Christian and Adrian were amazing! Food was delicious!! So much flavor in the lomo saltado

Great food, mocktails (especially the piña colada) and service. The Pescado Frito is delicious!

This was my first time at this restaurant, and I had a wonderful experience. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and Matt, who took care of us, was incredibly kind, attentive, and empathetic. The restaurant is beautiful, has convenient parking, and it's a comfortable place to relax and enjoy your meal. Congratulations to the team for creating such a great experience. I'll definitely be back! read more

I'm from Peru, and this food was very authentic. I loved the food, the service, and how friendly the staff was. I will definitely be coming back often! read more

El Mono - Peruvian Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I had driven by El Mono several times on my way to dance class in the morning and wanted to return for dinner. Last night was that night, and it was very nice experience. From the moment we walked in, we were welcomed and greeted by Christian, who was our server. He was attentive and friendly. The food was delicious. We started off with the fried plantains and moved to our entrees- chupe de camarones and the "poor man's steak" for my husband. My creamy shrimp stew was served with rice and perfectly poached egg on top. My husband's steak dish was nicely prepared with rice, fried yucca, and a fried egg. There's plenty of parking, and it's in a quiet neighborhood right off the freeway on Gilman. We will be back again! read more

I highly recommended this Peruvian Restaurant. The food we ordered were all delicious, the ambiance is cool, customer service is great, thanks Matt. Every one of their staff is wonderful. We will be back for sure read more

Moving from Miami to the Bay it's been hard to find Peruvian food and El Mono is the answer! Lauren was our sever and she was fantastic. We will definitely be back :) read more

We had an excellent meal tonight at El Mono on Gilman at 4th. We started with their complementary fried corn nuts. We ordered the Trio de Antojitos, with tasty beef "anticucho" bites, a little ceviche, and potatoes. Delicious and such a great opportunity to try three Peruvian classics in one order. Also loved the Aji de Gallina, with shredded chicken in the yellow Aji Amarillo sauce. Great flavor. My husband thought it was the best one he's tried anywhere. To cap it off, we enjoyed the Miti Miti drink, a refreshing combination of the passionfruit and purple corn juices. Shout out to Cristian for his friendly service. We're already planning to return with our family, we know they will love it too. read more

great spot for peruvian food and great service from our server, Christian! had the ceviche, platonos, lomo sataldo, and paella. read more

Good food - octopus is really great in particular. Nice ambiance and great service from Christian, our server.

Excellent food and customer service! Christian did a great job! Thank you!! For the main course, the lomo saltado was a standout. The beef was tender, the wok-fried vegetables were crisp, and the soy-based sauce had just the right amount of umami. Served over fluffy white rice with crispy fries, it was comfort food with flair. Ceviche was delicious!! read more

El Mono - Ceviche - Peruvian Near Me - Berkeley, California

The newest location of El Mono had to visit i been to El Cerrito so i thought i would stop by. The food was still oh so tasty and the place is super cute surrounded by a lot of windows natural light comes in. They do have a bar area if you wanted to come in for some drinks. the service was so welcoming and so fast since i came in for lunch. My favorite is the lomo saltado which it comes with a salad or soup. read more

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El Mono is a fantastic find! On Gilman Street in Berkeley, right near interstate 80. This Peruvian fusion restaurant offers an extensive menu for both lunch and dinner: lots of meat, vegetarian, and seafood options and all are delicious! Also a very nice selection of lunch specials, including soup or salad and a drink for around $20 The room is modern and lovely and our server Christian was very attentive and helpful with menu suggestions. Very highly recommended!! read more

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Best Peruvian in the East Bay! Our server Matt took care of us and was attentive to all our requests. Lots of options for kids menu. All the Peruvian hits on the menu and everything we ordered was delicious read more

Christian was an amazing server who went above and beyond to welcome us, periodically checked in, and attentive. Food was great and portions were perfect. Would definitely revisit and look forward to having Christian as our server! read more

Taya was lovely! She gave us wonderful personalized service, she was prompt and helpful. Plus, the food is delicious!

I love this restaurant! Matt has always been wonderful when we have dine here. My personal favorite dish is the Lomo Saltado with the Chicha drink. We've had more dishes and they have all been wonderful. Cute ambiance. Outdoor dining. Great location. Highly recommend read more

The service and food were excellent as always! Cristian and Andres were friendly and provided fast service.

Ate here for the first time this evening. The food was very good--the atmosphere is pleasant and the service was very friendly. I plan to go back. Plenty of parking too. ~ read more

So good! We had a great time. Good food, good wine. Loved it. The ceviche was excellent and they have good gluten free options as well.

I had the lomo salteado and patacones and loved it! Service was phenomenal (thanks Matt). It was our first time here amd we"ll be back. Thank you! read more

El Mono was great!!! Christian was a super kind server. I have dietary restrictions and he was super helpful checking what was in the dishes and making modifications for me. The food was delicious as well and the portions are very generous. I got the paella and would recommend!! read more

El Mono - Peruvian Paella - Peruvian Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Great food, atmosphere, and customer service. I ordered the Lomo Saltado, and the food hit the spot. Christian was our server, and he was awesome, very welcoming, informative, and attentive. He checked on us regularly and made the experience even better. 10/10, I highly recommend this place to friends and family, especially when they come to visit us. read more

the food was very good! for weekday lunch, it comes with salad or soup and the suggested menu is definitely worth a try. staff was also very polite and friendly. manuel was very helpful with the menu. also the decor indoor and also the patio outdoor is well done in theme. looks very well put together. i would recommend this place for anyone who wants to try peruvian food! read more

El Mono - Peruvian Near Me - Berkeley, California

Wasnt very impressed with the food, I ordered the Pollo con Arroz and the chicken was very dry. The waiter didnt seem to know much of the menu and couldnt give many recommendation. Good location but thats about it. read more

Every dish is full of flavors. There's plenty of parking. Our family of four ordered two tapas and a paella with whole fish. The three servers took real good care of us. It's on our list to return. read more

El Mono - Paella with whole fried fish - Peruvian Near Me - Berkeley, California

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The Peruvian paella was super delicious! Came out on a hot plate so it has a yummy grilled taste to it. The mint lemonade was also super refreshing read more

Amazing food and ambience!!! Our waiter Christian was very attentive! Anibal the chef was spectacular. We ordered sangria and lemonade which were delish!!!!! The lomo saltado was the best I've had, and the ceviche was perfection!!! Highly recommend this place!! read more

Food is excellent in my opinion the best Peruvian restaurant in the Bay Area. I have tried the Chupe de Camaron , Lomo Saltado, Tallarines, Causa, Ceviche which all embody the true flavors of Peru Christian our waiter was very friendly and professional. Try it for yourself! read more

El Mono - Chuppi Saltado de Camarones Tallarin de Camarones Causa Ceviche - Peruvian Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Food came hot and right on time Christian gave us terrible service Pricing was also very good read more

Don't go on any special occasion or a holiday. They serve only a small part of their menu and hike up the price to almost double than the usual price for the same portion size. They do not alert you about this on the website. We were blindsided by the prices on Father's Day. Everything was significantly higher than what we saw on their menu. It was too late to leave and go somewhere else. We made the best of it by not getting any drinks or dessert. Unfortunately, the food was not worth the $$$$ tag. read more

First time to try this place, did lunch on a Tuesday. Service was fast, food was great, and Bella was very attentive and helpful. Will definitely come back! read more

the lomo saltado was so good we had to get a second order! the fries were so crispy, the rice was really flavorful, the steak was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was addictive! we've been to the el cerrito location before but its nice that this location opened since its closer to us, and the ambience is a little more modern. the estofado de pollo was pretty flavorful too! we also got the ceviche (i preferred the fish the most in the mixto) and the sweet plantains were perfectly cooked. the green sauce at the table was also super delicious. love this place! read more

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Excellent service from Cristian. Amazing food. Loved it. Everything I ordered was great. Thank you

Got the trio de Mar and the lemon tasting spices they used were fresh and on point, tasted great. My lomo Saltado also tasted fresh and the spices/seasoning were in point. Decent portions on both and it was very tasty. Paella was also had a delicious tomato seasoning and was good with a generous amount. read more

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Amazing food and and service... Taya was looking vely and had wonderful recommendations. Can't wait to come back!

Food was really good, and Christian was very helpful and provided amazing service! I would recommend.

Delicious Peruvian food! We enjoyed the Causa, ceviche, and the Paella! Great service by Christian'!

El mono is hands down my favorite Peruvian restaurant. My table ordered the mixed seafood ceviche - refreshing, tangy, hardy. For my entree I ordered the pescado frito - not oily, deep crunch, and I dipped it in the leftover ceviche salsa.... Heaven. My homegirls first time, she ordered Lomo Saltado with a fried egg. Demolished. It was flavorful, and had generous portions.. can't forget the miti miti tea - a blend of their passion fruit juice and blue corn tea. can't miss! Add a splash of your favorite alcohol to make it a real treat. We will be back 100 times over. Thank you Matt for walking us through the menu, and giving your expertise on how to experience each dish. Your attention to detail in each customers experience does not go unnoticed . read more

OK i'm not Peruvian, and i can't tell you what authentic Peruvian food is, but i can say this is damn good! This place is off the beaten track, so unless you frequent Ashkenaz or something like that, you'd probably never know about it. It's worth the trek up there. Hey they have a parking lot, a truly RARE thing for any restaurant in Berkeley! Wow! You don't have to drive around looking for parking and then walk 3 blocks, or put money in the damn meter! Just drive up there and park! We ordered Arrroz con Mariscos, or as they call it, Paella Peruana, and it was delicious. It's basically like Mexican rice, orange rice with peas, and then they add shrimp, mollusks, i forgot what else. They serve it on a sizzling hot pan for show. The owner said get family size but i figured one order would be a lot of food and yes, it was, enough for leftovers. We got some bread for a very reasonable price, and a nice fresh green salad with hard boiled eggs and olives, very good. We didn't care for the dessert, maracuyá mousse. I thought it was just boring, hardly any flavor. I couldn't even finish my half (we shared it). I love maracuyá agua fresca, which has flavor that explodes in your mouth. Well, this doesn't. It's just a sweet creamy rather bland dessert. Our waiter was Cristián, and we enjoyed chatting with him. Service was excellent. It made the night. We also loved the decor, metal animals based on the Nazca lines in the Peruvian desert. That is refreshing, when other Peruvian restaurants all seem to focus only on Andean decor. Perú is very diverse, and has many indigenous cultures as well as African, Asian, Spanish, wow, really interesting, and the Andes are only one fascinating aspect. Overall we had a really enjoyable night. A friend i used to have opened a Peruvian restaurant in Contra Costa county. She said the Peruvian customers would gripe & complain no end about the food not being real, not authentic, no good, totally sucks, whatever. She commented that there are many Peruvian spices and chiles you just can't get here, so it was impossible to make real authentic Peruvian food. Also they couldn't find any Peruvians to hire as cooks so they hired Mexican cooks and trained them. Well, Mexicans may be fabulous cooks, but they don't know anything about Peruvian food, so it never really came out right, except the days my friend was there cooking herself. So the restaurant went under. I see many Peruvians here complaining similarly about this place, el Mono. Hey give them a break, for the above reasons. If you want 100% real Peruvian food, buy a ticket and fly to Perú. Anyway i asked, and the cook who made our food that night IS Peruvian. We'll have to go back some day, as the menu has so many options and it was hard to decide. We wish this place well, and encourage everybody to go try it out. read more