Laughing Monk Cafe
Laughing Monk Cafe
Tasting menu nigiri
Tasting menu nigiri
Dragon seed
a piece of sushi on a blue plate
a plate of sushi with a flower on top
Pad Thai
a plate of sushi
a sushi dish on a plate
sashimi, sushi and sashimi, sushi, food
a sushi dish on a blue plate
food, sushi, sushi and sashimi, sashimi
sashimi, sushi, sushi and sashimi, food
sashimi, food, sushi, sushi and sashimi
#drink
Caterpillar roll
Empty Packet of peanut sauce for reference
food, sashimi, sushi, sushi and sashimi
food, ramen and noodles
food, sushi and sashimi
food, sushi and sashimi, sashimi, sushi
#sushi
the interior
Vegan Omakase Box
Jennifer E.
Sep 18, 2024
I think this is the best sushi I've ever had in my life, and that includes San Diego. The ambience is nice, the service is on par, and they also have cooked delicacies from my friends who don't like raw fish. Unfortunately, I've moved to Connecticut recently, but I still stop in Wellesley on the way to Cape Cod to dine at the laughing Monk!!!
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Joy G.
Dec 14, 2023
3 for the Wellesley location, the other two locations may very well be mind-glowingly good. But the food/service here was not up to par, especially for the prices. Of the dishes we ordered, only two or three were vaguely memorable. Yelp, you led me wrong with this one. *shakes fist at the sky*Food: The menu is split between Thai and Japanese. We ordered the shrimp shumai as an appetizer, which was one of the better things we ordered: thin wrapper, flavorful filling. The Thai entrees were where things fell apart. I got the hot ginger dish with tofu, with a medley of veggies. Taste was all right and the tofu amount was generous but nothing stood out to me with this dish. It certainly didn't contain anything that justified the $17 price tag (not counting the side of rice, which you have to order separately, see rant below). Also tried the unagi nigiri and the fatty salmon belly, both were not bad. Everything else, including the royal broccoli, was similarly mid and had the same "brown sauce" flavor. Portions were criminally small for the price. I had to eat a snack at home afterwards (and I don't have the largest appetite in the world).Indulge me with a mini-rant. Laughing Monk charges extra for a side of rice for all the entrees that normally come with rice. Ask any self-respecting Asian person if they will eat a stir fry or anything sauce-y without rice. I don't like it when restaurants do this sort of nickel and diming. Just make the entree more expensive to build in the cost of rice. Don't even get me started on the $2 side of wasabi and pickled ginger. Their online menu, which featured a number of sushi options that made us want to go (a chirashi bowl, an Uni don) is takeout only, with no mention of it being such. We didn't find that out until we got to the restaurant. Prices on the online menu aren't updated. All in all - pretty misleading. Service: Not particularly warm or friendly. We came on a busy Saturday night, which probably explains it. Parking: I have a soft spot for downtown Wellesley because parking is super easy and abundant. They even put little green hoods over the parking meters reading "Compliments of Wellesley." How nice is that? We found a spot right behind the restaurant. Overall, I don't think I'll be back. Eating out right now is too expensive to justify mediocre food/service.
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Aditi D.
Apr 27, 2024
We were in Wellesley today for the tulip mania festival and decided to stop by Laughing Monk for some lunch. We got the "philly roll" which come with cream cheese, smoked salmon, tobiko, sesame, the "crispy roll" which comes with Crabstick, salmon, avocado, tobiko and the "fujihama" which comes with Cooked shrimp, cucumber, avocado, cream cheese topped with baked spicy mayo sauce (contains mayo, ebi, tamago, crabstick, tobiko, sesame, hot sauce). My favorite was the Fujihama since it was delicious and full or flavor! The service pretty quick. It's a pretty small restaurant with a minimalist atmosphere.
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Justin B.
Sep 2, 2024
We have only had to go but food is fantastic. Enjoyed the pad Thai, sticky rice, chicken and shrimp dishes.
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Albert M.
Aug 30, 2024
My family has ordered take-out several times and finally dined in recently. We were pleased. Food was excellent; service was good. It's a nice setting.
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Alexi K.
Aug 12, 2023
- food tastes amazing!! (I even started digging into the caterpillar roll prior to taking a picture). They never miss- parking is super easy- weekdays there is a lunch menu with specials and lower prices- great ambiance, light music playing and a small bar area
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Tulsa H.
Jul 4, 2023
The Tom Yum Koong (spicy shrimp soup) was very good. Great proportion of coconut milk. We got attracted by the Boston location and came to this location instead when near the area. There aren't that many items in the menu compared to the Boston location. However, the food is still very good and worth a visit. Both the Thai dishes and the Japanese dishes are good. Would recommend this place. Service is fine.
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Emily C.
Jun 26, 2024
I love getting takeout here. Their Thai iced tea and coffee are both refreshing. The sashimi rice bowl I got today had thick pieces of fish and I was very full after. I hope they keep adding in new items!
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Aliké S.
Mar 14, 2023
Completely unexpected visit! You must try the mushroom roll. AND The Silver Roll even if it's just for the visual - it's a pretty presentation. One of those that draws eyes & comments from other patrons! It wasn't necessarily the best roll I've ever tasted, but it was a good experience none-the-less. Per usual, my 4 year old son loved the edamame. We also ordered him a broccoli and tofu dish he enjoyed.Im not a drinker, but from the looks of things (I saw the mixologist in action), they serve those types of cocktails that are like eye-candy. Logistically, it's a very tight spot. A few table-tops and bout 3 or 4 bar seats. However, they were able to accommodate our 2adult, 1child party as walkins with a 15min wait. Not bad at all. But I would suggest making resi's (reservations).Prices aren't cheap. Specialty rolls run about $25.This might be the best sushi for our neck of the woods!
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Diana R.
Apr 28, 2024
First time at Laughing Monk. We will return!! The food was spectacular. Best I've had. Small, cozy, and fast service. I'll pay the higher prices for the quality!
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