Passed by the Rice Monkeys while walking down the street in the 'Historic District" of Durango Colorado. From the outside, saw a few people eating under a large covered patio shared used by multiple restaurants. Only saw a few people on the inside of this tiny restaurant.. Before decided to go in, was thinking, we are a long way from the ocean, looking at a tiny hole in the wall restaurant, serving sushi. What could possibly go wrong here.? Read the outstanding Yelp reviews and recall some of my best dining experiences have been st in the wall restaurants. Walked in and was quickly created. They have and benches and tables on one side and along table boor facing a window on the on the other side of the room. Menu was Asian Fusion and opted for the BBQ Pork with Rice and Fresh Vegetables. What a score. Huge portion and very tasty. Since I was eating with chop sticks we were there for a very long time. Saw many fresh dishes, happy customers and the place was packed . Lots of to go orders from locals as well. All great here! read more

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Amazing sushi, poke bowl, and soups! We came in the poor kiddos, who all left super content with the food. Service was great as well.

We were driving through Durango and wanted some Asian food. We saw Rice Monkey and stopped for lunch. The place is a small rectangular restaurant with limited seating inside but with outdoor seating. It opens at 11 and customers seem to frequent at the open. Menus seems to be mixed Asian from sushi rolls to rice bowls to pho and vermicelli bowls. Pho was ok but they don't give the green shoots as the sides like normal pho shops do. Their Saigon noodles is pretty good and enjoyed it. Their grilled chicken vermicelli noodle is more a lettuce with grilled chicken with very limited noodle. Basically if you want noodle goto a noodle shop. I'm rating this based on only what we ate. I'm not sure how their sushi is as we didn't have any. read more

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The Vietnamese food that we got from this restaurant was legit. The Pork Summer Rolls tasted fantastic. The Rice Noodle Soups (Beef Pho and Saigon Noodles) were hearty and well-balanced, with the only caveat being tough beef. Large portions overall. Our server Lawrence was very attentive and a delight to talk with. Definitely recommend! read more

Rice Monkeys - Menu (1/2) as of 5/12/25 - Sushi Bars Near Me - Durango, Colorado

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Rice Monkey is a small gem of a restaurant hidden within the pizza and burger joints on Durango's Main Street. Inside seating is very intimate (maybe too much so for some people) but we sat outside and enjoyed their street side seating. We were craving Pho and did they ever deliver. Generous large bowls of ginger-chicken and pork-shrimp, with excellent spicing and lots of noodles. All the accompaniments were fresh, basil, sprouts and jalapeños. Reasonably priced in this age of $20 hamburgers. Our Pho were $18 and in line with most Thai restaurants. Their sushi looked excellent (from a distance) but we can not attest to anything else other than that. Good service and reasonably fast given the dinner hour. Highly recommend. read more

Service was great. Never really expected very good sushi in this area, but this measure up there with Seattle's best!!

SUCH good sushi. Cute little area, small seating but worth it. Quick and nice service .

Amazing flavors and service! Pho soup is the best. Ginger chicken.!! Great atmosphere read more

I love this place!!!! I always get the lemongrass vermicelli bowl!!! And then a sushi roll on the side! I forgot which one it was it had salmon and like I believe? Since moving, Durango isnt as close to me anymore...but this is definitely one of my go to spots when I visit! Cant wait to come back! read more

August 26, 2023. Saturday. 2:30 PM. Every time my wife and I have visited Durango, Rice Monkeys has been closed. The reviews and the signage piqued our interest but walking by on weekends, the place was shuttered down. Hours are listed as Monday through Friday, 11 AM - 3 PM lunch and dinner 5 PM - 8:30 PM. Closed on Saturdays and Sundays. However, on this Saturday, it was open. The rain poured down, and they were about to close in 30 minutes. However, the sushi chef let me order a to-go, Funky Monkey roll ($18). This place had a cozy and tight sitting room, and I stood in the middle, waiting out of the rain. Funky monkey roll featured shrimp, tempura flakes, avocado, spicy aioli, cream cheese, topped with yellowfin tuna, and sirimi crab. Sorry, no picture of this roll. They placed sweet soy sauce in a dish on the side. Inside the to-go bag were two sets of chopsticks, napkins, wasabi, a healthy amount of fresh ginger and the aforementioned soy sauce. Service from the waitress and sushi chef was great, because they could have shut down orders. A group of three arrived after me and he took care of them too. He finished my order in about 7 minutes. We ate the roll in the parking lot of Ska Brewing. We could tell it had fresh ingredients and he added lots of avocado. I liked the roll without the sweet soy sauce, as it was cloyingly sweet. Wish we had sampled other rolls, but maybe next time. read more

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Good food good service and reasonable prices. The number of selections is good as well

Real friendly place with accommodating staff. The food was fresh and tasty. We ate outdoors accompanied by our dog. Real nice experience. Fair price. read more

They literally forgot we were there. Waiter said they were feuding with the kitchen but the kitchen got everyone else's food out. We waited an hour for our food and watched several to go orders walk out and new tables come in and get food. Very disappointing considering they only have 4 tables read more

Rice Monkeys - Empty plate because they forgot our order - Sushi Bars Near Me - Durango, Colorado

Wonderful little spot for a diverse menu and great food! I really enjoyed my dining experience here and will return when I'm back in town.

My fiancée and I stopped in got lunch and the service we got from Lawrence was top tier. He had time for every single person that walked. Provided great recommendations and was attentive to everyone eventhough it was packed. read more

This place is very small but the food was amazing!! I went here with my mom and we did a to go order, it took about 25 minutes and we got a baked roll. We ordered the volcano roll, California roll, and the salad, and it was all delicious! Definitely recommend!! read more

Fantastic little spot for high quality rolls. Looking for a spot with some high quality rolls with tons of flavor? This is a great spot to check out. I ordered the lickity-split and I wish I could have ordered more. You can tell the ingredients are fresh and again very flavorful. My only regret was coming with family members who claim they like sushi but definitely only meant the like california rolls. They ordered a california roll and a shrimp tempura roll. We came on a Wednesday around 1:00 PM after a soak at the Durango Hot Springs (also highly recommend). We were sat immediately inside where there are only about three tables but there are more outside. I think those outdoor seats are a little higher demand because the weather was perfect. read more

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Decent sushi, vermicelli bowls were a refreshing change to what I usually get- more of a salad than a noodle bowl. Dined on the sidewalk tables which were nice but the constant flow of traffic made it a little noisy to hear the dinnertime conversation from time to time. read more

Fantastic Sushi and Pho. Really cool lunch/dinner spot. Everything we tried was fresh and tasty. Definitely recommend.

Staff is so friendly, food is healthy fresh made to order. Prices are very reasonable. Convenient location on Main.

Very good sushi in a casual restaurant in downtown Durango. We like to go at lunchtime and sit outside, when weather allows. The quality of the sushi is really excellent. We often get nigiri but also like the rolls. Some of our favorites are salmon-avocado, hamachi love and crispy tuna. The menu describes the crispy tuna as spicy but we didn't find it particularly so. The seaweed salad is also very good, plenty big enough for two to share. Service is always friendly and fast. Prices are reasonable. If you think you might not be able to get good sushi in a small mountain town, think again. We like Rice Monkeys as much as what we get in Austin! read more

This place is tiny and there is additional sitting outside. The food was amazing. The presentation was like that of a fancier restaurant and the taste combination was amazing. I was blown away by the taste combo of the Tiradito. The service was pretty quick considering how busy they are. I highly recommend Rice Monkey, just be prepared that you might have to wait. read more

Rice Monkeys - Miso Soup - Sushi Bars Near Me - Durango, Colorado

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The food was amazing.The service was great they served us and ask us what we wanted to eat.Overall it was a great place to eat and great side of pho and I would recommend. read more

Rice Monkeys - Side of Pho Noodles - Sushi Bars Near Me - Durango, Colorado

We really like the food at rice monkey. The rice vermicelli bowls are particularly good (fried pork is the best one in our experience). Sushi is also pretty solid. Biggest complaint is cost. It's pricey. We had 2 sushi rolls and 1 vermicelli bowl to split for 2 of us and spent $62 on lunch. Food is good, service is good, prices are a bit inflated. read more

Very good tofu rice bowl . Quick and attentive service, tight seating with sunlight. Good value. Nice menu choices.

Good food friendly service and excellent lunch menus and serving sizes. Friendly customer service but get there early because lines especially in summer can be daunting read more

Very good Asian fusion restaurant. Who would have thought that pho and sushi go hand in hand. Well they do. Service is quick and friendly. I love the ambiance. A definitive find. read more

All three sushi rolls we had were absolutely fabulous! Service was quick and very friendly. It's a cute little spot. I was surprised by the small seating area, only 4 tables, but it wasn't an issue during our visit. read more

Rice Monkeys - Caterpillar, Lime Twist, and Funky Monkey rolls - Sushi Bars Near Me - Durango, Colorado

Just ate there tonight and it was the worst roll I've ever eaten (Likitty Split). Was going to order something else but decided it wasn't worth it. The first one was that bad. The star is for the egg roll, which was good. I might be back for a 2nd try but that was too offputting. Changed my rating up from 2 to 3 star because my wife said her bowl was fine. read more

Visited Durango for a week and tried Rice Monkeys after reading stellar reviews online. Amazing! Food was great! Had the Volcano, Crunchy Salmon, and Veggie Egg Rolls. The service was great! Loved the small interior. read more

Small unassuming place but has indoor and outdoor seating on main street Durango. Greeted upon entering sat inside tables are hard to get into the bench side but was comfortable. The appetizer came out quick. Pho came out when we were very close to finishing the edamame. Pho was absolutely delicious and filling. Service was good but not over bearing. read more

Rice Monkeys - Spicey Edamame - Sushi Bars Near Me - Durango, Colorado

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We've eaten at Rice monkeys every time we are in town! Never disappointed. This last time we had the Saigon noodle, vermicelli w pork rolls and miso soup. Everyone was happy with their dishes and left full. Server was very nice and responsive. It's a tiny place so expect a wait during busy times but it's worth it! Will be back next time in Durango! read more

Rice Monkeys - Vermicelli - Sushi Bars Near Me - Durango, Colorado

the staff were super friendly and attentive... and my daughter said the sushi was great!! the space is quite small, but they make it work for them!! the cozy atmosphere was perfect for a quick bite on the go, but plenty of room to sit and dine in if desired!! only complaint was the limited menu selection... read more

Great food and service. Great variety of appetizers and entrees. Went twice in three days for lunch and dinner to go. Clean and small.

The food here is amazing, however, my last visit the service was seriously lacking. We came early, before they opened to be sure we were first in line. We were seated right next to the door, every seat was then filled by other customers. The server then took orders starting the opposite side of the restaurant. He knew we were there first, but took our order last. We were still waiting to order while the customers next to us were finishing their meal. We were there an hour and a half. We only took about 15 minutes to actually eat. The rest of the time we were waiting. They repeatedly forgot to bring us things we had requested when ordering. At the end they did give us an extra piece of cheesecake and didnt charge us, which helped a bit. We had been planning to tip a little lower because of the bad service and the exorbitant wait, but we tipped 20% after the free cheesecake. They really need to figure out how to expand their place to meet the needs of their customers. read more

Delicious --- it was good service and great food. The teriyaki bowl was fresh and tasty. Central to downtown and convenient. Most important to note their times they open and close. Yummy sushi rolls --very fresh!! I can't believe I'd never been here! read more

Rice Monkeys - Lunch seating - Sushi Bars Near Me - Durango, Colorado

When only sushi can make you happy Rice Monkeys does an awesome job. We have some excellent sushi there after a day on the mtn and really enjoyed the service an vibe there. Good people serving good food in a nice little place. And that brings me to the one star drop. I'm 6'5" and about 230 when not wet. I felt like the biggest Wookiee in this place because it is so narrow and small. I wouldn't call it uncomfortable for most but it was a bit tight for me. Go Eat Enjoy read more

Freshest creative sushi this side of the rockey's. Stop reading and get over here. Service friendly and fun.

Clean atmosphere, friendly staff, great service, we ordered a Korean barbecue bowl and it was fresh, tasty, and super delicious! Veggie roll included. Flavor was awesome. Pork was done perfectly. Flavors melted together, amazingly. read more

So SAD to say the new owners are not doing this once terrific restaurant any favors. Very dirty seating area & bathroom. Sticky tables, stained & battered menus with items blacked out. We're greeted with a litany of what they DON'T have - including sake & beer! They also didn't have any sweetener for the ice tea. Bang bang shrimp was drenched in a sickly sweet goo, all breading & tiny shrimp. Too bad to ever return which is sad as it used to be pretty great. read more