Located next to KLoé Hotel at Bukit Bintang, Monroe is a comfy, cosy, classy retro restaurant that serves modern American cuisine inspired by LA cafes and NYC diners. As I entered the cafe, it felt like entering into a beautiful hidden gem due to it being tucked away in the corner of the entrance to KLoé Hotel. Stepping into the cafe, one can expect to be greeted by kind waiters ready to serve, as well as a beautiful retro-esque bistro atmosphere. Furthermore, one of the highlights and the most eye-catching part of the entire place has to be the neon lights sign of ‘Monroe’, immediately making this an instagrammable hotspot.
With a special menu provided by the lovely Monroe cafe, let’s get into the food and drinks!
Sharing starters
Buffalo Chicken Wings
Coated with a nice layer of their house hot sauce, this plate of chicken wings and drumettes are like no other due to its side of sour blue cheese ranch dressing, the flavours complement each other so well. Bursting with sour and slightly spicy, sweet, tangy flavours, it felt like a happy little party in your mouth, a great starter to our meal. I’ve never had Buffalo Chicken Wings mixed with a side of sour blue cheese ranch before, or maybe that’s just me. I feel this was an incredibly new experience and it was a unique combination that I did not think would work at first but to my surprise, it did, and it worked so well together.
Kale Chopped Salad
Appearing rather simple and normal, the Kale Chopped Salad did not appear special or different in any way, it appeared as just a basic kale salad with added marinated tomatoes and cucumber. Though the sauce sprinkled over it and the grated parmesan and caesar dressing combined well with everything and made it a yummy salad! I personally am not a fan of salads and rarely do I order salads in restaurants or cafes as I think they’re simple enough to make at home yourself, however, this salad changed my mind. Not kidding, this was actually really good. It appeared so simple and it shocked me how I went back for seconds. Due to it being a shared platter I had to limit myself but if I were to visit again (which is most likely), I’d order this again.
Sharing mains
Everything Omelette
Inspired by the popular NYC ‘Everything Bagel’, this omelette includes cream cheese, smoked salmon and topped with a dash of savoury sprinkles. It truly is an Everything Omelette! Though this may be a tad bit too salty for others, yet somehow I could not stay away from such goodness. The easiest way to describe the feeling of taking a bite of the Everything Omelette is as if you’re being whisked away on a salty and savoury tropical adventure on your palate. I. LOVED. THIS. I think you’ll hear me say that a lot in this review but this omelette hits different!! I want to have this for breakfast every morning if I could, it has everything I love on it and the flavours again mix so well together. The only slight criticism I would give for this is that it may be a TAD bit salty, I personally, am more of a salty person so I loved it but it may not be for everyone.
Prawn Linguine
Prawns. Oh so many prawns! (Not complaining though!) King prawns, linguine, chilli, cherry tomatoes and a dash of coriander, a simple dish with a lot of flavour. The king prawns in this dish were cut into small pieces making it abundant and you could taste the prawn in every bite which I LOVED as it didn’t feel like I had to savour the prawns for the last bite, instead I could taste a piece of the prawn everytime I dug in. It was not too salty, and the flavours, again, complemented each other so well. The taste of tomato and prawn, it felt like a luxurious bite despite its simple appearance. Great example of don’t judge a book by its cover because this was another great combination and burst of flavours that made my palate very very happy.
Salt Beef and Swiss
House-cured salt beef, swiss cheese, turmeric remoulade, sandwiched between two sourdough bread slices, a bliss I wish I could eat again as I’m writing this. This was my personal favourite dish amongst all of them. I was truly so very in love with this salt beef and swiss. I did not expect to love this as much as I did, but I WILL be going back just to taste this again. The sour tanginess of the remoulade together with the salty beef slices made it seem as though these two were meant to be. Soulmates, star crossed lovers between sour and salty, I could not have thought of a better combination and there’s nothing about this sandwich I would change. The swiss cheese added a nice touch and overall the flavours worked so well together that just the thought of it has my mouth watering.
Hot Fried Chicken
A unique take on Hot Fried Chicken, this dish was presented in a weird and unique way that left me wondering the reason behind it. Spicy spring fried chicken, on top of milk bread with a side of pickles and cool ranch, the presentation was a bit questionable at first. ‘Why was the bread there?’ was the only thought I had when I saw this served out. The fried chicken did not disappoint, the crispiness, the flavour, the tenderness of the chicken, everything felt so perfectly juicy and yummy. Now, addressing the bread on the plate, I did not understand its purpose until near the end of the dish, when all of the juiciness of the chicken bled into the milk bread. The flavour on the bread, soaking up the flavour, was a great way to end my savouring of this dish as you’re given a last taste of the chicken on the milk bread. I preferred eating the bread at the last moment after I was done with the chicken, I did try to mix the chicken with the bread but it wasn’t that special as compared to eating it at the end, though this could just be my own preference.
Desserts
French Toast
A sweet pan-fried custard brioche with a citrus compote and whipped cream dollop on top, this is a true classic french toast dessert. Mixed together, the citrus, cream and toast makes for a delightful impact on your sweet tooth, while at the same time adding a tanginess to make it a bit more exciting. My favourite part about this dessert is that the sweetness was not overpowering, it was the perfect amount of sweet and sour that made me smile as I took bite after bite of this wondrous dessert.
Local Fruit Parfait
This dessert was a unique one that I don’t think I’ve seen done before. A plate of mixed Malaysian fruits, candied pecan, with whipped yoghurt and kaffir lime oil, this was a combination that definitely seemed questionable. The adventurous soul of a foodie like myself, dove straight in and tasted a bit of everything on the plate, mixed them together and through it discovered the many different flavours that were present in this dish. I may not be able to do this dish justice as I think the combinations are definitely for an acquired taste, with the many flavours present, this felt too much like chaos than a sweet smooth bite of dessert, eliciting a different reaction compared to the French Toast. Personally, I’d prefer a little tone down on the flavours here because there truly was too much going on when I tasted it, though again this could just be my preference. It was a special dessert, but I sadly was not part of its targeted audience as this just could not click with me.
Drinks
Matcha Oat Milk Latte
This was the drink that I ordered and I loved that they had an oat milk option as I am lactose intolerant and I rarely find oat milk options in restaurants. It wasn’t too overly sweet or bitter nor was it anything special but it was a comfortable drink that I thoroughly enjoyed!
Our other members from MONGA ordered the rest of these drinks and I shall share their short opinions of it!
Heavenly Chocolate Milkshake
The heavenly chocolate milkshake truly appeared heavenly, a delectable chocolate milkshake that wasn’t that sweet, topped with a scoop of chocolate ice cream and some marshmallows on top as well as a drizzle of chocolate syrup. It did look overwhelmingly sweet but our member did note that it wasn’t too sweet and it was a liking for their palate.
Cold Brew
Appearing like a typical cup of coffee, the cold brew had a ‘subtle fruity flavour from a lightly roasted bean’ according to the member that ordered this drink. It was fruitier than bitter and it had a coco aftertaste.
Passion Fruit Iced Tea
A refreshing and cooling drink, the passion fruit iced tea wasn’t too sweet and it was an easily enjoyable drink. There are also passion fruit seeds in it which add an aspect of fruitiness and crunch to every sip.
Overall, this restaurant was something that I did not expect. From the expert combination of flavours from the dishes and desserts to the balanced, likeable, and easily enjoyable drinks, Monroe KL doesn’t miss! Not to mention the service was truly impeccable as they were attentive and friendly which truly added a homely vibe! I, as well as our team at MONGA, had a really good overall experience dining at Monroe KL and I will definitely be visiting again :)
Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Drinks: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Decorations/interior: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Appearance on the outside vs inside: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Written by Simone
Photos by Tarek