Drunken Munkey : Great Indian Food with a Mixology Flair!

My fiancé and I love Indian food and are always very excited when we have the chance to go out for it with another couple. Generally we only have Indian ordered in since it is a heavier meal and also not usually a Saturday night type of activity.

Drunken Munkey (338 East 92nd St. New York, NY) takes Indian food to a whole new level. It does not only have delicious food, but it is also a mixology bar, which makes it a perfect place for a Saturday evening. Indian restaurants are not generally known for having great cocktails, but this one certainly does! The menu is pretty extensive, and the drinks are made very well! 

Lady Mountbatten

Monkey Shoulder Scotch, pamplemousse, strawberry gastrique, fresh lemon and lime juices, peach bitters.

The smoky scotch flavor of this cocktail was offset by the sweetness of the strawberry and peach, with a sourness of lemon and lime. It was the perfect combo of all the flavors that made me savor each sip. Additionally, the round ice cube was a nice touch to this cocktail and gave it that extra flair. 

Paani Puri 

Crispy flour puffs, aloo & chick-pea chaat, tamarind mint water

Before heading to the restaurant I had read Yelp reviews and also looked at photos online of the dishes. By the looks of the Paani Puri in photos, I was reminded of curry puffs that I have had at other Indian and Thai restaurants before. I knew this dish was one that I had to order. Unfortunately, this dish did not live up to what I was expecting, and was the biggest let down of all the dishes we ordered that night. It was served cold, which no one at the table was prepared for. I think that if this dish was served hot, with the mint water broth inside being hot like soup, that everyone would have enjoyed this dish. It was also very bland, and lacked any type of flavor. I guess by reading the description of the dish, I should have avoided a dish that had the words "water" instead of broth.

Stuffed Simla Mirch

Baby bell peppers, seasoned potato mash

The stuffed simla mirch luckily made up for the disappointing Paani puri. The bell peppers were stuffed with a very seasoned potato mash and served with two dipping sauces, where one was sweet, and one was on the more salty side with a little bit of spiciness. The peppers were cooked to perfection with the edges blackened from the grill. This dish I would definitely recommend.

Malabar Coastal Shrimp Curry

Shrimp served in a lime, ginger, garlic, tomato, and onion marinade. Served with Naan, ghee-rice, lemon-daal, raita, & drunken spring onions

The Malabar Coastal Shrimp was full of flavor and similar to a tikka masala or a butter chicken type of dish since the marinade had a creamy, thicker texture. The dish wasn't super spicy, but it was seasoned to perfection and had a nice level of heat to it. This was everyone's favorite dish at the table. We also liked how the entree's were served with rice and also included naan. Generally, you have to order naan on the side when you have Indian food, and it was nice that it was part of the meal.

Bombay Lamb Chops

Tandoori grilled five-spice marinade, string beans, spiced aloo, mint & apple-butter chutney

The Bombay lamb chops were also very delicious. They were heavily marinated in spices that gave them so much flavor. They were cooked to perfection and were very moist and tender on the inside. Done perfectly! They were served atop string beans and included a spiced aloo (potatoes), mint and apple-butter chutney, which was a nice addition to the lamb chops, since I do love mint jelly! The aloo was similar to home fries, which added more flavor and sustenance to this dish. This dish was the whole package!

Cauliflower Foogath 

Side portion of turmeric roasted cauliflower, cilantro, cumin

On the side, we ordered cauliflower and also crispy okra. The cauliflower was roasted and seasoned  with cumin and cilantro. This was definitely a delicious way of eating vegetables and the perfect thing to share with the table. I am not sure if I have seen cauliflower before in Indian recipes, but this dish seemed very unique to anything I have seen at Indian restaurants before.

Crispy Okra

Side order of crispy okra, onions, tomato, chat masala

The crispy okra sounded much better in the description than in actuality. Because it was served crispy, it was very dry and didn't have tons of flavor. This side the table got bored of pretty quickly, and I don't even think we finished it. 

Cricket Rum Ball

Moist & warm rum-infused chocolate cake, white chocolate shavings, creme anglaise, fresh berry reduction.

The dessert menu had many unique choices on it that all sounded delicious and different. Since we were all unfamiliar with Indian style desserts, we took suggestions from the waitress and were very happy with what we were given. The Cricket Rum ball was warm, moist, and infused with rum. It was extremely rich in flavor and was one of those desserts you need just a bite or two of. The berry reduction and creme anglaise was a nice touch and added a sweeter taste to the rich flavor of the chocolate.

Gajar Halwa

Carrot pudding, crushed pistachio, cardamom coconut creme 

The Gajar Halwa was probably the more unique dessert. It was carrot pudding, served with crushed pistachios and coconut creme. Generally carrot pudding doesn't sound that appetizing to me, but this dessert was super sweet and delicious!

I am very glad that a few of my friends suggested I try Drunken Munkey for dinner, because now I am hooked. I definitely want to return again soon. The service was top notch the whole time. The waitress was really great at giving suggestions and answering any questions we had about the menu. She was also honest with us when we asked if we were over ordering, and we reduced the number of dishes we were going to order. Even with how busy the restaurant was, she made sure to keep the level of service constant and great.
I suggest reservations, since the night we went, every table in the restaurant was taken, and we had to wait 10-15 minutes after our reservation to be sat. It was packed!