right at home. The place brings a new meaning to cozy. They have comfy chairs, themed decor, and lamps everywhere (which for some reason put me at ease).
The place had two other couples and a group of four when we arrived. Having only heard it was good from one person this boosted my confidence in the place.
WRONG:
The food left me wishing I’d opted for boxed Mac & Cheese for dinner. Appetizers of Veggie Mushroom Dumplings were ordered with drinks. The menu for the place is pretty complete. It has a selection of noodles, curries, and specialty dishes. Beer and wine are also available. Both my dining companion and I ordered curry. I ordered yellow curry at a three level spiciness and my companion ordered the red curry at a level four spiciness.
The server was as sweet as could be and we did get our food quickly. The overall atmosphere/service was excellent, but that can’t compensation for their lack of quality food.
Our appetizer tasted like to dirt. Literally. It was almost as if the mushrooms had not been washed. The taste was so unpleasant that we did not even finish two. The menu description sounded so yummy. If it had lived up to the description it would have been delicious.
Next our meals arrived. I wish they hadn’t. The curries were just lacking. I think Monsoon truly tries to make their food fresh and authentic, just a little too authentic. Possible? The curry had very little flavor other than coconut (how appropriate since this is his type of review). I am guessing they used real coconut milk in the curry and it overpowered all other flavor (zero spiciness). The vegetables did not have much flavor either. The rice was good but that isn’t difficult to achieve.
The prices would be very reasonable if the food had been even remotely good.
CONCLUSION:
Good service, cozy setting. Stay away from the mushrooms. The meals were bland and dull. They are trying and I give them credit for that, but can’t bring myself to go back until some changes are made.
Related posts:
- Lime Leaf Thai Restaurant Review
- Pad Thai Restaurant Review
- HEED ME, FOR GREAT JUSTICE!! Korean House Restaurant Review
I hate to say it, Lu, but I agree. I’ve eaten there one time and one time only. I know there are some loyal Monsooners out there, but my entree had >3 but <7 hairs in it. Salad tasted like it had salt water on it, I could go on.
As with a few other restaurants in town, I want to like this place, but I can’t bring myself to go back. And that was 2 summers ago.
Out of curiosity, Lu: is this review based on one visit? I’m hesitant to condemn any place based on one visit alone, at least if I’m going to do so in print.
But was the pad tartare paired with an appropriate asian water?
Has the Box opened yet?
wow, where have you been!? The Box is definitely open! Although I am not sold on it yet…I am reluctant to go back to succumb to this whole “you must try a restaurant more than once to have a firm opinion of it”.
I remember a while ago (maybe ‘01 or ‘02) that a woman found a bug (roach perhaps?) in her food there. C-Ville Weekly did a story on it, not mentioning the restaurant by name, but it was ser Monsoon. I’ve never eaten there, but there are some loyalists that swear by it. With all the choices in Charlottesville (even for Thai) I doubt if I’ll ever give it a go. Especially now.
::wonders if Monsoon will now curse the interwebs ad nauseum::
i heard the box is going to open this weekend.
I hear Van Halen is playing at The Box next friday, so they must be open.
/not going back ever.
@4, 5, yeah, the box is def open. It’s just got a little bit of that musky, tangy flavor to it still. Very mucho noodles, very little meat. That box just needs more meat packed into it…
I LOVE Monsoon! I have eaten there for over 10 years (she used to be on the mall) and I have never been disappointed. I usually get Whole Earth and the salad, which has the yummiest dressing (sesame soy, i think). The only complaint I have is the wait time, but considering it’s one woman maybe with the help of her daughter I don’t mind. She must be doing something right, she’s been around a long time. I heart Monsoon.
That’s what she said.
That was like a perfect alley-oop pass from me to Smiley…nice slam!!!
/that’s what she said
Like taking candy from a baby.
@9…I think its severely lacking in the flavor department.
I like how this switched from a Monsoon review to another Box review.
@13, yeah, I usually enjoy eating box the most when it has as little flavor as possible…BUT…then again, there’s something extra nice about a hot box…as long as you don’t get burnt…
@14, you can never have too many box reviews…c’mon now!!!!
@16: Good point. We could sit here and talk box all day.
boooo lets get back to thai, REAL thai. Where does everyone go when they have a hankering for the pad thai?
bad?! Are you kidding me? More like Terrible!!! The lady’s not even Thai and it’s nothing close to Thai … My best friend is from Thailand and when he visited I though I’d impress him by taking him there over two years ago, boy was I wrong!!! He laughed so hard that it was actually called Thai food and Southeast Asian… Since then I’ve learned and actually got to up over to Thailand with him shortly after and monsoon is definitely NOT close to Thai food… There is one really good one here, but I’ll leave it to y’all to figure out which one it is
also, you can really judge a Thai restaurant by the menu, “pad Thai” is not the only Thai dish and is actually not as common as we think it is in the US… Start trying other dishes like Pad see ew, Rad Na, Ka nome gear gang…. Hopefully my friend will visit cville again and approve of some of the newer true Thai restaurants!!!
@18 Bangcock
I don’t do pad thai, Vanillavy, but i like Downtown Thai very much for lunch. my regular lunch companion gets the pad suey (sp?) there and loves it, even though it’s not on the lunch menu. I’ve heard good things about Thai 99 as well.
The Box has definitely lost its luster since opening, with lackluster service (to say the least) and a severe noodle/meat imbalance.
i’m lovin lemongrass on the corner right now.
lolo: is that the same place that used to be in the Dick’s/Kroger/Crutchfield shopping center up on 29? i ate there once and really enjoyed it.
@18 I have been at Lemongrass at Rio Hill and it’s OK- good value for lunch. Sorry for the Bangkok joke, I feel punchy from a late might at work.
no, next to 14th street garage on the uva corner
maybe it’s the same people though, i don’t know actually.
I second numero twenty-one. Lemongrass is the best I’ve had in town. I like Downtown Thai too, but it’s no Lemongrass. I got the burning bowels from Thai 99 the only time I’ve eaten it, so I haven’t been back.
@25 i thought that the Rio Hill location was no more? i may be wrong.
whatever happened to Pho? the place that was in Zinc’s spot? were there just not enough Pho Phans here in town?
@29 I have not been there for awhile it could well be gone- I don’t get there much but it seems like it was there late spring. Anybody?
Is there a good Vietnamese restaurant in town?
@29 please disregard previous post I got lemongrass confused with Lime Leaf Thai – which is still at Rio Hill and still a good deal for lunch.
@24 the thai restaurant in rio hill is lime leaf.
i enjoyed the food at monsoon the one time i ate there. (of course, it was on a friday…) i had yellow curry too & i like spicy & don’t think i complained about the lack of spiciness. but i don’t need to go back.
@32 Lime Leaf must be what i’m thinking of as well, thanks dieter!
i will have to give Lemongrass on the corner a shot, sounds good!
@31 echo, someone is probably going to take this opportunity to mention Saigon Cafe at the Harris/Ridge light, but much like Lu’s feelings on Monsoon in this post, i cannot in good conscience send you there.
@22 the box wasn’t any better when it was new–you guys were just fooled by the emperor’s new clothes.
Thanks nut
i miss atomic burrito badly.
@35 new nakedness always confuses people-
@37. I second that. BRING BACK THE BURRITO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@37/39 i’ll jump on that wagon. AB was much better than the Box.
I’ve never been to the Box, but I have no desire to go, as I don’t care for noodles.
Chipotle is just too far away to go for lunch. I can’t believe a place like Atomic couldn’t make it here.
@37, 39 GO TO AQUI ES MEXICO!!!!!!!!
i’m planning to, Orchid, but it’s not as easy as just walking down the Mall at lunch time to AB was.
I don’t think I can ever eat at Aqui es Mexico during the week. The carnitas burrito is too good, and they only have it on Saturday and Sunday.
@42 My visit to Aqui Es Mexico was a pleasant suprise. Chimichanga was excellent as was the service. Will def go back but will walk next time .
That said AB is greatly missed. Have actually refused Box evar since AB closed.
/wait what?
The Box is good, simple, and cheap. Yeah, it’s not busy as it used to be but that means I get faster service when I go in there. And newsflash, you’re not going to get a lot of meat with your noodles for $5.
Re: Monsoon, I probably wouldn’t eat there anyhow, everytime I walk by there’s a bunch of rugrats running around the playground-like patio. Nevertheless, Lu Sid, I wonder do you eat Thai food a lot? Is the food actually dull or just not what you expected?
my new favorite place is Pad Thai, over by Beer Run. Friendly folks, excellent food.
We’ve eaten at Monsoon 3-4 times over the last decade, and each time was so-so to really bad.
I am also a big fan of Pad Thai, the people there have always been really friendly. Thai 99 is good as well. Ive only eaten at Monsoon once and it was ok…I remember waiting a long time for the food and it didn’t seem to have as much flavor or spice as the other two.
Is there a good Vietnamese restaurant in town?
I recommend making the trip to Mekong restaurant in Richmond. Mmmm….
Pad Thai is on my list to try too, right next to Aqui Es Mexico (on the list, not physically). does anyone know if they still occasionally do a special menu? i think it was Northern Thai or something? i had heard it was once a month or so.
Echo meet Cvillain: http://cvillain.com/2008/03/18/it-is-not-chinese-it%e2%80%99s-vietnamese-duh/
Very Good Place for Vietnamese.
Wow, that cVillain website seems pretty cool. Wish I knew about it before.
Thanks Lu Sid.
No prob newbie
@2 – I had their takeout once (not exactly in the most sober state) and ate at the restaurant once. That makes twice for me. Although I must admit once, twice, three time, no matter because I think the comments speak for themselves.
I agree with this review. I’ve been several times and I can’t say it was all that good.
@49 Stanley, I freakin’ LOVE Mekong in Richmond. It’s awesome!
But for even more Asian fun, further up Broad only a couple of blocks, at about the 6200 block, there’s a really, really big Asian market on the left, on your way out of town at the Tan-Mor Plaza. Aisles and aisles of canned, bottled, dried and pickled imported goodness. Fresh Asian produce. Meat/seafood. Tons of frozen dumplings, shumai, prepared meals. El cheapo chopsticks, bowls, funny flat soup spoons. Everything incredibly affordable. They only take cash or checks, but you won’t need much. Follow that with a trip to Total Wine, just a bit further out Broad (such an awesome place, although it’s massive stock of beer and wine will never replace Crush in my heart) and you really have the perfect foodie field trip.
Then out to Glen Allen to unwind at the Capitol Ale House, which has lots of great beers on tap and in the bottle. And a strip of ice on the bar to keep your “cold one” cool!
I hate bad reviews, but I’m going to have to agree with this one… I used to love Monsoon; I’d go about once a month to get my favorite dish: shrimp panang curry. The last three times, the dish I used to love was just plain awful. I don’t want to make accusations without evidence, but 2 out of my three times there I heard the sound of a microwave beeping and I swear the shrimp was chewy and had a microwave cooked consistency… just sayin’… It was disgusting.
I had hoped it had gotten better, but from your review I guess it hasn’t.
lemongrass is thai AND vietnamese.
/had a passable burrito (el pastor, verde) for lunch, actually cheaper than those in c’ville.
The Tofu Cakes at Monsoon are killer delicious. Service is crazy slow, though.
@59, where’d you find good al pastor burritos?
/hungry
Service is crazy slow, though.
Thats because its Jamaican Thai…
/soon, mon, soon.
@53 – Lu, I believe you meant to say “n00b”.
Best Thai for me is Lime Leaf. Don’t care for Monsoon ’cause it doesn’t have any flavor. Service has always been slow, but could deal with that on occasion. Used to love the Steven Keene art they had on the walls when they were on the mall, tho.
I think of Lemongrass as more Vietnamese, have only been once, but liked it.
Do they have Rocky Mountain Oysters @ Monsoon?
@61 today, san francisco. but aqui es mexico has al pastor & they’re really good & huge too (although carnitas is better).
@64 Rocky mountain oysters are tough to get.
Many hoove prints on my head but haven’t had a taste yet.
The Thai place on the corner next to the garage is GOOD! The Panang curry is excellent as is the Pad Thai. Plus, they have killer fresh spring rolls with a yummy peanut sauce for dipping – they do the spring rolls with and without shrimp.
The first few times I went there, they only had a dinner menu and it was a tad pricey – around $10-$11 a dish, but I was there for lunch about a week ago and there was a lunch menu with reasonable prices and big portions.
@65:
if you get down to san jose, try la victoria- go to the original if you have time- a house on 4th street right by SJSU. mmm. best burritos i have ever eaten.
i always get the veggie, specify whole black beans(i hold the sour cream due to personal preference), and althought the salsa verde does not pack the best heat, yo amo!!!
mmm.
@67- Ohh I have been there and it is good. It is called Lemongrass and some hottie villain suggested it
I got out of there for about $42.00 the other day. That was a total for three main dishes and an appetizer. Not too bad for Cville if you ask me. I think I might have to drag Lu Sid there in an effort to bring back her overly positive reviews.
Ah, Aquis Es Mexico. Great stuff. Each dish there actually tastes like a different dish. Problem with places like Guad is that everything tastes alike, and the main quality is a certain mushiness.
Last time I ate at El Puerto, my hubby found large shards of sharp, broken plastic in his food. Unfortunately, didn’t find ‘em until he was actually chewing on them–largest was close to 3/4 of an inch long. Management was spectacularly unphased by it.
Haven’t been back since.
wow. i am so sad to hear such a bad review of this place. i have been a monsoon lover for about five years now and am shocked to hear it get trashed for one bad meal. i myself have never had anything but wonderful homey food there, and i have to say that you guys on cvillain sure do think you know a thing or two about food. i would love to know if any of you have ever actually worked in restaurant. not that you need that experience to know good food, but it sure is easy to trash a place when you have never had to actually put yourself out there and try it. not to say that it is difficult to serve the public good food every day, but for restaurants that have managed to stay in business for as long as monsoon has in a city like cville where there is a new kid on the block every other week, i would go to monsoon any day before patronizing yet another overpriced-thinks-it’s-nyc-self-important establishment. as for the service, yeah it is slow, but hopefully you are dining with people you enjoy conversing with, so take a valium and wait. the tofu cakes are amazing, the green curry kicks ass, as does the jungle curry, the pork pad thai-at lick the sun hot!, and i actually love the mushroom dumplings-oh, and the salad dressing rocks….i have actually seen my friends try and lick the plate when the salad is gone…
Oooh! Such umbrage! Native hot and oh so spicy! You will fit in very nicely here should you choose to stick around. By the way, how long have you worked at monsoon?
you guys on cvillain sure do think you know a thing or two about food
Au contraire, I know nothing. I am a fucking scavenger. The dude you are looking for is cocoNUT. He is a pedigree know it all food bastard, but since there is no tradition of “pad tartare”, I think you are safe from his reviews o’ wrath.
but it sure is easy to trash a place when you have never had to actually put yourself out there
Yes. Yes it is. But knowing that, why would anyone care what “Lu Sid” thinks. [no offense lu, just using the case in point as an abstract]
where there is a new kid on the block every other week
Who will get their come-uppance from some foaming at the mouth internet food nazi invariably. One soggy fry, baby, thats all it takes, and the e-umbrage flows like the Yang Tse.
but for restaurants that have managed to stay in business
And I am sure they will, too, survive this “withering” electronic assault of meaningless opinion. Lighten up, Francis.
but hopefully you are dining with people you enjoy conversing with
Im a rebel, Dotty, a loner. Im sure that’s hard for you to imagine, what with my tone and all…
i have actually seen my friends try and lick the plate when the salad is gone
That was you guys! No shit. I usually just wipe the plate with my cuff, and then suck on it on the way home. You know, make it last. To each his own though…
In closing, suck it up, hucklebuck, it’s just the internets. No one on this site is even real. Bots to a man, down to the last snark.
/peace and lovely, fellow lord of umbrage
guilty.
@71 many of us has work in restaurant.
bluebious:
I have worked in a restaurant. I am also loyal and open minded. So loyal and open minded that the restaurant I worked for gave me e coli yet I continued to eat and work there.
Our reviews are rarely based on one meal (even if we write about a particular one). It is also very rare to see an extremely negative review from this site. Some of our writers are known for such, but I rarely take the time to even write about the negative. My experienceS with this restaurant were so poor I felt the need to share.
I also hope you note the commentary from others. This is not just a one person review, none of our reviews are one person reviews. We post these in hopes of local responses. Read some of our other reviews you may agree or disagree but that is the beauty of OUR site. Everyone has a say.
Lastly, to make my review clear, the service was EXCELLENT, the place was COZY. I commented on both aspects of Monsoon positively. Tearing down a review is only fair if you have read it in its entirety.
Oh and thanks for standing up for us B yo. You are wonderful.
We will have to keep a better eye out next time 
Also, sorry your comment wen to spam for like 3 hours
as a human who eats with no regard to etiquette, i would like to eat at a place with lickable plates. turns out i work very nearby too, so. that.
oh man 72 is fucking terrific. oh man.
you guys. read it.
Fuck.
parlie, I agree with you. Is it armageddon yet?
let me twist off another anchor steam and i’ll get back to you.
72: No one on this site is even real. Bots to a man, down to the last snark.
I have it on good authority that parlie is a flirt machine, stanley is a drum machine and thor is a thunder machine. I am a fucking bored machine…
/drunky
i’ve been trying to patent a fucking bored machine for years! brilliant.
beat you to it, kiddo.
/totally lost
//still drunky
parlie you really shouldn’t be drinkie poo in yer condition.
no it’s ok, i crushed a bottle of percs into fluff and then i… oh man.
my firm took everyone on a tour of the anchor steam brewery last summer. ten hours later, the hiring partner lost a very contentious ping-pong match, so we don’t get to do that this year
“percs into fluff” would be an excellent band name.
monsoon has stayed open for so long because it’s right off the mall, eight beside mcguffy, etc… Sorry I gave it many chances… And in Thailand, pad is mostly served with shrimp and tofu… If you’re promoting how badass the pork pad Thai is, that shows how Americanized it is… Sorry, I also used to work at “Thai!” the first Thai restaurant in cville… It sold to Thai 99′ after a few years due to a death in the family, but they were authentic, Thai chefs, Thai owners… Sorry but Thai food made by thai cooks makes a difference, I doubt Mesob would be as authentic is they didn’t have an Ethiopian owner… Though I also think a lot of people might be frightened of true authentic foods from foreign countries and possibly might like the altered Americanized versions, what do you all think?
sorry, my typing sucks this morning… I meant that monsoon is right beside mcguffy… Als that the dish, pad Thai is mostly served with shrimp and tofu traditionally.
@71 bluebious.. you know, we actually have a little bit of clout with the whole review thing. I don’t know how it happened, but it did. Also, it’s not like we don’t think about these reviews or anything. There is some thought (albeit, inebriated) that goes behind the restaurant reviews. We’ve had some conflicting opinions internally and we ALWAYS get people who disagree with our stuff. That’s just kinda our MO, but I think overall the restaurants appreciate it because otherwise how else are you going to get honest anonymous feedback!?
We aren’t out to get people, but this town does need some help and suggestions for better food and we’re happy to be a place people can discuss it and get good honest commentary.
Please stay around; we’d love to hear your opinions on other places!