MNKY HSE, Mayfair – The Hottest London Restaurant of 2017.

MNKY HSE is without a doubt the hottest restaurant in London right now. First came Coya, then Chiltern Firehouse, then Sexy Fish, and now MNKY HSE (pronounced ‘Monkey House’). A Latin American fine dining restaurant on Dover Street in the heart of Mayfair, the restaurant is fairly unassuming from the outside, and it’s only when you walk through the bar and descend into the basement that your eyes adjust to the effortless cool surrounding you. Match that with incredible Latin American food, and you have a winner.

Having opened just under a year ago, t’s already been used for multiple fashion events, including the GQ closing party for Men’s Fashion Week this year. Despite departing after dinner around 11pm, just as the night was really starting, we got a small glimpse into the potential of the space, and it’s safe to say I’ll definitely be going back for a later dinner time when I return to London at Christmas!

 

I picked Jasiminne up enroute as she FINALLY lives nearer to me! Since she moved to Battersea from East London, I can now pick her up on my way into central as Battersea is on my way haha. We had catch ups and did some car-dancing/singing like we always do, and once parked up round the corner from MNKY HSE we wandered down the road to it.
Dan was running a bit late due to a delayed train, so we sat at the table, ate some chips, and ordered some drinks – I could only have one alcoholic drink as I was driving, so chose the most delicious Guava Pisco Sour…
Half an hour later Dan rocked up and we quickly ordered a whole bunch of stuff to share. Unfortunately the lighting inside was *very* dark and moody with overhead yellowy spotlights, so terrible for photos. But alas. We went with…
Yellow Tail Aguachile
Kingfish Ceviche
Wagyu Tostadas
Octopus and Chorizo Tostadas
Two meat dishes (one of them was the most incredible Pork dish)
Roasted Vegetables
All the food was delicious, but we loved the Kingfish Ceviche and Wagyu Tostadas so much we ordered two more portions of them both!
The only downside was that the service was slow, and as we were finishing our food a waiter informed us that unfortunately we wouldn’t have time for dessert and we needed to leave in 5mins. Um, what? Yep. Apparently – similar to Gymkhana across the road – you only have the table for two hours (I wasn’t told this when I booked over the phone). As Dan had arrived half an hour late, that still means it had taken us an hour and a half to eat the above, and we’re not exactly slow eaters. I really resent 2-hour table rules when the staff are slow and the food isn’t brought out ASAP.
After a chat with the manager they agreed to let us stay just a little longer for dessert. We decided to go for the Chocolate fondant and share it between the three of us. To be fair it was delicious and worth the small argument with the manager 😉
We left shortly after the DJ arrived and the party really got going, but I was tired and emotional from an argument with a boy (they ruin everything really, don’t they), and had my flight back to Sydney the next day. So we parted ways and headed home to sleep.
MNKY HSE is super sexy and just effortlessly trendy with fantastic South American food to match. Make sure you book reasonably far in advance (at least a week), and go on a Friday or Saturday around 10pm to get the full clubbing/music experience later on.

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Catherine Lux
Catherine Lux

Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of SEO at Havas Media Group by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.

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9 Comments

  1. Angie SilverSpoon
    September 4, 2017 / 9:55 am

    I still haven't been!! My sister in law loves it there.

  2. Wanderlust Chloe
    September 4, 2017 / 12:04 pm

    Looks like somewhere I definitely need to check out! I got a real taste for ceviche in South America too!

  3. THEZRW
    September 5, 2017 / 12:07 pm

    One to certainly put on my list C.

  4. BavarianSojourn
    September 6, 2017 / 2:09 pm

    The food looks gorgeous, and I love the decor, but I am not keen on that 2 hour table rule thing. Fair enough if they want to have it, but trying to kick you out with no pudding?!?

  5. Catherine
    September 6, 2017 / 10:13 pm

    Oh my life, this looks like my kind of restaurant! I travel to Latin America quite a bit with work and ceviche and pisco sours are always on my must-eat list when I'm out there. Also, chocolate fondant is possibly my favourite dessert in the world. And thanks for explaining how you pronounce the name – I would never have worked that out haha!

  6. Aftab - Fresh And Fearless
    September 7, 2017 / 9:51 am

    This looks like a great spot for an evening dinner. Especially loving the Latin America style tapas/small plates too!

    A x

  7. Kavita
    September 7, 2017 / 7:57 pm

    Love the look of the food and the space itself, but I find it the two hour table thing such a turn off, especially when I was not told on booking AND the only reason I need longer is their slow service. Looks otherwise darn good though!

  8. Honey @ The Girl Next Shore
    September 10, 2017 / 10:55 am

    The tostadas look amazing! And I love Latin American food!

  9. Abihuwilliam
    April 23, 2018 / 11:43 am

    Its just so great to have these nice options. surely will love to enjoy these all.

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