Food. Dining. Restaurants. VCU.3 Monkey’s: Budget Friendly and Flavorful
The Final Verdict: Go here if you want some amazing and distinct food that is priced right and serves huge portions. You will not be disappointed!
Words and Photos by Amanda Campbell
The name of the restaurant itself is unique enough. But when looking at the menu and seeing American classics with Greek, Italian and Asian inspired flavors added in, you know this place will serve a meal to remember.
Walking into the deceivingly small restaurant on the corner Main and Robinson in the Fan district, there is a certain feeling of comfort and hominess to the place. With a light, airy and covered patio and a long and narrow interior dining area filled with comfortable dark wooden booths and a softly lit bar, there is a variety of seating options to suit your mood and dining atmosphere desires.
The inside of the restaurant has subdued neon green and golden mustard yellow walls and a chalkboard marked with the days specials next to the bar along with a mixture of classic yet cheeky posters.
Taking a seat in one of the booths with a group of friends, we look over the menu and notice that our Sunday lunchtime visit to the Three Monkeys gives us not only the regular menu to choose from but also an extensive brunch menu.
My friends decided to first start with the Baked Goat Cheese as an appetizer. When the plate arrived with a huge portion of baked roasted red peppers stuffed with rich and tangy goat cheese topped with freshly shredded basil and roasted garlic, everyone’s mouth begins to water. Quickly digging into the dish, the beautiful presentation didn’t disappoint. The peppers are sweet and slightly acidic with a bit of a bite, making them contrast perfectly with the super soft and smooth goat cheese and the hint of pepper from the basil balances it all out to be a perfect taste.
I chose to start with the soup of the day: a crab, artichoke and mushroom bisque. The richness from the slightly bitter artichoke and the robust mushrooms mixed with the sweet flavor of the crab, and the perfectly salty cream base of the soup is a surprisingly distinctive flavor unlike any soup that I’ve had before. Still there was something missing. A kick of heat or dash of spice might have helped the dish to shine to it’s full potential.
For my main course, I got the Asian Grilled Chicken Salad – a large plate of crisp and fresh romaine lettuce topped with simple grilled chicken, rice noodles, crunchy Asian slaw, grape tomatoes, mandarin oranges, red onion and toasted almonds with ginger 
chili dressing. The overall salad worked well with each component, complementing each other without overpowering any one ingredient. The dressing had a nice sweet heat to it that’s just hot enough and works especially well with the rice noodles and the chicken. I would go out on a limb and say that it’s one of the best salads I’ve had in a long time.
My friends ordered the Three Cheese Grilled Cheese and the Chesapeake Omelet (the latter is from the brunch menu served only Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30a.m.-2:30p.m.). The grilled cheese is a thick sandwich with brie, swiss and monterey jack, topped with lots of bacon and fresh tomato slices on marbled rye bread. The flavors are simple but done impeccably. The bread is perfectly crunchy on the outside and the cheeses inside are wonderfully gooey and marry well with the heaviness of the bacon and the acidity from the tomato. As for 
the omelet, there was a nice amount of lump crab, onions, cheese, tomatoes and potatoes in the mix to make each bite different. The flavors worked well creating a savory and light yet filling meal along with a fruit salad, toast and hash browns.
3 Monkey’s Bar and Grill is open 11a.m.-2a.m. Monday through Friday, 9:30a.m.-2:30 Saturday and Sunday, and is located at 2525 W. Main St.
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