Monai’s Soulfood Restaurant

On google and Instagram says open at “12:30”, which is a lie. This place never answers the phone. Gave them 3 chances(days calling them) and nothing. At this point I’m glad I didn’t spend money here. I wanted to try the food here but I will never do it again.

It took 1 hour and 15 mins for a PICK UP order of chicken and shrimp entree and a fish and shrimp entree to be ready. The food had no flavor at all just tasted like a whole bunch of old oil and the only thing that had flavor was the potato salad and it was a cilantro flavor. The service was not good either, very nonchalant about the food taking long and i asked the lady if there was tartar sauce for the fish and she said she did put some in but that she was gunna put in extra for me and there was ONE packet of tartar sauce not even a sauce container but a sauce packet of tartar sauce. To top it all off these two flavorless and delayed entrees were $60… would not recommend at all.

Food: 1

Service: 1

I placed an uber eats order and didn't receive what I ordered after waiting over an hour and then received items I don't even eat. I would have rather received a call letting me know you don't have what I ordered instead of giving me what they wanted.

The food was very good. We had cat fish, shrimp, and sweet chilli wings.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

Everything is not for everybody. Long wait - to long . Granted it was a Friday busy night. Lot of food sold out, so I thought it would be good. No it wasn’t. Maybe I’m just spoiled

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

Had the fish and shrimp with fries and ended up throwing it away. The oil used may have been extremely old. Made me nauseous with every bite. This is not my first time ordering but definitely my last.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

I’ve ordered from this restaurant a few times in the past and have always enjoyed the food. This time, I ordered the catfish dinner with potato salad and string beans. While the fish had good flavor, it seemed more like swai in taste, look, and texture. Additionally, the oil could use some filtering or changing.

The potato salad, which is usually on point, had a very strong vinegary taste this time, lacking the balance of salt and pepper. The string beans were clearly canned, with a hint of spice but not much else in terms of flavor. My partner’s macaroni and cheese had an overpowering garlic taste, which wasn’t expected.

On a positive note, the yams were absolutely delicious, and the banana pudding was perfect—it reminded me of my grandmother’s, and I hope the recipe never changes!

Overall, I’d rate my meal a 5.5/10. Consistency is key in maintaining a successful business, and I truly believe in what this establishment is capable of. I look forward to ordering again in the future and hope to see the same quality I’ve enjoyed before.

Ordered from the website for shrimp and grits! Got shrimp and fries!
Was told that they didn’t serve it even though it was on the menu online. No call or text to explain. And when I reached out to them they were very unprofessional with their response.
One and done never again.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 3

Service: 2

I'm so absolutely disappointed I ordered fish and shrimp dinner with Mac and cheese and string beans chicken wings dinner Mac and cheese with candy yams string beans were extremely salty not sure what the fish was chicken wings was fried too hard not a happy customer for the price I paid

Food: 1

The food is always on point, but I took away one star for timeliness of take out orders. We have called in take out orders and told that the order would be ready in 25 minutes, then when we arrive after 25 minutes, the order is never ready and we had to wait another another half hour ( so total of one hour! ) . This has happened on at least 3 different occasions.
They need to start giving customers correct timeframes for pickups so that customers aren't waiting around for an extra 30 minutes or more. If the takeout order will take an hour just say that!

Recommended dishes: Chicken Wings

I live in New Jersey but originally from NY (Brooklyn) so I am use to good food and good restaurants. For the past 15 years of me living in NJ, I have not found many good restaurants, specifically, soul food. I found this place from a Google search and just relied on the reviews. Well let me say, I was definitely pleased with their food and service. I had the fried shrimp combo with salmon bites, Mac and cheese and collard greens. Everything was delicious 😋. I would give it 5 stars if the collard greens didn't have a kick to it (lil spicey). Oh and they are generous with their portion size. I have food for dinner tomorrow 😋 Go check them out!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

The food was awesome and the personal was very friendly. Great service with a smile I love Monais restaurant

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

It’s not my cooking or moms/grandma…but it’s really good ! ?? It’s nice to find good food in jersey for once ? The wings .. bussin ! Mac and cheese was good too ! If you’re looking for some soul food and a nice healthy plate come here !!! It’s definitely worth a 20 something min drive for me if I don’t feel like cooking lol

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken Wings Dinner 2 Sides, Mac N Cheese

The best chicken in middlesex county. PERIODT. Not debatable, a 100% fact.

Update 2 years later: I don't think they care anymore, it's not even close to how it was within their first year of opening. What a shame.

I had posted earlier about the potato salad not being as good as mine. It isn’t. I went home and wanted to add some relish and an egg, to make it more tasty. I found that the potatoes were not cut up. I got 3 potatoes that I had to cut. They were so bog that you would have stuffed your mouth with one of them, with no room to chew.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5