Monkey Nuts, Crouch End, London N8 8TD

Taking a group of teenagers out for lunch especially on a Sunday can be a bit of a hit and miss affair. Sometimes they can be monosyllabic, sometimes they would rather just be in bed, and when you have a mixed age range (in this particular instance it was 12 and three 17 year olds) keeping them all happy while enjoying it yourself can be a real stretch.

So we decided on the 17th birthday of one of the group to try a visit to Monkey Nuts, a steak house and wine bar in North London's Crouch End. Reviews online started off well in 2008 but became worse and worse with time and by 2011 they were downright poor and of the 'avoid at all costs' variety, but my nephew wanted to go somewhere fun for his birthday and it was not far to travel so we put on a smile and an optimistic approach and decided to give it a go.

Situated on Park Avenue. so a short hop from Alexandra Palace station and Muswell Hill Broadway, Monkey Nuts is American Diner meets themed British burger bar with the onus being on 'Monkeys' and 'Nuts'. It really does cater for the Crouch End thirty something parent with kids and is spacious but a bit noisy, even on a Sunday lunchtime. The menu is great for burger fiend's but not so great for vegetarians and for those wanting something a bit more grown-up there were great steaks, sirloin, t-bone and the like.
They also do an all day brunch which looks good...

I opted for the regular burger which was prime beef with lots on top (tomato, tomato salsa, mayo etc) and came on a small bread-board with steak knife, I also had a generous (well they should be for £3) portion of chips. My daughter had the Hot-Dog which came with chips, this was a really small bowl and to be honest a bit of a disappointment, if you say it comes with chips and you are catering for youngsters then it should come with the same size chips as everyone else. She liked it anyway.
Birthday Boy had a generous sirloin steak and my sister had a large, crisp portion of fish and chips...

Puddings were yummy - the ice-cream is particularly rich and good quality. And the over-sized Nickerbockerglory type thing had marshmallows, ice-creams, sauces and smarties!
If you have a family young or teenage I can really recommend this venue. There is a disabled/changing toilet on the ground floor (the other loos are up the stairs), it is clean and has a nice vibe to it. The staff are laid-back but we were served fairly swiftly and never felt hurried to leave when we had finished whic is often the case in fast-food places. All good, clean fun and will go back again..
Monkey Nuts, Park Road, Crouch End, N8 8TD London