The Things We Ate: Monki Breakfast Club & Bistro

There are a few weekend traditions that really can't be beat. One of our favourites is indulging in some brunch. This is especially fun after a night out on the town when we have some rehashing to do with our girlfriends. On a Sunday morning we decided to try Monki Breakfast Club & Bistro. We both had heard some great things about it so it was time to find out what all the hype was about!

Monki is located at 1301 10th Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta.
The exterior is red brick and adds to the
overall unique vibe the restaurant itself has. 

One thing about brunch in Calgary is that your chances of getting in right away into a restaurant are slim to none. So if you are one to get "hangry" you might want to pre-eat just a little. We got to Monki around 12:30 pm and were told that we would have to wait an hour to get in. Luckily they offer to call you when your table is ready and so we used the time to grab some coffee at Analog and hit up the shops on 17th Avenue. 

After getting our shopping and caffeine fix we were delighted to find out our table was ready. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we discovered it is small with a cool hipster/contemporary vibe. 

This is a view of the restaurant from where we were sitting.
The walls have some neat abstract art, there are low hanging
lights and the music is cool if you are into artists such as
Jamie XX, Fatboy Slim and Tube & Berger.

The menu had a decent selection of both breakfast and lunch items. Whether you're craving eggs benedict, a panini, or a savoury mac and cheese - they have it all. Menu items that make this restaurant unique are in the "Monki" category, which seem to put an interesting spin on the breakfast basics. Notable items are an organic morning sundae, banana nutella french toast, and brisket and Monki sausage.  Unfortunately we both only have one stomach so we just had to pick what we were craving most.

We realize this picture is a tad bit small.. and you might
need a magnifying glass to read this. So we will refer you
to the website to check out the PDF version of the menu:
http://monki.ca/pdf/Monki%20Menu.pdf

Sheena's Choice: Spanish Chorizo, Caramelized Onion, and Goat Cheese Eggs Benedict

I was in the mood for some good eggs benedict. Usually I go for the salmon variety but the goat cheese with sausage concept really intrigued me. The dish came out fairly quickly after ordering and I was ready to indulge. The first couple bites were absolutely delicious!  The biscuits were made in house. They were a bit thinner than they are for a standard eggs benedict and were slightly crispy. The spicy chorizo was nicely complimented by the goat cheese. The eggs benedict was served with a side of fruit and hash browns. The hash browns were a combination of yams and potatoes lightly seasoned for a slightly sweet taste. The waitress also offered to bring a side of creamy garlic aioli with the hash browns. Being a fan of dipping sauces - I definitely enjoyed it! The side of fruit was nice to sweeten the palette but the other two items on the plate were the stars of the show. I was satisfied after the meal. Not going to lie... this was probably one of the best eggs benedicts I have ever had. 

This is how all the eggs benedict are served at Monki. From left to right,
there are two biscuits, a decent sized serving of hash browns and the cup
of fruit. The plating and presentation is different from others we've
seen before, but works well for this dish.

Gajra's Choice: Roasted Eggplant, Roasted Red Pepper, Red Onion, Arugula & Goat Cheese Panini

These days I've found I'm extremely into trying different sandwiches and paninis so it only seemed fitting to try out the vegetarian panini at Monki. The panini was served with a side house salad, which was a pleasant surprise. Typically I find house salads are given half the love the main dish is given, but this was not the case here. The salad was a a mix of greens which fresh cucumbers, onions and peppers, with a mild vinaigrette that really made the salad unique and tasteful. Now the panini itself was amazing. The pesto-like spread on the panini along with the combination of the roasted vegetables and goat cheese was simple yet delicious. The panini was crispy due to being grilled perfectly - it was not raw nor was it burned.

This is my attempt at discretely trying to take an artsy photo
of my meal without looking completely silly. On the left is of
course the panini, with the house salad on the right. The
panini is garnished with an olive, which I forgot to try.

Though my food choice was a lunch item, I decided I wanted a bit of breakfast as well. I ordered a side of the hash browns with aioli and was not disappointed. As Sheena mentioned, the hash browns were a combination of yams and regular potatoes and the hollandaise dipping sauce on the side complimented the potatoes really well. For the additional $4 for the hash browns, the portion was generous and extremely worth it! All in all, I would say the meal I chose was a winner and I would absolutely come back to try something new on the menu!

The potatoes are sized kind of like 2-bite brownies. I definitely
made the mistake of putting an entire one in my mouth while
it was too hot (I was really excited to try them obviously).
Needless to say I burned my mouth - oops.

Overall, the both of us really enjoyed Monki. The menu was not overpriced and we absolutely felt we got our money's worth. Both our items were $14, which in the Calgary brunch world seems pretty reasonable. The service was good as our coffees and waters were always refilled, and our food arrived in a timely fashion. Here is our numerical rating, along with our friends Urbanspoon and Trip Advisor's ratings:

The GS Rating:

Price: 4/5 

Service: 4/5

Taste: 4.5/5

Venue: 4/5

Urbanspoon Rating: 88%

Tripadvisor Rating: # 302/2909 Restaurants in Calgary